S-E Asian nations move up competitiveness ranking

  Singapore remained the most competitive economy in the region and the second in the world for the fourth consecutive year, said the Global Competitiveness Report.

DPA/Manila

Japan and five South-East Asian countries were the biggest gainers of the Asia-Pacific region in this year’s competitiveness report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Singapore remained the most competitive in the region and the second in the world for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Global Competitiveness Report, released on Wednesday.

Japan was up three places to reach sixth position world-wide, and the second most competitive economy in the Asia-Pacific. Hong Kong, Taiwan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, China and Thailand rounded up the top 10 in the region, in that order.

Singapore “boasts one of the world’s best institutional frameworks and world-class infrastructure, with excellent roads, ports and air transport facilities,” said Thierry Geiger, an economist at the WEF.

Geiger noted that Japan posted “the largest improvement” of the top 10 Asia-Pacific economies, enjoying “a major competitive edge in business sophistication.”

“High R&D spending, excellent availability of talent, world-class research institutions and a high capacity to innovate are among Japan’s strengths,” he added. Malaysia, up four places to break into the top 20, remained the highest ranked among the developing Asian countries due to its strong performance in the financial markets as it pushes itself as the leading centre for Islamic finance, the report said.

“In a region plagued by corruption and red tape, Malaysia stands out as one of the very few countries that have been relatively successful at tackling these two issues,” Geiger noted.

Thailand advanced six places to 31st in the world, performing well on macroeconomics and the environment, despite concerns over political instability, corruption, red tape and security, the report said.

Data for the competitiveness ranking was collected before the May 2014 coup.

Outside the top 10 economies in Asia-Pacific, the other biggest movers were three economies of the Association of South-East Asian Nations – Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Philippines, which moved up seven notches in the global ranking, “is the most improved country overall since 2010,” the report said. Indonesia advanced four positions and Vietnam two places, it added.

The report said South Asian nations lag behind South-East Asian economies in competitiveness, with only India featuring in the top half of the global rankings. But India, which placed 71st in the world, slipped 11 positions from last year. “India’s economy is held back by poor health services and primary education, as well as by its weak transport and power infrastructure,” the report said.

Pakistan improved four ranks to 129th from last year, but the report noted that inadequate infrastructure, corruption and inefficient government bureaucracy remain the most problematic factors for business in the country.

“The security situation remains alarming and Pakistan is the third least safe of all countries covered,” the report added.