Singapore is No. 2 easiest place to set up business
It ranks after New Zealand in World Bank report on 155 countries
By Erica Tay, Straits Times
IF YOU are picking a place to set up a business, you could do a lot worse than choose Singapore, according the World Bank.
Creating Jobs, examined how business-friendly the regulatory environment was in 155 countries.
Besides low taxes, Singapore also stood out for its embrace of electronic government, said one of the report's authors. Businesses face far less red tape here because they can perform a variety of regulatory steps online, from applying for a business licence to getting clearance for imports.
For example, it takes only eight days and two signatures to clear imports from the time they arrive at the port, to their delivery to a company's Singapore premises.
But doing the same in Laos takes importers 78 days and 28 signatures - if they go strictly by the book.
However, New Zealand pipped Singapore in terms of corporate governance, scoring 9.7 on the good governance index compared with Singapore's 9.3.
The report pointed out that East Asian economies such as Laos, China and Taiwan lagged behind in introducing reforms to help small- and medium-sized business generate jobs. This was in stark contrast to Eastern European countries, which have been 'aggressively courting entrepreneurs with far-reaching reforms that streamline business regulations and taxes'.
'Jobs are a priority for every country and especially the poorest countries,' said World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz.
'Doing more to improve regulation and help entrepreneurs is key to creating more jobs and growth.'
Speaking from Washington DC, World Bank Group senior economist Caralee McLeish said progress had been made by many Asian countries in slashing red tape but much was left to be done.
She noted that having simpler regulations and focusing them where they count are better for business. A maze of cumbersome procedures does not make the private sector better-regulated, but increases the incentive to cut corners and do things 'informally'.
'Cumbersome entry procedures are associated with more corruption, particularly in developing countries,' Dr McLeish said. 'Each procedure is a point of contact - an opportunity to extract a bribe.'
From getting a business permit to clearing an incoming shipment through Customs, there is no easier or faster place in Asia.
Singapore has been ranked second in
an ease-of-doing-business study by the World Bank Group, with New Zealand at No.1. The United States is third, followed by Canada and Norway.
The report, Doing Business In 2006:
Top 10 on the list
1. New Zealand
2. Singapore
3. United States
4. Canada
5. Norway
6. Australia
7. Hong Kong
8. Denmark
9. United Kingdom
10. Japan
Source: The World
Bank
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