By Lilybeth G. Ison
MANILA, (PNA) — Malacanang on Wednesday lauded World Bank’s (WB) Doing Business Index that states the Philippines as among the 10 best economies in 2013.
“Mainam na malaki ang pagtaas ng rating sa World Bank Doing Business Index Review,” said Coloma in a statement.
The Philippines is among the 10 best economies that carved inroads in making it easier to do business in the past year, improving its ranking by 30 places in the World Bank Group’s “Doing Business” report released Tuesday.
In “Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises,” the Washington-based multilateral lender said the Philippines was among nations that has implemented at least three reforms in doing business the multilateral lender monitors.
The report noted that the Philippines made it easier for businessmen to secure construction permits, obtain credit and pay taxes.
In the latest report, the Philippines now ranks 108th out of 189 nations, up 30 notches from the 138 last year.
“This is the most that the Philippines has moved since the report started,” said Nataliya Mylenko, World Bank senior financial sector specialist, at a briefing.
The other nine nations are Ukraine, Rwanda, Russia, Kosovo, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Burundi, Macedonia and Guatemala.
World Bank said the Philippines’ “introduction of a fully operational online filing and payment system made tax compliance easier for companies.”
It also noted the “simplified” process in securing occupancy clearances which helped ease the process of obtaining construction permits, as well as new rules that guarantee access to their data in the Philippine credit bureau.
“Ang susunod na target ay isa pang mataas na pagtalon tungo sa double-digit rating (sa loob ng top 80),” said Coloma.
“Kailangang pahusayin pa sa aspeto ng pagpapadali ng pagtayo ng bagong negosyo,” he added.