Port Louis, Mauritius, November 12, 2008
—A new report from IFC and the World Bank finds that some of the world’s small island states are creating more opportunity for local businesses through regulatory reforms that help boost competitiveness and set standards worldwide for good practice.
Doing Business in Small Island Developing States
2009, the second in a series, examines the performance of 33 small island states based on the
Doing Business
indicators and compares the regulatory environment for business in these economies. The report finds that Singapore is the easiest place in the world to do business, while Mauritius, St. Lucia, and Fiji are leading the way in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, respectively. The Dominican Republic is this year’s top small-island reformer as well as a top-10 reformer globally.
Svetlana Bagaudinova, author of the report, said, “Better business regulations give firms more opportunities to grow and create jobs, which is critical for small island states that have to overcome challenges posed by size and distance. Being small can even be an advantage because reform can happen faster and deliver results sooner.”
Small states with lagging regulatory environments can learn from each other. Mauritius, which ranks 24
th
on the ease of doing business globally, is an example of how a sustained, high-level commitment to reform can transform the business environment and deliver results. Over the past two years, Mauritius has enjoyed a steady increase in the annual growth rate, from 2.2 percent in 2005 to 5.4 percent in 2007. Also, unemployment has dropped from 9.6 percent in 2005 to 8.5 percent in 2007.
Thordur Gudjonsson, Director of Iceland’s Department of International Development, said, “Small island economies need global integration, regional cooperation, and to share good practices in regulatory reform to better compete in the world economy. This report is a road map on business regulatory reforms tailored to their specific needs and challenges.”
The report was launched today in Mauritius at an event jointly hosted by the Ministry of Development and Empowerment and the Board of Investment of Mauritius, and sponsored by the Iceland government, IFC, USAID, and the World Bank.
About the Doing Business Project
The Doing Business project ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that record the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. For more information, visit
www.doingbusiness.org
.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
