Philippines drops slightly in competitive index

In the recently released World Competitiveness Yearbook, the Philippines has slipped a notch to 42nd from 41st out of 61 countries worldwide in terms of bribery and corruption, efficiency of customs authorities, human development and communications technology. The American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine remains optimistic on the Philippines and Amcham president Rick Santos said the Philippines still has solid economic fundamentals that will continue to attract investors. He added that despite the drop in ranking, the Philippines remains competitive in the business process outsourcing sector, especially in language and skills, compared to other markets such as India and Mexico. Santos met with other joint foreign chamber ambassadors recently to discuss the reforms being advocated in the seven policy notes that the Joint Foreign Chamber of the Philippines released in a previous forum in March. The policy notes detailed solid recommendations for developing specific key sectors, including BPO.