Washington, D. C., October 29, 2013—
A World Bank Group report says that Nepal, over the past year, made it much easier to start a new business.
The report,
Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises,
released here today says this was achieved by reducing administrative processing times at the company registrar and establishing data links between agencies involved in the incorporation process.
The report
finds that South Asia leads the world in implementing business regulatory reforms in 2012/13. Six of eight economies in the region completed 11 reforms simplifying the process of starting a business, strengthening access to credit, or easing the process for paying taxes.
The report ranks Nepal 105th out of 189 global economies, up by three places since last year. In terms of helping create a better environment for local entrepreneurs, Nepal ranks third in the eight South Asian economies surveyed, surpassed only by Sri Lanka and Maldives.
“A congenial business environment is important for Nepal’s economic growth”, said Val S. Bagatsing, IFC Resident Representative in Nepal. “We are encouraged by the rapid pace of reform in Nepal which will attract more investment and create jobs in the country.”
Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business. Joining it on the list of the top 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulations are Hong Kong SAR, China, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Georgia, Norway, and the United Kingdom.
In addition to the global rankings, every year
Doing Business
reports the economies that have improved the most on the indicators since the previous year. The 10 economies topping that list this year are (in order of improvement) Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Kosovo, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, Macedonia, and Guatemala. Yet challenges persist: five of this year’s top improvers—Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, the Philippines, and Ukraine—are still in the bottom half of the global ranking on the ease of doing business.
About the
Doing Business
report series
The joint World Bank and IFC flagship
Doing Business
report
analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 189 economies.
Doing Business
does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies. This year’s report marks the 11
th
edition of the global
Doing Business
report series and covers 189 economies. For more information about the
Doing Business
reports, please visit doingbusiness.org and join us on doingbusiness.org/Facebook.
About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association, which together form the World Bank; the International Finance Corporation; the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency; and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world. For more information, please visit
www.worldbank.org
,
www.miga.org
, and
www.ifc.org
.
Regional Media Contacts:
South Asia
Minakshi Seth +91 (11) 4111-1058 Gabriela Aguilar +1 (202) 473-6768
E-mail: mseth@ifc.org E-mail: gaguilar2@worldbank.org
