The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it has received special citations from the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) for its efforts toward improving the ease of doing business in the country.
In the Ease of Doing Business Summit held earlier in May, ARTA recognized the SEC as a “Doing Business Competitiveness Ranking Mover” for instituting the most number of reforms considered in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2020 Report.
In its citation, ARTA mentioned the measures adopted by the SEC toward protecting minority investors, which served as “Big Impact Indicator” and “Most Improved Indicator” of ease of doing business in the Philippines, based on the World Bank’s report.
“We thank the ARTA for recognizing the efforts of the hardworking men and women of the SEC to provide efficient business registration services to the public,” SEC Chairman Emilio B. Aquino said.
“We share this recognition with other government agencies, which enthusiastically agreed to partner with us, make the necessary adjustments on their end, and help in the overall implementation of our streamlining initiatives.” The Philippines ranked 95th in the 2020 Doing Business Report, jumping 29 places from 124th in 2019, with a score of 62.8.
The World Bank annually compares and ranks business regulations in 190 economies based on 10 ease-of-doing-business indicators. The 2020 report showed the Philippines making improvements in three areas—on starting a business, dealing with construction permits and on protection of minority investors.
The SEC helped push the Philippines’s ranking in the Doing Business Report, particularly in the protection of minority investor indicator, by requiring greater disclosure of transactions with interested parties and director liability for transactions with interested parties.
The removal of the minimum capital requirement for domestic companies, pursuant to Republic Act 11232, or the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, also helped make setting up businesses in the country easier, according to the World Bank.
ARTA also recognized the digital initiatives of the SEC, such as the Electronic Simplified Processing of Application for Registration of Company or eSPARC, which unified the agency’s online business registration portals.
The eSPARC is integrated with the Central Business Portal, the government’s one-stop shop for company registration processes and other online business transactions. It also allows for online and cashless payments through the Electronic System for Payments to the SEC (eSPAYSEC).
“We will continue instituting reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business in the country, as we uphold our promise that it’s easy at SEC,” Aquino said.
“In close cooperation with other agencies and its stakeholders, we will remain an active and prime contributor to the government’s overall effort to make business transactions in the country easier and more accessible.”
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