Doing business 2014

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ISBN (paper): 978-0-8213-9984-2 ISBN (electronic): 978-0-8213-9983-5 DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-9984-2 Cover design: The Word Express Doing Business 2014 Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises Comparing Business Regulations for Domestic Firms in 189 Economies A World Bank Group Corporate Flagship Resources on the Doing Business website Current features Law library News on the Doing Business project http://www.doingbusiness.org Online collection of business laws and regulations relating to business and gender issues http://www.doingbusiness.org/law-library http://wbl.worldbank.org Rankings How economies rank—from 1 to 189 http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings Contributors Data All the data for 189 economies—topic rankings, indicator values, lists of regulatory procedures and details underlying indicators http://www.doingbusiness.org/data Reports Access to Doing Business reports as well as subnational and regional reports, reform case studies and customized economy and regional profiles http://www.doingbusiness.org/reports Methodology The methodologies and research papers underlying Doing Business http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology More than 10,200 specialists in 189 economies who participate in Doing Business http://www.doingbusiness.org/contributors/ doing-business Entrepreneurship data Data on business density (number of newly registered companies per 1,000 working-age people) for 139 economies http://www.doingbusiness.org /data/ exploretopics/entrepreneurship Distance to frontier Data benchmarking 189 economies to the frontier in regulatory practice http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/distance-to-frontier Information on good practices Research Abstracts of papers on Doing Business topics and related policy issues http://www.doingbusiness.org/research Doing Business reforms Short summaries of DB2014 business regulation reforms, lists of reforms since DB2008 and a ranking simulation tool http://www.doingbusiness.org/reforms Historical data Customized data sets since DB2004 http://www.doingbusiness.org/custom-query Showing where the many good practices identified by Doing Business have been adopted http://www.doingbusiness.org /data/ good-practice Doing Business iPhone App Doing Business at a Glance presents the full report, rankings and highlights from each indicator for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch http://www.doingbusiness.org/specialfeatures/iphone Contents v Preface 1 Overview 20 About Doing Business: measuring for impact 30 Research on the effects of business regulations Case studies Doing Business 2014 is the 11th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. 41 Why are minimum capital requirements a concern for entrepreneurs? 46 What role should risk-based inspections play in construction? 52 Tackling high electricity connection costs: Trinidad and Tobago’s new approach 56 Implementing electronic tax filing and payments in Malaysia 60 Implementing trade single windows in Singapore, Colombia and Azerbaijan 66 Improving court efficiency: the Republic of Korea’s e-court experience Topic notes 72 Starting a business 77 Dealing with construction permits 82 Getting electricity 86 Registering property 90 Getting credit 96 Protecting investors Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers. The employing workers data are not included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business. 100 Paying taxes 105 Trading across borders 110 Enforcing contracts 114 Resolving insolvency Data in Doing Business 2014 are current as of June 1, 2013. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why. 118 Annex: employing workers 123 References 130 Data notes 155 Ease of doing business and distance to frontier 159 Summaries of Doing Business reforms in 2012/13 173 Country tables 237 Employing workers data 248 Acknowledgments Preface A thriving private sector—with new firms entering the market, creating jobs and developing innovative products—contributes to a more prosperous society. Governments play a crucial role in supporting a dynamic ecosystem for firms. They set the rules that establish and clarify property rights, reduce the cost of resolving disputes and increase the predictability of economic transactions. Without good rules that are evenly enforced, entrepreneurs have a harder time starting and growing the small and medium-size firms that are the engines of growth and job creation for most economies around the world. Doing Business 2014 is the 11th in a series of annual reports benchmarking the regulations that affect private sector firms, in particular small and medium-size enterprises. The report presents quantitative indicators on 11 areas of business regulation for 189 economies. Four economies have been added this year—Libya, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. The data are current as of June 2013. The Doing Business project aims to deliver a body of knowledge that will catalyze reforms and help improve the quality of the rules underpinning the activities of the private sector. This matters because in a global economy characterized by constant change and transformation, it makes a difference whether the rules are sensible or excessively burdensome, whether they create perverse incentives or help establish a level playing field, whether they safeguard transparency and encourage adequate levels of competition. To have a tool that allows economies to track progress over time and with respect to each other in the development of the building blocks of a good business environment is crucial for the creation of a more prosperous world, with increased opportunities for everyone We have been excited to see a global convergence toward good practices in business regulations. The data show that economies in all regions of the world and of all income levels have made important strides in improving the quality of the rules underpinning private sector activity. This year the findings have been even more encouraging—low-income economies have improved their business regulations at twice the rate that high-income economies have. These developments support the twin World Bank Group goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. By providing useful insights into good practices worldwide in business regulations, Doing Business helps mobilize policy makers to reduce the cost and complexity of government procedures and to improve the quality of institutions. Such change serves the underprivileged the most—where more firms enter the formal sector, entrepreneurs have a greater chance to grow their businesses and produce jobs, and workers are more likely to enjoy the benefit of regulations such as social protections and safety regulations. We encourage you to give feedback on the Doing Business website (http://www. doingbusiness.org) and join the conversation as we shape the project in the years to come to make it a more effective mechanism for better business regulation. Sincerely, Sri Mulyani Indrawati Managing Director World Bank Group V Overview Regulation is a reality from the beginning of a firm’s life to the end (figure 1.1). Navigating it can be complex and costly. On average around the world, starting a business takes 7 procedures, 25 days and costs 32% of income per capita in fees. But while it takes as little as 1 procedure, half a day and almost nothing in fees in New Zealand, an entrepreneur must wait 208 days in Suriname and 144 in República Bolivariana de Venezuela. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Consider what the new firm must go through to complete other transactions at the average level of time and effort required around the world. Preparing, filing and paying the firm’s annual taxes could take up another 268 hours of its staff’s time. Exporting just one shipment of its final products could take 6 documents, 22 days and more than $1,500. If the firm needs a simple warehouse, getting the facility ready to start operating could take 26 procedures and 331 days more—to buy the land, register its ownership, build the warehouse and get electricity and other utility connections. Having sorted out these initial formalities, if the firm becomes embroiled in a legal dispute with one of its suppliers or customers, resolving the dispute could mean being stuck in court for 622 days, with costs amounting to 35% of the value of the claim. To operate and expand, the firm will need financing—from shareholders or from creditors. Raising money in the capital market is easier and less costly where minority shareholders feel protected from self-interested transactions by large shareholders. Good corporate governance rules can provide this kind of protection. But among the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, 46 still have only very limited requirements for disclosing majority shareholders’ conflicts of interest—or none at all. This undermines trust in the system, making it less likely that investors will take a minority stake in a firm. Similarly, creditors need guarantees that their loans will be repaid. Information about potential borrowers and solid legal rights for creditors play an important part in providing those guarantees. Yet institutions providing these are not universal among the 189 economies: 35 have no credit bureau or registry that distributes information about borrowers, and 124 lack a modern collateral registry where a creditor can check whether a movable asset being pledged as collateral has any other liens on it. If despite all efforts the firm ends up insolvent, having institutions in place that enable creditors to recover their assets is also important. On average around the world, creditors recover no more than 35% of their initial loan in case of bankruptcy as measured by Doing Business. In many parts of the world in recent years, Doing Business data show that there has been remarkable progress in removing some of the biggest bureaucratic obstacles to private sector activity. Yet small and medium-size enterprises still are subject to burdensome regulations and vague rules that are unevenly applied and that impose inefficiencies on the enterprise sector. This curtails the overall competitiveness of economies and their potential for creating jobs. WHAT DOES DOING BUSINESS MEASURE—AND WHO PERFORMS WELL? Through its indicators Doing Business measures and tracks changes in the • In 2012/13, 114 economies implemented 238 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business—18% more reforms than in the previous year. • If economies around the world followed the best practice in regulatory processes for starting a business, entrepreneurs would spend 45.4 million fewer days each year satisfying bureaucratic requirements. • Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines and Kosovo are among the economies improving the most in 2012/13 in areas tracked by Doing Business. • Reforms reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes continue to be the most common. Less than a third of the reforms recorded by Doing Business in 2012/13—and in the years since 2009—focused on strengthening legal institutions. • Sub-Saharan Africa is home to 9 of the 20 economies narrowing the gap with the regulatory frontier the most since 2009. Low-income economies narrowed this gap twice as much as high-income economies did. • Economies that improve in areas measured by Doing Business are on average more likely than others to also implement reforms in other areas—such as governance, health, education and gender equality. • Economies that perform well on Doing Business indicators do not necessarily have smaller governments. 2 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 1.1 Regulations as measured by Doing Business affect firms throughout their life cycle economies that have no regulations in the area being measured or do not apply their regulations (considered “no practice” economies), penalizing them for lacking appropriate regulation. At start-up s 3TARTING A BUSINESS s %MPLOYING WORKERS When things go wrong s %NFORCING CONTRACTS s 2ESOLVING INSOLVENCY In daily operations s 0AYING TAXES s 4RADING ACROSS BORDERS In getting a location s DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS s 'ETTING ELECTRICITY s 2EGISTERING PROPERTY In getting financing s 'ETTING CREDIT s 0ROTECTING INVESTORS regulations applying to domestic small and medium-size companies, operating in the largest business city of each economy, in 10 areas in their life cycle: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business is based on these indicators. Doing Business also documents regulations on employing workers, which are not included in the aggregate ranking. In addition, Doing Business tracks good practices around the world to provide insights into how governments have improved the regulatory environment in the past in the areas that it measures (see table 1.5 at the end of this overview). Regulations that protect consumers, shareholders and the public without overburdening firms help create an environment where the private sector can thrive. Sound business regulation requires both efficient procedures and strong institutions that establish transparent and enforceable rules. Doing Business measures both these elements: through indicators relating to the strength of legal institutions relevant to business regulation and through indicators relating to the complexity and cost of regulatory processes. The indicators in the first group measure the strength of the legal and regulatory framework for getting credit, protecting investors, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Those in the second group measure the cost and efficiency of regulatory processes for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. Based on time-and-motion case studies from the perspective of the business, these indicators measure the procedures, time and cost required to complete a transaction in accordance with the relevant regulations (for a detailed explanation of the Doing Business methodology, see the data notes and the chapter “About Doing Business”). Doing Business is not about less regulation but about better regulation. Accordingly, some Doing Business indicators give a higher score for better and more developed regulation, as the protecting investors indicators do for stricter disclosure requirements for related-party transactions. Other indicators, such as those on dealing with construction permits, automatically assign the lowest score to The economies ranking highest on the ease of doing business therefore are not those with no regulation but those whose governments have managed to create a regulatory system that facilitates interactions in the marketplace and protects important public interests without unnecessarily hindering the development of the private sector—in other words, a regulatory system with strong institutions and low transactions costs (table 1.1). These economies all have both a well-developed private sector and a reasonably efficient regulatory system that has managed to strike a sensible balance between the protections that good rules provide and the need to have a dynamic private sector unhindered by excessively burdensome regulations. WHERE IS THE REGULATORY GAP WIDER? To complement the ease of doing business ranking, a relative measure, Doing Business 2012 introduced the distance to frontier, an absolute measure of business regulatory efficiency. This measure aids in assessing how much the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs improves in absolute terms over time by showing the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance by any economy observed on each of the Doing Business indicators since 2003 or the year in which data for the indicator were first collected. Because the distance to frontier is an absolute measure, it can be used for comparisons over time. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. A higher score indicates a more efficient business environment and stronger legal institutions (for a detailed description of the methodology, see the chapter on the ease of doing business and distance to frontier). Analysis based on the distance to frontier measure shows that on average across all regions, economies are closest OVERVIEW TABLE 1.1 Rankings on the ease of doing business Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 Economy Singapore Hong Kong SAR, China New Zealand United States Denmark Malaysia Korea, Rep. Georgia Norway United Kingdom Australia Finland Iceland Sweden Ireland Taiwan, China Lithuania Thailand Canada Mauritius Germany Estonia United Arab Emirates Latvia Macedonia, FYR Saudi Arabia Japan Netherlands Switzerland Austria Portugal Rwanda Slovenia Chile Israel Belgium Armenia France Cyprus Puerto Rico (U.S.) South Africa Peru Colombia Montenegro Poland Bahrain Oman Qatar Slovak Republic Kazakhstan Tunisia Spain Mexico Hungary Panama Botswana Tonga Bulgaria Brunei Darussalam Luxembourg Samoa Fiji Belarus DB2014 reforms 2 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 1 3 4 6 0 0 2 0 0 1 8 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 3 0 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 4 Rank 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 Economy St. Lucia Italy Trinidad and Tobago Ghana Kyrgyz Republic Turkey Azerbaijan Antigua and Barbuda Greece Romania Vanuatu Czech Republic Mongolia Dominica Moldova Guatemala Seychelles San Marino St. Vincent and the Grenadines Zambia Bahamas, The Sri Lanka Kosovo Morocco Uruguay Croatia Albania Barbados Russian Federation Serbia Jamaica Maldives China Solomon Islands Namibia Vietnam Palau St. Kitts and Nevis Costa Rica Malta Kuwait Nepal Belize Grenada Philippines Paraguay Pakistan Lebanon Ukraine Papua New Guinea Marshall Islands Guyana Brazil Dominican Republic El Salvador Jordan Indonesia Cape Verde Kiribati Swaziland Nicaragua Ethiopia Argentina DB2014 reforms 0 3 1 0 0 3 3 0 3 3 1 1 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 2 4 3 3 1 5 1 0 5 0 3 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 8 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 2 2 0 1 Rank 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 Economy Honduras Egypt, Arab Rep. Kenya Bangladesh Bosnia and Herzegovina Uganda Yemen, Rep. India Ecuador Lesotho Cambodia West Bank and Gaza Mozambique Burundi Bhutan Sierra Leone Tajikistan Liberia Tanzania Uzbekistan Nigeria Madagascar Sudan Gambia, The Iraq Iran, Islamic Rep. Algeria Burkina Faso Mali Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Togo Comoros Lao PDR Djibouti Suriname Bolivia Gabon Afghanistan Syrian Arab Republic Equatorial Guinea Côte d'Ivoire Cameroon São Tomé and Príncipe Zimbabwe Malawi Timor-Leste Mauritania Benin Guinea Niger Haiti Senegal Angola Guinea-Bissau Venezuela, RB Myanmar Congo, Dem. Rep. Eritrea Congo, Rep. South Sudan Libya Central African Republic Chad DB2014 reforms 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 6 2 0 2 2 2 6 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 1 3 2 0 3 2 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 3 2 0 1 0 1 1 1 3 0 3 0 0 1 1 Note: The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2013 and reported in the country tables. This year‘s rankings on the ease of doing business are the average of the economy‘s percentile rankings on the 10 topics included in this year‘s aggregate ranking. The number of reforms excludes those making it more difficult to do business. Source: Doing Business database. 3 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Regional performance varies considerably across the areas measured by Doing Business. In several areas Europe and Central Asia has an average performance similar to that of OECD high-income economies. But in dealing with construction permits this region is further from the regulatory frontier than any other. East Asia and the Pacific follows Europe and Central Asia closely in some areas but outperforms that region in dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, paying taxes and trading across borders. Latin America and the Caribbean has a performance remarkably similar to that of East Asia and the Pacific except in paying taxes. The Middle East and North Africa has a very diverse performance. In some areas, such as paying taxes, it is almost as close to the frontier as OECD high-income economies. In other areas, such as getting credit, the Middle East and North Africa has the lowest performance among regions. South Asia has a gap with the frontier similar to that of Sub-Saharan Africa in most areas, though it substantially outperforms that region in 3 areas— starting a business, resolving insolvency and getting credit. The distance to frontier measure provides one perspective on variation in 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 cy insolven Resolvin g rs g investo Protecti n cts g contra Enforcin credit Getting Trading a cross bo rders xes g prope Registeri n Paying ta rty y electricit Getting construcDealing with tion perm its ss Regulatory frontier a busine Across most areas measured by Doing Business, OECD high-income economies are closer to the frontier on average than those of any other region (figure 1.2). The exceptions are starting a business and registering property, where Europe and Central Asia is slightly ahead. Sub-Saharan African economies are furthest from the frontier on average in 6 of the 10 areas measured by Doing Business: starting a business, getting electricity, paying taxes, trading across borders, protecting investors and resolving insolvency FIGURE 1.2 OECD high-income economies are closest to the frontier in regulatory practice Starting to the frontier—or best practice—in the area of starting a business. And they are furthest from the frontier on average in resolving insolvency. Starting a business is also the area where all regions are closest together, in line with the evidence on convergence presented later in the overview. Performance in such areas as getting credit, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency varies considerably across regions. Average distance to frontier (percentage points) 4 OECD high income Europe & Central Asia South Asia Middle East & North Africa East Asia & Pacific Latin America & Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Source: Doing Business database. performance across areas of regulation measured by Doing Business. Rankings of economies in these areas provide another. The ease of doing business ranking is just one number—aggregating an average of more than 300 data points for each economy. Not surprisingly, the full set of rankings and data across Doing Business topics for an economy can present a very different picture than the aggregate ranking (figure 1.3). Take Estonia, which stands at 22 in the ease of doing business ranking. Its rankings on individual topics range from 7 in trading across borders to 68 in protecting investors. Japan’s lowest 3 rankings (in paying taxes, starting a business and dealing with construction permits) average 117, while its highest 3 (in resolving insolvency, protecting investors and trading across borders) average 13. Japan’s ranking on the overall ease of doing business is 27. Three economies added to the Doing Business sample this year—Libya, Myanmar and South Sudan—show similar variation across topics (box 1.1). This variation can point to important regulatory obstacles for firms. An economy may make it easy to start a business, for example. But if getting financing is difficult, the constraints will hamper the growth of new firms, discouraging entrepreneurship. WHAT IS THE BIGGER PICTURE? Doing Business recognizes that the state plays a fundamental role in private sector development. Governments support economic activity by establishing and enforcing rules that clarify property rights and reduce the cost of resolving disputes, that increase the predictability of economic interactions and that provide contractual partners with core protections against abuse. So it is no surprise to find that there is no evidence suggesting that economies that do well on Doing Business indicators tend to have governments driven by a “smaller government” philosophy. Indeed, the data suggest otherwise. It is generally the bigger governments (as measured by government consumption expenditure as a percentage of GDP), not the small ones, that tend to provide more of the protections and efficient rules promoted by Doing Business. Economies performing well on Doing Business indicators include examples with large governments as well as those OVERVIEW FIGURE 1.3 An economy’s regulatory environment may be more business-friendly in some areas than in others 180 160 120 100 80 60 Average of lowest 3 topic rankings 40 Average of all topic rankings 20 Average of highest 3 topic rankings 0 Singapore Hong Kong SAR, China United States Korea, Rep. Georgia Finland Iceland Taiwan, China Ireland Estonia Mauritius Germany Portugal Switzerland Saudi Arabia Austria Rwanda France Belgium Qatar Bahrain Armenia Israel Spain Poland Puerto Rico (U.S.) Slovak Republic Hungary Luxembourg Mexico St. Lucia Greece Bulgaria St. Vincent and the Grenadines Kyrgyz Republic Italy Ghana Vanuatu Guatemala Bahamas, The Morocco Zambia San Marino Barbados Kosovo Solomon Islands St. Kitts and Nevis Vietnam Maldives Namibia Costa Rica Grenada Albania Belize Ukraine Lebanon Guyana Cape Verde Papua New Guinea Kiribati Indonesia El Salvador Ecuador Bhutan Argentina Bangladesh Honduras Lesotho Kenya Uzbekistan India Tanzania Mozambique Gambia, The Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Sudan Nigeria Comoros Iran, Islamic Rep. Equatorial Guinea Syrian Arab Republic Afghanistan Djibouti Bolivia Cameroon Zimbabwe Mauritania Haiti Angola Guinea Guinea-Bissau Myanmar Libya Congo, Rep. Central African Republic Average ranking 140 Note: Rankings reflected are those on the 10 Doing Business topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. Figure is illustrative only; it does not include all 189 economies covered by this year’s report. See the country tables for rankings on the ease of doing business and each Doing Business topic for all economies. Source: Doing Business database. Moreover, economies performing well on Doing Business indicators are on average more inclusive along at least 2 dimensions. They tend to have smaller informal sectors, meaning that more people have access to the formal market and can benefit from such regulations as social protections and workplace safety regulations (figure 1.5). And they are more likely to have gender equality under the law as measured by the World Bank Group’s Women, Business and the Law indicators.1 These 2 aspects of inclusiveness reflect in part a desire by governments to more effectively allocate resources. This means not hampering the productivity of formal businesses through overly burdensome rules. And it means not needlessly depriving the economy of the skills and contributions of women. Overall, economies with smarter business regulations are more likely to nurture an environment conducive to greater economic inclusion. No set of indicators can possibly capture the full complexity of a particular reality—in the case of the Doing Business indicators, that faced by entrepreneurs as they go about their activities while attempting to comply with the rules established by government. Having a state-of-the-art business registry has less impact on job creation or private sector investment in an economy if roads are lacking, crime is FIGURE 1.4 Good performance on Doing Business indicators is not associated with smaller governments Distance to frontier (percentage points), 2012 with small ones. Denmark, with among the largest governments in the world, is number 5 in the ease of doing business ranking; the Netherlands, also with one of the largest governments, is number 28. Hong Kong SAR, China, with a relatively small government, is number 2 in the ranking. Economies performing poorly on Doing Business indicators also include examples with large and small governments. Zimbabwe, with a large government relative to GDP, ranks at 170; Equatorial Guinea, with a small government, ranks at 166. Nevertheless, on average economies with smaller governments do not perform better on Doing Business indicators than those with larger governments (figure 1.4). 100 80 60 40 20 0 10 20 30 General government final consumption expenditure as % of GDP, 2012 Note: The correlation between the distance to frontier and government expenditure is 0.20 and significantly different from zero. Source: Doing Business database; World Bank, World Development Indicators database. 40 5 6 DOING BUSINESS 2014 BOX 1.1 The right time to improve business regulations For the first time, this year’s report measures business regulations in Libya, Myanmar and South Sudan, economies that emerged from conflict or are starting to open up to the global economy after years of isolation. This is the right time to improve business regulations. Old laws and regulations still apply in Myanmar, including the Companies Act of 1914, the Code of Civil Procedure of 1908 and the Evidence Act, 1872. In Libya the civil code and the civil and commercial procedure codes all date back to 1953. In South Sudan the challenge is not updating old laws and regulations but creating new ones from scratch. This process takes time. Yet since independence in 2011, South Sudan has passed a company law, tax law and insolvency law. Doing Business provides baseline data that can help inform policy makers designing laws and their implementation. Data in this year’s report show that these 3 economies rank among the bottom 10 on the ease of doing business. Although their performance varies somewhat across Doing Business topics, the data consistently show that these economies have complex and costly regulatory procedures and weak institutions relevant to business regulation (see figure). But in all 3 economies new laws are under discussion that may affect future editions of the Doing Business data. Doing Business will continue to measure and monitor potential improvements. There are many areas for regulatory improvement in fragile and conflict-affected states Global ranking, by Doing Business topic Libya Starting a 171business Dealing with 189 construction 112 105 108 permits Getting 68 118 electricity 77 189 Resolving insolvency 150 Enforcing contracts Trading 143 across borders 89 93 64 116 Paying taxes 113 Protecting investors 187 South Sudan 134 124 87 Enforcing contracts 123 Trading 187 across borders 133 Getting credit 186 Starting a business 140 189 Resolving insolvency Registering property189 Getting 184 electricity 141 121 Registering property 183 126 113 Getting Protecting credit 180 investors 182 Paying taxes 92 114 155 Resolving insolvency 188 Enforcing contracts Libya Middle East & North Africa 108 150 Dealing with construction permits 100 76 79 91 75 113 Trading across borders 73 126 Getting electricity 92 154 Registering property 81 86 107 Paying taxes 170 Getting credit Protecting investors 182 Starting a business 120 135 Dealing with 189 Resolving 112 construction insolvency permits 105 Enforcing 108 contracts Getting electricity 118 82 179 77 Dealing with construction 171 permits 117 135 Myanmar 189 Starting a business 147 Trading across borders South Sudan Sub-Saharan Africa 89 Paying taxes 120 64 93 133 113 Protecting investors 115 Myanmar East Asia & Pacific Syrian Arab Republic Registering property 82 Getting credit 180 Syrian Arab Republic Middle East & North Africa Note: Numbers are economy and regional average rankings, with 1 denoting the highest ranking on a topic and 189 the lowest. Source: Doing Business database. In economies affected by conflict, reforming business regulations is almost always a difficult task—even as firms often face increasing challenges in the business regulatory environment. Civil strife, a substantial weakening in the state’s ability to enforce the law and other characteristics of conflict-affected states often bring about a substantial worsening of the conditions in which the private sector operates. The Syrian Arab Republic was the economy that showed the greatest deterioration in 2012/13 in the areas measured by Doing Business. The time and cost associated with trading across borders increased substantially, for example, and no building permits are being issued in Damascus, making it impossible to legally build new construction. Yet there is encouraging news from other fragile and conflict-affected states. A recently published report, Doing Business in the g7+ 2013, shows that all economies in the g7+ group have improved their business regulatory environment since 2005, narrowing the gap with the best performance observed globally by Doing Business.a Sierra Leone, Burundi, Guinea-Bissau, Timor-Leste, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and the Solomon Islands are all among the 50 economies making the biggest improvements between 2005 and 2012. a. A special report, Doing Business in the g7+ 2013 compares business regulations in economies of the g7+ group: Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Timor-Leste and Togo. The g7+ group is a country-owned and country-led global mechanism established in April 2010 to monitor, report and draw attention to the unique challenges faced by fragile states. OVERVIEW FIGURE 1.5 Good performers on Doing Business indicators are likely to be more inclusive—with a smaller informal sector and greater gender equality under the law 100 Distance to frontier (percentage points), 2013 Distance to frontier (percentage points), 2007 100 80 60 40 80 60 40 20 20 10 20 50 30 40 Informal sector as % of GDP, 2007 60 0 10 20 30 Number of restrictions for women in the law, 2013 Note: The correlation between the distance to frontier and the size of the informal sector is −0.65. The correlation between the distance to frontier and the number of restrictions for women in the law is −0.34. Both relationships are