ZCZC
BCN-24
S.ASIA-ECONOMY-WORLDBANK-REPORT
South Asian economies improve ease of doing business: WB report
DHAKA, Nov. 2, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Economies in the South Asian region
have made gains to improve the ease of doing business for domestic small and
medium enterprises, according to a World Bank (WB) report released here
Thursday.
The report entitled “Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform” noted that
Afghanistan and India were ranked as top improvers for the region.
India, which is a top improver for a second consecutive year, implemented
six reforms in the past year and advanced to 77th place in the global
ranking, said the report, adding India is now the region’s top-ranked
economy.
According to the report, Afghanistan, a top improver for the first time,
carried out a record five reforms, moving up to 167th rank.
With three reforms carried out in the past year, Pakistan showed
remarkable improvement in doing business, advancing 11 spots this year.
Sri Lanka also carried out four reforms which included making Dealing with
Construction Permits easier, while the introduction of online systems made it
easier to pay taxes in Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
According to the report, Bangladesh moved one place up from last year’s
ranking.
“These results from the Doing Business 2019 report are great news for
South Asia and underscore the need to persist with challenging reforms that
can provide more opportunities for people to lift themselves out of poverty
and spread prosperity ore widely,” said Hartwig Schafer, vice president for
the South Asia Region of the World Bank.
“We’re looking forward to working with governments in the region to
achieve more gains in coming years.”
“South Asia continues on a strong reform agenda, thanks to political
commitment and hard work that is involved in improving the domestic
investment climate. This is particularly commendable in the case of
Afghanistan, where conflict and insecurity make the work so much more
challenging,” said Rita Ramalho, Senior Manager of the World Bank’s Global
Indicators Group, which produces the report.
World Bank says Doing Business report includes gender dimensions in three
indicators: Starting a Business, Registering Property and Enforcing
Contracts.
It finds South Asian economies perform best in the areas of Protecting
Minority Investors and Starting a Business.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1150