Aquino creates task force to improve business competitiveness

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - President Benigno S. Aquino III has created an inter-agency task force that will help investors do business in the country.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said today that Aquino signed Administrative Order No. 38, creating the Task Force on Ease of Doing Business (EODB Task Force) that will improve the country's global ranking in business competitiveness.

The task force will be headed by the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry.

The Philippines ranks 138th out of 185 countries in the world, and is 8th out of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Doing Business Survey (DBS) of the World Bank International Finance Corporation (IFC).

According to the IFC, the country's poor ranking is due to the difficulties that local entrepreneurs have to go through in order to set up and maintain their businesses.  

The business survey of the IFC measures and tracks business regulations across 10 indicators, namely: starting businesses, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and resolving insolvency.