MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang has expressed elation Wednesday after the Philippines ranked 46th out of 63 countries in the 2019 World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), a four-place improvement from last year’s 50th place.
In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the country’s improvement “augurs well” for the Philippine economy and conveys that “there is an emerging investor confidence in our country.”
“It shows our trade environment remains attractive and viable to foreign businesses,” he said.
Panelo added that the “strong and effective style” of President Rodrigo Duterte makes the Palace expect “further improvements” to take place.
The Palace official, citing the study, said the Philippines has improved on its economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.
“Putting premium on cutting down red tape and promoting ease in doing business while we begin to implement the nation’s most ambitious infrastructure program, Build-Build-Build, boost the government’s strategy for sustained and inclusive growth,” Panelo said.
“There is every reason to look forward to a bright future for our country’s economy and our people,” he added.
As compared to other Asia-Pacific countries in the survey, the Philippines, however, ranked second to the last, beating only Mongolia.
The five top-notchers in the region were Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Australia.
The improvement in the country’s ranking was attributed to the solid economic performance supported by sustained real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.2 percent in 2018 on top of the increase in labor force and employment levels. (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)
READ: PH competitiveness ranking remains low