Laos climbing ease of doing business rankings
Laos climbing ease of doing business rankings
Laos has continued to improve its business environment over the past year, which is now ranked 134 out of 189 economies, according to a new World Bank Group report finding this week.
For the 10th consecutive year, Singapore ranks number one in the world on the World Bank Group's annual ease of doing business measurement. Also among the top 20 economies are New Zealand (ranked 2), Republic of Korea (4), Hong Kong of China (5), Taiwan of China (11), Australia (13) and Malaysia (18).
Released this week, “Doing Business 2016: Measuring Quality and Efficiency” finds that East Asia and the Pacific is the second most represented region, after Europe, in the world's top 20 economies. Moreover, a majority of economies in East Asia and the Pacific are undertaking reforms to further improve the regulatory environment for small and medium-d enterprises. During the past year, 52 percent of the region's 25 economies implemented 27 reforms to make it easier to do business.
Using comparable methodology, Laos is ranked 134 among 189 economies in 2015, compared with 139 in 2014. The country improved access to credit information which is important for banks to make better decisions on lending and containing their risks.
In the future, Laos will have the opportunity to improve its business climate further by improving access to reliable electricity and by eliminating the requirement for a company seal to register a business.
World Bank Country Manager for the Lao PDR Sally Burningham said “The Lao PDR has ma de progress in reforming its business environment. Continuing reforms, such as easing the process of starting a new business, will assist Laos PDR to achieve its goal of graduating from Least Developed Country status by 2020.”
Economies across all income-groups carried out reforms, with Vietnam, Hong Kong and Indonesia leading the way. In Indonesia, for instance, an online system was introduced for paying social security contributions, facilitating tax payments.
Reforms in Vietnam included guaranteeing borrowers' rights to inspect their credit data and the newly-established credit bureau expanding borrower coverage.
Thanks to this extended coverage, which is on par with those in some high-income economies, a small business in Vietnam with a good financial history is now more likely to get credit as financial institutions can properly assess its cred itworthiness.
The highest number of reforms recorded in the past year was in the area of Starting a Business. Myanmar made the most improvement globally by eliminating the minimum capital requirement for local companies and by streamlining incorporation procedures, helping small enterprises save valuable time and resources. In Brunei Darussalam, which also reformed the incorporation process, the average time for starting a business fell to 14 days, compared to 104 days last year, as a result of improved online procedures, and simplified registration and post registration requirements.
However, even as East Asia and the Pacific economies are gradually converging towards regulatory best practices, challenges remain, particularly in the areas of Resolving Insolvency, Enforci ng Contracts and Registering Property. On Registering Property, it takes an average 74 days for an entrepreneur in East Asia and the Pacific to complete a property transfer, compared to the global average of 48 days.
