Asian Development Bank (ADB) is looking at funding the proposed USD500- million loan for the Philippines’ Business Environment Strengthening with Technology (BEST) Program to reduce regulatory burden and facilitate the country’s overall investment environment by transitioning to digital government processes.
Andrew Jeffries, ADB country director, told reporters covering the Arangkada Philippines Investment Forum 2025, the BEST program is expected for approval this calendar year.
Data from the ADB website showed that the proposed BEST program builds upon the government efforts to enhance and improve the business environment, leading to increased productivity, and competitiveness.
This will, in turn, facilitate, and drive private sector development and investment, stimulating job creation. The program is also expected to reduce regulatory burden and increase transparency, facilitate investment overall but with a focus on strategically important sectors, and advance the transition to digital government.
The program builds on earlier ADB support to enhance the business environment, including, the Increasing Competitiveness for Inclusive Growth Program, which sought to generate employment by increasing competitiveness in the economy; a series of financial sector development programs designed to increase the flow of credit to the private sector; the Post-COVID-19 Business and Employment Recovery Program that sought create sustainable employment opportunities through support to existing and emerging businesses; and the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program, which was designed to create fiscal space to increase productive investments and promote more inclusive and sustainable growth.
The program will also enable downstream investments in the renewable energy and information and communication technology (ICT) sectors by rationalizing the investment approval process.
The program is aligned with the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 and the 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda which have identified regulatory transparency and efficiency as a priority.
It also builds on the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act (Republic Act No. 11032) and will support implementation of Executive Order No. 18 (23 February 2023) which both seek to promote the Philippines as a top investment destination with a regulatory environment conducive to business operations.
The program is also aligned with ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for the Philippines, 2024-2029, which includes boosting economic competitiveness as a key strategic pillar and fostering digital transformation and strengthening governance as cross-cutting themes.
It will contribute to ADB’s private sector development (PSD) shift by through pillar 4 of ADB’s private sector development plan for the Philippines deepening digital enablement and ease of doing business and will adopt a whole-of-bank approach to addressing country-specific binding constraints to increase private sector contributions to economic growth and job creation.
The program will contribute to ADB’s Strategy 2030 and its midterm review. Following the Joint Multilateral Development Bank Methodological Approach for Assessment of Paris Agreement Alignment, the proposed operation has been assessed as aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