significant at the 1% level after controlling for income per capita. The number of restrictions for women in the law refers to those measured by Women, Business and the Law, a data set capturing 47 legal restrictions on women’s employment and entrepreneurship. Source: Doing Business database; Schneider, Buehn and Montenegro 2010; World Bank Group, Women, Business and the Law database. rampant and state capture or corruption is the norm. To understand the challenges faced by businesses, the Doing Business rankings and underlying data therefore need to be used in conjunction with other information. Of course, sound business regulations are not the only thing on which a thriving business environment depends. Other areas beyond the focus of Doing Business are also important—including stable macroeconomic policy, a well-educated workforce and well-developed infrastructure, just to name a few. WHAT GAINS WERE ACHIEVED IN 2012/13? Reforming in any area of government policy is a challenge. Business regulation is no exception. Implementing regulatory changes often requires agreement among multiple agencies in a government. Consider a onestop shop for business registration. Creating one involves coordination across the business registry, the statistical office, the municipal tax office and the state tax office, to name just a few. But 96 economies have nevertheless done so. Governments undertake such reforms because reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes or strengthening legal institutions relevant to business regulation brings many benefits. Governments benefit from cost savings because the new systems often are easier to maintain (though setting up a new system involves an initial fixed cost). Firms benefit from more streamlined and less costly processes or more reliable institutions. And economies as a whole benefit from new firm start-ups, more jobs, growth in trade and greater overall economic dynamism (see the chapter on research on the effects of business regulations). In 2012/13 such efforts continued around the world: 114 economies implemented 238 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business, about 18% more reforms than in the previous year. This is the second highest number of reforms implemented in a year since the financial crisis of 2009. Inroads in reducing formalities The results of these reforms are tangible. They can be quantified by adding up all the regulatory procedures, payments and documents required for a small to mediumsize firm to complete a set of transactions—such as to start a business, register property and so on—in every economy covered by Doing Business. In 2012 such formalities would have come to a total of 21,272 and taken 248,745 days to complete (table 1.2). Thanks to the regulatory reforms undertaken in 2012/13, this regulatory maze now contains about 300 (1.3%) fewer formalities than in 2012.2 Compared with 2005, the first year in which data for 9 of the 10 Doing Business indicator sets were first collected, the number of formalities has fallen by about 2,400 (11%) and the time by about 40,000 days. These calculations are for a hypothetical case taking 1 firm through all procedures measured by Doing Business in every economy covered. But some economies are much larger than others, and in these economies the burden of poor regulation affects a larger number of firms. In the 107 economies covered by both Doing Business and the World Bank’s Entrepreneurship Database, an estimated 3.1 million limited liability companies were newly registered in 2012 alone.3 Assuming that they followed the rules and regulations for company incorporation in their home economy as measured by Doing Business, these 3.1 million firms together dealt with 18.7 million different procedures and spent 46.9 million days to get incorporated. But if all 107 economies followed best practice in regulatory processes for starting a business, these new firms would have had to spend only 1.5 million days dealing with the local bureaucracy, leaving them a greater share of their time and entrepreneurial energy to devote to their new business. In other words, because not all economies followed best practice, entrepreneurs spent an extra 45.4 million days satisfying bureaucratic requirements. Patterns across regions Patterns of regulatory reform vary across regions. In 2012/13 South Asia had the largest share of economies (75%) with 7 8 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 1.2 Total formalities, time and cost to complete one transaction in every economy 2012 2013 Savings Procedures (number) 1,393 1,335 58 Time (days) 5,590 4,700 890 Cost (US$) 203,765 201,648 2,117 Minimum capital (US$) 523,148 480,337 42,811 2,865 2,777 88 Time (days) 33,532 31,951 1,581 Cost (US$) 2,773,595 2,570,251 203,344 1,010 1,002 8 Time (days) 20,651 20,625 26 Cost (US$) 5,640,846 5,506,263 134,583 1,105 1,090 15 Time (days) 10,082 9,488 594 Cost (US$) 5,476,360 5,543,489 –67,129 5,141 5,046 95 50,804 50,607 197 Documents to export (number) 1,174 1,175 –1 Time to export (days) 4,171 4,132 39 278,546 286,385 –7,839 Documents to import (number) 1,372 1,369 3 Time to import (days) 4,702 4,661 41 334,393 344,573 –10,180 7,212 7,207 5 117,847 117,489 358 460 454 6 Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Procedures (number) Getting electricity Procedures (number) Registering property Procedures (number) Paying taxes Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Trading across borders Cost to export (US$ per container) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts Procedures (number) Time (days) Resolving insolvency Time (years) 2012 Total formalities (number) Total time (days) Total cost (US$) Source: Doing Business database. 2013 Total savings 21,272 21,001 271 248,745 243,283 5,462 15,230,653 14,932,946 297,707 regulatory reforms in at least 1 area measured by Doing Business.4 Europe and Central Asia, continuing its steady pace of regulatory reform, had the second largest share (73%), closely followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (66%). In East Asia and the Pacific 60% of economies had at least 1 regulatory reform, while in Latin America and the Caribbean only 53% did. The Middle East and North Africa had the smallest share of economies implementing regulatory reforms in at least 1 area (40%), a development that is partly linked to the current political turmoil in the region. As in previous years, reforms aimed at reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes were more common around the world than those focused on strengthening legal institutions relevant to business regulation (figure 1.6). In South Asia, for example, 75% of economies implemented at least 1 reform reducing regulatory complexity and cost, while only 25% had at least 1 aimed at strengthening legal institutions. The pattern is similar across all other regions except East Asia and the Pacific. WHO IMPROVED THE MOST IN 2012/13? In 2012/13, 29 economies implemented in net 3 or more reforms improving their business regulatory systems or related institutions as measured by Doing Business. These 29 include economies from all income groups: high income (5), upper middle income (9), lower middle income (12) and low income (3). And they include economies from all regions. Among the 29 economies, 10 stand out as having narrowed the distance to frontier the most: Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Kosovo, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Guatemala (table 1.3). Five of these—Burundi, Guatemala, FYR Macedonia, Rwanda and Ukraine—have placed among the economies improving the most in previous years. Together, 10 economies implemented 49 reforms making it easier to do business in 2012/13. Of these reforms, 38 were aimed at reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes and 11 at strengthening legal institutions. OVERVIEW In addition, Ukraine’s private credit bureau (IBCH) began collecting data on firms from banks, expanding the information available to creditors and debtors. The introduction of simpler forms for value added tax and the unified social contribution reduced the time required for tax compliance. The implementation of the new customs code reduced the time to FIGURE 1.6 Reforms reducing regulatory complexity and cost continued to be more common in 2012/13 Share of economies with at least 1 Doing Business reform (%) Ukraine was the top improver in 2012/13, implementing reforms in 8 of the 10 areas measured by Doing Business. Ukraine made starting a business easier by eliminating a separate procedure for registration with the statistical office and abolishing the fee for value added tax registration. It made dealing with construction permits easier by instituting a riskbased approval system that streamlined procedures for simpler buildings with fewer risk factors. And an amendment to the property rights law simplifying the process for registering ownership rights to real estate made both dealing with construction permits and registering property easier. 75 69 60 50 46 42 32 36 30 26 25 20 19 13 South Asia Europe Sub-Saharan Latin America OECD high & Central Asia Africa & Caribbean income East Asia Middle East & Pacific & North Africa Reforms to reduce complexity and cost of regulatory processes Reforms to strengthen legal institutions Note: Reforms to reduce the complexity and cost of regulatory processes are those in the areas of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. Reforms to strengthen legal institutions are those in the areas of getting credit, protecting investors, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Source: Doing Business database. export and import. And an amendment to the bankruptcy law made resolving insolvency easier. Dealing with construction permits was the most common area of regulatory reform among the top improvers. Nine TABLE 1.3 The 10 economies improving the most across 3 or more areas measured by Doing Business in 2012/13 Reforms making it easier to do business Ease of doing business rank Dealing with Starting a construction Getting Registering business permits electricity property 1 Ukraine 112 — — — 2 Rwanda 32 — — 3 Russian Federation 92 — — 4 Philippines 108 5 Kosovo 86 — 6 Djibouti 160 — 7 Côte d‘Ivoire 167 — — 8 Burundi 140 — — — — 9 Macedonia, FYR 25 — — — 10 Guatemala 79 — — — — — Protecting investors — Trading across borders — — — — — — Enforcing Resolving contracts insolvency — — — Paying taxes — — — Getting credit — — — — — — — — — — — — — Note: Economies are selected on the basis of the number of their reforms and ranked on how much they improved in the distance to frontier measure. First, Doing Business selects the economies that implemented reforms making it easier to do business in 3 or more of the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. Regulatory reforms making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the number of those making it easier. Second, Doing Business ranks these economies on the improvement in their distance to frontier score from the previous year. The improvement in their score is calculated not by using the data published in 2012 but by using comparable data that capture data revisions. The choice of the most improved economies is determined by the largest improvements in the distance to frontier score among those with at least 3 reforms. Source: Doing Business database. 9 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 1.7 How far have economies moved toward the frontier in regulatory practice since 2009? 100 Regulatory frontier 75 50 25 0 Singapore Hong Kong SAR, China New Zealand Denmark United States Korea, Rep. United Kingdom Ireland Norway Sweden Malaysia Iceland Finland Georgia Australia Germany Canada Japan Taiwan, China Austria Netherlands Thailand Lithuania Latvia Portugal Switzerland Estonia United Arab Emirates Mauritius Belgium Macedonia, FYR Israel Saudi Arabia Puerto Rico (U.S.) France Poland Spain Slovenia Rwanda Montenegro South Africa Mexico Peru Chile Colombia Bahrain Qatar Slovak Republic Tunisia Bulgaria Cyprus Armenia Oman Ghana Italy Botswana Guatemala Turkey Fiji Panama Luxembourg Tonga Czech Republic Vanuatu Hungary Samoa St. Lucia Belarus Bahamas, The Romania Kosovo Jamaica Croatia Morocco Zambia Moldova Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Belize Trinidad and Tobago St. Vincent and the Grenadines Uruguay Kazakhstan Maldives Seychelles Greece Namibia Brunei Darussalam Distance to frontier (percentage points) 10 Note: The distance to frontier measure shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2003 or the first year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in Doing Business 2010 (2009). Six economies were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the change in the distance to frontier from 2009 to 2013. The 20 economies improving the most are highlighted in red. Source: Doing Business database. of the 10 made changes in this area. Improvements in construction permitting often show results only after a long lag following the approval of new laws or systems. In Russia it took more than a decade for the national urban planning code of 1997 to be implemented in Moscow. The mayor finally adopted the code in April 2011, replacing multiple ad hoc regulations. But builders in Moscow are only now experiencing the positive effects of its implementation. In Guatemala City the municipality expanded the onestop shop for construction permitting to include the water company, EMPAGUA, in 2012. Property registration was another common focus, with 7 of the top improvers implementing changes in this area. The Rwanda Natural Resources Authority implemented a systematic land registration program, and now 90% of properties in the country are registered. In March 2013 Burundi established a one-stop shop for property transfers. Guatemala, FYR Macedonia, the Philippines, Rwanda and Ukraine simplified the process of paying taxes for firms. Expanding or introducing online filing and payment systems and simplifying tax forms were the most common features of the reforms in these economies. Other top improvers enhanced insolvency legislation, strengthened the legal rights of creditors or increased the scope of credit information available. The Philippines improved credit information sharing by guaranteeing borrowers’ right to access their data in the country’s largest credit bureau. In FYR Macedonia new amendments to the Law on Contractual Pledge, adopted in June 2012, allow more flexibility in the design of debt agreements using movable collateral. And in Djibouti a new commercial code that replaced the one from 1986 strengthened the legal rights of creditors and improved the insolvency framework. Improvements to the import and export process were also common. Russia introduced a new data interchange system in 2009 enabling traders to submit customs declarations and supporting documents electronically. The number of users has since grown, and it is now the most popular method of submitting customs declarations. Rwanda implemented an electronic single-window system in January 2013 at the Rusumo border post with Tanzania, the post used to access the port of Dar es Salaam. Connected to such institutions as the Rwanda Bureau of Standards and the Rwanda Development Board, the system allows traders to receive verifications and approvals electronically. Four economies among the 10 top improvers reduced the complexity and cost of getting an electricity connection. Russia made obtaining a connection simpler and less costly by streamlining procedures and setting standard connection tariffs. Only 2 of the 10 top improvers strengthened the protections of minority investors—Rwanda and FYR Macedonia. And only 1 made enforcing contracts easier— Côte d’Ivoire, by introducing a specialized commercial court. WHO IMPROVED THE MOST IN THE PAST 5 YEARS? Many of the top improvers in 2012/13 have been actively reforming business regulations for several years. This year’s report presents the global trends since 2009. That year was chosen for 2 main reasons. First, starting with 2009 provides 5 annual data points, allowing analysis of medium-term improvements. And second, it means that the distance to frontier measure can be used to analyze the improvement across all 10 topics now included in the ease of doing business ranking, since 2009 was the first OVERVIEW 2013 Serbia Russian Federation Costa Rica Kyrgyz Republic Sri Lanka Lebanon Azerbaijan China Solomon Islands Mongolia Nepal Vietnam Paraguay Dominican Republic Kuwait Grenada St. Kitts and Nevis Philippines Palau Jordan Swaziland Albania Papua New Guinea El Salvador Kenya Cape Verde Nicaragua Ukraine Honduras Guyana Pakistan Indonesia Bosnia and Herzegovina Ethiopia Ecuador Kiribati Lesotho Tanzania Yemen, Rep. Egypt, Arab Rep. Marshall Islands Argentina Bhutan Mozambique West Bank and Gaza Iran, Islamic Rep. Uganda Brazil India Sudan Algeria Mali Gabon Sierra Leone Bangladesh Liberia Cambodia Gambia, The Iraq Cameroon Côte d‘Ivoire Madagascar Lao PDR Togo Bolivia São Tomé and Príncipe Comoros Equatorial Guinea Burkina Faso Burundi Uzbekistan Tajikistan Suriname Nigeria Benin Malawi Senegal Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Djibouti Guinea-Bissau Syrian Arab Republic Angola Timor-Leste Guinea Niger Mauritania Haiti Afghanistan Zimbabwe Venezuela, RB Congo, Rep. Congo, Dem. Rep. Eritrea Central African Republic Chad 2009 year in which data were collected for the getting electricity indicators. economies that typically rank low on the ease of doing business. Regulations have become more businessfriendly over time, but for a large number of economies there is ample room for more improvement. On average since 2009, the 183 economies included in the analysis have narrowed the gap with the regulatory frontier by 3.1 percentage points (figure 1.7). In 2009 these economies were 41.3 percentage points from the frontier on average, with the closest economy 9.3 percentage points away and the furthest one 72.3 percentage points away. Now these 183 economies are 38.1 percentage points from the frontier on average, with the closest economy 7.8 percentage points away and the furthest economy 68.8 percentage points away. In some economies the absence of regulatory reforms may reflect a turbulent political and institutional environment, which sharply limits the government’s ability to focus on creating a more business-friendly regulatory environment. Civil conflicts, widespread poverty and serious constraints in administrative capacity may make it difficult, for example, to strengthen creditors’ rights, create a more efficient judicial system or expand the range of protections afforded to minority shareholders. In other economies, however, the issue is not capacity or resource constraints but the policy choices the authorities have made, often biased against the private sector. In these economies the distance to frontier measure reveals a significant worsening in the quality of the business regulatory environment over the past several years, with small and medium-size enterprises facing a growing number of cumbersome restrictions and distortions. Two-thirds of the reforms recorded by Doing Business in the past 5 years focused on reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes; the remaining third sought to strengthen the institutional framework for business regulation. Among the 183 economies, only 7 implemented no changes in any of the areas measured by Doing Business—Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Eritrea, Iraq, Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia and the United States. Except for the United States, these are Improvement across regions and income groups Since 2009 all regions of the world and economies at all income levels have improved their business regulations on average. Moreover, improvement is happening where it is most needed. The regions where regulatory processes are longer and costlier and regulatory institutions are weaker are also those where the biggest improvements have occurred. Over the past 5 years Sub-Saharan Africa reduced the gap with the regulatory frontier by 3 times as much as OECD highincome economies did (figure 1.8). And low-income economies improved their average distance to frontier score at twice the rate that high-income economies did (figure 1.9). Part of the explanation is that high-income economies were much closer to the frontier to start with and therefore had less room to improve. But lowincome economies have nevertheless made an important effort to improve business regulations since 2009. Business regulatory reform is particularly relevant in low-income economies. Information presented in this year’s report shows the link between better business regulations and economic growth (see the chapter on research on the effects of business regulations). Moreover, recent research shows that economic growth remains the most important factor in determining the pace of income growth for poor people.5 Together, this evidence indicates that having sensible business regulations contributes to reducing poverty 11 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 1.8 All regions are improving in the areas measured by Doing Business 100 Average distance to frontier (percentage points) 12 Regulatory frontier OECD 70 Gap between OECD high-income economies and rest of the world ECA EAP MENA LAC SAS 60 50 SSA 40 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Note: The distance to frontier measure shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2003 or the first year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in Doing Business 2010 (2009) and to the regional classifications for 2013. Six economies were added in subsequent years. EAP = East Asia and the Pacific; ECA = Europe and Central Asia; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MENA = Middle East and North Africa; OECD = OECD high income; SAS = South Asia; SSA = Sub-Saharan Africa. Source: Doing Business database. and boosting shared prosperity, the twin goals of the World Bank Group. Across regions, starting a business emerges as the area with the largest share of reforms since 2009. Among OECD high-income economies resolving insolvency and paying taxes are the areas with the highest shares of reformers. A similar pattern can be seen in Europe and Central Asia, where 73% of economies reformed in resolving insolvency and 85% in paying taxes. These reform choices partly reflect the response to the global financial crisis, which created a pressing need to streamline insolvency processes and lighten the burden of tax administration on the enterprise sector. FIGURE 1.9 Low-income economies have narrowed the gap with the regulatory frontier the most since 2009 High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income 0 1 2 3 4 5 Average improvement in distance to frontier (percentage points), 2009–13 Note: The distance to frontier measure shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2003 or the first year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in Doing Business 2010 (2009) and to the income group classifications for 2013. Six economies were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. Beyond starting a business, different regions focused their regulatory reform efforts on different areas. In Sub-Saharan Africa the second greatest area of focus since 2009 has been trading across borders, while in South Asia economies were more likely to focus on registering property. In East Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean the focus was on paying taxes, and in the Middle East and North Africa on getting credit. Although starting a business has been the most common area of regulatory reform, it is not the area with the biggest improvements at the regional level since 2009—mainly because the starting point in 2009 was already closer to the regulatory frontier than it was in other areas. OECD high-income economies narrowed the gap with the frontier the most in resolving insolvency, Europe and Central Asia in paying taxes, South Asia in registering property, and the Middle East and North Africa, East Asia and the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa in getting credit. The 20 economies narrowing the gap the most Of the 20 economies narrowing the gap with the regulatory frontier the most since 2009, 9 are in Sub-Saharan Africa, 8 are in Europe and Central Asia, 2 are in East Asia and the Pacific, and 1 is an OECD high-income economy (figure 1.7). None are in the Middle East and North Africa or Latin America and the Caribbean, the regions that consistently have smaller numbers of reformers. Among the 20 economies are both small and large economies as well as economies at all income levels, though there is a higher incidence of low- and lower-middle-income economies. Together over the past 5 years, these 20 economies implemented 253 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business, about 20% of the global total for the period. Two of them—Ukraine and Rwanda—implemented at least 1 regulatory reform in every area measured by Doing Business. In line with the global trend, starting a business was the most common area of regulatory reform among the 20 economies, followed by paying taxes. The 20 economies narrowing the regulatory gap the most are dynamic in other OVERVIEW IN WHAT AREAS HAS THE GAP BEEN NARROWING THE MOST? Among the more encouraging trends shown by Doing Business data over the past decade is the gradual convergence in economies’ performance in the areas tracked by the indicators. Economies with the weakest regulatory institutions and the most complex and costly regulatory processes tend to undertake regulatory reform less often. But when they do, they focus on the areas where their regulatory performance is worse, slowly but steadily beginning to adopt some of the better practices seen among the best performers. Here is an example: In 2005 the time to start a business in the economies FIGURE 1.10 A steady increase in total firm density among economies narrowing the regulatory gap the most since 2009 Total firm density (firms per 1,000 adults) 70 60 Macedonia, FYR Malaysia 50 40 Russian Federation 30 Georgia 20 Armenia 10 World average 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 14 Total firm density (firms per 1,000 adults) ways as well. Overall, new firm creation in these economies has at least kept pace with the world average in recent years. Total firm density—the number of firms per 1,000 adults—has steadily increased (figure 1.10). In Russia, for example, the number of firms per 1,000 adults grew from 22 in 2006 to 35 in 2012. In a few of the Sub-Saharan African economies the number increased more than 10fold. In Rwanda the number of firms per 1,000 adults rose from 0.3 to 3.4. While this is still substantially below the world average of 12.4, the increase over time is impressive. Globally, both total firm density and new firm density (the number of new firms created per 1,000 adults) are significantly correlated with performance on the Doing Business indicators (figure 1.11). World average 12 10 8 6 Belarus 4 Rwanda Kosovo 2 Sierra Leone Togo 0 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Note: Data refer to limited liability companies. Other economies among the 20 narrowing the regulatory gap the most are excluded from the figure because of missing data. Source: World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Snapshots, 2013 edition. ranking in the worst quartile on this indicator averaged 113 days. Among the best 3 quartiles it averaged 29 days. Today that gap is substantially narrower. While the difference is still substantial at 33 days, it is considerably smaller than the 85 days in 2005 (figure 1.12). Similar trends can be seen in other indicators measuring the complexity and cost FIGURE 1.11 Greater firm density in economies closer to the regulatory frontier 100 Distance to frontier (percentage points), 2012 Distance to frontier (percentage points), 2012 100 80 60 40 80 60 40 20 0 0 100 200 300 Total firm density (firms per 1,000 adults), 2012 400 0 10 20 30 New firm density (newly registered firms per 1,000 adults), 2012 Note: The correlation between the distance to frontier and total firm density is 0.44. The correlation between the distance to frontier and new firm density is 0.43. Both correlations are significant at the 1% level. Data refer to limited liability companies. Source: Doing Business database; World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Snapshots, 2013 edition. 13 14 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 1.12 Strong convergence across economies since 2005 Averages by group Time to pay taxes (hours per year) 800 Time to start a business (days) 120 700 100 Worst quartile Worst quartile 600 80 500 60 400 40 Best 3 quartiles 300 Best 3 quartiles 200 20 100 0 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Time to deal with construction permits (days) 400 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Time to register property (days) 250 Worst quartile 350 200 300 Worst quartile 250 150 200 Best 3 quartiles 100 150 Best 3 quartiles 100 50 50 0 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Time to export (days) 60 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Time to import (days) 70 Worst quartile 50 60 Worst quartile 50 40 40 30 Best 3 quartiles 30 20 Best 3 quartiles 20 10 10 0 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Cost to start a business (% of income per capita) 350 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Cost to register property (% of property value) 16 14 300 Worst quartile 12 250 Worst quartile 200 10 8 150 6 100 Best 3 quartiles 50 Best 3 quartiles 4 2 0 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Note: Economies are ranked in quartiles by performance in 2005 on the indicator shown. The data refer to the 174 economies included in Doing Business 2006 (2005). Fifteen economies were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW of regulatory processes. These trends are wholly in keeping with the World Bank Group’s mandate of helping to narrow the differences between high- and uppermiddle-income economies at relatively advanced stages of development and low- or lower-middle-income economies facing more adverse circumstances. Accelerating this convergence is at the heart of effective development policies, and the improvements in performance on Doing Business indicators by economies around the world are an encouraging sign. A similar convergence can be seen when the data are aggregated by region. While OECD high-income economies continue to have the strongest legal institutions and the least complex and costly regulatory processes on average, Europe and Central Asia has been narrowing the gap with their performance, more so than any other region. To a great extent this reflects efforts by the 8 economies joining the European Union in 2004, which have largely continued on a path of comprehensive and ambitious economic and institutional reforms. In the period leading up to EU entry the incentive was to meet the entry criteria. But after 2004 the emphasis shifted to ensuring that they could compete with their more developed high-income partners. Thus in 2012, for example, Poland was the economy that had narrowed the gap with the regulatory frontier the most over the previous year, among all 185 economies ranked. This suggests that the economic integration in the European Union over the past decade has been an effective mechanism in promoting convergence. Indeed, Poland is now classified as a high-income economy, a remarkable achievement over 2 decades. Every region has a leading champion in the scope of improvements made since 2005—whether Poland for OECD high-income economies, China for East Asia and the Pacific or Colombia for Latin America and the Caribbean. And this year a small country in Sub-Saharan Africa, Rwanda, overtook another small country—Georgia, in Europe and Central Asia—as the economy advancing furthest toward the regulatory frontier since 2005 (table 1.4). DO DOING BUSINESS REFORMS GO HAND IN HAND WITH OTHER REFORMS? Since its inception in 2003 Doing Business has recorded more than 2,100 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business, about 25% of which have been inspired or informed by the report and the associated database.6 Most economies that undertake regulatory reforms as recorded by Doing Business do so as part of a broader reform agenda. Data show that governments investing resources in Doing Business reforms in the past decade have also introduced many policy changes in other important areas. One such area is governance. Data show that improvements in the areas measured by Doing Business are positively correlated with changes in general regulatory quality, a key element of the overall quality of governance. This suggests that economies reforming in areas tracked by Doing Business are likely to be reforming regulation more broadly, not just business regulation. There is also a positive association between improvements in Doing Business indicators and improvements in rule of law and control of corruption. This result is confirmed using other data sources as well. Economies that have improved their performance on Doing Business indicators have also improved their performance on governance measures such as those published by Transparency International, Freedom House and the World Bank, in its Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA) (figure 1.13).7 Another such area is health and education. Economies that implement reforms in areas measured by Doing Business also improve health and education at least as fast on average as economies not focusing on such reforms (figure 1.14). This relationship is assessed using the Human Development Index and its components on health and education.8 The result suggests that a focus on improving the quality of the regulatory framework underpinning private sector activity need not imply a simultaneous lack of attention to improvements in health and education. The cost to amend a company or secured transactions law, or to create a onestop shop for company incorporation, is insignificant compared with the cost to build a hospital or university. There is no evidence to support the view that progress in one policy area necessarily preempts progress in others. In addition, many economies implementing reforms in areas measured by Doing Business are also putting in place measures to improve gender equality. Among the 42 economies identified by Women, Business and the Law as having moved their laws and regulations toward greater gender equality over the past 2 years, 65% also reformed in areas tracked by Doing Business during the same period. WHAT IS IN THIS YEAR’S REPORT? This year’s report presents for the first time a separate chapter about research on the effects of business regulations. There is a rapidly growing body of empirical research examining the impact of improvements in many of the regulatory areas tracked by the Doing Business indicators, and this chapter provides a useful—and encouraging—synthesis. This year’s report also presents an expanded data set. It includes 189 economies, featuring for the first time data for Libya, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. Like previous reports, this year’s report includes case studies. These focus on good practices in 6 of the areas measured by Doing Business indicator sets, with a particular focus on e-government and online government services. The case studies look at the role of minimum capital requirements in starting a business; risk-based inspections in dealing with construction permits; the cost structure in getting electricity; singlewindow systems in trading across borders; e-filing and e-payment in paying taxes; and e-courts in enforcing contracts. In choosing case studies and describing attempts in different parts of the world to implement better practices, the report has attempted to illustrate experiences and highlight processes with broad relevance for governments considering similar reforms. There are potentially useful 15 16 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 1.4 The 50 economies narrowing the distance to frontier the most since 2005 Distance to frontier (percentage points) Economy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Rwanda Georgia Belarus Ukraine Macedonia, FYR Burkina Faso Kyrgyz Republic Tajikistan Burundi Egypt, Arab Rep. Mali Sierra Leone China Poland Azerbaijan Colombia Ghana Guinea-Bissau Croatia Côte d'Ivoire Guatemala Kazakhstan Armenia Madagascar Mauritius Angola Senegal Morocco Russian Federation Togo Yemen, Rep. Saudi Arabia Lao PDR Czech Republic Moldova Timor-Leste India Mozambique Niger Peru São Tomé and Principe Costa Rica Malaysia Uzbekistan Slovenia Lesotho Zambia Mexico Cambodia Solomon Islands Region 2005 2013 Improvement SSA ECA ECA ECA ECA SSA ECA ECA SSA MENA SSA SSA EAP OECD ECA LAC SSA SSA ECA SSA LAC ECA ECA SSA SSA SSA SSA MENA ECA SSA MENA MENA EAP OECD ECA EAP SAS SSA SSA LAC SSA LAC EAP ECA OECD SSA SSA LAC EAP EAP 37.4 48.4 41.1 38.2 54.3 30.6 44.9 30.8 33.2 38.0 34.3 37.3 45.0 57.6 49.0 55.1 52.0 32.9 49.1 36.5 51.1 48.4 56.2 41.9 61.4 32.5 35.7 52.0 49.9 36.7 43.9 60.1 37.2 57.6 54.5 27.9 40.7 45.0 31.8 60.0 35.7 49.7 71.4 38.2 60.0 46.0 54.8 61.9 40.3 51.3 70.5 80.8 67.1 61.3 74.2 50.0 63.7 48.4 50.6 55.1 51.2 54.1 60.9 73.4 64.6 70.3 67.0 47.2 63.2 50.2 64.7 61.8 69.7 54.2 73.5 44.5 47.6 63.9 61.6 48.1 55.1 71.3 48.3 68.7 65.6 38.8 51.3 55.5 42.3 70.4 46.0 60.0 81.6 48.3 70.0 56.0 64.8 71.8 50.1 61.0 33.1 32.3 26.0 23.1 19.9 19.4 18.8 17.6 17.4 17.1 16.9 16.8 15.9 15.8 15.6 15.2 15.0 14.2 14.0 13.7 13.6 13.5 13.5 12.3 12.0 12.0 12.0 11.8 11.6 11.3 11.2 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 10.9 10.6 10.5 10.5 10.4 10.3 10.3 10.2 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 9.9 9.8 9.8 Total regulatory reformsa 34 36 29 26 31 20 14 14 21 23 16 20 18 22 18 27 12 7 23 14 18 20 23 19 23 9 11 18 22 9 7 19 12 22 21 6 17 12 11 19 5 12 17 19 17 9 10 19 8 5 Note: Rankings are based on the absolute difference for each economy between its distance to frontier in 2005 and that in 2013. The data refer to the 174 economies included in Doing Business 2006 (2005). Fifteen economies were added in subsequent years. The distance to frontier measure shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2003 or the first year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. EAP = East Asia and the Pacific; ECA = Eastern Europe and Central Asia; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MENA = Middle East and North Africa; OECD = OECD high income; SAS = South Asia; SSA = Sub-Saharan Africa. a. Reforms making it easier to do business as recorded by Doing Business since 2005. Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW TABLE 1.5 Good practices around the world, by Doing Business topic Topic Making it easy to start a business Practice Putting procedures online Having no minimum capital requirement Having a one-stop shop Making it easy to deal with construction permits Making it easy to obtain an electricity connection Making it easy to register property Making it easy to get credit Protecting investors Making it easy to pay taxes Making it easy to trade across borders Making it easy to enforce contracts Having comprehensive building rules Using risk-based building approvals Having a one-stop shop Economiesa Examples 109 Azerbaijan; Chile; Costa Rica; Hong Kong SAR, China; FYR Macedonia; New Zealand; Peru; Singapore 99 Cape Verde; Greece; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Kosovo; Lithuania; Mexico; Mongolia; Morocco; Netherlands; Serbia; United Kingdom; West Bank and Gaza 96 Bahrain; Benin; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Côte d’Ivoire; Georgia; Guatemala; Republic of Korea; Kosovo; Peru; Vietnam 140 Azerbaijan; Comoros; France; Taiwan, China 87 Belize; Estonia; Indonesia; Namibia 36 Burundi; Guatemala; Malaysia; Montenegro Streamlining approval processes (utility obtains excavation permit or right of way if required) Providing transparent connection costs and processes Reducing the financial burden of security deposits for new connections Ensuring the safety of internal wiring by regulating the electrical profession rather than the connection process Using an electronic database for encumbrances Offering cadastre information online Offering expedited procedures Setting fixed transfer fees 107b Armenia; Austria; Cambodia; China; Kuwait; Malaysia; Panama 103c 98 France; Germany; Ireland; Netherlands; Trinidad and Tobago Argentina; Austria; Brazil; Kyrgyz Republic; Latvia; Mozambique; Nepal; Russian Federation Denmark; Germany; Iceland; Japan; San Marino 116 51 18 10 Chile; Denmark; Jamaica; Republic of Korea; Sweden Colombia; Finland; Malaysia; South Africa; United Kingdom Kazakhstan; Mongolia; Nicaragua; Portugal; Romania Georgia; New Zealand; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Slovak Republic Legal rights Allowing out-of-court enforcement 124 Australia; Guatemala; India; Peru; Russian Federation; Serbia; Sri Lanka Cambodia; Canada; Nigeria; Puerto Rico (U.S.); Romania; Rwanda; Singapore Afghanistan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Ghana; Honduras; Montenegro; New Zealand; Romania 41 Allowing a general description of collateral 92 Maintaining a unified registry 65 Credit information Distributing data on loans below 1% of income per capita Distributing both positive and negative credit information Distributing credit information from retailers or utilities as well as financial institutions Allowing rescission of prejudicial related-party transactionsd Regulating approval of related-party transactions Requiring detailed disclosure Allowing access to all corporate documents during the trial Requiring external review of related-party transactions Allowing access to all corporate documents before the trial Defining clear duties for directors Allowing self-assessment Allowing electronic filing and payment Having one tax per tax base Allowing electronic submission and processing Using risk-based inspectionsf Providing a single windowf Maintaining specialized commercial court, division or judge Allowing electronic filing of complaints Making it easy to Requiring professional or academic qualifications for resolve insolvency insolvency administrators by law Allowing creditors’ committees a say in insolvency proceeding decisions Specifying time limits for the majority of insolvency procedures Providing a legal framework for out-of-court workouts 128 109 57 Brazil; Bulgaria; Germany; Kenya; Malaysia; Sri Lanka; Tunisia China; Croatia; India; Italy; Jordan; Panama; South Africa Fiji; Lithuania; Nicaragua; Rwanda; Saudi Arabia; Spain 74 62 52 Brazil; Ghana; Iceland; India; Mauritius; Rwanda Belarus; Bulgaria; France; Thailand; United Kingdom Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; Singapore; United Arab Emirates; Vietnam Chile; Ireland; Israel; Slovak Republic; Tanzania Australia; Arab Republic of Egypt; Sweden; Turkey; Zimbabwe Greece; Indonesia; Japan; South Africa; Timor-Leste Colombia; Kuwait; Malaysia; Mexico; Slovenia; United States Argentina; Canada; China; Rwanda; Sri Lanka; Turkey Australia; Colombia; India; Lithuania; Malta; Mauritius; Tunisia FYR Macedonia; Namibia; Paraguay; United Kingdom Greece; Lao PDR; South Africa; Uruguay Botswana; Georgia; Mauritania; United States Azerbaijan; Colombia; Mexico; Mozambique Canada; Côte d’Ivoire; Hungary; Luxembourg; Mauritius; Togo 47 43 31 30 160 76 55 151e 134 73g 90 17 110 Austria; Israel; Malaysia; United Arab Emirates; United States 109 The Bahamas; Belarus; Colombia; Namibia; Poland; United Kingdom Australia; Bulgaria; Philippines; United States; Uzbekistan 97 Albania; Italy; Japan; Republic of Korea; Lesotho; Ukraine 84 Argentina; Hong Kong SAR, China; Latvia; Philippines; Romania a. Among 189 economies surveyed, unless otherwise specified. b. Among 154 economies surveyed. c. Based on data from Doing Business 2013. d. Rescission is the right of parties involved in a contract to return to a state identical to that before they entered into the agreement. e. Forty-four have a full electronic data interchange system, 107 a partial one. f. Among 181 economies surveyed. g. Eighteen have a single-window system that links all relevant government agencies, 55 a system that does so partially. Source: Doing Business database. 17 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 1.13 Improvements in Doing Business indicators are positively correlated with improvements in institutional and governance measures 30 Change in distance to frontier (percentage points), 2005–12 Change in distance to frontier (percentage points), 2005–12 30 20 10 0 –2 –1 0 1 2 Change in Corruption Perceptions Index, 2005–12 20 10 0 3 –0.5 0 Change in CPIA average rating, 2005–12 0.5 Note: For years before 2009 the distance to frontier data exclude the getting electricity indicators because data for these indicators are not available. The correlation between the change in the distance to frontier and the change in the Corruption Perceptions Index is 0.36. The correlation between the change in the distance to frontier and the change in the CPIA average rating is 0.23. Both relationships are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. The CPIA data refer to 77 economies covered in 2005. Source: Doing Business database; Transparency International data; World Bank data. encourage adequate competition—all this is largely within the control of governments. As governments over the past decade have increasingly understood the importance of business regulation as a driving force of competitiveness, they have turned to Doing Business as a repository of actionable data providing useful insights into good practices worldwide (table 1.5). FIGURE 1.14 Economies making it easier to do business are also improving human development, including education and health 10 Change in distance to frontier (percentage points), 2009–12 18 5 0 NOTES 1. See http://wbl.worldbank.org for more –5 –0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 Change in Human Development Index, 2009–12 Note: The correlation between the change in the distance to frontier and the change in the Human Development Index is 0.31. The relationship is significant at the 1% level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database; United Nations Development Programme data. lessons to be learned from the experiences of others. The kind of data delivered by Doing Business over the years has sustained the interest of policy makers. One reason is that implementing coherent economic policies in the face of a rapidly changing global economy and an uncertain economic outlook is a great challenge. Many of the factors shaping the environment in which economic policies are formulated lie well outside the control of most policy makers, especially those in the developing world; global interest rates, the international prices of primary commodities, the quality of macroeconomic management in the larger economies, are all examples that come to mind. But the rules and regulations that governments choose to put in place to underpin private sector activity are largely homemade. Whether the rules are sensible or excessively burdensome, whether they create perverse incentives or help establish a level playing field, whether they safeguard transparency and information about the Women, Business and the Law project. 2. Formalities include procedures in starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property and enforcing contracts; documents in trading across borders; and payments in paying taxes. The reduction is the difference between the total number captured in Doing Business 2013 and that captured in Doing Business 2014, across all economies covered by Doing Business. 3. The total number of firms registered exceeds 3.1 million, but because Doing Business focuses only on limited liability companies a subset of firms was chosen here. 4. The share of economies with 1 or more regulatory reforms of any type might not be the same as the sum of the share of economies with at least 1 reform to strengthen legal institutions and the share with at least 1 reform to reduce the complexity and cost of regulatory processes (see figure 1.6) because economies can have reforms of both types. OVERVIEW 5. Dollar, Kleineberg and Kraay 2013. 6. These are reforms for which Doing Business is aware that information provided by the Doing Business report was used in shaping the reform agenda. 7. One of the 16 questions in the CPIA uses Doing Business indicators as guideposts. 8. The correlation between the change in the distance to frontier and the change in the health component of the Human Development Index is 0.28. The correlation between the change in the distance to frontier and the change in the schooling component of the Human Development Index is 0.16. Both relationships are significant at the 1% level after controlling for income per capita. 19 About Doing Business: measuring for impact • The choice of indicators for Doing Business has been guided by economic research and firm-level data. • Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. • In constructing the indicators Doing Business uses 2 types of data—data that come from readings of laws and regulations and data that measure the complexity and cost of regulatory processes. • The indicators are developed around standardized case scenarios with specific assumptions. One such assumption is the location of a business in the largest business city of the economy. • The objective of Doing Business: regulations designed to be efficient, accessible to all who use them and simple in their implementation. • Over the past 11 years more than 25,000 professionals in 189 economies have assisted in providing the data that inform the Doing Business indicators. Sound business regulations are important for a thriving private sector—and a thriving private sector is important for overall development. In the developing world the private sector is the largest employer, providing an estimated 90% of jobs.1 Having the right business regulations and related institutions is therefore essential for the health of an economy.2 This is the 11th Doing Business report. Before the first report was produced, in 2003, few measures of business regulations existed, and even fewer that were globally comparable. Earlier efforts from the 1980s and 1990s drew on perceptions data. These expert or business surveys focused on broad aspects of the business environment and often captured the experiences of businesses. These surveys often lacked the specificity and cross-country comparability that Doing Business provides—by focusing on well-defined transactions, laws and institutions rather than generic, perceptions-based questions on the business environment. Doing Business measures business regulations for local firms. The project focuses on small and medium-size companies operating in the largest business city of an economy. Based on standardized case studies, it presents quantitative indicators on the regulations that apply to firms at different stages of their life cycle. The results for each economy can be benchmarked to those for 188 other economies and over time. De jure rules, such as those that are the focus of Doing Business, can be measured in a standardized way and are directly amenable to policy reforms. But these measures may not reflect the de facto experiences of firms. Data collected through firm-level surveys can better measure actual experiences. Over the years the choice of indicators for Doing Business has therefore been guided by economic research and firm-level data, in particular from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. These surveys provide data highlighting the main obstacles to business activity as reported by entrepreneurs in more than 120 economies. Among the factors that the surveys have identified as important to businesses have been access to finance and electricity—inspiring the design of the Doing Business indicators on getting credit and getting electricity. The design of the Doing Business indicators has also drawn on theoretical insights gleaned from extensive research literature. One early inspiration was a background paper for the World Bank’s World Development Report 2002: Building Institutions for Markets, which created an index measuring the efficiency of judicial systems.3 This paper contributed to a new stream of research literature in law and economics. The background papers developing the methodology for each of the Doing Business indicator sets are part of this research stream.4 These papers established the importance of the rules and regulations that Doing Business measures for such economic outcomes as trade volumes, foreign direct investment, market capitalization in stock exchanges and private credit as a percentage of GDP. Rules and regulations are under the direct control of policy makers—and policy makers intending to change the set of incentives under which businesses operate will often start by changing rules and regulations that have an impact on firm behavior. Doing Business goes beyond identifying an existing problem in the regulatory framework and points to specific ABOUT DOING BUSINESS: MEASURING FOR IMPACT regulations or regulatory procedures that may lend themselves to regulatory reform. And its quantitative measures of business regulations enable research on how specific regulations affect firm behavior and economic outcomes. The first Doing Business report covered 5 topics and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 topics and 189 economies. Ten topics are included in both the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business and the distance to frontier measure.5 The Doing Business methodology makes it possible to update the indicators in a relatively inexpensive and replicable way. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and independent reviewers—most recently an independent panel appointed by the president of the World Bank Group. The panel’s recommendations came too late for significant changes to this year’s report, but the project will explore options for improvement in coming editions. To this end, operational oversight for the project will be moved to the Development Economics Vice Presidency of the World Bank Group, to strengthen synergies between Doing Business and other World Bank Group flagship reports. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business. WHAT DOING BUSINESS COVERS Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative measures of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures regulations on employing workers. This year’s report does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. It does present the data on the employing workers indicators. Additional data on labor regulations collected in 189 economies are available on the Doing Business website.6 An emphasis on smart regulations Doing Business is not about eliminating the role of the state from private sector development. On the contrary, Doing Business recognizes that the state has a fundamental role in private sector development. A key premise of Doing Business is that economic activity requires good rules. These include rules that establish and clarify property rights, reduce the cost of resolving disputes, increase the predictability of economic interactions and provide contractual partners with core protections against abuse. The objective is to have regulations designed to be efficient, accessible to all who use them and simple in their implementation. Accordingly, some Doing Business indicators give a higher score for better and more developed regulation, as the protecting investors indicators do for stricter disclosure requirements for related-party transactions. Other indicators, such as those on dealing with construction permits, automatically assign the lowest score to economies that have no regulations in the area measured or do not apply their regulations (considered “no practice” economies), penalizing them for lacking appropriate regulation. Still others give a higher score for a simplified way of applying regulation with lower compliance costs for firms—as the starting a business indicators do, for example, if firms can comply with business start-up formalities in a one-stop shop or through a single online filing portal. And finally, some indicators recognize economies that apply a risk-based approach to regulation as a way to address environmental and social concerns—that is, by imposing greater regulatory requirements on activities that pose a higher risk to the population and lesser regulatory requirements on lower-risk activities. regulate different aspects of private sector activity. Yet all these economies perform well not only on the Doing Business indicators but also in other international data sets capturing dimensions of competitiveness. The economies performing best in the Doing Business rankings therefore are not those with no regulation but those whose governments have managed to create rules that facilitate interactions in the marketplace without needlessly hindering the development of the private sector. Ultimately, Doing Business is about smart regulations, and these can be provided only by a well-functioning state (figure 2.1). Two types of data In constructing the indicators the Doing Business project uses 2 types of data. The first comes from readings of laws and regulations in each economy. The Doing Business team, in collaboration with local expert respondents, examines the company law to find, for example, the disclosure requirements for related-party transactions. It reads the civil law to find the number of procedures necessary to resolve a commercial sale dispute through local courts. It reviews the labor code to find data on a range of issues concerning employer-employee relations. And it plumbs other legal instruments for other key pieces of data used in the indicators, several of which have a large legal dimension. Indeed, about three-quarters of the FIGURE 2.1 How does Doing Business define SMART business regulations? S M STREAMLINED—regulations that accomplish the desired outcome in the most efficient way MEANINGFUL—regulations that have a measurable positive impact in facilitating interactions in the marketplace ADAPTABLE—regulations that adapt to changes in the environment A Among the 30 economies ranking highest on the ease of doing business, a substantial number—Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden—come from a tradition of the government having quite a prominent presence in the economy, including through setting out rules to R T RELEVANT—regulations that are proportionate to the problem they are designed to solve TRANSPARENT—regulations that are clear and accessible to anyone who needs to use them 21 22 DOING BUSINESS 2014 data used in Doing Business are of this type and are easily verifiable against the law. The local expert respondents play a vital role in corroborating the Doing Business team’s understanding and interpretation of rules and laws. Data of the second type serve as inputs into indicators on the complexity and cost of regulatory processes. These indicators measure the efficiency in achieving a regulatory goal, such as the number of procedures to obtain a building permit or the time taken to grant legal identity to a business. In this group of indicators cost estimates are recorded from official fee schedules where applicable. Time estimates often involve an element of judgment by respondents who routinely administer the relevant regulations or undertake the relevant transactions. To construct the time indicators, a regulatory process such as starting a business is broken down into clearly defined steps and procedures (for more details, see the discussion on methodology in this chapter). In constructing the starting a business indicators Doing Business builds on Hernando de Soto’s pioneering work in applying the time-andmotion approach in the 1980s to show the obstacles to setting up a garment factory on the outskirts of Lima.7 In developing the data of this second type, the Doing Business team conducts several rounds of interaction with the expert respondents—through conference calls, written correspondence and visits by the team—until there is convergence on the final answer.8 For data of the first type, because they are based on the law, there is less need for convergence and for a larger sample of experts to ensure accuracy. WHAT DOING BUSINESS DOES NOT COVER The Doing Business data have key limitations that should be kept in mind by those who use them. Limited in scope The Doing Business indicators are limited in scope. In particular: • Doing Business does not measure the full range of factors, policies and in- stitutions that affect the quality of the business environment in an economy or its national competitiveness. It does not, for example, capture aspects of security, the prevalence of bribery and corruption, market size, macroeconomic stability (including whether the government manages its public finances in a sustainable way), the state of the financial system, the state of the rental or resale property market or the level of training and skills of the labor force. • Even within the relatively small set of indicators included in Doing Business, the focus is deliberately narrow. The getting electricity indicators, for example, capture the procedures, time and cost involved for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection to supply a standardized warehouse, but they do not attempt to measure the reliability of the electricity supply itself. Through these indicators Doing Business thus provides a narrow perspective on the range of infrastructure challenges that firms face, particularly in the developing world. It does not address the extent to which inadequate roads, rail, ports and communications may add to firms’ costs and undermine competitiveness (except to the extent that the quality of ports and roads is measured through the trading across borders indicators). Doing Business cov- ers 11 areas of a company’s life cycle, through 11 specific sets of indicators (table 2.1). Similar to the indicators on getting electricity, those on starting a business or protecting investors do not cover all aspects of commercial legislation. And those on employing workers do not cover all areas of labor regulation; for example, they do not measure regulations addressing health and safety issues at work or the right of collective bargaining. • Doing Business does not attempt to measure all costs and benefits of a particular law or regulation to society as a whole. The paying taxes indicators, for example, measure the total tax rate, which in isolation is a cost to businesses. The indicators do not measure, nor are they intended to measure, the benefits of the social and economic programs funded through tax revenues. Measuring business laws and regulations provides one input into the debate on the regulatory burden associated with achieving regulatory objectives. Those objectives can differ across economies. Doing Business provides a starting point for this discussion. Limited to standardized case scenarios A key consideration for the Doing Business indicators is that they should ensure TABLE 2.1 Doing Business—benchmarking 11 areas of business regulation Complexity and cost of regulatory processes Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost Registering property Procedures, time and cost Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate Trading across borders Documents, time and cost Strength of legal institutions Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting investors Disclosure and liability in related-party transactions Enforcing contracts Procedures, time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate Employing workers Flexibility in the regulation of employment Note: The employing workers indicators are not included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business nor in the calculation of distance to frontier or any data on the strength of legal institutions included in figures in the report. ABOUT DOING BUSINESS: MEASURING FOR IMPACT comparability of the data across a global set of economies. The indicators are therefore developed around standardized case scenarios with specific assumptions. One such assumption is the location of a notional business—the subject of the Doing Business case study—in the largest business city of the economy. The reality is that business regulations and their enforcement very often differ within a country, particularly in federal states and large economies. But gathering data for every relevant jurisdiction in each of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business would be far too costly. Doing Business recognizes the limitations of the standardized case scenarios and assumptions. But while such assumptions come at the expense of generality, they also help ensure the comparability of data. For this reason it is common to see limiting assumptions of this kind in economic indicators. Inflation statistics, for example, are often based on prices of a set of consumer goods in a few urban areas, since collecting nationally representative price data at high frequencies would be prohibitively costly in many countries. To capture regional variation in the business environment within economies, Doing Business has complemented its global indicators with subnational studies in some economies where resources and interest have come together (box 2.1). Some Doing Business topics include complex areas, and so it is important that the standardized cases are carefully defined. For example, the standardized case scenario usually involves a limited liability company or its legal equivalent. The considerations in defining this assumption are twofold. First, private limited liability companies are, empirically, the most prevalent business form for firms with more than one owner in many economies around the world. Second, this choice reflects the focus of Doing Business on expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship: investors are encouraged to venture into business when potential losses are limited to their capital participation. Limited to the formal sector The Doing Business indicators assume that entrepreneurs have knowledge of and comply with applicable regulations. BOX 2.1 Comparing regulations at the local level: Subnational Doing Business Subnational Doing Business expands the Doing Business analysis beyond the largest business city of an economy. It captures differences in regulations or in the implementation of national laws across locations within an economy (as in India) or a region (as in South East Europe). Projects are undertaken at the request of governments. Subnational Doing Business produces disaggregated data on business regulations in locations where information has been nonexistent or where national data are insufficient to fully assess the regulatory environment. But it is more than a data collection exercise. Subnational Doing Business has proved to be a strong motivator for regulatory reform: • Subnational Doing Business involves multiple interactions with government partners at national, regional and municipal levels, resulting in local ownership and capacity building. • The data produced are comparable across locations within the economy and internationally, enabling locations to benchmark their results both locally and globally. Comparisons of locations that are within the same economy and therefore share the same legal and regulatory framework can be revealing: local officials find it hard to explain why doing business is more difficult in their jurisdiction than in a neighboring one. • Pointing out good practices that exist in some locations but not others in an economy helps policy makers recognize the potential for achieving a regulatory performance far better than that suggested by the ranking captured in the global Doing Business report. This can prompt discussions of regulatory reform across different levels of government, providing opportunities for local governments and agencies to learn from one another. • Subnational Doing Business indicators are actionable, because most of the areas measured are within governments’ mandate. In addition, the reports provide policy recommendations and examples of good practice that are easy to replicate because of the shared legal traditions and institutions. Since 2005 subnational reports have covered 355 cities in 55 economies, including Brazil, China, India, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan and the Philippines.a This year subnational studies were completed in Colombia and Italy, and a report covering one data set was produced for Hargeisa (Somaliland). Studies are ongoing in 15 cities and 3 ports in the Arab Republic of Egypt, in 31 states and the Federal District in Mexico and in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. In addition, 2 regional reports were published this year: • Doing Business in the g7+, comparing business regulations in economies of the g7+ group—Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Timor-Leste and Togo.b The g7+ group is a country-owned and country-led global mechanism established in April 2010 to monitor, report and draw attention to the unique challenges faced by fragile states. • Doing Business in the East African Community, covering Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. a. Subnational reports are available on the Doing Business website at http://www. doingbusiness.org/subnational. b. Doing Business does not collect data for Somalia, also a member of the g7+ group. 