World Bank ‘Doing Business Index’:
‘Lanka to be among top 30 by 2015’
Shirajiv SIRIMANE
Sri Lanka rose to the 89th position in the Global Ranking from 183
countries, as one of the best places to do business with, on the ‘Doing
Business Index’ compiled by the World Bank and the International Finance
Corporation yesterday.
Sri Lanka rose in the global ladder partly by strengthening investor
protection and reducing taxes on business. Sri Lanka made paying taxes
less costly for businesses by abolishing the turnover tax and social
security contribution and by reducing corporate income tax, value added
tax and nation building tax rates, the report said.
Sri Lanka also strengthened investor protection by requiring greater
corporate disclosure on transactions between interested parties.
China is placed at the 91st while Vietnam is ranked 98th. The
Maldives is ahead of Sri Lanka in the ranking and India finished at
132nd position while Pakistan (105), Nepal (107), Bangladesh (122),
Bhutan (142), Afghanistan (160) were also behind Sri Lanka.
Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal speaking to Daily News
Business said this achievement once again clearly underlines the
investor confidence the international community has for Sri Lanka.
He said Sri Lanka will be able to see a gradual increase of this
factor in the future as well. “We are confident that in keeping with the
Mahinda Chintanaya Sri Lanka would be able to be placed in the 30th
position by 2015 or 2016. Meanwhile one of the leading entrepreneurs who
has business ventures in many countries, Chairman Multichemi, Samantha
Kumarasinghe also endorsed this World Bank report and said that it is
very difficult to start businesses overseas.
“The red tape and beaucracy we face is enormous,” he said.
An official of the Board of Investment said the one day approval
concept and simplications of regulations too had contributed to this
factor.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said that they were pleased that
Sri Lanka has seen a quantum leap in its overall ranking in the Doing
Business Index of the World Bank. Sri Lanka has risen nine points from
98/183 in 2011 to become 89/183 in 2012 sending out positive signals for
investors and the business community.
“There has been a remarkable increase in some key areas such as
dealing with construction permits, protecting investors and trading
across borders. The country has risen from 169th position to 111th
position with regard to dealing with construction permits in 2012 while
in protecting investors Sri Lanka is ranked in the 46th position as
opposed to the 74th position in 2011. The country also stands at the
53rd position in trading across borders in 2012. These achievements on
the part of the country indicate that the peace dividend has indeed paid
off and the efforts made by the authorities to improve our ranking have
borne positive results,” the CCC said.
Whist congratulating the government on this achievement, the Ceylon
Chamber noted that there are areas that can be further improved such as
registering property, getting credit and even starting a business. Even
though Sri Lanka has declined in the ranks in relation to paying taxes,
it has to be noted that recently introduced tax reforms have not been
taken into consideration in the current rating.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is optimistic that the government will
take necessary action to improve the areas that are lagging so that Sri
Lanka can further improve its overall ranking in the future.
However, despite the significant improvements seen in Sri Lanka’s
business landscape, the report has also identified further areas
requiring intervention in the future, as the country has seen less
progress in paying taxes, registering property and enforcing contracts.
Sri Lanka continues to rank poorly on paying taxes (rank 173) as well as
registering property (rank 161) and enforcing contracts (rank 136).
‘Doing Business in a More Transparent World’ assesses regulations
affecting domestic firms in 183 economies and ranks the economies in ten
areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving
insolvency and trading across borders.
This year, the ease of doing business ranking has expanded to include
indicators on getting electricity.
Over the past six years, all eight economies in South Asia have made
their regulatory environment more business-friendly. Entrepreneurs in
developing economies have a vital role in creating economic
opportunities, World Bank Group Global Indicators an Analysis Director
Augusto Lopez-Claros said. South Asia’s governments have empowered
entrepreneurs by implementing regulations that are efficient,
accessible, and sustainable, and they should continue to seek avenues
for improvement. |