Philippines climbs to 95th spot in World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ rankings

MANILA, Philippines — Ease of doing business in the Philippines improved over the past year, with the Southeast Asian country climbing 29 notches in World Bank’s “Doing Business 2020” report released Thursday.

Out of 190 economies, the Philippines advanced to the 95th spot from 124th place in 2019. The country’s score improved to 62.8 from 60.9 previously.

Compared to its peers in the East Asia Pacific, the Philippines ranked below Singapore (2nd), Hong Kong (3rd), Malaysia (12th), Taiwan (15th), Thailand (21st), China (31st), Brunei (66th), Vietnam (70th), Indonesia (73rd) and Mongolia (81st).

The Washington-based multilateral lender’s annual report looks into the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.

Quezon City was used as a benchmark for the Philippines.

According to World Bank, starting a business in the Philippines became easier following the abolition of the minimum capital requirement for domestic companies.

The country also made dealing with construction permits easier by improving coordination and streamlining the process for obtaining an occupancy certificate.

“The Philippines strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure of transactions with interested parties and enhancing director liability for transactions with interested parties,” World Bank added.

Worldwide, 115 economies made it easier to do business, World Bank said, with New Zealand remaining the most business-friendly country in the world.

Somalia was the worst with a score of 20.

Meanwhile, the economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2020 are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria.

“The Doing Business 2020 study shows that developing economies are catching up with developed economies in ease of doing business,” World Bank President David Malpass said.

“Still, the gap remains wide,” he added.