Gov't to improve business confidence: official

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government pledged to improve business confidence in the country by addressing concerns and problems raised by businessmen, a senior official said today.

Communications secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. made the statement following a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD Asian Business Sentiment Survey, which showed a decline in the Philippines ranking from 67 to 83, in a poll involving 116 companies across Asia.

The survey came after the Asian Development Bank's downgrading of yearend growth forecast for the Philippines to 6 percent from 6. 2 percent on Wednesday.

"The government continues to take concrete steps to improve overall business confidence and address concerns of our businessmen through reforms in the granting of permits and licenses and streamlining of government transactions, easing of bottlenecks in the supply chain and improving government spending and maintaining stability in key macroeconomic indicators that would spur growth in consumer spending," Coloma said.