PH drops in world competitiveness ranking

PH drops in world competitiveness ranking


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines fell two notches in the latest IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook from 41 to 43.


The Philippines is now in the bottom third of the 59 countries covered by the report, which is done by the Switzerland-based global business school IMD.


Aside from the Philippines, 3 other Asean countries - Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia - slipped in their rankings.


Guillermo Luz, co-chairman of the National Competitiveness Council, attributed the decline in ranking to the lower-than-expected performance in the economy and international trade last year.


Last year, the Philippine economy grew only by 3.7%


"These performances reflected the difficulties experienced domestically with respect to institutional adjustments in public spending and procurement processes as well as internationally with respect to a tough global business environment," he said.


Quoting from the report, Luz said the Philippines was cited for improvements in public finance, fiscal policy, institutional framework and business efficiency last year.


The Philippines' ranking in public finance management rose by 9 ranks, while fiscal policy improved by 2 ranks. Ranking in business efficiency also went up 5 ranks.


Luz said these improvements have showed that the government's reforms particularly in governance and public finance have been gaining traction.


"The data captures last year's performance. The good news is that adjustments have been made and are now being felt in this year's first quarter 2012 figures," he said.