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183 nations, mainly because of slower reforms, said the Doing
Business 2010 report released globally yesterday. The slip came
despite three major reforms undertaken in the reported period (June
2008 to May 2009) , it said. "Despite successful reforms in the three
areas, the country slipped a few places in the global ranking. This
is because these reforms were not aggressive enough," said Syed
Akhtar Mahood, senior programme manager of Bangladesh Investment
Climate Fund, managed by International Finance Corporation (IFC), at
the launch of the report. The World Bank explains that Bangladesh has
reformed in three areas, but other countries have done more. This is
the seventh 'Doing Business' report published jointly by the WB and
IFC. The report helps both local and foreign businesses understand
business regulations in a country. Among South Asian nations, Pakistan
tops the list with the 85 th position, followed by the Maldives at
87 , Sri Lanka at 105 , Nepal at 123 , Bhutan at 126 , India at 133
and Afghanistan at 160. Of the 183 countries considered for this
year's report, a record 133 nations carried out over 200 reforms.
The report covers 10 indicators affecting businesses -- dealing with
construction permits, employing workers, registering property,
getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across
borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. Bangladesh has
been recognised as the most active reformer in South Asia,
implementing three reforms -- introduction of an online company
registration system, corporate income tax cuts and expedited
cross-border trade by automating customs clearance systems. The
report said Bangladesh has simplified business start-up by
implementing an online company registration system, reducing the time
required from 35 days to just a day. Bangladesh also reduced the
corporate income tax rate from 40 percent to 37.5 percent, while
increasing the capital gains tax rate from 5 percent to 15 percent.
The time required to acquire a bonded warehouse was reduced by three
months, while the time needed to register property dropped by nearly
200 days. Trade was expedited by an automation of customs clearance
at the Chittagong Port as it condensed the time required to clear
goods, the report mentioned. However, the report suggests Bangladesh
needs to adopt a more strategic and institutionalised approach to
regulatory reforms to keep up with an increasingly competitive global
environment where other countries are reforming fast. "To ensure the
country retains its competitive edge, Bangladesh needs to spread its
reforms across more regulatory areas," said Mahmood in a
videoconference from Nepal. He said the reforms need to be deeper and
implementation faster. "So it is vital for Bangladesh to strengthen
the Regulatory Reform Commission," he added. Of the other South Asian
nations, India improved its score on the 'closing a business'
indicator by taking steps to ease resolution of insolvency cases.
Nepal lowered property transfer costs. Pakistan eased business
start-up procedures by introducing an e-service registration system,
while Sri Lanka improved its access to finance indicator. For the
first time, a Sub-Saharan African economy, Rwanda, led the world in
'Doing Business' reforms in seven out of 10 indicators. The Arab
Republic of Egypt, Liberia, Moldova, the Kyrgyz Republic and
Tajikistan joined Rwanda on the list of global top reformers.
Singapore topped the list for the fourth consecutive time, followed
by New Zealand in the second and Hong Kong in the third position.
