EDITORIAL - Significant improvement

That was an impressive jump in ease of doing business for the country, in the latest report drawn up by the World Bank Group. From 124th place in 2018, the Philippines is now ranked 95th in the Doing Business 2020 report.

Reforms in three areas boosted the country’s ranking. Abolishing minimum capital requirements for domestic enterprises made opening a business easier, according to the report. Better coordination and streamlining of procedures for getting an occupancy certificate made it easier to obtain a construction permit. Reforms were also instituted in protecting minority investors.

Economic managers hope the higher ranking could translate into a credit rating upgrade for the country, improve business sentiment and draw more investments. Before we break out the bubbly, however, it’s useful to consider the rankings of the country’s neighbors, who are competitors in attracting job-generating foreign direct investments.

Within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which the Philippines is one of the five founding members, the country ranked only seventh among 10, ahead of Cambodia (144th place), Laos (154th) and Myanmar (165th).

Consistent achiever Singapore ranked second worldwide. Malaysia was at 12th place; Thailand, 21st; Brunei, 66th, and Vietnam, 70th. Indonesia, ranked 73rd, was still way ahead of 95th place.

In releasing the report, the World Bank stressed the need for government regulation “that is efficient, transparent, and easy to implement so that businesses can thrive.” The report puts emphasis on small and medium-sized domestic businesses whose daily operations are affected by government policies. Removing barriers to enterprises creates better jobs, increased tax revenues and higher incomes, all of which reduce poverty and raise living standards, the World Bank stressed.

Two laws have been passed to ease doing business in the country, and an Anti-Red Tape Authority has been created. The government is shifting to electronic processing of requirements for starting a business alongside e-payment and automatic approval systems.

Corruption, however, remains entrenched, and cutting red tape, which opens opportunities for collecting grease money, remains a work in progress, despite repeated admonitions from President Duterte himself. The momentum in making doing business easier must be sustained and ramped up.