Vol. XXI, No. 213-A [ Business World Online ]
Saturday, May 31, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
Taguig is planning to make its services available online to help ease business processes for would-be investors and improve the city’s competitiveness.
In a statement, Taguig Mayor Sigfrido R. Tinga vowed to institute more reforms after the International Finance Corp., the World Bank’s private sector arm, cited his city as one of most business-friendly cities in the country in its 2008 Doing Business in the Philippines report.
In particular, he said Taguig is laying the groundwork for its Integrated Systems Information Software or ISIS that will make all government services available online.
The city government is also working to link Taguig to the Trade department’s Philippine Business Registry, an online system aimed at streamlining business procedures in the country.
The 2008 Doing Business in the Philippines report, which identified challenges to doing business in 21 Philippine cities, cited Taguig, Makati, and Mandaluyong as among the country’s most business-friendly cities, requiring the least number of procedures to open a new business, secure permits, and transfer property titles.
Opening a business is the easiest in Taguig, where 15 procedures take only 27 days to complete, followed by the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Marikina, Cebu, and Mandaluyong.
San Juan, Pasig, and Davao require the most procedures for start-ups — up to 23 — taking anywhere from 35 to 42 days to complete.
On the average, it takes 18 steps and 35 days to start a business in a Philippine city, about the same as in China.
Taguig ranks the same as Mexico and Chile, but still "far from the top performer, Australia, where a start-up takes only two days." — Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo
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