23 DOING BUSINESS 2014 In practice, entrepreneurs may not know what needs to be done or how to comply, and may lose considerable time in trying to find out. Or they may deliberately avoid compliance altogether—by not registering for social security, for example. Where regulation is particularly onerous, levels of informality tend to be higher.9 Compared with their formal sector counterparts, firms in the informal sector typically grow more slowly, have poorer access to credit and employ fewer workers—and these workers remain outside the protections of labor law.10 Firms in the informal sector are also less likely to pay taxes. Doing Business measures one set of factors that help explain the occurrence of informality and give policy makers insights into potential areas of regulatory reform. Gaining a fuller understanding of the broader business environment, and a broader perspective on policy challenges, requires combining insights from Doing Business with data from other sources, such as the World Bank Enterprise Surveys.11 WHY THIS FOCUS? Why does Doing Business focus on the regulatory environment for small and medium-size enterprises? These enterprises are key drivers of competition, growth and job creation, particularly in developing economies. But in these economies up to 65% of output is produced in the informal sector, often because of excessive bureaucracy and regulation—and in the informal sector firms lack access to the opportunities and protections that the law provides. Even firms operating in the formal sector might not all have equal access to these opportunities and protections. Where regulation is burdensome and competition limited, success tends to depend on whom one knows. But where regulation is transparent, efficient and implemented in a simple way, it becomes easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to compete on an equal footing and to innovate and expand. In this sense Doing Business values good rules as a key to social inclusion. Enabling growth—and ensuring that all people, regardless of income level, can participate in its benefits—requires an environment where new entrants with drive and good ideas FIGURE 2.2 A strong correlation between Doing Business rankings and World Economic Forum rankings on global competitiveness 2013/14 ranking on Global Competitiveness Index 24 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 DB2014 ranking on the ease of doing business 160 180 Note: Relationships are significant at the 1% level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database; WEF 2013. can get started in business and where good firms can invest and grow, thereby creating more jobs. Doing Business functions as a barometer of the regulatory environment for domestic businesses. To use a medical analogy, Doing Business is similar to a cholesterol test. A cholesterol test does not tell us everything about our health. But our cholesterol level is easier to measure than our overall health, and the test provides us with important information, warning us when we need to adjust our behavior. Similarly, Doing Business does not tell us everything we need to know about the regulatory environment for domestic businesses. But its indicators cover aspects that are more easily measured than the entire regulatory environment, and they provide important information about where change is needed. To test whether Doing Business serves as a proxy for the broader business environment and for competitiveness, one approach is to look at correlations between the Doing Business rankings and other major economic benchmarks. Closest to Doing Business in what it measures is the set of indicators on product market regulation compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These indicators are designed to help assess the extent to which the regulatory environment promotes or inhibits competition. They include measures of the extent of price controls, the licensing and permit system, the degree of simplification of rules and procedures, the administrative burdens and legal and regulatory barriers, the prevalence of discriminatory procedures and the degree of government control over business enterprises.12 These indicators—for the 39 countries that are covered, several of them large emerging markets—are correlated with the Doing Business rankings (the correlation here is 0.49). There is a high correlation (0.84) between the Doing Business rankings and the rankings on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, a much broader measure capturing such factors as macroeconomic stability, aspects of human capital, the soundness of public institutions and the sophistication of the business community (figure 2.2).13 For several of these factors the Global Competitiveness Index uses data collected by other organizations. For others it uses primary data, collected through surveys of the business community’s perceptions of the business environment.14 Self-reported experiences with business regulations, such as those captured by the Global Competitiveness Index, often vary much more within economies (across respondents in the same economy) than across economies, suggesting that different firms experience the same regulatory environment in very different ways.15 DOING BUSINESS AS A BENCHMARKING EXERCISE By capturing key dimensions of regulatory regimes, Doing Business provides a rich opportunity for benchmarking. Such a benchmarking exercise is necessarily ABOUT DOING BUSINESS: MEASURING FOR IMPACT incomplete, just as the Doing Business data are limited in scope. It is useful when it aids judgment, but not when it supplants judgment. Since 2006 Doing Business has sought to provide 2 perspectives on the data that it collects: it presents “absolute” indicators for each economy for 10 of the 11 regulatory topics that it addresses, and it provides rankings of economies for these 10 topics, by topic and also in the aggregate. Judgment is required in interpreting these measures for any economy and in determining an economically sensible and politically feasible path for regulatory reform. Reviewing the Doing Business rankings in isolation may reveal unexpected results. Some economies may rank unexpectedly high on some topics. And some economies that have had rapid growth or attracted a great deal of investment may rank lower than others that appear to be less dynamic. As economies develop, they may add to or improve on regulations that protect investor and property rights. Many also tend to streamline existing regulations and prune outdated ones. One finding of Doing Business is that dynamic and growing economies continually reform and update their business regulations and the implementation of those regulations, while many poor economies still work with regulatory systems dating to the late 1800s. For reform-minded governments, how much the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs improves in an absolute sense matters far more than their economy’s ranking relative to other economies. To aid in assessing the absolute level of regulatory performance and how it improves over time, this year’s report again presents the distance to frontier measure. This measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the highest performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies included in Doing Business since 2003. At any point in time the distance to frontier measure shows how far an economy is from the highest performance. And comparing an economy’s score at 2 points in time allows users to assess the absolute change over time in the economy’s regulatory environment as measured by Doing Business, rather than simply the change in the economy’s performance relative to others. In this way the distance to frontier measure complements the yearly ease of doing business ranking, which compares economies with one another at a point in time. challenges and by identifying good practices and lessons learned. Despite the narrow focus of the indicators, the initial debate in an economy on the results they highlight typically turns into a deeper discussion on their relevance to the economy and on areas where business regulatory reform is needed, including areas well beyond those measured by Doing Business. Doing Business uses a simple averaging approach for weighting component indicators and calculating rankings and the distance to frontier measure. Other approaches were explored, including using principal components and unobserved components.16 They turn out to yield results nearly identical to those of simple averaging. In the absence of a strong theoretical framework that assigns different weights to the topics covered for the 189 economies by Doing Business, the simplest method is used: weighting all topics equally and, within each topic, giving equal weight to each of the topic components.17 Part of a broad approach to policy reform Each topic covered by Doing Business relates to a different aspect of the business regulatory environment. The rankings of each economy vary, often substantially, across topics, indicating that strong performance by an economy in one area of regulation can coexist with weak performance in another. A quick way to assess the variability of an economy’s regulatory performance across the different areas is to look at the topic rankings (see the country tables). Guatemala, for example, stands at 79 in the overall ease of doing business ranking. Its ranking is 13 on the ease of getting credit, 23 on the ease of registering property and 34 on the ease of getting electricity. At the same time, it has a ranking of 116 on the ease of trading across borders, 145 on the ease of starting a business and 157 on the strength of investor protections (see figure 1.3 in the overview). HOW GOVERNMENTS USE DOING BUSINESS Doing Business offers policy makers a benchmarking tool useful in stimulating policy debate, both by exposing potential Many of the Doing Business indicators can be considered “actionable.” For example, governments have direct control over the minimum capital requirement for new firms. They can invest in company and property registries to increase the efficiency of these public agencies. They can improve the efficiency of tax administration by adopting the latest technologies to facilitate the preparation, filing and payment of taxes by the business community. And they can undertake court reforms to shorten delays in the enforcement of contracts. But some Doing Business indicators capture procedures, time and costs that involve private sector participants, such as lawyers, notaries, architects, electricians or freight forwarders. Governments may have little influence in the short run over the fees these professions charge, though much can be achieved by strengthening professional licensing regimes and preventing anticompetitive behavior. And governments have no control over the geographic location of their economy, a factor that can adversely affect businesses. While Doing Business indicators are actionable, this does not necessarily mean that they are all “action-worthy” in a particular context. Business regulatory reforms are one element of a strategy aimed at improving competitiveness and establishing a solid foundation for sustainable economic growth. There are many other important goals to pursue— such as effective management of public finances, adequate attention to education and training, adoption of the latest technologies to boost economic productivity and the quality of public services, and appropriate regard for air and water quality to safeguard people’s health. Governments have to decide what set of priorities best fits the needs they face. To say 25 26 DOING BUSINESS 2014 that governments should work toward a sensible set of rules for private sector activity (as embodied, for example, in the Doing Business indicators) does not suggest that doing so should come at the expense of other worthy policy goals. There is no evidence that Doing Business reforms are crowding out reforms in other areas, such as in fiscal policy or in health and education. Indeed, governments are increasingly recognizing that improving competitiveness and creating a better climate for private sector activity requires actions across a broad front, addressing factors and policies that extend well beyond those captured by the Doing Business indicators. Over several years of engaging with authorities in a large number of economies, the Doing Business team has never seen a case where the binding constraint to, say, improvements in tax administration or contract enforcement was the feverish pace of reforms in other policy areas. Increasingly, the opposite seems to be the case, with governments recognizing the synergies of multifaceted reforms across a broad range of areas. Moreover, because the areas measured by Doing Business indicators encompass many government departments—typically including the ministries of justice, commerce, industry, finance, trade and energy, to name just a few—the administrative burden of regulatory reforms is more equitably shared. Another factor has also helped sustain the interest of policy makers in the Doing Business data. Implementing coherent economic policies in the face of a rapidly changing global economy and an uncertain economic outlook is a great challenge. Many of the factors shaping the environment in which economic policies are formulated lie well outside the control of most policy makers, especially those in the developing world. But the rules and regulations that governments put in place to underpin private sector activity are largely homemade. Whether these rules are sensible or excessively burdensome, whether they create perverse incentives or help establish a level playing field, whether they safeguard transparency and encourage adequate competition—all this is largely within the control of governments. Insights into good practices As governments over the past decade have increasingly understood the importance of business regulation as a driving force of competitiveness, they have turned to Doing Business as a repository of actionable, objective data providing unique insights into good practices worldwide. Reform-minded governments seeking success stories in business regulation find examples in Doing Business (box 2.2). Saudi Arabia, for example, used the company law of France as a model for revising its own law. Many African governments may look to Mauritius—the region’s strongest performer on Doing Business indicators—as a source of good practices to inspire regulatory reforms in their own countries. Governments shared knowledge of business regulations before the Doing Business project began. But Doing Business made it easier by creating a common language comparing business regulations around the world. Over the past decade governments worldwide have been actively improving the regulatory environment for domestic companies. Most reforms relating to Doing Business topics have been nested in broader reform programs aimed at enhancing economic competitiveness, as in Colombia, Kenya, Liberia and the Russian Federation. In structuring reform programs for the business environment, governments use multiple data sources and indicators. This recognizes the reality that the Doing Business data on their own provide an incomplete roadmap for successful business regulatory reforms.18 It also reflects the need to respond to many stakeholders BOX 2.2 How economies have used Doing Business in regulatory reform programs To ensure the coordination of efforts across agencies, such economies as Brunei Darussalam, Colombia and Rwanda have formed regulatory reform committees, reporting directly to the president. These committees use the Doing Business indicators as one input to inform their programs for improving the business environment. More than 45 other economies have formed such committees at the interministerial level. In East and South Asia they include the Republic of Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; Taiwan, China; and Vietnam. In the Middle East and North Africa: Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. In Europe and Central Asia: Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, the Kyrgyz Republic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. In Sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo and Zambia. And in Latin America: Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru. Since 2003 governments have reported more than 530 regulatory reforms that have been informed by Doing Business.a Many economies share knowledge on the regulatory reform process related to the areas measured by Doing Business. Among the most common venues for this knowledge sharing are peer-to-peer learning events—workshops where officials from different governments across a region or even across the globe meet to discuss the challenges of regulatory reform and to share their experiences. In recent years such events have taken place in Panama and Colombia (for Latin America and the Caribbean), in South Africa (for Sub-Saharan Africa), in Georgia (for Europe and Central Asia), in Malaysia (for East Asia and the Pacific) and in Morocco (for the Middle East and North Africa). a. These are reforms for which Doing Business is aware that information provided by the Doing Business report was used in shaping the reform agenda. ABOUT DOING BUSINESS: MEASURING FOR IMPACT and interest groups, all of whom bring important issues and concerns to the reform debate. When the World Bank Group engages with governments on the subject of improving the investment climate, the dialogue aims to encourage the critical use of the Doing Business data—to sharpen judgment and promote broad-based reforms that enhance the investment climate rather than a narrow focus on improving the Doing Business rankings. The World Bank Group uses a vast range of indicators and analytics in this policy dialogue, including its Global Poverty Monitoring Indicators, World Development Indicators, Logistics Performance Indicators and many others. The open data initiative has made data for many such indicators conveniently available to the public at http://data.worldbank.org. METHODOLOGY AND DATA The Doing Business data are based on domestic laws and regulations as well as administrative requirements. The data cover 189 economies—including small economies and some of the poorest economies, for which little or no data are available in other data sets. (For a detailed explanation of the Doing Business methodology, see the data notes.) Doing Business uses 4 main sources of information: Doing Business respondents, the relevant laws and regulations, the governments of the economies covered and the World Bank Group regional staff. Doing Business respondents Over the past 11 years more than 25,000 professionals in 189 economies have assisted in providing the data that inform the Doing Business indicators. This year’s report draws on the inputs of more than 10,200 professionals.19 Table 21.2 in the data notes lists the number of respondents for each indicator set. The Doing Business website shows the number of respondents for each economy and each indicator. Respondents are professionals who routinely administer or advise on the legal and regulatory requirements covered in each Doing Business topic. They are selected on the basis of their expertise in the specific areas covered by Doing Business. Because of the focus on legal and regulatory arrangements, most of the respondents are legal professionals such as lawyers, judges or notaries. The credit information questionnaire is completed by officials of the credit registry or bureau. Freight forwarders, accountants, architects, engineers and other professionals answer the questionnaires related to trading across borders, taxes and construction permits. Certain public officials (such as registrars from the commercial or property registry) also provide information that is incorporated into the indicators. Doing Business does not survey firms for 2 main reasons. The first relates to the frequency with which firms engage in the transactions captured by the indicators, which is generally low. For example, a firm goes through the start-up process once in its existence, while an incorporation lawyer may carry out several dozen such transactions in a year. The incorporation lawyers and other experts providing information to Doing Business are therefore better able to assess the process of starting a business than are individual firms. The second reason is that the Doing Business questionnaires mostly gather legal information, which firms are unlikely to be fully familiar with. For example, few firms will know about all the many legal procedures involved in resolving a commercial dispute through the courts, even if they have gone through the process themselves. But a litigation lawyer would have no difficulty in identifying all the necessary steps. The annual data collection exercise is an update of the database. The Doing Business team and the contributors examine the extent to which the regulatory framework has changed in ways relevant for the features captured by the indicators. The data collection process should therefore be seen as adding each year to an existing stock of knowledge reflected in the previous year’s report, not as creating an entirely new data set. Here is an example: In Doing Business 2012 and Doing Business 2013 there were an average of 13 economies for which changes in legislation affected the scores embedded in the protecting investors indicators. For all other economies the protecting investors data remained unchanged. Relevant laws and regulations Most of the Doing Business indicators are based on laws and regulations. Doing Business respondents both fill out written questionnaires and provide references to the relevant laws, regulations and fee schedules, aiding data checking and quality assurance. Having representative samples of respondents is not an issue, as the texts of the relevant laws and regulations are collected and answers checked for accuracy. For example, the Doing Business team will examine the commercial code of Greece to confirm the paid-in minimum capital requirement, look at the banking law of Ghana to see whether borrowers have the right to access their data at the credit bureau and read the tax code of Guatemala to find applicable tax rates. Indeed, 72% of the data embedded in the Doing Business indicators are based on a reading of the law. In principle in these cases, as long as there are no issues of language, the role of the contributors is largely advisory—helping in the corroboration of the Doing Business team’s understanding of the laws and regulations— and there are quickly diminishing returns to an expansion in their number. For the other 28% of the data the team conducts extensive consultations with multiple contributors to minimize measurement error. For some indicators—for example, those on dealing with construction permits, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency—the time component and part of the cost component (where fee schedules are lacking) are based on actual practice rather than the law on the books. This introduces a degree of judgment. The Doing Business approach has therefore been to work with legal practitioners or professionals who regularly undertake the transactions involved. Following the standard methodological approach for time-and-motion studies, Doing Business breaks down each process or transaction, such as starting a business or registering a building, into separate steps to ensure a better estimate of time. The time estimate for each step is given by practitioners with significant and routine experience in the transaction. When time estimates differ, further interactions with respondents are pursued to converge on one estimate or a narrow range that reflects the majority of applicable cases. 27 28 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Governments and World Bank Group regional staff After receiving the completed questionnaires from the Doing Business respondents, verifying the information against the law and conducting follow-up inquiries to ensure that all relevant information is captured, the Doing Business team shares the preliminary findings of the report with governments through the Board of Executive Directors and the regional staff of the World Bank Group (figure 2.3). Through this process government authorities and local World Bank Group staff in the 189 economies covered can alert the team about, for example, regulatory reforms not picked up by the respondents or additional achievements of regulatory reforms already captured in the database. In response to such feedback, the Doing Business team turns to the local private sector experts for further consultation and, as needed, corroboration. In addition, the team responds formally to the comments of governments or regional staff and provides explanations of the scoring decisions. Improvements to the methodology The methodology has undergone continual improvement over the years. For enforcing contracts, for example, the amount of the disputed claim in the case study was increased from 50% of income per capita to 200% after the first year of data collection, as it became clear that smaller claims were unlikely to go to court. Another change related to starting a business. The minimum capital requirement can be an obstacle for potential entrepreneurs. Doing Business measured the required minimum capital regardless of whether it had to be paid up front or not. In many economies only part of the minimum capital has to be paid up front. To reflect the relevant barrier to entry, the paid-in minimum capital has been used rather than the required minimum capital. This year’s report includes an update in the methodology for 2 indicator sets— paying taxes and trading across borders. For trading across borders, documents that are required purely for purposes of preferential treatment are no longer included in the list of documents (for example, a certificate of origin if the use is only to qualify for a preferential tariff rate under trade agreements). For paying taxes, the value of fuel taxes is no longer included in the total tax rate because of the difficulty of computing these small taxes. Fuel taxes continue to be counted in the number of payments. In addition, the rule establishing that each procedure must take at least 1 day was removed for procedures that can be fully completed online in just a few hours. When the indicators were first developed in 2002, online procedures were not widespread globally. In the ensuing years there has been an impressive acceleration in the adoption by governments and the private sector of the latest information and communication technologies for the provision of various services. While at the time Doing Business did not see the need to create a separate rule to account for online procedures, the widespread use of the new technologies today suggests that such distinction is now justified and the Doing Business methodology was changed this year to reflect the practice. This change affects the time indicator for starting a business, dealing with construction permits and registering property.20 For procedures that can be fully completed online, the duration is now set at half a day rather than a full day. Data adjustments All changes in methodology are explained in the data notes as well as on the Doing Business website. In addition, data time series for each indicator and economy are available on the website, beginning with the first year the indicator or economy was included in the report. To provide a comparable time series for research, the data set is back-calculated to adjust for changes in methodology, including those FIGURE 2.3 The Doing Business data collection cycle Data verification Questionnaires developed November: Questionnaires developed in consultation with different expert groups Questionnaires administered 17,500 sent for DB2014 Data analysis and government feedback Dec−Jan Sept−Nov Media preparation and report launch September−October: Coordination with regional communication teams for media outreach and prelaunch briefings with World Bank Group regional teams s Conference calls and videoconferences with contributors s Written correspondence s Travel to 33 economies for data collection and reform verification for DB2014 Feb−May June−Aug June 1: cutoff date for reforms recorded Writing and publication August: Comments on the report and data received from across the World Bank Group through an internal review process s Analysis and verification of data received s 13,000 contributions for DB2014 March−April: Request for input from all World Bank Group regional teams and 25 Executive Director offices representing their country governments Data scoring s 58,000 data points coded in DB2014 s 238 reforms in 114 economies recorded in DB2014 June: Request to review reforms captured sent to all World Bank Group regional teams and 25 Executive Director offices representing their country governments ABOUT DOING BUSINESS: MEASURING FOR IMPACT described in the previous section, and any revisions in data due to corrections. The data set is not back-calculated for year-toyear revisions in income per capita data (that is, when the income per capita data are revised by the original data sources, Doing Business does not update the cost measures for previous years). The website also makes available all original data sets used for background papers. 9. 10. 11. 12. Information on data corrections is provided in the data notes and on the website. A transparent complaint procedure allows anyone to challenge the data. Over the past year the team received and responded to more than 140 queries on the data. These queries led to corrections of less than 8.5% of the data points. If errors are confirmed after a data verification process, they are expeditiously corrected. NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. World Bank 2005; Stampini and others 2011. See, for example, Alesina and others (2005); Perotti and Volpin (2005); Fisman and Sarria-Allende (2010); Antunes and Cavalcanti (2007); Barseghyan (2008); Klapper, Lewin and Quesada Delgado (2009); Freund and Bolaky (2008); Chang, Kaltani and Loayza (2009); Helpman, Melitz and Rubinstein (2008); Klapper, Laeven and Rajan (2006); World Bank (2005); and Ardagna and Lusardi (2010). Djankov, La Porta and others 2001. These papers include Djankov and others (2002); Djankov and Shleifer (2007); Djankov and others (2008); Djankov and Pham (2010); Djankov and others (2003); Djankov and others (2008); Botero and others (2004); and Djankov and others (2010). For more details on how the aggregate ranking is created, see the chapter on the ease of doing business and distance to frontier. http://www.doingbusiness.org. De Soto 2000. Questionnaires are administered annually to local experts in 189 economies to collect and update the data. The local experts for each economy are listed on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness. org) and in the acknowledgments at the end of this report. 13. 14. 