--By TC Correspondent

 

Over the past year, Nepal made rules and provisions that has made it much easier to start a new business, says a World Bank Group report. According to the report published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on 29th October, the administrative and processing time hassles at the Office of the Company Registrar (OCR) have been reduced significantly. “This was achieved by reducing administrative processing times at the company registrar and establishing data links between agencies involved in the incorporation process,” states the report. 

 

The report entitled ‘Doing Business 2014: Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises’ ranks Nepal 105th out of 189 global economies. Nepal ranked 108th last year. In terms of helping create a better environment for local entrepreneurs, Nepal ranks third in the eight South Asian economies surveyed, surpassed only by Sri Lanka and Maldives. The country’s rank in Starting a Business topic is 97, compared to 103 in 2013. “A congenial business environment is important for Nepal’s economic growth”, said Val S. Bagatsing, IFC Resident Representative in Nepal. “We are encouraged by the rapid pace of reform in Nepal which will attract more investment and create jobs in the country.” The report benchmarks performance of economies in ten indicators: starting a business, availability of electricity, availability of credit, dealing with construction permits, property registration, protection of investors, tax provisions, trans-border trading, contract enforcements and resolving insolvency. 

 

The IFC report finds that South Asia leads the world in implementing business regulatory reforms in 2012/13. Six of eight economies in the region completed 11 reforms simplifying the process of starting a business, strengthening access to credit, or easing the process for paying taxes. Sri Lanka was the best performing economy in the South Asia region securing 85th position whereas India ranked 134th in the index followed by Bhutan (141) and Afghanistan (164). Similarly, Maldives, Pakistan and Bangladesh secured 95th, 110th and 130th positions respectively. 

 

Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business. Similarly, Hong Kong, China, New Zealand, United States, Denmark, Malaysia, Republic of Korea, Georgia, Norway, and the United Kingdom secured the top 10 spot of economies with the most business-friendly regulations. Meanwhile, Libya (187), Central African Republic (188) and Chad (189) were lowest ranking economies in the index.