MANILA - The head of a European business group on Tuesday said they have high hopes for the Ease of Doing Business Act but want to see further improvements to reduce bureaucracy in business. 

Nabil Francis, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), said the landmark law which was signed in May this year was "a very encouraging step" but European businessmen would like to see it "happening on the ground." 

Francis said that in terms of ease of doing business, the Philippines "still has a long way to go."

"We are moving but if the other countries are running, we also need to run," Francis said in an interview with ANC's Market Edge. 

He also said that despite the government's move to fully open other industries to foreign companies, they would like to see more sectors of the economy liberalized. 

This article was originally published in ABS-CBN News last December 04, 2018.