15. Kaplan, Piedra and Seira 2011; Cuñat and Melitz 2007; Micco and Pagés 2006; Cardenas and Rozo 2009; Dulleck, Frijters and Winter-Ebmer 2006; Ciccone and Papaioannou 2007; Klapper, Lewin and Quesada Delgado 2009; Branstetter and others 2013; Bruhn 2011, 2013; Sharma 2009. Schneider 2005; La Porta and Shleifer 2008. http://www.enterprisesurveys.org. OECD, “Indicators of Product Market Regulation,” http://www.oecd.org/. The measures are aggregated into 3 broad families that capture state control, barriers to entrepreneurship and barriers to international trade and investment. The 39 countries included in the OECD market regulation indicators are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report uses Doing Business data sets on starting a business, employing workers, protecting investors and getting credit (legal rights), representing 7 of a total of 113 different indicators (or 6.19%). The World Economic Forum constructs much of the Global Competitiveness Index mainly from secondary data. For example, it uses macroeconomic data from the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook database, penetration rates for various technologies from the International Telecommunication Union, school enrollment rates and public health indicators from the World Bank’s World Development Indicators database and indicators from other such sources, including Doing Business. It also supplements the secondary data with some primary data, collected from relatively small-sample opinion surveys of enterprise managers (Executive Opinion Surveys), for components accounting for 64% of the indicators captured in the index. By contrast, the Doing Business indicators are based entirely on primary data. Hallward-Driemeier, Khun-Jush and Pritchett (2010), analyzing data from World Bank Enterprise Surveys for Sub-Saharan Africa, show that de jure measures such as Doing 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Business indicators are virtually uncorrelated with ex post firm-level responses, providing evidence that deals rather than rules prevail in Africa. The authors find that the gap between de jure and de facto conditions grows with the formal regulatory burden. The evidence also shows that more burdensome processes open up more space for making deals and that firms may not incur the official costs of compliance but still pay to avoid them. A technical note on the different aggregation and weighting methods is available on the Doing Business website (http://www. doingbusiness.org). For more details, see the chapter on the ease of doing business and distance to frontier. One study using Doing Business indicators illustrates the difficulties in using highly disaggregated indicators to identify reform priorities (Kraay and Tawara 2011). While about 10,200 contributors provided data for this year’s report, many of them completed a questionnaire for more than one Doing Business indicator set. Indeed, the total number of contributions received for this year’s report is more than 13,000, which represents a true measure of the inputs received. The average number of contributions per indicator set and economy is just over 6. For more details, see http://www.doingbusiness.org/contributors/doing-business. For getting electricity the rule that each procedure must take a minimum of 1 day still applies because in practice there are no cases in which procedures can be fully completed online in less than a day. For example, even though in some cases it is possible to apply for an electricity connection online, additional requirements mean that the process cannot be completed in less than 1 day. 29 Research on the effects of business regulations • Since 2003, 1,578 research articles using Doing Business data have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and another 4,464 have been posted online. • According to the findings of the research, reforms simplifying business registration lead to more firm creation. Nevertheless, firms that do not see the benefits of formalizing are less likely to respond to policies aimed at improving business regulations. • Increasing trade openness has larger effects on growth when labor markets are more flexible. • Research supports the view that the cumbersome, poorly functioning regulatory business environments undermine entrepreneurship and economic performance. • The introduction of collateral registries and debt recovery tribunals leads to better performing credit markets. Doing Business has provided new data on business regulations, enabling research on them to flourish. Extensive empirical literature has assessed how the regulatory environment for business affects a broad range of economic outcomes at both the macro and micro levels—including productivity, growth, employment, trade, investment, access to finance and the informal economy. Since 2003, when this report was first published, 1,578 research articles discussing how regulations in the areas measured by Doing Business influence economic outcomes have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals. Another 4,464 working papers have been posted online.1 To provide some insight into the findings of this fast-growing literature, this chapter reviews articles published in top-ranking economics journals over the past 5 years or disseminated as working papers in the past 2 years.2 The chapter only covers studies that use Doing Business data for analysis or motivation, or else rely on conceptually and methodologically similar indicators (tables 3.1 and 3.2). The methodologies underpinning empirical work affect the reliability of its findings and ability to influence future research and policies. Papers in the regulatory business environment literature also vary in how much they can demonstrate causal effects between better business regulation and outcomes of interest. At one end, some studies simply document cross-country correlations between business regulatory variables and outcome variables, showing whether these variables are positively or negatively associated. But such studies cannot indicate whether and how much business regulatory variables changed outcome variables because with this method it is difficult to isolate the effects of other factors. At the other end, some studies use natural experiments, in the spirit of randomized evaluations, that to some extent control for everything else affecting the outcome variable and can isolate the causal part of this relationship (box 3.1). For example, assume that the goal is to assess how a regulatory reform affects productivity in a given economy. Simple correlations can only show whether the reform is positively or negatively associated with productivity. But natural experiments make it possible to see if the reform has a positive or negative impact on productivity—as well as the magnitude of that impact. A methodology called difference-in-difference estimation, which is similar in principle to natural experiments and is commonly used in the literature, also allows for the assessment of the sign and magnitude of the impact of a reform on an outcome variable (box 3.1). Other estimation methods frequently used in economic analysis are panel data and instrumental variable analyses, which lie somewhere between pure cross-sectional analysis and natural experiments in terms of their ability to show whether there is a causal link between variables of interest. Panel data include both cross-sectional and time series data—for instance, a dataset that covers multiple economies over time. Such data enable researchers to control for the impact of economy-specific factors that do not vary over time, such as location. This methodology can yield more convincing results than pure cross-sectional analysis. But in many cases, given the complexity of economic settings, they may not establish causality between regulatory changes and outcomes of interest. RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BUSINESS REGULATIONS BOX 3.1 What are randomized evaluations and natural experiments? Randomized evaluations bring experimental methods normally used in medicine or chemistry into economics. This approach tries to transform the world into a lab where researchers can clearly define control groups and treatment groups, with the treatment groups receiving interventions and control groups do not. Such experiments can be randomized by design when the choice of being part of either group is random. For instance, when assessing how school books affect children’s learning, one can design a randomized experiment where chance determines which children get books and which do not. Such experiments are almost impossible to conduct for business regulations. For example, it is impossible to randomly assign who has access to a new one-stop shop for business registration and who does not. So researchers look for natural experiments—interventions not designed by them— with treatment and control groups and where the rule assigning the data to the groups is unrelated to the outcome being studied. This is a fundamental characteristic of a natural experiment because without it causal interpretation is not possible. For business regulations a control group can be formed by collecting data from, for example, cities in an economy not affected by a change in a law, regulation or economic policy, while a treatment group can be formed by collecting the same data from affected cities but otherwise identical to unaffected ones. To see if the change in a law, regulation or economic policy affected an outcome variable—say, income—one can assess whether the incomes of the treatment and control cities differed significantly after the change. For a causal interpretation to be possible, the treatment and control cities should have evolved similarly if the change had not been made. This assumption is unlikely to hold in most cases, making natural experiments rare. A more commonly used methodology in the literature similar in principle to natural experiments and has weaker assumptions is called difference-in-difference estimation. The main difference between natural experiments and difference-in-difference estimation is that in natural experiments treatment and control groups are assumed to be analogous prior to intervention and evolved similarly in the absence of intervention. In difference-in-difference estimation, these assumptions do not need to hold priori. The differences between treatment and control groups are removed by subtracting the change in means of control group from the change in means of treatment group over the time period considered in the study. The impact of intervention on outcome variable then is estimated using panel data technique and differenced data. Instrumental variable analysis allows researchers to establish the direction and magnitude of causality by incorporating an exogenous “instrumental variable” closely correlated with the variable being considered (say, regulatory reform) and not with the outcome variable (say, productivity). For instance, Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson (2002) use an instrumental variable to analyze how institutions affect income per capita. Because economies with strong institutions tend to have high incomes and vice versa, cross-sectional or panel data analysis would not allow the authors to separate the impact of institutions on income from the impact of income on institutions. To address this two-way relationship, the authors use mortality rates of European settlers as an instrument for institutions because it is closely correlated with the institutional environment in former colonies but not with their incomes. The idea is that European colonizers did not establish institutions in economies with high mortality rates. Thus the mortality rates of colonizers hundreds of years ago shaped the current institutions of many economies, independent of their current incomes, making it an appropriate instrumental variable for institutions and allowing the authors to assess how institutions affect incomes. However, the credibility of this approach depends on the plausibility of the assumption that the instrument has no direct effect on the outcome of interest. For example, if there is a direct link between mortality rates of European settlers and current incomes (for example, through climate, which affects the disease environment), this approach will not be effective in isolating causal effects of institutions on income. FIRM ENTRY AND LABOR MARKET REGULATIONS One of the most cited theoretical mechanisms on how excessive business regulation affects economic performance and development is that it makes it too costly for firms to engage in the formal economy, causing them not to invest or to move to the informal economy. Recent studies have conducted extensive empirical testing of this proposition using Doing Business and other related indicators. Bruhn (2011, 2013), among the leading studies employing natural experiments, use quarterly national employment data collected by the Mexican government between 2000 and 2004 and the fact that different regions started implementing business registration reform—called Systems of Fast Opening of Firms (SARE)— at different times to identify how the reform affected the occupational choices of business owners in the informal economy. Bruhn (2011) finds that reform increased the number of registered businesses by 5%, which was entirely because former wage employees started businesses−not because formerly unregistered businesses got registered. Bruhn (2011) also shows that the reform increased wage employment by 2% and reduced the income of incumbent businesses by 3% due to increased competition. 31 32 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 3.1 Recent research using Doing Business and related indicators by area of study and methodology Natural experiments and difference-in-difference Methodology/area of study estimators Firm entry and labor market regulations Instrumental variable panel estimators Branstetter and others 2013; Bruhn 2013, 2011; de Mel, McKenzie and Woodruff 2013; Kaplan, Piedra and Seira 2011; Monteiro and Assunção 2012 Instrumental variable cross-sectional estimators Other panel estimators Dreher and Gassebner 2013 Other cross-sectional estimators Amin 2009 Trade regulations and costs Chang , Kaltani and Loayza 2009; Busse, Hoekstra and Königer 2012; Portugal-Perez and Wilson 2011; Şeker 2011 Djankov, Freund and Hoekman and Nicita Pham 2010; Freund 2011 and Rocha 2011 Cavalcanti 2010; Regulations on courts, credit Giannetti and Jentzsch markets, bankruptcy laws and 2013; Giné and Love 2010; John, Litov and Lilienfeld-Toal, Mookherjee Yeung 2008 investor protection and Visaria 2012; Love, Martinez- Peria and Singh 2013; Visaria 2009 Büyükkarabacak and Valev 2012 Houston and others 2010 Tax regulations Monteiro and Assunção 2012 Lawless 2013 Business regulatory environment and economic performance Amiti and Khandelwal 2011 Barseghyan 2008; Freund and Bolaky 2008 Dall’Olio and others 2013; Dutz Djankov, McLiesh and others 2011 and Ramalho 2006 Djankov and others 2010 Note: Janiak (2013) and di Giovanni and Levchenko (2013) are not included here because they are theoretical papers, not empirical. Nevertheless, the authors use Doing Business data to calibrate their theoretical models. To take into account the effects of individual characteristics of informal business owners on their occupational choices after the reform, Bruhn (2013) separates informal business owners into 2 groups: those with characteristics similar to formal business owners and those with characteristics similar to wage workers. It then estimates the impact that the reform had on the occupational choices of the 2 groups. Bruhn finds that in municipalities with high pre-reform obstacles to formal entrepreneurship, the reform caused 14.9% of informal business owners with characteristics similar to those of formal business owners to shift to the formal economy— while it caused 6% of informal business owners with characteristics similar to those of wage workers to shift to wage employment. These results suggest that the informal economy has different types of business owners who react to reforms differently. For example, some individuals become informal business owners because of cumbersome regulations while others do so temporarily until they find a job. Kaplan, Piedra and Seira (2011) use the same data from Mexico to construct a counterfactual scenario showing how quickly new firms would have been created without the business registration reform. Their scenario uses two control groups: municipalities that did not adopt the reform and industries not eligible for it. The idea is that control municipalities and industries are good proxies for what would have happened in treatment municipalities and industries in the absence of the reform. The authors find that the simplified entry regulations led 5% of informal firms to shift to the formal economy, though they note that this effect is not permanent. Bruhn (2013) explains the modest percentage shift of firms from the informal economy in response to the reform as partly resulting from lower benefits of formalization and the fact that the reform only covered business registration at the municipal level and business owners still needed to register with the federal tax authority. But Kaplan, Piedra and Seira (2011) point out that the cost of taxes, the scarcity of marketable ideas and the limited benefits of being formal are far more important obstacles to creating and formalizing firms. Accordingly, they conclude that for reform to have a large impact on formality and firm creation, it should be comprehensive. Branstetter and others (2013) offer further evidence that simpler business registration helps create formal firms. The authors use nationwide, micro-level matched employer-employee data from Portugal collected in 2000 and 2006 to examine the impact of a reform program, called On the Spot Firms, introduced in 2005. The program substantially cut business registration procedures and costs by introducing one-stop-shops. Using a difference-in-difference methodology based on a comparative analysis of firms established before and after the program to isolate the program’s impact on business start-ups, the authors find that reducing the time and cost of firm registration increased the number of start-ups by 17% and created about 7 new jobs a month per 100,000 county inhabitants in eligible industries. RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BUSINESS REGULATIONS TABLE 3.2 Summary findings of recent research using Doing Business and related indicators by methodology Methodology Findings of recent research Natural experiments/ difference-in-difference estimates In Portugal cutting the time and cost of firm registration increased the number of business start-ups by 17% and created about 7 new jobs a month per 100,000 county inhabitants in eligible industries. The start-ups created after the reform are smaller, more likely to be owned by women, headed by relatively inexperienced and poorly educated entrepreneurs and have lower sales per worker than startups created before the reform (Branstetter and others 2013). In municipalities with high constraints to formal entrepreneurship, business registration reform caused 14.9% of informal business owners with characteristics similar to those of formal business owners to shift to the formal economy in Mexico (Bruhn 2013). A reform that simplified business registration in Mexican municipalities increased registration by 5% and wage employment by 2.2%. It also decreased the income of incumbent businesses by 3% due to increased competition (Bruhn 2011). Providing information about registration or paying for it do not necessarily increase formalization, particularly when there are other barriers to it (de Mel, McKenzie and Woodruff 2013). Simplified entry regulations led 5% of informal firms to shift to the formal economy in Mexico, though this effect is not permanent (Kaplan, Piedra and Seira 2011). Mandatory credit reporting systems improve financial intermediation and access, particularly when used in conjunction with credit information systems (Giannetti and Jentzsch 2013). A reform making bankruptcy laws more efficient significantly improved the recovery rate of viable firms in Colombia (Giné and Love 2010). Debt recovery tribunals in India caused a decrease in the borrowing and fixed assets of small firms and an increase in the borrowing, fixed assets, and profits of large firms (Lilienfeld-Toal, Mookherjee and Visaria 2012). Introduction of collateral registries for movable assets increased the firms’ access to finance by around 8%. The impact was larger for smaller firms (Love, Martinez-Peria and Singh 2013). Debt recovery tribunals reduced nonperforming loans by 28% and interest rates on larger loans, implying that faster processing of debt recovery suit cut the cost of credit in India (Visaria 2009). Business licensing among retail firms rose 13% after a tax reform in Brazil (Monteiro and Assunção 2012). Import competition leads to much smaller quality upgrading in OECD economies with more cumbersome regulations, while in non-OECD economies with more cumbersome regulations it does not have effect on quality (Amiti and Khandelwal 2011). Instrumental variable panel estimates When credit market frictions are low, a reduction in credit market frictions decreases the impact of financial shocks on macroeconomic volatility (Cavalcanti 2010). Strong investor rights lead to higher corporate risk-taking and growth (John, Litov and Yeung 2008). An increase in entry costs of 80% of income per capita decreases total factor productivity by 22% and output per worker by 29% (Barseghyan 2008). A 1% increase in trade is associated with more than a 0.5% increase in income per capita in economies with flexible entry regulations, but has no positive income effects in more rigid economies (Freund and Bolaky 2008). Other panel data estimates Cumbersome procedures and high levels of minimum capital are negatively associated with firm entry. Stringent regulations go hand in hand with corruption (Dreher and Gassebner 2013). Increasing trade openness has larger effects on growth when labor markets are more flexible (Chang, Kaltani and Loayza 2009). Better regulations are associated with lower time and costs of trading in developing economies (Busse, Hoekstra and Königer 2012). Good, efficient infrastructure and a healthy business environment are positively linked to export performance (Portugal-Perez and Wilson 2011). Improvements in trade facilitation and entry regulations raise export volumes and reduce distortions caused by restrictions on access to foreign markets (Şeker 2011). Public credit registries and private credit bureaus reduce the probability of bank crises, particularly in low-income economies (Büyükkarabacak and Valev 2012). Complex tax systems are associated with lower numbers of foreign direct investment in an economy but do not affect its level. A high corporate tax rate, on the other hand, is negatively related to both the number and level of foreign direct investment. A 10% reduction in tax complexity is comparable to a 1% reduction in effective corporate tax rates (Lawless 2013). Improvements in the Doing Business indicators are positively associated with increases in labor productivity in the manufacturing and services sectors in EU-15 and EU-12 countries, though this association is stronger in EU-12 countries (Dall’Olio and others 2013). Doing Business indicators such as getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders are positively associated with product and process innovation for young firms in non-OECD countries (Dutz and others 2011). (continued on next page) 33 34 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 3.2 Summary findings of recent research using Doing Business and related indicators by methodology (continued) Methodology Findings of recent research Instrumental variable cross-sectional estimates One day of delay in transport time reduces trade by at least 1%. The impact of this delay is larger for time-sensitive agricultural and manufacturing products and for transit times abroad for landlocked economies (Djankov, Freund and Pham 2010). A 1-day increase in transit time reduces exports by an average of 7% in Sub-Saharan Africa (Freund and Rocha 2011). Stronger creditor rights increase bank risk-taking and the likelihood of financial crises as well as growth. Sharing information among creditors, on the other hand, reduces the likelihood of financial crisis and increases growth (Houston and others 2010). Economies with good business regulatory environments grow faster. Output growth is 2.3% higher for the best quartile in the sample than for the worst (Djankov, McLiesh and Ramalho 2006). Other cross-sectional estimates Labor reforms can increase employment in the retail sector by 22% and reduce informal economic activity by 33% (Amin 2009). Import and export costs are highly negatively related to trade volume (Hoekman and Nicita 2011). Higher effective corporate tax rates are associated with lower investment, foreign direct investment and entrepreneurial activity (Djankov and others 2010). The authors also find that start-ups created after reform tend to be smaller, more likely to be owned by women, headed by relatively inexperienced and poorly educated entrepreneurs and have lower sales per worker than start-ups created before the reform, suggesting that the pre-reform regulatory barriers to entry mattered mostly for marginal firms. Excessive entry regulation can be detrimental to entrepreneurship and a source of corruption. To test this, Dreher and Gassebner (2013) use panel data for 43 economies from 2003 to 2005. They find that high numbers of procedures and high minimum capital requirements impede firm entry. Furthermore, high levels of regulation go hand in hand with corruption. The authors find that corruption is used to “grease the wheels,” reducing the burdensome impact of regulations. Using a field experiment in Sri Lanka with one control and four treatment groups and offering incentives to informal firms to formalize, de Mel, McKenzie and Woodruff (2013) find that providing information on registration or paying for it do not necessarily increase formalization. These interventions had a low impact because many firms that did not register had informal leases or agreements and were not able to provide authorities with the required proof of ownership for the land where they operated. Thus business entry regulations cannot be seen in isolation because the benefits of improving the start-up process are conditional on many other factors, including land regulations, taxation and labor regulations. In addition, firms that do not see the benefits of formalizing are less likely to respond to policies aimed at improving business registration. This conclusion is supported by Bruhn and McKenzie (2013), who survey the current literature on business entry reforms. Small informal firms in particular do not seem to benefit from simpler business entry and are not more likely to formalize after such policy interventions. Overregulated labor markets, like overregulated business entry, can also lead to a large informal economy and high unemployment because they increase barriers to formal employment and make markets too rigid to adjust to changing conditions in an economy. Amin (2009) examines this point using data on 1,948 formal retail stores in 16 major states and 41 cities of India from 2006. Based on cross-sectional regression analysis and controlling for a large number of factors that affect unemployment, he shows that labor regulations in India’s retail sector undermine job creation. He further notes that labor reforms could increase employment in the retail sector by as much as 22% for an average store—a significant effect given that the retail sector is India’s second largest employer, accounting for more than 9.4% of the formal jobs. Amin also shows that labor reforms can shrink the informal economy by 33%. Using a theoretical model where a few large firms account for a disproportionate share of economic activity and calibrating this model with Doing Business data, di Giovanni and Levchenko (2013) show that reducing entry costs to levels similar to those in the United States improves welfare as measured by real income per capita by 3.3%. One of the study’s main assumptions is the distribution of firm size. In economies where large firms do not account for a disproportionate share of economic activity (which is more likely in developing economies), gains from lowering entry barriers−such as those measured by Doing Business—are likely to be larger. TRADE REGULATIONS AND COSTS As the world’s economies have become more interlinked, both public and private sectors have become increasingly concerned about becoming more competitive in global markets. But in many economies, companies engaged in international trade still struggle with high trade costs arising from transport, logistics and regulations, impeding their competitiveness and preventing them from taking full advantage of their production capacity. With the RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BUSINESS REGULATIONS availability of Doing Business indicators on trading across borders—which measure the time, procedural and monetary costs of exporting and importing—several empirical studies have assessed how trade costs affect the export and import performance of economies. Hoekman and Nicita (2011) use cross-sectional data from 105 economies in 2006 and a gravity-type regression model that controls for logistics quality and several tariff and nontariff costs to show that import and export costs are highly negatively related to trade volume. Similarly, Djankov, Freund and Pham (2010) assess the impact of time delays in exporting on aggregate bilateral trade volumes in 98 economies in 2005 using instrumental variable analysis to identify the causation between time delays and trade volumes. As an instrumental variable they use landlocked economies and their export delays in neighboring economies during the transport of their containers to ports. The intuition here is that trade volumes of an economy are less likely to affect transit times in neighboring economies because they account for a small share of trade in those economies. The authors show that, on average, each day of delay reduces trade by at least 1%. They also find a larger effect on time-sensitive agricultural and manufacturing products and on transit times abroad for landlocked economies. Portugal-Perez and Wilson (2011) use panel data from 101 developing economies between 2004 and 2007 to assess how infrastructure, border and transport efficiency and the business environment affect export performance. Border and transport efficiency is measured by a Doing Business indicator on the number of days and procedures it takes to export and import in an economy, while the measure of the business environment combines various institutional indicators including government transparency, corruption, public trust in government, government favoritism for well-connected firms and irregular payments for exports and imports. After controlling for country fixed effects and several other factors affecting export performance, the authors find that good infrastructure, transport and port efficiency and a healthy business environment are associated with strong export performance. This conclusion is supported by studies on Sub-Saharan Africa and other developing economies. Using cross-sectional data for Sub-Saharan economies, Freund and Rocha (2011) investigate whether 3 types of export costs—time spent on inland transit, customs and ports, and documents—have different effects on bilateral exports. To control for the potential impact of export volumes on each type of export cost, and to establish causality between export costs and volumes, the authors use instrumental variable analysis for landlocked economies. Each component of export costs listed above is instrumented with the corresponding variable faced by exporters in the transit economy. For example, time spent on exports during inland transit is instrumented by time spent on inland transit in neighboring economies to take containers to ports. The assumption is that export costs incurred in neighboring economies are less likely to be affected by the export volumes of exporting economies. The authors also separate the impacts of two sets of inland transit time: distance to ports and congestion costs such as border delays, road security, fleet class and competition. Inland transit has the largest negative impact on exports, especially congestion costs. A 1-day increase in transit time reduces exports by an average of 7% in Sub-Saharan Africa, which donors should consider when crafting “aid for trade” policies in Africa and elsewhere. In a related study, Busse, Hoekstra and Königer (2012) use panel data from 2004 to 2009 for 99 developing economies, including 33 of the least developed ones, to show that regulatory improvements are linked to lower trade times and financial costs. Different types of regulations, not just for trade, can help reap the benefits of international trade. Şeker (2011) focuses on the links between export volumes and regulations on trade and entry. The analysis uses two Doing Business indicators—time to export and number of procedures required to start a business—for 137 economies between 2005 and 2007. Şeker finds that improvements in trade facilitation and entry regulations raise export volumes and reduce distortions caused by restrictions on access to foreign markets. These findings suggest that investment climate reforms help economies respond to export opportunities. Chang, Kaltani and Loayza (2009) use Doing Business indicators on labor market flexibility and firm entry and exit to analyze how regulatory reforms supporting open trade affect economic growth. They find that increasing trade openness has larger effects on growth when labor markets are more flexible—making it easier for firms to adjust to changing conditions—and firms can enter and exit markets more easily. REGULATIONS ON COURTS, CREDIT MARKETS, BANKRUPTCY LAWS AND INVESTOR PROTECTION Courts, credit markets, bankruptcy laws and investor protection are among the regulatory areas covered by Doing Business that have received less attention in most developing economies when it comes to the number of reforms. Recent empirical work provides eye-opening evidence on these issues. Visaria (2009) uses project loan data for 1993–2000 from a large private bank with branches throughout India to assess how debt recovery rates were affected by debt recovery tribunals introduced by India in 1993 to shorten debt recovery suits and strengthen the rights of lenders to recover assets of defaulting borrowers. To isolate the effect of the tribunals on debt repayments, Visaria analyzes loan repayments in states that had the tribunals relative to states that did not, covering the same period and controlling for stateand industry-specific characteristics. Her analysis finds that the tribunals reduced nonperforming loans by 28%, implying that faster processing of debt recovery suits cuts the cost of credit (figure 3.1). In another study on debt recovery tribunals in India, Lilienfeld-Toal, Mookherjee and Visaria (2012) use firm-level panel data for 1993–2000 and take into account the elasticity of credit supply and the asset size of