PH slips 4 places to 52nd spot in competitiveness list

Pse Index Closing

By Othel V. Campos

THE Philippines dropped four places in the 2023 World Competitiveness Yearbook to rank 52nd among 64 economies this year.

WCY said the country fell from 48th spot in 2022 amid global inflation, public health crises, geopolitical concerns and other uncertainties.

The yearbook ranks economies using 255 ranked criteria spread across the four competitiveness factors of economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure.

The Philippines’ ranking fell in three of the four main dimensions of competitiveness. Its business efficiency factor slid to 40th in 2023 from 39th in 2022, while its infrastructure factor, which continues to be a perennial challenge for the Philippines, also dropped to 58th from 57th.

The country’s government efficiency factor suffered the biggest decline of four places to 52nd in 2023 from 48th in 2022. All the sub-factors under government efficiency suffered declines— public finance, from 51st in 2022 to 55th in 2023; tax policy, from 13th to 14th; institutional framework, from 53rd to 56th; business legislation, from 52nd to 57th; and societal framework,

PH, India sign MOU on fintech cooperation

THE Philippines signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding with India to enhance cooperation in the field of financial technology.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Ambassador of India to the Philippines

Shambhu Santha Kumaran signed the MOU at the Department of Finance office in Manila.

The MOU directs the constitution of a joint working group on fintech with the government of the Republic of India’s Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.

The creation of a joint working group is expected to facilitate inter-governmental discussions on the exchange of best practices to improve policies and regulatory connection, promote cooperation in the development of fintech solutions for business or financial sectors and develop international standards by encouraging the creation of an international version of Application Programming Interfaces.

“On the one hand, India is a rising economic powerhouse, with a forte in digital technology. On the other, the Philippines hosts a young and tech-savvy talent pool that can provide the intellectual capital needed to succeed in the digital economy. Clearly, the possibilities between our two economies are boundless,” Diokno said. Julito G. Rada

Wilcon Depot sees ‘muted’ sales growth

WILCON Depot Inc., a leading home improvement and construction supply retailer, said Monday it expects a “muted” sales growth this year coming from a high base last year as consumers discretional spending shifts to travel.

Wilcon investor relations head Jean Algier said the group’s aggressive store opening this year would also affect the company’s earnings as pre-operating expenses are frontloaded.

“We don’t want to promise that it will be another blockbuster year. Coming from high base in 2022, we are not expecting another spectacular growth. It will be a more muted growth for the topline,” Algier said.

Wilcon is looking beyond short-term fluctuations and continues to focus on expanding its store network, enhancing its product offerings and adapting its formats and merchandising to different markets, Algier said.

Wilcon plans to open 10 stores in 2023 to end the year with 93. The new stores, mostly the big depots, are located in Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Iligan City, Batangas, Bukidnon, Dasmarinas, Koronadal and two in Bacolod. Jenniffer B. Austria from 50th to 53rd.

Its economic performance factor improved by 13 places to 40th from 53rd in 2022. The sub-factors under this domain saw improvements in domestic economy, from 48th to 30th; employment, from 19th to 9th; and, prices, from 58th to 39th.

WCY said among the challenges the Philippines faces this year are sustaining economic recovery and growth momentum amid the global downside risks, strengthening social protection and health care systems for inclusive development, addressing learning gaps to improve local education system, investing in sustainable infrastructure to reduce climate change vulnerability and reinforcing efficient public management strategies to support fiscal responsibility.

The findings on 162 of the indicators were based on hard data gathered from national sources, while the rest are perception-based indicators derived from an executive opinion survey of mid and upper-level managers in each country covered.

This year’s results reflected the impact of different crises such as global inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, said World Competitiveness Centre director Arturo Bris.