Saturday September 13, 2008
ASIA FOCUS
Bangkok Post
East Asia offers some of the most attractive and least burdensome business environments, reports Umesh Pandey
As Asia becomes the top destination for many businesses, the East Asia and Asia Pacific, have been rated as among the most entrepreneur-friendly regulatory environments with the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea ranked in the top 50 countries with the best environment to do business.
As the 10-member Asean starts to compete with the likes of China and India for foreign direct investment, the regulatory environment in Asean countries has become far better than those in China and India, according to the World Bank.
China was ranked 83rd and India 122nd out of the 181 countries surveyed in the World Bank's Doing Business 2009 report released this week. As a result, Asean countries should be able to take comfort that they should receive their fair share of FDI given their better regulatory environments.
Singapore managed to maintain its top global ranking for the second year in a row for a superior regulatory environment that makes starting and operating a business in the country easy.
Among the Asean countries Thailand ranked second (and 13th worldwide), followed by Malaysia (20th globally). Brunei was in 88th place, Vietnam 92nd, Indonesia 129th, Cambodia 135th, the Philippines 140th place and Laos 165th place.
"The ranking of the nations is a good indicator for not just inflows of capital in to Thailand but for Thai entrepreneurs who are looking to invest outside Thailand as well, because this gives them a good idea of what the regulatory environments in various parts of the world look like and what are the areas that they may have to improve on," said Pimpapaan Chansilpa, chief inspector-general with the Commerce Ministry.
The World Bank said that the East Asia and the Pacific had the greatest momentum among regions in reforming business regulations this year.The survey identified 26 reforms between June 2007 and June 2008 that made it easier to do business in 24 economies across the region.
Among the world's large emerging markets, China led with reforms that made it easier to obtain credit, pay taxes, and enforce contracts.
The region's other top reformers included Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Improvements made it easier to pay taxes, start a business, trade across borders, and register property.
The World Bank said countries in Asia Pacific were among the world leaders in taking steps to protect investors, improve bankruptcy procedures, and strengthen the legal rights of creditors and borrowers. Cambodia's new secured transactions law made it the world's leading economy in easing access to credit.
Doing Business 2009 ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track 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.
"Countries in the region are clearly committed to reform agendas," said Dahlia Khalifa, a coauthor of the report. "Regardless of their stage of economic development, they are recognising the role that regulatory reform can play in staying competitive while boosting entrepreneurship and job creation," she added.
As Asia becomes the top destination for many businesses, the East Asia and Asia Pacific, have been rated as among the most entrepreneur-friendly regulatory environments with the likes of Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea ranked in the top 50 countries with the best environment to do business.
As the 10-member Asean starts to compete with the likes of China and India for foreign direct investment, the regulatory environment in Asean countries has become far better than those in China and India, according to the World Bank.
China was ranked 83rd and India 122nd out of the 181 countries surveyed in the World Bank's Doing Business 2009 report released this week. As a result, Asean countries should be able to take comfort that they should receive their fair share of FDI given their better regulatory environments.
Singapore managed to maintain its top global ranking for the second year in a row for a superior regulatory environment that makes starting and operating a business in the country easy.
Among the Asean countries Thailand ranked second (and 13th worldwide), followed by Malaysia (20th globally). Brunei was in 88th place, Vietnam 92nd, Indonesia 129th, Cambodia 135th, the Philippines 140th place and Laos 165th place.
"The ranking of the nations is a good indicator for not just inflows of capital in to Thailand but for Thai entrepreneurs who are looking to invest outside Thailand as well, because this gives them a good idea of what the regulatory environments in various parts of the world look like and what are the areas that they may have to improve on," said Pimpapaan Chansilpa, chief inspector-general with the Commerce Ministry.
The World Bank said that the East Asia and the Pacific had the greatest momentum among regions in reforming business regulations this year.The survey identified 26 reforms between June 2007 and June 2008 that made it easier to do business in 24 economies across the region.
Among the world's large emerging markets, China led with reforms that made it easier to obtain credit, pay taxes, and enforce contracts.
The region's other top reformers included Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Improvements made it easier to pay taxes, start a business, trade across borders, and register property.
The World Bank said countries in Asia Pacific were among the world leaders in taking steps to protect investors, improve bankruptcy procedures, and strengthen the legal rights of creditors and borrowers. Cambodia's new secured transactions law made it the world's leading economy in easing access to credit.
Doing Business 2009 ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track 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.
"Countries in the region are clearly committed to reform agendas," said Dahlia Khalifa, a coauthor of the report. "Regardless of their stage of economic development, they are recognising the role that regulatory reform can play in staying competitive while boosting entrepreneurship and job creation," she added.
