PHL global competitiveness up

THE Philippines remains on track to be in the top one-third in global competitiveness rankings because of continued improvement in ease of doing business in the country, according to the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).

“In the report of Doing Business by the World Bank and the International Finance Corp., we are now at 108 over 189, compared to 138 from last year. My goal is for the country to be in the top 50 of the world, and this is achievable by 2016,” said Guillermo M. Luz, co-chairman of the NCC, at the sidelines of a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) event early this week.

Luz disclosed that the recent move by the DTI to automate the entire process of registering business names contributes to making the “starting a business” process easier. The process is the first step in the cycle of business operation.

The 10 processes of a business life cycle, according to the NCC, are starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

The World Bank and the International Finance Corp. consider all 10 processes of business operations, among other factors, in measuring the ease of doing business in a country.

Of these processes, the areas that still need improvement, according to Luz are: paying taxes, dealing with construction permits and getting credit information.

The Department of Trade and Industry recently launched the e-payment facility of the Philippine Business Registry System, which placed the entire process of business registration and renewal, from application to payment, online.

The Philippine Business Registry System caters to the registration of “single proprietary enterprises” which are micro, small and medium enterprises that comprise 85 percent of all enterprises in the country.

“Now that the single proprietary module is fixed, we are focusing on the ‘incorporation’ module, which requires registration with several agencies, including Securities and Exchange Commission, Pag-IBIG and PhilHealth. If we can do the same and automate this module, we can move up faster,” Luz added.

The incorporation module refers to the process of registration of big business entities that register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as corporations, partnerships and associations.

Commenting on another competitiveness report by the World Economic Forum, Luz acknowledges that the Philippines was lagging at 108 out of 148 in the infrastructure-development indicator.

Infrastructure covers roads, ports, airports, rails, power and telecommunication. Luz concedes that the Philippines ranks the lowest in airports and that the whole sector needs to improve. –Catherine N. Pillas, Businessmirror