Philippine most improved country in Asia-Pacific for PPP readiness

has been recognized as most improved country in Asia-Pacific for PPP readiness in the recent report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, issued last April, entitled “Evaluating the environment for publicprivate partnerships in Asia-Pacific: The 2014 Infrascope.”

Ranked at number seven among the 21 countries included in the study, The Economist pointed out that the Philippines “recorded the most-improved regulatory and institutional frameworks” which is “the result of significant regulatory reform in recent years, new biddings and selection procedures, and better dispute resolution mechanisms”.

The PPP Center’s “wider role” in the implementation of the PPP program was also identified as a significant factor in the country’s improvement. It added that “institutional roles have been further streamlined under the new PPP regime”.

The Philippines was also recognized for its “improved investment climate and financial facilities.” As one of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region with one of the oldest Build-OperateTransfer (BOT) policies, “it has introduced a new sub-national regulatory framework,” the report mentioned.

It also highlighted the country’s efforts in sharing with other countries its experiences and good practices in implementing the PPP programme.

“The Philippines has used its increased capacity and transactional experience in recent years to promote capacity-building in emerging PPP markets within the region,” the report stated.

For the past years, foreign governments such as Vietnam, Bhutan, China, Tonga and other countries have visited the PPP Centre to study the Philippines’ PPP programme.

Officials of the Centre have also accepted several invitations in the Asia-Pacific Region to share and promote the programme and the PPP projects.

The overall results of the 2014 Asia Infrascope show country rankings are based on the weighted sum of the six category scores which are regulatory framework, institutional framework, operational maturity, investment climate, financial facilities and subnational adjustment.

In the 2011 study, the Philippines was categorized in the emerging PPP market groups and ranked number 8 with 47.1 overall scores. But this year it was moved up and is now a part of the “developed PPP markets group” and ranked number 7 with total 64.6 points. “This group includes the Republic of Korea, Japan, and India. It is one of the biggest improvers in the emerging market group of countries.”