MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Wednesday welcomed the Philippines’ improvement in ranking in the 2019 World Competitiveness Yearbook released by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement that the country’s higher ranking “augurs well for the country and our economy.”
“There is an emerging investor confidence in our country. It shows our trade environment remains attractive and viable to foreign businesses,” he said.
From last year’s 50th spot, the Philippines jumped to — and is now ranked— 46th in terms of competitiveness, measured by using four factors, to wit: economic performance; government efficiency; business efficiency and infrastructure.
“We improved in all four,” Panelo said.
The Palace official attributed the improved ranking to “the strong and effective style of governance by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”
“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,” he said.
According to its website, the IMD World Competitiveness Rankings, established in 1989, incorporate 235 indicators from each of the 63 ranked economies.
The ranking takes into account a wide range of “hard” statistics such as unemployment, GDP and government spending on health and education, as well as “soft” data from an Executive Opinion Survey covering topics such as social cohesion, globalization and corruption.
Singapore topped the list of the world’s most competitive economy for the first time, dislodging the United States which slipped to the third spot behind Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China. Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates completed the top five.
Saudi Arabia was this year’s biggest climber, jumping 13 places from 39th to 26th place, while Venezuela, which is hit by inflation, poor access to credit and a weak economy, remains anchored to the bottom of the ranking.
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