WB reports improvement in Vietnam’s ease of doing business score
WB reports improvement in Vietnam’s ease of doing business score
Vietnam’s efforts to enhance its business climate is reaping positive results, with its score on the ease of doing business rising to 69.8 points versus last year’s score of 68.6, according to the World Bank (WB) Group’s latest Doing Business 2020 study.
Among the 190 economies involved in the study, Vietnam secured the 70th spot on the ease of Doing Business ranking, dropping one notch compared to a year ago. In the ASEAN region, it was preceded by Singapore (2nd), Malaysia (12th), Thailand (21st) and Brunei Darussalam (66th).
The global lender ranked the economies based on 12 aspects of running a business: starting a business, arranging for construction permits, getting electricity connections, registering a property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency, employing workers and contracting with the government.
According to the study, Vietnam saw its scores inching up in five areas: starting a business, arranging for construction permits, getting electricity connections, getting credit and paying taxes. Among these, the country received excellent scores for its significant improvements in getting credit and paying taxes.
Vietnam improved access to credit information by distributing data from retailers, giving it an extra five points. It also made tax payment easier by upgrading the information technology infrastructure used by the General Department of Taxation and recording the tax paid indicator, pushing it to 69 points from the previous 61.
The study also revealed the 10 economies that improved the most on the ease of doing business after adopting regulatory reforms. They are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria. These economies adopted a total of 59 regulatory reforms between May 2018 and May 2019, accounting for one-fifth of all the reforms recorded worldwide. Their efforts focused primarily on the areas of starting a business, arranging for construction permits and trading across borders.
Economies in the East Asia and Pacific region carried out 33 regulatory reforms, including two by Vietnam.
“The reform impetus in the East Asia and Pacific region continues, with significant improvements made by some economies, such as China,” said Rita Ramalho, senior manager of the World Bank’s Global Indicators Group, which produces the study. “Sustained progress is key to improving the domestic business climate and supporting private enterprises.”
Overall, the 190 economies carried out 294 business-climate-enhancing reforms over the past year to make doing business easier for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, based on global standards.
Doing Business 2020 is the 17th in a series of annual studies investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it.
