CEBU, Philippines - In the latest IMD World Competitiveness Report, Philippines moved up five places from ranking 43rd in 2012 to 38th out of 60 economies this year, posting the largest gain among five economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The country also ranked 11th in Asia Pacific from its 13th place in 2011 and 2012, outperforming Indonesia and India.
Moreover, it jumped two places and ranked fifth in the stock market performance given the continued upswing in the local index.
Although it was listed fourth out of the five ASEAN economies reviewed in the report, Philippines registered the largest gain over the last year.
For 2013, there are a total of 60 economies around the world that were reviewed for the World Competitiveness Report.
The IMD World Competitiveness Report reviews four major factors such as economic efficiency, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure which are then divided into five sub-factors each.
Philippines, in particular, posted levels of improvement in terms of economic performance from 42nd to 31st, government efficiency from 32nd to 31st and business efficiency from 26th to 19th.
In its latest statement, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said that its goal is to move from the bottom-third of world rankings to the top-third by 2016.
“The country has been working so hard. The economy is moving and investments are growing. We are happy with the improvement. Within 2014 to 2016, Philippines will be moving up to the top third,†NCC private sector co-chairman Guillermo Luz told The FREEMAN.
Based on the 2013 report, Philippines currently takes the position in the middle-third of the list and out of the bottom-third position in previous years.
NCC cited that the double-digit improvement in economic performance could be attributed to the real growth of the Gross Domestic Product, exports of goods and international trade.
The 6.6 percent Philippine GDP growth last year that boosted the overall productivity growth of the country registered the second highest both in Asia and in the latest World Competitiveness Yearbook report.
Luz further commended the “extremely high†cooperation level both from the government and private sector in attaining the progressive ranking for the Philippines in terms of global competitiveness.
He then expressed optimism that the country shall maintain its high growth performance and improve on areas that it needs to work out in the years ahead.
“Overall, the Philippines is moving in the right direction and its improved rankings in growth rates are a reflection of this. We are confident that the pace will continue to pick up. The release of strong first quarter 2013 figures of 7.8% GDP growth is an indication that the momentum continues for the Philippines,†NCC stated.
NCC is a public-private sector body dedicated to building up the long-term competitiveness of the Philippines through policy reforms, project implementation, institution-building, performance monitoring and goal-setting./JOB (FREEMAN)