borrowers. They show that the tribunals caused a reduction in 35 36 DOING BUSINESS 2014 the borrowing and fixed assets of small firms but an increase in the borrowing, fixed assets and profits of large firms. The reason is that interest rates increased after the tribunals making it harder for small firms to apply for large loans given that they had insufficient collateral. In the majority of the world economies movable assets are less likely to be accepted as collateral for loans than immovable assets limiting the access of small firms to finance. A study on this point is provided by Love, Martinez-Peria and Singh (2013) who examine the impact of the introduction of movable assets as collaterals on firms’ access to bank finance using data from Enterprise Surveys and Doing Business indicator on collateral registries for movable assets in 73 countries between 2002 and 2011. Their difference-in-difference estimation that compares firms’ access to finance over time and across countries with and without such registries reveals that in countries introducing movable assets as collaterals the number of firms with access to finance increased by around 8%. They also show that the benefits of the introduction of these registries are larger for smaller firms. Cavalcanti (2010) present theoretical and empirical analyses of the complementary effect of financial shocks and credit market imperfections on macroeconomic volatility using data for 62 economies between 1981 and 1998. They measure credit market frictions by using Doing Business indicators on contract enforcement costs and anti-creditor bias. In contrast to the widely held view that the impact of financial shocks on macroeconomic volatility increases with credit market frictions, the authors’ theoretical model shows that the effects of financial shocks can increase or decrease with credit market frictions, depending on the source and initial level of such frictions. Their panel data analysis— which instruments indicators on contract enforcement costs and anti-creditor bias with their past values to establish a causal link between them and macroeconomic volatility—shows that in economies with fewer credit market frictions, reductions in both contract enforcement costs and anti-creditor bias dampen the impact of financial shocks on macroeconomic volatility. But in economies with extensive FIGURE 3.1 For all loan amounts, the probability of timely repayment was higher after India established debt recovery tribunals Probability installment paid within 180 days 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0 1 2 3 4 Amount overdue (millions of rupees) After tribunals Before tribunals Note: The figure plots the probability of loan repayments before and after the Indian government created debt recovery tribunals in 1993 to reduce the time taken to resolve cases. Source: Visaria 2009. credit market frictions, a reduction in anti-creditor bias actually increases the impact of financial shocks on macroeconomic volatility. Credit reporting systems reduce information asymmetries in financial markets. Giannetti and Jentzsch (2013) use panel data for 172 economies between 2000 and 2008 to test how credit reporting and identification systems affect financial intermediation. They use a more sophisticated method than standard panel data analysis by creating a synthetic control group that is intended to consist of countries as similar as possible to those that did not implement credit reporting and identification system reforms. The authors find that mandatory credit reporting systems improve financial intermediation and access, particularly when used in conjunction with credit information systems. Credit information systems can also reduce the likelihood of bank crises because they reduce information asymmetries between banks and borrowers, enabling banks to make better lending decisions. In addition, they increase the probability of loan repayments because bad credit histories make it harder for borrowers to obtain future loans. Büyükkarabacak and Valev (2012) use panel data from 98 economies for 1975 to 2006 to study how sharing credit information affects the likelihood of bank crises. They find that the existence of public registries, private bureaus or both reduced the probability of bank crises, particularly in low-income economies. Houston and others (2010) reach similar conclusions. The authors merge data for 2002 to 2007 from nearly 2,400 banks in 69 economies with Doing Business indicators on creditor rights and credit information sharing. Based on both cross-sectional and instrumental variable regression analyses that use legal origins (English, French, German and Nordic) as instrumental variables for the creditor rights and credit information sharing indicators, they find that stronger creditor rights increase bank risk-taking and the likelihood of financial crises. But stronger creditor rights are also associated with higher growth. On the other hand, sharing information among creditors always seems to have positive effects—reducing the likelihood of financial crisis and raising economic growth. Laws and regulations that protect investors and help them quickly resolve issues related to their businesses can be crucial for business creation and survival because they encourage investment, facilitate smooth business operations and help viable firms recover if they become insolvent. John, Litov and Yeung (2008) provide an interesting analysis RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BUSINESS REGULATIONS Therefore, the higher the degrees of diminishing returns to scale (the lower the returns to scale from unity) the higher the impact of entry costs on unemployment. FIGURE 3.2 Higher entry costs and lower recovery rates are associated with higher unemployment rates Unemployment rate 0.20 0.15 TAX REGULATIONS 0.10 0.05 0 0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14 0.16 0.18 Administrative entry costs (share of output per capita) Unemployment rate 0.20 0.15 0.10 0.05 0 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1 Recovery rate Source: Janiak 2013. of investor protection. They investigate the relationship between laws and regulations protecting investors, risk-taking and economic growth using firm and national data for 39 economies from 1992 to 2002. Investor protection is measured by variables including the rule of law, disclosure standards and shareholder rights that include minority shareholders. The findings of their instrumental variable panel data regression analysis, which instruments firms’ risk-taking by a logarithm of initial assets, disclosure, rule of law and anti-director rights index, show that corporate risk-taking and growth are positively affected by the quality of investor protection, supporting the proposition that protecting investors promotes entrepreneurial activity and economic growth because it enables entrepreneurs to make risky but high value added investments. To investigate the relationship between efficient bankruptcy laws and recovery rates among economically viable firms, Giné and Love (2010) use data on a large number of firms that filed for bankruptcy in Colombia between 1996 and 2003 and analyze how a 1999 reform in bankruptcy laws affected recovery rates. Their analysis, which compares the length of Tax regulations are one of the most contentious topics in public policy and economics and have prompted a large body of theoretical and empirical work investigating the effects of high tax rates and cumbersome and complex tax codes and procedures. Though determining the optimal tax system is difficult because different economies need different systems to maximize their welfare, there is less uncertainty—from both theoretical and empirical perspectives—about the distortionary effects of high taxes and cumbersome tax systems. reorganization and liquidation cases before and after the reform, finds that the reform significantly improved the recovery rate of viable firms. Janiak (2013) uses a theoretical model calibrated using Doing Business data to assess the impact of firm entry and exit regulations on unemployment. He finds that firm exit regulations explain half of the unemployment gap between continental Europe and the United States. These findings are based on the assumptions that there is perfect competition in the market, the degree of returns to scale is 0.85 and firms buy fixed capital on entry, some of which is sunk because of exit regulations. Janiak also finds that when the degree of returns to scale is lower, regulation explains more of the unemployment gap and entry regulations become more influential than exit regulations (figure 3.2). This is because when entry costs are high, firms need to earn more profit to recover those costs by increasing their size. However, when there are decreasing returns to scale (i.e. returns to scale below unity), the marginal product of labor and capital will fall as firms expand, causing firms to decrease their demand for labor, which in turn will increase unemployment. Djankov and others (2010) examine how effective corporate tax rates affect entrepreneurship and investment using cross-sectional data from 85 economies in 2004. The authors collected the corporate income tax data based on a standardized case study used for the paying taxes indicator of Doing Business. They find that higher effective corporate tax rates are strongly associated with lower aggregate investment, foreign direct investment and entrepreneurial activity (figure 3.3). Lawless (2013) investigates the impact of high corporate tax rates and tax complexity on foreign direct investment in 57 economies. Using panel data regression analysis and controlling for a wide range of factors affecting such investment, she finds that complex tax systems are associated with fewer—but not smaller—foreign direct investments. A high corporate tax rate, on the other hand, is negatively associated with both numbers and size of foreign investments. Lawless shows that a 10% reduction in tax complexity is comparable to a 1% reduction in effective corporate tax rates in terms of its effect on foreign direct investment. Monteiro and Assunção (2012) examine the effect on the formal economy of a tax reform, called SIMPLES, that reduced the number of taxes and tax procedures for micro and small firms in Brazil. Based on a cross-sectional survey of firms in Brazilian 37 DOING BUSINESS 2014 living standards in economies with flexible regulatory environments but not in those with rigid regulatory environments. They also show that business regulation is more important than financial development, higher education enrollment or rule of law for complementing trade liberalization. In addition, the authors find that a 1% increase in trade is associated with more than a 0.5% increase in income per capita in economies with flexible entry regulations, but has no positive income effects in more rigid economies. FIGURE 3.3 Higher effective tax rates are associated with lower business density 15 Business density per 100 people 38 10 5 0 0 10 20 30 40 1st year effective tax rate Source: Djankov and others 2010. state capitals and metropolitan areas, the authors estimate the impact of SIMPLES on formal business licensing through natural experiments that compare firms eligible to benefit from the reform and those that are not. Their finding that business licensing among retail firms rose by 13% after SIMPLES was enacted is robust to a series of sensitivity tests—indicating that tax simplification helps expand the formal economy. BUSINESS REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT AND OVERALL ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE The research reviewed so far was about the effects of different business regulations on intermediate outcomes. But it is also important to know whether strengthening the business regulatory environment has a significant impact on the overall economic performance of firms and economies, through for example its effect on growth rate of output, productivity and innovation. A number of studies have assessed how much a good business regulatory environment, as measured by aggregate Doing Business, matters for economic growth, higher productivity and innovation. Djankov, McLiesh, and Ramalho (2006) shed some light on this issue using cross-sectional data from 135 economies covering the period from 1993 to 2002 and instrumenting business regulation indicators with their legal origins (English, French, German, Nordic and socialist), the main religion in the economy (Catholic, Muslim, Protestant or other), percentage of English-speaking population, initial income per capita and geographic latitude. They find that economies with good business regulatory environments grow faster and that output growth is 2.3% higher for the best quartile in the sample than for the worst. Dall’Olio and others (2013) provide further insight on links between the business environment and growth. Using the aggregate Doing Business indicator and its sub-indexes, such as construction permits, trading across borders, paying taxes and employing workers, they investigate whether structural or firm-specific characteristics contributed more to labor productivity growth in the European Union between 2002 and 2008. Panel data analysis found that improvements in the Doing Business indicators are positively associated with increased labor productivity in manufacturing and services in EU-15 and EU-12 countries, though the magnitude of this association is larger in EU-12 countries.3 Freund and Bolaky (2008) draw on data for 126 economies between 2000 and 2005 and use predicted trade, generated from a regression of bilateral trade on distance, as an instrument for trade openness to establish the direction of causality from Doing Business indicators— covering areas including business entry, labor and property registration—to openness. They find that trade leads to higher Using World Bank Enterprise Surveys data from a large number of manufacturing firms between 2002 and 2006 in 71 economies, Dutz and others (2011) show that the aggregate Doing Business indicator, as well as its sub-indexes (including getting credit, protecting investors and trading across borders), are positively associated with product and process innovation for young firms in non-OECD countries. Based on their findings, the authors emphasize the importance of business environment in spurring incentives for competition and innovation. The literature has shown that entry costs increase the size of the informal economy and decrease job creation, which are likely to hurt economic performance. Barseghyan (2008) investigates how entry costs affect output and productivity using Doing Business data on entry costs for 97 economies and instrumental variable estimation. He instruments entry costs by geographic latitude, share of the population speaking a major European language, European settler mortality rates in the early stages of colonization and indigenous population density in the early 16th century. Barseghyan shows that higher entry costs significantly reduce output per worker by lowering total factor productivity. He finds that an increase in entry costs of 80% of income per capita decreases total factor productivity by 22% and output per worker by 29%. On a related issue, Amiti and Khandelwal (2011) examine how improvements in business regulatory environment, measured by aggregate Doing Business, affect the quality upgrading of products based on disaggregated data from 56 economies for 10,000 products. The authors use panel data regression analysis and a RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF BUSINESS REGULATIONS natural experiment to investigate how the regulatory environment and import competition affect product quality upgrading in economies that are OECD members and those that are not. For OECD members the authors find that import competition leads to much smaller quality upgrading in economies with more cumbersome regulations. In non-OECD economies import competition does not lead to any quality improvements if regulations are more cumbersome. These findings suggest that reforms might be needed for import competition to improve product quality because of impediments created by bureaucratic red tape, nontariff barriers and other entry regulations. CONCLUSION The empirical work reviewed in this chapter provides evidence that cumbersome, poorly functioning regulatory business environments undermine entrepreneurship and the economic performance of firms and economies. They do so by, for example, impeding entry to production and labor markets, which promotes the informal economy and unemployment, and by making trading, accessing credit markets and resolving legal issues more expensive for businesses. Thus efforts to promote economic and social development should focus on formulating policies that make business regulatory environments work for entrepreneurs and small and medium-size firms—and not obstruct their creation, productivity and competitiveness. These results are encouraging, showing the relevance of the policy reforms in the areas measured by Doing Business. But further research is needed. For instance, although empirical research provides ample evidence for positive links between better business regulations and economic performance, more rigorous research is needed to better understand whether and to what extent the former causes the latter. Some of the most convincing evidence to date comes from natural experiments, which have focused mostly on firm entry regulation. Other areas of business regulations—such as trade, taxation, labor markets, credit markets and protecting investors—would benefit greatly from future research using similar techniques. Furthermore, given that only a handful of studies separate out the impact of business regulatory environment on the overall performance of economies, such as economic growth, productivity and investment, more research on these issues would substantially enhance our understanding of the multifaceted relationships between business regulations, economic performance and development. Policymakers contemplating business regulatory reforms should consider designing these reforms and their implementation in ways that lend themselves well to empirical analysis of their effects, so that they can better understand whether their reforms are leading to desired outcomes. This may consist of (i) collecting careful baseline and followup data, and (ii) deliberately deciding to phase in reforms for different groups of users, perhaps even randomly selecting locations in which reforms will be piloted, in order to be able to draw conclusions about the causal impacts of their reforms. NOTES 1. Based on searches for citations in the 9 background papers that form the basis for the Doing Business indicators in the Social Science Citation Index and Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com). 2. The only exception to this rule is that Djankov, McLiesh and Ramalho (2006) is included in the review although it was published more than five years ago, given that it is one of the few studies examining the impact of overall regulatory business environment on economic growth. 3. The EU-12 are those that have joined the European Union since 2004: Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. The EU-15 consists of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 39 Why are minimum capital requirements a concern for entrepreneurs? Minimum capital requirements significantly slow entrepreneurship.1 Such requirements also fail to serve their intended purpose of protecting consumers and creditors from hastily established and potentially insolvent firms. In recent years many governments have stopped requiring new businesses to deposit minimum capital in banks or with notaries before they can begin operations. What is a minimum capital requirement? It is the share capital that must be deposited by shareholders before starting business operations. For the Doing Business starting a business indicator the paid-in minimum capital is usually the amount that an entrepreneur needs to deposit in a commercial bank or with a notary when, or shortly after, incorporating a business, even if the deposited amount can be withdrawn soon after a company is created.2 In most cases this required amount is specified in an economy’s commercial code or company law.3 Research shows that the existence of a minimum capital requirement directly hinders business development and growth.4 Of the 189 economies studied in Doing Business 2014, 99 have no minimum capital requirements. Some economies never required firms to deposit money for incorporation, while 39 have eliminated minimum capital requirements in the past seven years. Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Denmark, Kosovo, the Republic of Korea, the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Kingdom are among these economies that have cut or eliminated such requirements. For instance, Belarus halved its minimum capital requirement for private limited liability companies in 2008, then abolished it a year later. In 2009 Bulgaria reduced its minimum capital requirement by 99%, to less than $2. That same year, Denmark slashed its minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies from about $22,000 to about $14,000. All of these changes lower the costs to entrepreneurs to operate in the formal sector. The other 90 economies still require entrepreneurs to deposit capital before registering a business. This amount varies greatly—from €1 in Germany to more than $58,000 in Myanmar. WHERE IS THE MINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENT MORE PREVALENT? Across regions, minimum capital requirements are lowest in Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and OECD high-income economies (figure 4.1). In Latin America and the Caribbean only 10 of 32 economies require new businesses to deposit minimum capital, with the Dominican Republic imposing the most—almost half of income per capita, or about $2,500. Still, most of the 10 economies that had enforced capital requirements keep them low. In Suriname it is about $30—0.4 percent of income per capita—and in Bolivia it is $40, equivalent to 1.8 percent of income per capita. And in the past 10 years other economies in the region, such as Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Uruguay, have eliminated minimum capital requirements altogether. Among OECD high-income economies, Austria and Slovenia have the highest minimum capital requirements, asking entrepreneurs to commit more than 40% of gross national income per capita. In Sub-Saharan Africa 13 economies have minimum capital requirements exceeding 200% of income per capita. An extreme example is Niger, where the minimum • Across regions, minimum capital requirements are lowest in Europe and Central Asia. • Of the 189 economies studied in Doing Business 2014, 99 do not have minimum capital requirements for firms. Some economies have never had them, while 39 have eliminated them in the past seven years. • Minimum capital requirements are comparatively higher in lowincome economies. • Paid-in minimum capital is often a fixed amount that does not take into account firms’ economic activities, size or risk related to their activity. • Higher minimum capital requirements are associated with less access to finance for small and medium-size firms. • Higher minimum capital requirements are associated with weaker regulations on minority investor protections and tend to enable the informal economy. DOING BUSINESS 2014 compared with other regions. For instance, in 2012/13, Sri Lanka was the only economy of 8 in those studied that simplified business registration−compared with 10 of 21 in Europe and Central Asia.5 FIGURE 4.1 Minimum capital requirements by region 150 125.7 100 Sub-Saharan Africa 15.8 Middle East & North Africa 13.2 South Asia 10.4 East Asia & Pacific 3.6 OECD high income 3.5 Latin America & Caribbean 0 Minimum capital requirements are relatively higher in low-income economies than in lower-middle, upper-middle and high-income ones. Among high-income economies, 25% have a minimum capital requirement ranging from 1.5% to 230% of income per capita—from about $1,500 in Malta to more than $50,000 in Bahrain. Bahrain and Oman require new limited liability companies to deposit the equivalent of more than 200% of income per capita in bank accounts to complete registration and commence business operations. 45.4 50 Europe & Central Asia min. cap. (% of GNI pc) 42 Note: Myanmar is excluded from the sample as it is a significant outlier. Source: Doing Business database. $14,000 to less than $2. Similarly, in 2013, Morocco eliminated its minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies. Many economies in Europe and Central Asia and the OECD high-income region have also sharply cut or eliminated minimum capital requirements. capital requirement is equivalent to 528% of income per capita—about $2,000. Globally, except in South Asia, minimum capital requirements have been cut over the past seven years. The biggest changes have occurred in the Middle East and North Africa, where the share of economies with minimum capital requirements of less than 5% of income per capita fell from over 60% in 2006 to 6% in 2013 (figure 4.2). In 2011 Jordan reduced its minimum capital requirement from about In South Asia only India and Maldives still have minimum capital requirements. In India it is about $1,900; in Maldives, $135. In general, South Asia is lagging behind on business entry regulatory reforms FIGURE 4.2 Share of economies where the minimum capital requirement is less than 5% of income per capita OECD high income (30 economies) Europe & Central Asia (22 economies) South Asia (8 economies) Middle East & North Africa (16 economies) Sub-Saharan Africa (45 economies) East Asia & Pacific (23 economies) Latin America & Caribbean (30 economies) 50.0 30.0 85.7 23.8 75.0 62.5 6.3 44.4 51.1 73.9 56.5 80.6 67.7 0 87.5 20 40 60 80 100 Percent DB2014 DB2006 Note: The data sample for DB2006 (2005) includes 174 economies. The sample for DB2014 (2013) also includes The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Qatar and San Marino, for a total of 185 economies. DB2006 data have been adjusted for data revisions and changes in methodology and regional classifications of economies. Source: Doing Business database. Of the 34 low-income economies studied, 18 do not have minimum capital requirements. Among the other 16, 11 are members of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa,6 which has fixed the minimum capital requirement at about $2,000. DO MINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS FULFILL THEIR REGULATORY FUNCTIONS? The minimum capital requirement finds its roots in continental Europe of the 20th century.7 Back then, the minimum paidup capital was stipulated by law and its primary legislative purpose was to protect creditors and nurture confidence in financial markets. Nowadays, despite the financial burden that minimum capital requirements impose on potential entrepreneurs, some argue that they protect investors and consumers from new firms that are set up carelessly, might not be financially viable and will likely close soon after launching. Advocates of this argument claim that minimum capital requirements enable prospective investors to consider investments more cautiously. But this regulatory fix does not adequately address the problem. Paid-in minimum capital is often a fixed amount that does not take into account firms’ economic activities, size or risks. In some cases it is the same for different types of companies as well. For instance, a small company WHY ARE MINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS A CONCERN FOR ENTREPRENEURS? in the services industry with low startup capital has to pay as much as a large manufacturing company with high initial capital in Gabon, despite the difference in business activity and size. Moreover, funds tied up in minimum capital requirements, particularly in economies where the amount is sizable, could impose financial constraints on companies that have other needs, such as hiring, buying equipment or developing services.8 Others argue that minimum capital requirements shield firms from insolvency and so protect creditors and investors.9 But lenders tend to base their decisions on commercial risks rather than government-imposed minimum capital requirements.10 Creditors usually prefer to evaluate firms’ income statements, business plans and other representative indicators. Thus, many economies have found other ways to protect investors, particularly with limited liability companies. For instance, Hong Kong SAR, China outlines solvency safeguards in its Companies Act and does not require a specific amount of paid-in minimum capital for business incorporations. Furthermore, companies have different probabilities of becoming insolvent. Even with a minimum capital requirement there is no guarantee that a firm would not face insolvency because of other factors such as poor management and decision making, bad business conditions and market changes.11 If the enforced minimum capital requirement is too high, it might impede the development of start-ups. It could block potential entrepreneurs seeking to start businesses as alternatives to unemployment.12 In Ethiopia the official unemployment figure is more than 20%, yet the minimum capital requirement is 184% of income per capita. Though the minimum capital requirement alone does not account for Ethiopia’s high unemployment, it does hamper the development of small and medium-size formal businesses that might be a source of employment.13 Some researchers also argue that high minimum capital requirements distort healthy competition by putting at disadvantage entrepreneurs with less financial capacity.14 A firm is expected to use its financial resources to establish the business and day-to-day operations. So freezing capital in a bank account may undermine a company’s growth. In Bolivia and Ghana minimum capital can be withdrawn in full only after a company’s dissolution. Moreover, high minimum capital requirements can enable fraudulent activities that they are supposed to prevent. Entrepreneurs eager to incorporate companies but lacking the required funds, often falsify company incorporation forms or withdraw funds soon after incorporation.15 If the capital requirement is too low, it fails to screen out potentially unviable businesses. A low requirement does little to protect creditors if a company undergoes financial distress.16 In many economies the requirement is merely symbolic because governments and company registries cannot predetermine how much money might be needed to cover companies’ liabilities if they become insolvent.17 For example, France, Germany, Japan and Jordan have minimum capital requirements of less than $5. In addition, a minimum capital requirement does not limit company debt because once the capital amount has been established, there are usually no limits on the borrowing of companies.18 Minimum capital requirements are especially futile if funds can be withdrawn and possibly used to cover expenses unrelated to the business soon after a company is incorporated. For instance, in Estonia, Luxembourg and Thailand entrepreneurs can withdraw start-up capital immediately after incorporating a business—so minimum capital requirements provide no security to potential creditors.19 A better way to make markets more efficient and protect creditors would be to enforce mandatory disclosure of information, such as mandatory filing of annual financial accounts in company registries and enhancing the supervisory role of company registries. Other forms of creditor protection already exist in many economies, including corporate governance monitoring, setting of interest rates and contractual provisions such as bond indentures and loan agreements.20 The United States, for instance, once imposed significant requirements on how much capital had to be contributed and maintained in a corporation. But those rules have lost virtually all of their value for stockholders and creditors because better approaches have been developed. Today creditors must rely primarily on negotiated contractual protections, as stipulated in statutory and incorporation agreements.21 A study of 5 EU economies shows that eliminating minimum capital requirements makes it easier to start small and medium-size enterprises. The number of registered businesses has increased in 4 of the economies studied that have lowered or abolished minimum capital requirements (France, Germany, Hungary and Poland). Research also shows that, in addition to significantly increasing the total number of limited liability companies, such legal reforms have raised the number of new firms created.22 Another study on the effects of deregulation of corporate laws on company incorporation shows that entrepreneurs have taken advantage of recent rulings by the European Court of Justice allowing them to select the economy where they incorporate regardless of their initial location. For instance, cross-country incorporation from businesses in other EU economies increased significantly in the United Kingdom, driven by low capital requirements and start-up costs.23 WHAT IS THE ECONOMIC RELEVANCE OF MINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS? Through the analysis of minimum capital requirements it is possible to identify 2 main types of correlations: one relating minimum capital requirements to other types of regulations and another relating minimum capital requirements with economic outcomes, such as the size of the informal economy. All the results presented here are based on correlations and cannot be interpreted as causal. The analysis shows that minimum capital requirements are related to 2 types of regulations: insolvency laws and its implementation and minority shareholder protection. The efficiency of insolvency laws is measured by the Doing Business recovery rate indicator. The regression analysis suggests that minimum capital 43 DOING BUSINESS 2014 min. cap. (% of GNI pc) FIGURE 4.3 Higher minimum capital requirements are associated with weaker investor protection Strength of investor protection index Source: Doing Business database. min. cap. (% of GNI pc) FIGURE 4.4 Higher minimum capital requirements are associated with less access to finance for small and medium-size enterprises Share of firms identifying access to finance as a major constraint Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys, 2012. FIGURE 4.5 Higher minimum capital requirements are associated with more informality min. cap. (% of GNI pc) 44 Share of firms competing against informal sector Source: World Bank Enterprise Surveys, 2012. requirements might not help creditors recover their investments. There is a strong negative association between such requirements as measured as a percentage of an economy’s income per capita and the recovery rate of creditors. The recovery rate for investors tends to be higher in economies that do not have minimum capital requirements.24 So, indeed, such requirements do not play a crucial role in safeguarding creditors against company bankruptcies. The negative correlation between minimum capital requirements and the strength of investor protection index (which measures legally required minority shareholder protections provided by law) is also significant (figure 4.3).25,26 Economies that do not have minimum capital requirements or set them very low tend to better protect investors by being more likely to promote transparency in corporate transactions, provide easy access to corporate information and have stricter director liability standards. With regards to economic outcomes, the analysis shows that in economies with high minimum capital requirements, small and medium-size firms have less access to bank financing.27 The analysis also reveals a strong correlation between the amount of minimum capital required and the percentage of small and medium-size enterprises that cite access to finance as a major constraint to their business operations (figure 4.4). Furthermore, there is a strong positive association between minimum capital requirements and the percentage of firms in economies who say that the informal economy severely constrains their growth (figure 4.5). If entry costs are prohibitively high, entrepreneurs might be disinclined to formalize their businesses. There is also a strong negative relationship between the number of years that firms operate without formal registration and the burden of minimum capital requirements.28 Based on this relationship, higher minimum capital requirements are associated with longer periods when firms operate without formal licenses. The less money that firms have to spend on minimum capital requirements, the less likely they are to compete against informal businesses as WHY ARE MINIMUM CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS A CONCERN FOR ENTREPRENEURS? those firms have a greater incentive to become formally registered. There is also a strong negative association between minimum capital requirements and the number of new formal businesses.29 This result supports the argument that minimum capital requirements deter entrepreneurial activity, creating obstacles for business development. 