Philippines competitive ranking up by 5 notches
Thursday, May 30, 2013
MANILA -- The Philippines' competitiveness ranking climbed by five notches to No. 38 this year from No. 43 in 2012, removing the country out of the bottom-third position in prior years, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) said on Thursday.
The IMD Competitiveness Report of a Switzerland-based institution reviewed 60 economies around the world based on four major factors - economic efficiency, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. Each factor is further divided into five sub-factors.
"Our goal is to move from the bottom-third of world rankings to the top-third by 2016. The 2013 report now places the Philippines in the middle-third of the list and out of the bottom-third position in prior years," said Guillermo Luz, the Private Sector Co-Chairman of the NCC.
Compared to the other countries in Asia Pacific, the Philippines ranked 11th, up from 13th in 2011 and 2012, after overtaking Indonesia and India.
The Philippines is ranked 4th out of five ASEAN economies reviewed in the report but registered the largest gain over the last year.
The Philippines improved its ranking in three out of the four factors –economic performance (from 42nd to 31st), government efficiency (from 32nd to 31st), and business efficiency (from 26th to 19th).
Overall, the Philippines is moving in the right direction and its improved rankings in growth rates are a reflection of this, Luz said.
"Since we still lag in actual levels of performance across a number of key fronts (e.g., investments, trade, and others), it is absolutely critical for us to maintain momentum and a pace of improvement that is faster than that of our major competitors," he said.
"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," Luz added.
For its part, Malacanang welcomed the improvement on the country's competitiveness ranking, vowing to continue to work hard in order for the country to be more competitive.
"It's very good...for one, the agencies and the departments that are involved in the economic cluster have been undertaking discussions on how to improve our ranking, and we hope that this continues to go up," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a news briefing.
She expressed hope that the country's jump in the competitiveness report as well as the 7.8 percent economic growth rate during the first quarter of this year and the investment grade given to the Philippines by three international credit rating agencies could encourage more investors into the country.
"You know, when you take all these factors together, it gives you the picture and it is very encouraging also when foreign investors see that to come and give our country another shot," she said. (SDR/Sunnex)
Philippines competitive ranking up by 5 notches | Sun.Star