The Philippines landed at 53rd out of 101 economies in the World Bank Group’s 2025 Business-Ready (B-READY) Report, placing the country squarely at the midpoint of an expanded global ranking and signaling steady reform momentum.
The World Bank and the Philippine government are moving forward with a landmark agreement that could reshape the country’s agriculture sector. At a recent meeting, agriculture secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. and World Bank country director Zafer Mustafaoglu reviewed the progress of the Philippine Sustainable Agricultural Transformation (PSAT) loan program, with the goal of finalizing the USD1 billion loan agreement in July.
The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private investment arm of the World Bank, has appointed Riccardo Puliti as its new Regional Vice President for Asia and the Pacific.
The Philippine steel industry remains cautiously optimistic despite slowing construction activity, pinning its long-term growth hopes on the government's infrastructure pipeline and a long-awaited industry roadmap aimed at strengthening domestic manufacturing.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Finance (DOF) have approved the lifting of the moratorium under Administrative Order (AO) 18, clearing the way for more office developments to qualify as Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) economic zones and expanding location options for information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) investors.
The Philippines is accelerating talks on two major trade fronts, aiming to conclude an updated economic partnership agreement with Japan by November while edging closer to a free trade deal with Canada as the Marcos administration pushes to expand export markets and attract more investments.