7. The German AktG of 1937 and the Italian NOTES This case study was written by Valentina Saltane and Paula Garcia Serna. ma 2007. 1. vanStel, Storey and Thurik (2007); Blanch- 2. CONCLUSION Despite its shortcomings, minimum capital requirements remain a reality for many economies, especially in the Middle East and North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. But every year more economies slash or eliminate how much money entrepreneurs must deposit to start businesses. Governments can take various other steps to protect investors and creditors, minimize risks of bankruptcy and safeguard consumers from potentially hazardous products. Civil Code of 1942. 8. Chan 2009. 9. Miola 2005. 10. Djankov 2009; Ewang 2007; Alonso Ledes- 3. 4. 5. 6. flower, Oswald and Stutzer (2001); Klapper and Love (2011); Dreher and Gassebner (2011). The paid-in minimum capital measured by the starting a business indicator represents the amount an entrepreneur needs to deposit within 3 months of business incorporation. In the following sections it is referred to as minimum capital. For instance, in Belgium the required minimum capital is defined in the Company Code, in Ecuador in the Companies Act and in Togo in the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA) Uniform Act on the General Commercial Law. vanStel, Storey and Thurik (2007); Blanchflower, Oswald and Stutzer (2001). Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Lithuania, FYR Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. OHADA members are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. 11. Mülbert 2006. 12. Hornuf and others 2011. 13. World Development Indicators 2012 and Doing Business database. 14. Chan 2009. 15. Chan 2009. 16. Miola 2005. 17. Ewang 2007. 18. Alonso Ledesma 2007. 19. Miola 2005. 20. Miola 2005. 21. Booth 2005. 22. Hornuf and others 2011. 23. Becht, Mayer and Wagner 2008. 24. The results are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. 25. The strength of the investor protection index is the average of the extent of the disclosure index, the extent of the director liability index and the ease of the shareholder suits index. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating more investor protection. 26. The results are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. 27. The results are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. 28. The results are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. 29. The results are significant at the 5% level after controlling for income per capita. 45 What role should risk-based inspections play in construction? • Inspections during the construction of buildings are crucial, but assessing the potential risks of a building—such as its environmental impact—is even more important. • Risk-based inspections, which focus on what to inspect and when, have become more popular in the past decade. They are conducted to ensure a building’s structural safety, fire safety, worker safety and public safety. • In Australia risk management for construction emerged in 1999 but not all aspects of the system were incorporated immediately. The 2005 Building Professionals Act introduced the accreditation and regulation of private inspectors, creating competition between the public and private sectors. • France strengthened its liability regimes and introduced a riskbased inspections system based on building classifications that already existed in the law but were never implemented. • Economies seeking to adopt riskbased inspections should consider that successful implementation requires strong legislation for construction, strong enforcement institutions, conflict resolution mechanisms, adequate resources and a liability and insurance regime. Construction accounts for a large share of GDP in most economies. In 2005, during a period of high growth, it was the source of at least 7% of GDP in Bangladesh, India and the United Arab Emirates. Governments often use construction to stimulate economic activity because of its benefits for people across socioeconomic strata.1 From New York to Shanghai, economies are competing to build the tallest, biggest, most beautiful buildings. Ensuring safety in construction is not easy. A single structural failure can cause an entire building to collapse, often leading to injuries and deaths. The collapse of the Kihonge high-rise in Kenya in 2006, a multistory Melcom department store in Ghana in 2012 and the Rana Plaza Building—a multiuse building including a garment factory—in Bangladesh in 2013 show that strong regulation for building construction and equally strong enforcement of the law are essential for worker and public safety. Furthermore, the monetary costs incurred by governments or private sector to replace the buildings or fix the damages can be substantial. These incidents do not imply that these countries do not officially require inspections. Ghana’s Building Inspectorate is legally required to inspect buildings at 4 stages before the official final inspection. Similarly, Bangladesh’s City Development Authority is supposed to conduct excavation and foundation inspections before conducting a final inspection. But such inspection requirements do not do enough to guarantee worker and public safety. Inspections during the construction of buildings are crucial—but assessing potential risks might be even more important. For example, several factors must be taken into account when building a power plant, such as the pollution it is expected to emit, which will affect how thoroughly it needs to be inspected. Accordingly, there has been growing consensus in the construction industry on the need for supervisory bodies to consider the potential risks imposed by a building, rather than applying the same inspections standards to all buildings. Many economies are adopting innovative approaches to construction controls, with the focus shifting from random, systematic and untargeted inspections to more targeted, selective and risk-based inspections. Both developed and developing economies have implemented risk-based inspections, which take into account the varying risks for different types of buildings. Since 2005, 18 economies have incorporated elements of risk-based inspection systems.2 For example, Germany adopted a system similar to Australia’s that makes private inspectors responsible for ensuring buildings’ safety and thus responsible for conducting the required inspections based on the type of building. Over the past three decades other governments have also worked with the private sector to develop risk-based inspections, resulting in new laws and regulations that make safety a central focus of the construction industry while maintaining efficiency. Risk-based inspections, as opposed to random, untargeted inspections, allow governments to allocate resources where they are most needed without compromising worker and public safety. But their effectiveness depends on several factors, including strong oversight, proper enforcement of legislation, sufficient resources and technical expertise. Economies require inspectors to inspect buildings to ensure that builders comply WHAT ROLE SHOULD RISK-BASED INSPECTIONS PLAY IN CONSTRUCTION? with legal requirements for worker safety (construction inspections), structural integrity (building inspections) and fire safety. There can be too few inspections or too many; neither approach benefits the construction industry or the public interest. In some economies obtaining a construction permit requires dozens of procedures. It can take more than a year to comply with these, and they can cost several times annual income per capita. Moreover, the process is often little more than a way to extract rents and so is associated with corruption. In contrast, countries such as France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have created permit procedures that strike a much better balance, ensuring high levels of public safety while not burdening the private sector with excessive red tape. Builders in such economies are creating simpler structures that are generally subject to less requirements and inspections due to their lower risks. WHAT TYPES OF INSPECTIONS ARE THERE? Unannounced or unscheduled inspections are known as random inspections. They can occur at any time and any stage of a construction project. There can be as many inspections as the building inspector deems necessary. For a 30-week construction project—the model measured by Doing Business—several economies have 1 random inspection, while the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Liberia have 12 and Guinea has 15.3 Though random inspections can reveal more instances of noncompliance with building regulations than do phased inspections, they also create more opportunities for graft. And requiring a lot of inspections might not be necessary for smaller buildings that do not pose serious environmental or hazardous risks. Still, having no inspections is a safety risk. Phased inspections occur during specific phases of construction. They occur regardless of a building’s size, location or use. Economies such as Canada and the United Kingdom recommend conducting such inspections in 9 phases, but this number might differ for other economies TABLE 5.1 The United Kingdom requires a range of building inspections Phased inspections required for all buildings Inspections based on risk assessment • • • • • In addition to key stage inspections, highrisk sites must undergo extra inspections. The assessment is adjusted accordingly during construction. Commencement of works Excavation of foundation Superstructure, structural frame or components First fix (pre-plaster) In-situ testing, such as for drains, sound, air pressure, electrical and fire alarms • Intermediate inspections when required • Pre-occupation issue of a completion certificate Source: http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk. based on factors such as geographical location.4 Thus both countries have implemented hybrid systems that include both phased and risk-based inspections. On the other hand, Bhutan inspects all buildings at 7 phases of construction, without additional risk-based inspections. A phased inspection strategy demands that authorities have enough resources to inspect every building at each required phase. An insufficient number of inspectors can lead to missed, hurried or incomplete inspections. Risk-based inspections have become more popular in the past decade, resolving some of the issues from random and phased inspections. Though many riskbased inspection systems include a minimum number of phased inspections for all buildings, they typically give priority to buildings with high risks—such as environmental ones—and optimize the process. For example, the United Kingdom has defined key stages of inspections for all buildings, plus additional inspections based on the building’s risk level (table 5.1). Hence risk-based inspections focus on what to inspect and when. Risk-based inspections are conducted to ensure a building’s structural safety, fire safety, worker safety and public safety but in a more efficient manner. Riskier buildings face more inspections. Having fewer inspections for less risky buildings lowers costs without compromising safety, increasing flexibility and enabling inspectors to move away from random and phased inspections. In addition to defining the inspections that must take place for different types of buildings, risk-based inspections systems have involved a growing shift in risk, responsibility and liability from public bodies to private engineers and inspectors. Private practitioners tend to have the skills, expertise and experience to function without controls or with limited controls.5 They are also held liable for the safety of buildings and subject to independent oversight. HOW ARE RISK-BASED INSPECTIONS IMPLEMENTED? Efforts to develop risk-based inspections must consider several elements, including: • Classifying and assessing buildings. Building classifications and assessments are important for determining the frequency and scope of inspections. Not all buildings face the same risks. Thus risk evaluation requires a holistic approach, and understanding the risks associated with different types of buildings is essential for successful risk-based inspections. Building classification is just as important when determining the necessary levels of review for the building plans prior to construction, for construction of the building itself and for assessment of the building after construction to ensure its compliance with safety standards. • Identifying who will conduct inspections. Risk-based inspections rely on professional inspectors who are responsible for ensuring that buildings are constructed according to safety standards. If violations occur, inspectors must hold insurance to cover the loss of any structural damages. Accordingly, only experts certified by the state or a legal body should perform inspections. • Identifying the responsibilities of those authorities. Inspectors’ mandates must 47 48 DOING BUSINESS 2014 be clearly defined. In addition, a formal enforcement mechanism must be in place to ensure compliance with regulations and administer penalties for violations, as well as a conflict resolution mechanism in cases of disagreement between inspectors and developers. Different economies have taken different approaches to risk-based inspections. In the 1990s Austria introduced three classes of construction so not every building requires a building permit, as had been the case: • First class. For small expansions or other small construction works exempt from building permits and planning and zoning reviews. • Second class. For construction works up to 20 square meters that do not require building permits and technical reviews. But these projects are subject to planning reviews, and signatures must be obtained from neighbors to ensure they have no objections to the project. • Third class. These projects require building permits with third-party review of all crucial elements. A subcategory in the third class known as the “light procedure” requires little or no independent review of building design and construction. In Vienna a structural review is the only requirement for this subcategory. Though notifications to the relevant agency are required once certain stages of construction are completed, inspections are the exception rather than the rule under the light procedure.6 Economies that have been using riskbased inspections the longest, such as Australia and France, have comprehensive classifications of building categories and risks based on size and use. Their systems have proved quite successful over the years. Thus the case study has focused on the experiences of these two countries. AUSTRALIA AND FRANCE: TWO EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE Australia: privatizing inspections In Australia risk management for construction emerged in 1999 based on techniques developed by Standards Australia, an independent nonprofit considered the country’s leading nongovernmental standard-setting body.7 Buildings began being inspected by local councils, and risk assessments by those councils determined the number of inspections needed, with standards varying by council. But the 2005 Building Professionals Act allowed for accreditation and regulation of private inspectors.8 By opening to the private sector, Australia introduced competition to a system that had primarily been the responsibility of local councils. Furthermore, in 2005 Australia amended its Building Code to introduce a risk-based categorization system for buildings that inspectors had to follow (see next section for more details on the categorization). In addition, in 2010 changes were made to the Building Professionals Board, which had been the sole body authorized to accredit private inspectors, regulate the profession and enforce disciplinary and legal actions against private inspectors. Now principal certifying authorities can accredit professionals from various backgrounds—including engineers, planners and building and land surveyors—to serve as inspectors. In addition, the board became responsible for accrediting, regulating and enforcing actions against certified inspectors.9 As a result principal certifying authorities can retain both private and council inspectors, who report back during and after construction. By law, principal certifying authorities must be designated to conduct the mandatory inspections at the critical stages (stipulated in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act), manage inspections and decide if additional inspections are needed based on a building’s risk level. The principal certifying authority must also issue the certificate of construction (a mandatory certificate that must be obtained prior to the commencement of construction works) and certify the safety of the building upon completion of construction. The principal certifying authority is held liable if any issues arise related to the building construction.10 However, inspectors must obtain an annual professional insurance up to a minimum of AUD 1,000,000 in order to be retained in their position. France: establishing insurancedriven building control and mandating risk-based inspections France’s 1978 Spinetta Law provided a legal framework for creating technical control agencies and dramatically modifying liabilities in construction works. 11 Until then it was unclear who was responsible for inspecting buildings during construction. The government had limited involvement in the construction industry. Builders and architects were simply required to have 10-year warranty insurance for damages caused by a building collapse. Furthermore, while previous legislation had stipulated various categorizations of buildings, it had never stipulated what types of inspections should be conducted for each category. Under the Spinetta Law only private, state-licensed technical control agencies can inspect construction sites.12 Technical controllers cannot be directly involved in construction-related activities. They must be accredited for 5-year terms based on requirements defined by a state decree, including for technical competence and professional conduct.13 Technical control agencies must verify buildings’ strength, safety and compliance with building regulations, including standards for seismic construction and accessibility for the disabled. In addition, all parties involved in construction—such as contractors, builders, and technical control agencies—must obtain insurance covering defects in construction. Compliance with regulations has improved dramatically since the Spinetta Law was implemented.14 Building classifications in Australia and France A building’s risk level is based on its classification, use and height. Volume 1 of the 2005 Building Code of Australia considers all buildings low risk regardless of their class if they are less than 4 stories except class 9 (table 5.2).15 Class 9 buildings are considered high risk due to their uses and regardless of their height. Moreover, some buildings are considered high risk because of their importance as class 3 or 4 buildings. Class 3 buildings house more than 250 guests, motels or guest WHAT ROLE SHOULD RISK-BASED INSPECTIONS PLAY IN CONSTRUCTION? TABLE 5.2 What building classifications does Australia use? Building class Use Risk level 1 Standalone residence n.a. 2, 3, 4 Residential Low for up to three stories Medium for more than three stories but less than 25 meters High for more than 25 meters 5, 6, 7 Office building for commercial purposes Low for up to three stories Medium for more than three stories but less than 25 meters High for more than 25 meters 8 Laboratory Low for up to three stories Medium for more than three stories but less than 25 meters High for more than 25 meters 9 Building of a public nature High 10 Other domestic utilities n.a. Note: Buildings in any class with a risk level of 3 or 4 are considered high-risk buildings. n.a. = not applicable. Source: 2005 Building Code of Australia. houses. Class 4 is the residential part of buildings classified under classes 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9. For example, if an office building has one floor with residential apartments, that floor is classified as class 4. Risk levels and building classes enable principal certifying authorities to develop inspections that protect public safety. For example, 2 buildings might be considered low risk because of their height. But depending on their uses, 1 might require more inspections because of the complexity of its construction. In addition to the risk-based inspections that principal certifying authorities deem necessary, several critical inspections are set by law for each building class, including standalone residences (class 1) and garages and parking lots (class 10). For classes 1 and 10, 7 inspections are required, compared with just 3 for class 7 warehouses.16 In France building classifications are mainly based on occupancy and use, though height also plays a role. Only nonresidential buildings that receive visitors—such as malls, office buildings or movie theaters (établissement recevant du public, or ERP) and residential buildings up to 50 meters tall are categorized. The 5 categories for these buildings are based on the number of people they can house TABLE 5.3 What building classifications does France use for ERP? Classification Number of people the building houses Mandatory inspection required? Category 1 More than 1,500 YES Category 2 701–1,500 YES Category 3 301–700 YES Category 4 300 YES Category 5a 300 or fewerb NO Note: In addition to ERP, residential buildings up to 50 meters high are also classified according to the 5 categories above. a. Includes only visitors. b. Refers to small construction works with or without sleeping quarters. Source: 2009 Building and Housing Code of France. (table 5.3). For categories 1 to 4 the threshold includes both employees and visitors, while only visitors are considered for category 5 (which has more lenient safety regulations). Mandatory inspections are required for categories 1 to 4 and are classified into 2 main categories: L and S. Each category has sub-categories that relate to a specific part of the building such as framing, roofing or thermal performance. • Category L (Legal aspects—excluding seismic risk level): This type of control focuses on the structural strength, the foundation, the framing, the roofing and the mandatory equipment to be used for each step. • Category S (Safety): This category concerns the safety of the workers on the construction site. Depending on a building’s class and type, the safety control agency conducts either category L or S inspections. High-risk buildings have both types of inspections. A special category, category PS (Paraseismic), is applied to zones prone to seismic activity. In this case, all three categories of inspections are mandatory. WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE BEEN FACED? Economies seeking to adopt risk-based inspections can face several challenges. First, economies with weak legal institutions will find it nearly impossible to implement such a complex system. It requires passing legislation that, among other things, clearly stipulates categorization of buildings, identifies qualification and licensing requirements for private practitioners, calls for strong oversight mechanisms and calls for the establishment of agencies that are wellequipped and trained to ensure the safety standards of buildings. Having clear zoning and land regulations is also key. In some economies implementing riskbased inspections has been a challenge because authorities do not know if the building that will be constructed is in a high-risk zone (such as a zone prone to flooding or seismic activity, has natural reserves, is a historical heritage site, or the like). Second, enforcement of the legal framework is essential to ensuring its successful implementation. The relevant agencies must be independent enough to enforce the law and exercise their right to conduct any needed oversight. For example, they must establish mechanisms whereby clients can submit complaints about their dissatisfaction with an inspector, then investigate the case and take disciplinary actions against the inspector if the case is confirmed. 49 50 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Corruption can be reduced as well in these cases; without the proper enforcement mechanisms, it becomes easier to engage in paying bribes to the inspectors. Economies with successful risk-based inspections have strong legal institutions and solid enforcement mechanisms. Consider Brazil, where the construction industry has expressed strong and growing demand for risk-based inspections. But because of a weak legal framework and poor dissemination of a risk assessment methodology, only São Paulo was able to implement risk-based inspections—and the system remains limited. Many practitioners lacked sufficient knowledge and were not well-trained to properly identify the various types of risk involved in the different types of buildings.17 Establishing a conflict resolution mechanism can also be challenging. It entails establishing a system where entities adversely affected by permitting authorities’ decisions can appeal them. Like the enforcement mechanisms, conflict resolution mechanisms can only be successful if there is technical competence, procedural safeguards and transparent processes. For example, Canada’s Building Code Commission members have the appropriate technical expertise and are appointed from both the regulatory and industry sectors. The commission’s decisions are binding and hearings on technical issues almost never exceed 6 to 8 weeks.18 Another main challenge is securing adequate resources. Developing a sound risk management system to implement risk-based inspections requires investing time and money. Risk-based inspections involve identifying and assessing the risks of every building. Such efforts are time-consuming and require staff with technical expertise. Thus sufficient financial resources have to be allocated to training. And to allocate these resources wisely, agencies must be run by individuals who are technically competent and can act independently. Still, economies can start with smaller steps that do not require extensive resources. In 2012 the municipality of Ciudad de Guatemala issued a new technical manual on construction permits that introduced a risk-based approach to inspections conducted during construction. Low-risk projects—buildings smaller than 3,000 square meters with 3 floors or fewer—were exempted from inspections during construction but remain subject to a final inspection. Before, random inspections for low-risk projects occurred about once a month. Finally, economies implementing riskbased inspections must develop liability and insurance systems. Doing so helps hold building inspectors and enforcement agencies accountable and deters them from delaying the issuance of permits. Building inspectors in those economies, such as Australia, France and the United Kingdom, hold insurance regimes that guarantee compensation in case of defects. But in most developing economies implementing such a regime can be a challenge since insurance systems are not readily available.19 WHAT BENEFITS HAVE BEEN REALIZED? Implementing risk-based inspections can present enormous challenges, but the benefits are greater. After France implemented its Spinetta Law, construction-related conflicts and litigation fell, protection improved for owners and contracting authorities, and building safety, quality and compliance with building standards increased. The reforms also lowered repair costs.20 Indicators of construction quality—as measured by the percentage of buildings for which insurance claims are filed and related repair costs relative to the cost of the building—have also improved. For instance, repair costs as a percentage of construction costs fell from more than 4% in the 1990s to 3.6% for buildings completed after 2001. That these figures are both low and declining reflects the system's effectiveness.21 In 1984 the United Kingdom began modernizing its building regulation. As in Australia, builders can now choose whether to have inspections conducted by licensed private inspectors or local public authorities. This has greatly benefited clients because if they choose a private inspector, they can involve the inspectors at an earlier stage of the process (meaning, before construction even begins). A public inspector is only involved during construction. In 2012, 60 or so private inspectors—including several large corporate inspection firms— handled 30% of building control work. Introducing a private alternative to public building control has made the process more efficient and expedited services.22 Inspections in the United Kingdom are not free of charge, so by having clients choose private inspectors, local public authorities are losing revenue and thus have an incentive to compete with the private sector. But much of the success of these economies has also been a result of strong implementation and oversight of the privatized systems. First, a robust system of qualification and licensing requirements exists for private inspectors. Inspectors in these economies have extensive technical expertise, which results in higher compliance with building codes.23 And enforcement agencies operate with considerable independence and can hold private practitioners accountable for wrongdoing. Without these necessary safeguards, the effectiveness of a privatized system can remain limited. For example, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia privatized its design and construction reviews process. Many requirements and documentation were streamlined or eliminated. In just one year the time needed to obtain a construction permit was cut by 22 days and the number of procedures required by 10 as measured by Doing Business. For inspections, FYR Macedonia introduced two categories of buildings: those of national importance and those of local importance, such as commercial warehouses. The 5 phased inspections previously required by the State Inspectorate for Construction and Urban Planning for buildings of local importance were eliminated, and construction oversight can now be performed by independent professionals hired by investors. But licensing requirements for engineers are not yet robust and oversight of their work remains weak. WHAT ROLE SHOULD RISK-BASED INSPECTIONS PLAY IN CONSTRUCTION? 