Bangkok, October 23, 2012—A new report from IFC and the World Bank finds that Thailand continues to provide one of the world’s most business-friendly regulatory environments for local entrepreneurs. The Republic of Korea is among the top 20 in the global ranking on the ease of doing business and Mongolia is the region’s top improver for the year in this year’s Doing Business report.
Released today, Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises notes that Thailand made paying taxes less costly by reducing the corporate profit tax.
“Government agencies in Thailand have been collaborating to promote a friendly business environment," said Annette Dixon, World Bank Country Director for Thailand. “This, along with other measures such as improving the quality of education and promoting innovation, will help Thailand attract investors and remain competitive."
Thailand has also made starting a business easier by allowing the registrar at the Department of Business Development to receive the company’s work regulations. This has reduced the number of procedures needed in registering a company in Thailand.
“Thailand continues its efforts to reduce the cost and time of doing business. This, combined with reforms aimed at improving skills and promoting greater competition in the services sector ,would promote greater investment and improve business operations,” said Kirida Bhaopichitr, World Bank Senior Economist for Thailand.
The Doing Business 2013 report, which covers the period from June 2011 to June 2012 and which uses data for indicators that measure regulation affecting 10 key areas of the life cycle of local businesses, finds that Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year, while Hong Kong SAR, China, holds onto the second spot.
The report finds that 23 economies in East Asia and the Pacific have made their regulatory environment more business-friendly since 2005. During that time, China made the greatest progress in improving business regulations for local entrepreneurs. The report also notes that 11 of 24 economies in East Asia and the Pacific improved business regulations in the past year.
Joining Singapore and Hong Kong SAR, China, on the list of the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulations are, in this order, New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Norway; the United Kingdom; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; and Australia.
About the Doing Business report series
Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and protecting investors. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 185 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 10th edition of the global Doing Business report series.
