FW: Bangladesh 3rd best business place in S Asia

(http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/09/07/d6090701044.htm)

Bangladesh 3rd best business place in S Asia
Says WB-IFC report
Star Report

Bangladesh is the third easiest country in which to do business in South Asia, although as a whole is lagging behind other parts of the world when it comes to reforms that could enhance business activity, says a World Bank-IFC (International Finance Corporation) report. The top ranked countries in the region are the Maldives (53) and Pakistan (74), followed by Bangladesh (88), Sri Lanka (89) and Nepal (100). India comes in at 134, Bhutan at 138 and Afghanistan at 162.
Bangladesh has undertaken steps to improve its business climate and one notable reform made recently was introduction of a new land registration act to improve security and reduce corruption in land transactions, says the report launched yesterday.

The report finds that the greatest remaining obstacles in the region are slow courts and rigid labor laws. For example, in Bangladesh, enforcing a simple commercial contract through the courts takes 50 procedures and 1,442 days. In Sri Lanka, an employer must pay 178 weeks in severance to dismiss a redundant worker. The Doing Business project is based on the efforts of more than 5,000 local experts, business consultants, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and leading academics around the world, who provided methodological support and review. It says doing business also became easier in India and Pakistan in 2005-2006. Five reforms in India and two in Pakistan reduced the time, cost, and hassle for businesses to comply with legal and administrative requirements. No other South Asian economy improved its business regulations in 2005-2006, ranking the region last in the pace of reforms.

The report titled "Doing Business 2007: How to Reform" says India, the top reformer in South Asia, implemented reforms to simplify business registration, cross-border trade, and payment of taxes, as well as easing access to credit and strengthening investor protection. Although the reforms improved India's ranking over last year's, it still ranks relatively low and lies 41 places after China, which is reforming at a faster pace than India. The top 10 reformers are, in order, Georgia, Romania, Mexico, China, Peru, France, Croatia, Guatemala, Ghana, and Tanzania.

The report also ranks 175 economies on the ease of doing business, covering 20 more economies than last year's report. These rankings highlight significant obstacles to business in South Asia, compared to countries around the world. The top 30 economies in the world are, in order, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong (China), the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Norway, Ireland, Japan, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Lithuania, Estonia, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Israel, St. Lucia, Chile, South Africa, and Austria.

The rankings track indicators of the time and cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation, trade, taxation, and closure. They do not track variables such as market size, macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.

Commenting on Bangladesh's reforms progress and ease of doing business situation, Christine Wallich, World Bank Country Director said: "We are committed to supporting the government's initiative to improving the business climate in Bangladesh that is essential to generate higher levels of investment and productivity."Wallich said the new Country Assistance Strategy of the World Bank focuses on four investment climate priorities for Bangladesh: a) maintaining macroeconomic stability, b) improving governance and efficiency in infrastructure, c) reducing trade restrictions and d) providing private-sector friendly finance, land, and labor market.

A number of on-going World Bank-supported projects of the Government of Bangladesh are designed to generate employment by improving the business climate as well as scaling up the private investment. These include: Bangladesh Central Bank Strengthening Project, Enterprise Growth and Bank Modernization Project, the Power Sector Development Technical Assistance Project and Economic Management Technical Assistance Program. Three proposed projects of the Government: 1) Private Sector Development Project, 2) Road Sector Reforms Project and 3) Export Infrastructure Development Project will also address improving the business environment issues.

PACE OF REFORMS
The report finds that the South Asia region ranks behind all others on the pace of reforms, with only a quarter of countries making at least one reform that improved the Doing Business indicators. And two -- Sri Lanka and the Maldives -- made doing business more difficult. Sri Lanka reintroduced stamp duty and levied a new tax on profits. Maldives now requires a mandatory two-month notice period before workers can be dismissed, a move that may especially discourage small business and the hiring of poor, low-killed, and young workers.

Doing Business allows policymakers to compare regulatory performance with other countries, learn from best practices globally, and prioritize reforms. The annual Doing Business updates have already had an impact. The analysis has inspired and informed at least 48 reforms around the world.