The Philippines has continued its advance in competitiveness in the latest annual report of the World Economic Forum, riding on the impact of reforms that have enabled the country to make the biggest gains among economies tracked since 2010.

The country ranked 52nd out of 144 economies this year -- up from 59th out of 148 in the previous survey -- in the Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015, which assessed markets against 12 “pillars of competitiveness” that drive productivity.

In its current position, the Philippines has already notched a steady improvement of 33 places since a 2009 plunge which the Forum noted was “the largest over that period among all countries studied.”

“The results suggest that the reforms of the four years have bolstered the country’s economic fundamentals,” it added.

“The trends across most of the 12 pillars are positive and, in some cases, truly remarkable.”

Switzerland remained the most competitive in the world for a sixth year, followed by Singapore, the United States, Finland, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Sweden.

At the bottom, in ascending order, were Guinea, Chad, Yemen, Mauritania, Angola, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Timor-Leste and Burkina Faso.

In Southeast Asia, the Philippines ranked behind Singapore, Malaysia (20th), Thailand (31st), and Indonesia (34th). Behind the Philippines were Vietnam (68th), Laos (93rd), Cambodia (95th), and Myanmar (134th).

Brunei Darussalam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Benin, Ecuador, and Liberia were excluded from this year’s report due to data availability issues.

The Forum said that the Philippine government’s “recent success... in tackling some of the most pressing structural issues provides evidence that bold reforms can yield positive results relatively quickly.”

GAINS VS. CORRUPTION

The trends were positive across most factors, the Forum noted, most notably in terms of institutions in which the country was said to have leapfrogged “some 50 places since 2010.”

“In particular, there are signs that the efforts made against corruption have started bearing fruit: in terms of ethics and corruption, the country has moved from 135th in 2010 to 81st this year,” the report noted.

Progress was likewise observed in terms of government efficiency (69th), protection of property rights (63rd), and technological adoption (69th).

“The country is one of the best digitally connected developing Asian nations, close behind Malaysia (60th) and Thailand (65th),” the report read.

The Philippines, however, still lagged behind in terms of infrastructure at 91st, albeit an improvement from last year’s 96th. This is especially true in terms of airports and seaports in which the country placed 108th and 101st, respectively.

Similarly, the country placed a “mediocre” 91st in terms of labor market efficiency, with the Forum noting that “almost no progress has been made since 2010.”

Lastly, security in the Philippines was still a cause for concern (89th), particularly in terms of costs that the threat of terrorism imposes on businesses (110th).

Guillermo M. Luz, National Competitiveness Council private sector co-chairman, welcomed the latest results but agreed that more needed to be done. “I am quite happy with the results,” Mr. Luz said in a text message.

“We’ve had great improvements in governance and macroeconomic management, but we still have lots of work and catching up to do in infrastructure, especially airports and ports.”

European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines executive vice-president Henry J. Schumacher shared this view, saying: “It’s good to see the improvement in the WEF (World Economic Forum) rating, which is also based on the assumption that the reforms initiated will be continued and accelerated.”

For his part, Management Association of the Philippines President Gregorio S. Navarro noted that while the result was good news, “we hope that the effects of the port congestion, truck ban, and other issues do not affect negatively the next WEF survey.”

The latest rankings were based on hard data and a poll conducted between February and June this year of over 14,000 business leaders worldwide. For the Philippines, a total of 120 executives were interviewed.

Source: Business World, 03 September 2014