THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday pledged more business and capital market reforms following the Philippines’ reclassification by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country (UMIC) — saying the milestone strengthens its investment appeal.
SEC Chairman Francis Lim said the agency would continue measures to streamline the ease of doing business and deepen capital markets.
“The Philippines’ entry to the upper-middle-income category is a testament to the government’s overall efforts to drive and sustain economic growth despite downward pressures brought by global and local challenges,” Lim said, adding that the SEC will continue helping more businesses formalize and expand to create sustainable jobs.
The World Bank announced on July 1 that the Philippines had moved from lower-middle to upper-middle-income status after its gross national income per capita rose to $4,850 — above the $4,636 threshold.
The SEC attributed the reclassification to broad-based growth, with gross domestic product expanding an average 5.8 percent annually from 2021 to 2025.
Over the past five years, the corporate regulator said it introduced stricter processing timelines and digitalized registration and filing systems, helping sign up 232,524 new companies with P618.16 billion in capital — including a record 52,544 registrations in 2024.
It also expanded fundraising through new investment products and streamlined securities registration, with P712.22 billion raised in the stock market and P1.75 trillion via corporate bonds during the period.
The SEC said it is now drafting rules on market making and reforms to the public offering framework for debt securities to improve liquidity and align with international standards.