Yes, doing business is getting more and more fun in the Philippines, a recent global report showed.
Recent governance reforms are seen to have boosted the country's competitiveness this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said Wednesday, noting however that "many weaknesses remain to be addressed."
The Philippines ranked 65th out of 144 countries in the WEF Global Competitiveness Report 2012, up from being 75th out of 142 countries in the 2011 list.
"Ranked 65th, the Philippines is one of the countries showing the most improvement in this year's edition. Indeed, it has advanced 22 places since reaching its lowest mark in 2009," the report said.
This marks three consecutive years of improve global competitiveness for the Philippines. It ranked 85th in 2010 and 87th in 2009.
The country, however, remained behind most of its Southeast Asian neighbors in this year's list.
The Philippines is the third least competitive country in ASEAN based on the report, lagging behind Singapore, which ranked second globally; Malaysia;, 25th; Brunei, 28th; Thailand, 38th; and Indonesia, 50th.
Only Vietnam (75th) and Cambodia (85th) were below the Philippines in the list.
The Philippines has a Global Competitiveness Index score of 4.23 points in the report, which the WEF said "aims to mirror the business operating environment and competitiveness of over 140 economies worldwide."
The Philippines posted gains in 11 out of the 12 "pillar of competitiveness."
Improvements in public institutions highly contributed to the rise in rankings this year, the report said, as the Philippines jumped 23 places to ranking 94th in this area in 2012.
"The perception is that corruption and red tape are finally being addressed decisively, even though they remain pervasive," te WEF said.
The country also posted improvements in infrastructure; macroeconomic environments; higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labor market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.
