MANILA - The Philippines is one of the most difficult places in the world to do business, according to a survey conducted by the World Bank.

In its annual survey on the ease of doing business, the World Bank said the Philippines only ranked 144th out of 183 countries. In the previous year, the country placed 141st.

Called the "Doing Business 2010: Reforming through Difficult Times," the survey was conducted from June 2008 to May 2009. The Philippines ranked above 100 in 9 out of 10 factors measured in the survey:

• ease in starting a business: 162

• dealing with construction permits: 111

• employing workers: 115

• registering property: 102

• getting credit - 127

• protecting investors: 132

• paying taxes: 135

• trading across borders: 68

• enforcing contracts: 118

• closing a business: 153

Singapore maintained its top spot from last year, followed by New Zealand, Hong Kong, United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and Norway.

On the other hand, Central African Republic landed at the 183rd place, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Republic of the Congo, Chad, Venezuela RB, Burundi, Eritrea, and Niger.

A drop in the country's ranking does not necessarily mean its business climate worsened. It could mean that other economies posted improvements in their economies, causing the Philippines to lag behind.

"The past year was a tough one for doing business. Firms around the world had to cope with the effects of a financial crisis that started in rich economies but led to a global economic downturn," the World Bank said in a statement.

The World Bank cited the Philippines for enhancing access to credit and for cutting the corporate income tax rate to 30% from 35%. The multilateral lender said the country has also promoted company reorganization procedures by introducing pre-packaged reorganizations and regulating the receiver profession.

"Despite the many challenges, in 2008/09 more governments implemented regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business than in any year since 2004, when Doing Business started to track reforms through its indicators," the World Bank said.

The World Bank said a record 131 economies instituted reforms to improve their business climates. This is more than 70% of the 183 countries covered by the survey, the largest in any year since the annual report was first published in 2004.

"And this progress came against the backdrop of a global economic crisis," the World Bank said.