World Bank/IFC Doing Business Report 2012 ranks Nigeria 133rd

[Punch]

The new World Bank/International Finance Corporation Report on Ease of Doing Business has ranked Nigeria as 133rd and Singapore as the first among 183 nations.

On the list, which was issued on Wednesday, Chad is the worst country for doing business while Morocco was one of the few African nations that improved its business processes.

The report explains, "Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 – 183. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. This index averages the country's percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2011."

Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, South Korea, Iceland, Ireland, Finland and Saudi Arabia are second to 12th on the table.

On ease of starting a business, Nigeria was ranked 116th; obtaining a construction permit, 84; getting electricity for a local firm was ranked 176th; registering property, 180; getting credit, 78; protecting investors, 65; paying taxes, 138; trading across borders, 149; enforcing contracts, 97; and resolving insolvency, 99.

In the regional ranking, Mauritius is the best country for doing business in Africa while Nigeria is 15th.

South Africa, Rwanda, Botswana and Ghana are second to fifth.

The report added, "Morocco improved its business regulation the most compared to other global economies, climbing 21 places to 94, by simplifying the construction permitting process, easing the administrative burden of tax compliance, and providing greater protections to minority shareholders. Since 2005, Morocco has implemented 15 business regulatory reforms.

"Besides Morocco, 11 other economies are recognized as having the most improved ease of doing business across several areas of regulation as measured by the report: Moldova, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Latvia, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone, Burundi, the Solomon Islands, the Republic of Korea, Armenia, and Colombia.

"The Republic of Korea was a new entrant to the top 10.

Governments in 125 economies out of 183 measured implemented a total of 245 business regulatory reforms—13 percent more reforms than in the previous year. In Sub-Saharan Africa, a record 36 out of 46 economies improved business regulations this year. Over the past six years, 163 economies have made their regulatory environment more business-friendly. China, India, and the Russian Federation are among the 30 economies that improved the most over time."



The Punch

[Punch]