MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines may see its competitiveness ranking improve in the upcoming Doing Business report of the World Bank due to good governance efforts, but more needs to be done to further improve the business environment and attract investments according to a WB exec.
“We think the next Doing Business Report due next Tuesday, due to the efforts of Aquino administration, will be reflective of improved business situation,†Jesse Ang, resident representative of the World Bank’s private sector investment arm International Finance Corp. said during the 39th Philippine Business Conference and Expo yesterday.
The Philippines placed 138th out of 185 countries in the Doing Business report released last year, down two notches from 2011.
But while the country is seeing an improved business environment amid good governance gains along with political stability and strong economic growth, Ang said challenges still remain as the working age population is growing much faster than the creation of jobs, poverty in rural areas remains high, and the expansion of the agriculture and manufacturing sectors has been slow.
Ang further pointed out the country is not able to create jobs needed here as it does not get that much investments.
In terms of foreign direct investments, the Philippines gets a small portion of what goes to the region, attracting only about $2 to $3 billion per year.
“To attract more foreign investments, there is a need to continue to enhance competitiveness,†Ang said.
He noted that such would involve improvements in the agriculture sector, where most of the poor are.
He said building up tourism, increasing access to financial services as well as improving infrastructure, are likewise necessary.
To make growth more inclusive, he said there is a need to increase the access and improve the quality of basic services such as health, education as well as power, water and sanitation.
Asian Development Bank vice president for operations in East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Stephen Groff agreed that to attract investments and achieve inclusive economic growth in the Philippine government would also have to sustain governance reforms.
“Deepening and entrenching governance reforms is the key to building the trust of the private sector which will ultimately provide an avenue out of poverty for many by creating more and better jobs,†he said.
While the government has to do more to improve the business environment for increased investments and to attain inclusive growth, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas II said in the same event the private sector also has a role to play.
To help improve the business environment, Roxas said companies need to inform the government about the conditions of doing business here.
He said should there be cases of harassment by local government officials or difficulties encountered in securing business permits, businessmen should inform the DILG know by reporting to the following mobile numbers: 0917-6276927 and 0917-8268808.
“There’s always complaints from the business community having to do with mayors, having to do with business permits, so DILG is always ready to help them so that they can untangle these difficulties,†he said.