10. Environmental Planning and Assessment CONCLUSION NOTES Introducing risk-based inspections is challenging. Among the many prerequisites are sound legislation, accurate categorization of buildings and effective agencies with sufficient resources, welltrained workers and legal mandates to conduct inspections. Economies that have successfully implemented such systems have seen more efficient inspections of their construction industries without compromising the safety of workers, the public or buildings. This case study was written by Marie Lily Delion and Joyce Ibrahim. Australia privatized its inspection system, while France strengthened and clarified its liability regime. Technical controllers must be licensed, and technical control agencies are held accountable for building safety. And while Australia categorizes buildings based on their uses, France categorizes its buildings based on their occupancy. Though the two countries took different approaches, both emerged with far more efficient construction inspection systems. 1. World Bank, https://openknowledge. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/7671/416300PK.txt?sequence=2); http://siteresources.worldbank. org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/Publications/448813-1202436185914/ch4PIIC.pdf. World Bank Group 2013b. The economies are Australia, Austria, Republic of Congo, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain and the United Kingdom. Doing Business database. http://www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/bc_nine_ stages_of_work.htm.; http://ottawa.ca/en/ residents/laws-licenses-and-permits/building-and-renovating/building-inspections World Bank Group 2013b. World Bank Group 2013b. Baccarini 2000. Independent Commission Against Corruption Act, Section 3, 1988. Building Professionals Board, http://www. bpb.nsw.gov.au. Act (EPAA) 1979. These classes are 1 (standalone houses) and 10 (other domestic utilities such as garages). 11. While technical control agencies are primarily responsible for the inspection of buildings, they also play a role at the outset with the design and plans of the building. 12. Building and Housing Code of France (Code de la construction et de l’habitation), Articles L111-23 to L111-26, 2009. 13. Law on Liability and Insurance System (Loi sur l’assurance-construction), Article 10, 1978. 14. World Bank Group 2013b. 15. Building Code of Australia, Volume 1, 2005. 16. Clause 162A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 addresses the critical inspections required for each category. 17. Martins and others 2011. 18. World Bank Group 2013b. 19. World Bank Group 2013b. 20. World Bank Group 2013b. 21. World Bank Group 2013b. 22. World Bank Group 2013b. 23. World Bank Group 2013b. 51 Tackling high electricity connection costs: Trinidad and Tobago’s new approach • Around the world, high connection costs are a barrier to getting electricity. The getting electricity indicator shows that connection costs for entrepreneurs are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. • The most effective regulatory systems govern connection costs in a way that is cost effective for utilities and fair for customers. • Studies often focused on the balance between connection costs and consumption tariffs. But when analyzing connection costs, few studies assessed cost allocation between new customers requesting connections and future customers who might benefit from them, which is the focus of this case study. • Trinidad and Tobago lowered connection costs by introducing a capital contribution scheme to resolve the “free rider” issue (which occurs when first customers fund the entire construction works, to the benefit of future customers). • The new scheme was implemented through extensive collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including the regulator, electricity utility and entrepreneurs. Access to electricity is essential for firms. Yet many entrepreneurs around the world struggle with high costs to connect to electricity grids. In 2013 the cost to connect a single warehouse to a power supply ranged from an average of $19,112 in South Asia to $38,500 in Sub-Saharan Africa. Globally the average was $29,134 (figure 6.1). Self-supply is much more costly—often prohibitively so.1 Moreover, high electricity connection costs often go hand in hand with high transmission and distribution losses.2 Experts contacted by Doing Business identified high connection costs as the main barrier to accessing electricity in their countries (figure 6.2). That was the case for all income groups except low-income economies, for whom a lack of generation capacity is the main barrier. UTILITIES SPREAD NEW CONNECTION COSTS BETWEEN TARIFFS AND CONNECTION FEES Every electricity utility has to recoup the costs of a generation plant, transmission and distribution networks and to foster income for future expansion. One way of doing so is by levying network costs to new customers, in the form of an advance lump sum payment to facilitate infrastructure works for an electricity supply. This lump sum is called customer’s capital contribution. If a customer is not near the existing network or the network is already fully used and new capacity is required, the cost of extending the network might be high. In such cases customers have to pay all or part of the capital cost—which might be a significant barrier to obtaining a new connection, especially in low-income areas. Alternatively, if a large share of the costs is recovered through tariffs rather than through advance lump sum payments, new customers enjoy a significant benefit at the expense of other customers. UTILITIES HAVE TO BALANCE NEW CONNECTION COSTS BETWEEN PRESENT AND FUTURE REQUESTS Many studies have focused on the balance between connection costs and tariffs. This case study highlights one way of striking the right balance between costs for new and future connection requests. Costs for electricity connections are usually set by distribution companies and often reviewed by regulators when such agencies exist. Because utilities allocate costs for new connections between existing and prospective customers, they also have to balance economic efficiency and fairness. But it is often difficult to distinguish between capital works for specific customers and those needed for projected growth or safety and reliability. That leaves room for new customers to pay for investments in the network that will benefit other customers as well. Consider a customer who wants to connect a warehouse to electricity. The customer’s premises could get connected to an existing transformer with sufficient spare capacity, or the utility could install a new transformer. This latter case could happen because a transformer is required for the customer but it could also be that the utility has development plans and wants to connect future customers to this transformer. Transformers are expensive. Customers can end up paying for more TACKLING HIGH ELECTRICITY CONNECTION COSTS: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S NEW APPROACH FIGURE 6.2 High connection costs are the main barrier to accessing electricity Others Complicated connection procedures High connection costs 13% 6% 42% South Asia East Asia & Pacific Europe & Central Asia Latin America & Caribbean OECD high income World average 11% Middle East & North Africa 45,000 40,000 35,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Sub-Saharan Africa Cost (US$) FIGURE 6.1 The average cost to connect to electricity varies by region In addition, connection costs are not fully transparent in many economies. Utilities often present customers with individual budgets instead of regulated capital contribution policies aimed at spreading the fixed costs of expanding networks. It makes it even more difficult for customers to assess how connection costs are spread among their requests and possibly reinforce the electricity network. WHAT HAS THE GETTING ELECTRICITY DATA SHOWN? While there are many datasets on energy demand and supply quality, previously no global dataset existed on benchmarking connection costs across economies. The getting electricity indicator offers an annual comparison of the procedures, time and cost of obtaining an electricity connection in 189 economies, with data going back to 2009. Of the 3 indicators, costs vary most. This study aims to identify bottlenecks and good practices about calculating costs for new customers. Economies have tackled high connection costs in different ways. In Japan, it costs nothing for an entrepreneur to connect a warehouse to electricity—the costs of expanding the distribution network are covered by electricity tariffs. Papua New Guinea’s Lack of generation capacity Source: Doing Business database. Source: Doing Business database. than is needed for connection requests, subsidizing future customers. Explicit rules on the allocation of costs are essential for fairness to customers. 28% Poor quality of supply utility has a payment scheme that allows customers to pay capital contributions in monthly electricity bills. The indicator shows that costs can usually be divided into 2 categories: a clearly regulated connection fee based on a formula or set as a fixed price, and variable costs for the connection that take into account the labor and material required. Where a new connection can be made directly to the low-voltage network, regulated and fixed fees represent a larger share of the connection cost in high-income economies. In general, the higher the income per capita is in an economy, the higher is the share of regulated fees in the total cost. Sweden is among those that provide clear regulation of fees. For the 140-kilovoltampere (kVA) connection assumed in the getting electricity case study, costs are fixed and based on an average for similar projects in the area. Information on fees also tends to be more easily accessible in higher-income economies—in a regulation, on a website or through a brochure or board at a customer service office. TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S EFFORTS TO MAKE ACCESSING ELECTRICITY FAIRER Trinidad and Tobago’s strategy for lowering electricity connection costs focused on finding a fair scheme to allocate costs between new and future customers. In 2006 T&TEC—Trinidad and Tobago’s public, regulated electricity utility—got complaints about the costs of connecting to electricity. The most controversial issue was the capital contribution. Where the distance of the customer was far from the network or the network was fully used and new capacity was required, extending the network would increase the overall cost. Customers paid for extensions (less the offset of revenues from the connection in the third year) required to connect to the system. If another customer sought a connection the new customer would be able to use the assets funded by the first customer. So a free-rider problem arose. There was no mechanism to reimburse customers that had funded connection assets shared by others whose emergence was not anticipated at the time of original application. The legal basis for the capital contribution imposed by T&TEC arose from the T&TEC Act, Chapter 54:70 which states that clients had to pay for new electricity connections if they were more than 60 feet away from the existing grid. T&TEC presented individual quotes to customers who had no basis to contest them should they want to. A customer requesting a new connection of 140 kVA for a warehouse located 150 meters away from the existing network had to pay more than $8,000 in Port of Spain in 2009. 53 54 DOING BUSINESS 2014 ESTABLISHING A CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION WORKING GROUP HELPED Trinidad and Tobago’s regulator, the Regulated Industries Commission (RIC), recognized that the capital contribution was contentious because the calculation of connection costs was complex and somewhat subjective. In 2006 the RIC established a working group to review capital contributions. The group was comprised of representatives from nongovernmental organizations, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Bureau of Standards, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Electricity Commission and the RIC. The chair of the group was a representative from the Network of NGOs of Trinidad and Tobago for the Advancement of Women. The group adopted a comprehensive approach that examined procedures and acts regulating capital contributions and looked into what utilities in other economies were doing. Their research focused on whether there was a clear, formal capital contribution policy¸ the issues addressed in the policy (such as for exemptions, reimbursement and dispute resolution) and the methods used to determine the capital contribution. The group found that globally, service providers give users different ways to connect to electricity networks. One involves customers paying the total costs incurred as a result of connecting a new load to the system, including the costs of network reinforcement. Another involves customers paying only for the assets required to connect to a system, excluding the costs of extending and reinforcing the distribution system. A third option followed by a few service providers, where the costs of assets for a new connection are deemed part of the general system and so are recoverable from all users through tariffs or system charges. RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CAPITAL CONTRIBUTION WORKING GROUP AND FINAL PROPOSAL BY THE REGULATED INDUSTRIES COMMISSION The Capital Contribution Working Group submitted its report to the Regulated Industries Commission in early 2007, and the report was widely circulated to stakeholders and the public.3 The document was finalized in 2008 and implemented by T&TEC in 2009/10, making connection costs fairer and more transparent. The groups also made 3 main recommendations for Trinidad and Tobago that have been implemented: • Introducing a reimbursement scheme. To ensure that connection costs are more widely spread across different users, assets eventually shared by customers connecting later must be reimbursed to initial customers by T&TEC (figure 6.3). • Setting connection costs with revenue from electricity supply. T&TEC is required to show that a connection is not commercially viable without a capital contribution and that it should be no FIGURE 6.3 How does the reimbursement of capital contribution work? 1 more than what it would cost to be commercially viable. This approach allows a balanced allocation of costs because a new connection is also a source of future revenue. But large industrial customers still bear the full capital costs of connecting to the network, and connection costs are small relative to the company’s turnover. • Involving the private sector. Customers can use T&TEC employees or contractors for conducting connection works. But T&TEC should prepare a list of prequalified contractors for customers, specify technical criteria and inform customers about the average costs of works in various areas. Many economies have opened their electricity markets to prequalified contractors—offering more options to customers and helping utilities meet the demand for new connections in a timely, cost-effective way. OBSTACLES TO IMPLEMENTING THE NEW POLICY As with any new policy, there was some resistance from the party administering the changes. T&TEC initially found it difficult to get its staff to support the new policy. Workers considered reimbursement the most burdensome issue because it required keeping records of the first client and subsequent ones, along with the works concluded for each. The task is tedious, as a detailed break-down of the works and associated costs is needed to identify future parts that benefit customers connected later. T&TEC upgraded its system to track new connections with the required details and provided training to implement the policy. The Regulated Industries Commission also extensively publicized the new policy in major newspapers and met repeatedly with T&TEC leadership and distribution staff. First customer paid for the construction of the connection THE SCHEME IS WORKING 3 Utility reimburses customers who paid for the construction of the electricity line 2 Later, new customers request connection to utility. They can be connected to the line already constructed By 2013 T&TEC had implemented the regulator’s recommendations. When installing new connections, the electricity company’s engineers clearly mark the installed equipment and materials and link them with the customer’s records in the utility’s database. If new customers TACKLING HIGH ELECTRICITY CONNECTION COSTS: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO’S NEW APPROACH request connections, the utility personnel inspect the location and verify if the surrounding network has been marked earlier. Based on this information, T&TEC staff calculates how much should be reimbursed to previous customers. This reform has allowed for a broader distribution of connection costs in Trinidad and Tobago. It has also lowered the cost for connecting a standardized warehouse as measured by the getting electricity indicator. After the reform the cost of a connection for a small warehouse dropped by more than eight times, to less than $1,000 in 2013. WHAT WORKED WELL? • Having an active regulator. A study of regulators in Latin America and the Caribbean found that Trinidad and Tobago’s Regulated Industries Commission ranks highest in electricity governance.4 The commission’s strong push for reform of the capital contribution policy made it work. • Involving stakeholders from the start. Bringing in stakeholders from the beginning and getting the utility on board was a good idea. The utility was part of the working group, and its views were taken into account at all stages. Public consultations were conducted by the Regulated Industries Commission on the Working Group’s report and enabled people to contribute to the process. • Learning from other utilities. The Regulated Industries Commission and T&TEC conducted extensive research on reform and learned from global good practices—and so made well-informed recommendations and decisions. • Clearly communicating about the reform. The Regulated Industries Commission conducted a thorough public relations campaign—including television, radio and newspapers—to explain the new policy. People could call in during television and radio programs to ask questions, an approach that was highly appreciated. Most of the questions were about reimbursement and contestability. NOTES This case study was written by Maya Choueiri, Caroline Frontigny and Jayashree Srinivasan. 1. 2. 3. 4. Foster and Steinbucks 2009. Geginat, Gonzalez and Saltane 2012. Regulated Industries Commission 2008. World Bank 2009. 55 Implementing electronic tax filing and payments in Malaysia • By 2012, 76 of the economies measured by Doing Business had implemented electronic tax filing (e-filing) and electronic payment (e-payment) systems. • In 2004 Malaysia’s Inland Revenue Board (IRB) launched e-filing and e-payment for income taxes. • IRB encountered several implementation challenges, key among them the public’s initial reluctance to use the new system. So IRB increased its promotion efforts, upgraded the system and hired staff to show taxpayers how to use it. • The number of individuals and companies using e-filing jumped from 5% of active taxpayers in 2006 to 37% in 2012. • The time that businesses need to comply with Malaysia’s tax regulations fell from 190 hours in 2004 to 133 in 2012 as measured by Doing Business. Taxation is essential for sustainable economic development, and tax administration is a basic function of a successful state. Taxation also helps make a government accountable to its citizens. When governments spend taxpayers’ money, they are more accountable to make budget decisions transparent and accessible. By 2012, 76 of the economies measured by Doing Business had implemented electronic tax filing and payment systems. This case study examines Malaysia’s experience with modernizing manual tax filing and payment and moving to a paperless online system. Malaysia shows the opportunities that technology can provide to taxpayers and governments—as well as the challenges that may emerge during the transition. In 2004 Malaysia’s Inland Revenue Board (IRB) spearheaded an initiative to implement a system for filing and paying taxes that would promote electronic, paperless transactions. IRB’s goal was to become a global leader in tax administration. It sought to shift from the conventional way of submitting paper forms to earn the public’s trust and confidence. Tax systems in developing economies, like those in more developed ones, face both new challenges and new possibilities as a result of technological change. Malaysia’s ongoing reform of its electronic tax filing and payment system shows how and under what conditions technology can benefit both tax authorities and taxpayers.1 BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC TAX FILING AND PAYMENT The goal of any tax authority is to establish a system of tax administration that allows for the collection of required taxes at minimum cost. A tax authority engages in many activities, such as processing returns and related information from taxpayers, entering tax return data into a database, matching returns against filing requirements, processing tax payments and matching them against assessments, and issuing assessments and refunds. One way to boost a tax authority’s efficiency is by expanding its use of information and communication technology. Such technology can facilitate a broad range of services, including registering taxpayers, filing returns, processing payments, issuing assessments and checking against third-party information. E-filing systems increase the quality and quantity of information available to tax officers, enabling them to complete transactions faster and more accurately. Returns filed electronically have much lower error rates than paper returns and substantially cut the need to impose penalties and other punitive measures to foster compliance. The more efficient handling provided by electronic returns allows tax officers to issue assessments and refunds more quickly, and taxpayers know right away if their returns have been accepted by the tax authorities.2 E-filing lowers the cost of handling returns—allowing administrative resources to be reallocated to other tasks such as auditing, customer services and tracking non-compliance. The benefits of e-filing and e-payment systems extend to other electronic processes in the tax authority. E-filing and e-payment allow for better, safer data storage that can be used to implement a risk management system for auditing and enforcement. Automation helps establish a good system for tracking case files, which is essential for effective auditing IMPLEMENTING ELECTRONIC TAX FILING AND PAYMENTS IN MALAYSIA and increases the speed and quality of data provided to auditors.3 In addition, e-filing systems are usually complemented by software that standardizes and facilitates processes for taxpayers, making compliance easier. Finally, well-designed electronic systems can lower corruption by reducing face-toface interactions. To ensure that taxes are collected efficiently and reduce opportunities for corruption, a generally accepted principle is that tax authorities should not handle money directly. Ideally, tax officials should have little direct contact with taxpayers and so less discretion in deciding how to treat them. E-filing is also easy, flexible and convenient for taxpayers. E-filing makes it possible to file returns from a taxpayer’s home, library, financial institution, workplace, tax professional’s business or even stores and shopping malls. With an integrated e-filing and e-payment system, taxes can be filed and paid online from any place.4 GLOBAL EXPERIENCES WITH AND LESSONS FROM ELECTRONIC FILING Singapore was one of the first economies to adopt electronic systems in its public administration. In 1992 the Inland Revenue Department was replaced by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, which developed an integrated, computerized tax administration system.5 The authority’s first step was shifting from a hard-copy filing system to paperless imaging. Going electronic made administrative processes more efficient by freeing staff from unproductive paper shuffling, enabling better taxpayer service. The time needed to issue assessments dropped from 12–18 months to 3–5 between 1992 and 2000.6 This change allowed staff to work more on auditing and investigation. Automated standard taxation procedures also made the system less dependent on the subjective expertise of individual tax officers, reducing the potential for corruption. Return processing, auditing and payment functions were separated, and officials’ attitudes toward taxpayers improved. Chile’s Internal Revenue Service was the country’s first public agency to adopt online technology—well before most other public services. Electronic methods were intended to facilitate tax compliance and decrease direct interaction with taxpayers. Chile is one of the few economies that have managed to approach nearly 100% use of electronic systems. Online tax returns were submitted for the first time in 1998.7 Chile faced several barriers at the outset of e-filing. Taxpayers had limited Internet access, and tax preparers were reluctant to use the new system because they were unfamiliar with the technology and saw it as a threat to their profession. In addition, the revenue service’s information technology system could not handle the huge congestion of tax returns, especially in the few days just before the deadline. So Chile continuously upgraded its electronic system and offered prefilled electronic forms to simplify the process for taxpayers. The tax authority also introduced ambitious initiatives to overcome connectivity shortages by creating a public-private network of more than 880 e-filing centers, providing more than 30,000 connectivity points. In addition, it made arrangements with internet cafes so that taxpayers could use their equipment for free and trained operators at access points. It even developed a mobile training and awareness unit that traveled to different parts of the country to help people file taxes online.8 The use of technology to foster tax compliance by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shows that more developed economies also face challenges in increasing the use of e-filing. The IRS introduced e-filing of federal tax returns in 1986. Though this system predated Singapore’s, it was initially less comprehensive. In fact, even though the number of electronic returns filed increased over time, the potential savings from that increase were partly offset by the ongoing use of paper filings for complex returns. But by 2012 the IRS achieved 80% e-filing of major returns.9 Initially, e-filing was not entirely paperless. Until 1999 electronic filers still had to submit signed paper documents. The IRS realized that when taxpayers switched to e-filing, the time savings partly offset the costs of processing the still-large volume of signed paper documents.10 In 1999 the IRS introduced an electronic option to replace signed paper documents. In addition to lowering processing costs, e-filing has cut the time required to get refunds— making more taxpayers willing to file returns electronically.11 MALAYSIA’S EXPERIENCE Seeking the benefits of electronic tax systems and reflecting the government’s vision of leveraging online technology, Malaysia’s Inland Revenue Board (IRB) launched its electronic system for taxes in 2004. IRB aimed to increase revenue collection by improving taxpayer services. The goal was to cut time and cost and to allow taxpayers to comply with tax obligations more easily, enabling IRB to maintain a good reputation with taxpayers even as it widened its tax base. With the new system, taxpayers can complete forms and provide needed payment details online instead of sending them by mail or taking them to a tax office. The online system was developed by IRB’s information technology department. IRB implemented a roaming public key infrastructure system that gives users secure access to sensitive information from any location without having to carry digital identification. The electronic system integrated tax filing and payment on one server—a major advantage over manual procedures. For every tax filing or payment, taxpayers have to log in, select and complete the appropriate forms, sign and submit them digitally. An acknowledgment is received immediately. The e-filing system automatically calculates the necessary payment details. It also limits deductions that taxpayers are entitled to based on deduction rules—enabling taxpayers to avoid mistakes that would result in penalties. In addition, prefilled online tax returns have been available since 2006, starting with taxpayers basic information and later extended to include their incomes and reliefs. In 2012 IRB enhanced its e-filing system by introducing smartphone filing 57 58 DOING BUSINESS 2014 for individual taxpayers. That same year, it introduced organizational e-filing for company managing directors to enable companies to use their digital certificates to file returns electronically. Previously, directors had to use their personal certificates. In addition, IRB introduced automatic refunds. Due to the big number of refund cases and to expedite refunds, refunds were directly credited to taxpayers’ accounts through electronic fund transfers—reducing the number of unclaimed checks12. IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES IRB encountered several challenges implementing e-filing and e-payment, key among them is the public’s readiness to use it. When the system was introduced in 2004, both Malaysian and non-Malaysian citizens could choose to file their tax returns manually or electronically. The private sector was not involved in the development of the project. Its feedback was sought later. Two years into the project, few Malaysians were using e-filing. Though taxpayers and tax preparers recognized its benefits, the number of taxpayers using the e-filing system remained far below expectations, with individuals and firms using e-filing accounting for just 5% of the taxpayer population in 2006.13 There may be many reasons for this initial lack of enthusiasm. When tax systems change, taxpayers and tax authorities take time and incur costs adapting to and adopting them. The low use of the electronic system was mainly due to the initial reluctance of Malaysian taxpayers to abandon paper-based processes. Studies were conducted to analyze taxpayers’ intentions to file electronically and their willingness to do so.14 Uncertainty about the security and privacy of information transmitted online was one of the reasons for low use of e-filing. The new system also created anxiety for users uncomfortable with the technology. Returns had to be completed online; users could not complete soft copies of their returns offline and upload them to IRB. A CHANGE IN STRATEGY Because of the low initial participation in the electronic system, in 2008 IRB expanded its promotion efforts, sponsoring seminars, talks and television advertisements and distributing flyers and pamphlets. IRB also set up booths at conventions and held roadshows to promote the electronic system and raise public awareness, using the slogan “as easy as 1, 2, 3.” IRB also realized the importance of involving the private sector and asked professional bodies such as tax preparers and accountants to share ideas on how to enhance the online system. IRB also gathered feedback from taxpayers through its customer care centers and branches. At first some taxpayers and tax preparers reported that the server was slow and often failed. Authorities responded with several upgrades to make it accessible with different browsers. IRB also installed computers in its offices so that taxpayers could file electronically, and hired workers to train taxpayers on how to use the system. And it launched a program to help taxpayers during the peak filing season. Special counters with extended operating hours at all branches were made available for the public to submit their returns through e-filing. A tax authority gains the most benefits from e-filing when it achieves 100% use of the online system for filing and paying taxes. Accordingly, IRB provided incentives and services to encourage e-filing. For example, IRB offers a grace period of 15 days from its official deadline if returns are filed electronically.15 In addition, if a tax return is submitted late, the IRB penalty is 5% less if the return was submitted electronically. The charter for IRB clients was redrawn to include a pledge to refund any excess taxes within 30 working days from the date of receipt if the returns were filed electronically. IRB continues to encourage taxpayers to file online. Among its latest initiatives, it is offering to do presentations at companies with at least 200 employees who use the service. The use of the online system has picked up dramatically: by 2012, 37% of active taxpayers filed electronically.16 POSITIVE OUTCOMES Malaysia’s efforts are showing results. Between 2006 and 2011 the share of individuals and companies filing electronically increased from 5% to 34% (figure 7.1). Over the same period, tax collections increased from 14.5% of GDP to 15.3%.17 Further analysis would be needed to fully understand the link between e-filing and revenues. IRB’s ongoing efforts to improve its electronic tax system have lowered the administrative burden of complying with corporate tax obligations as measured by Doing Business. In 2006 it took 24 fewer FIGURE 7.1 Since 2006 e-filing usage has jumped among individuals and companies in Malaysia 40 35 30 23.4 25 20 15 10 5 0 33.9 32.2 28.9 14.5 14.3 15.2 14.7 14.9 13.8 15.3 5.0 2006 2007 2008 Tax revenues (% of GDP) 2009 2010 Number of e-filers (% of total taxpayers) Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators database; Malaysia Inland Revenue Board data. 2011 IMPLEMENTING ELECTRONIC TAX FILING AND PAYMENTS IN MALAYSIA 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 190 190 35 35 This case study was written by Joanna Nasr. 35 35 145 145 145 133 133 133 30 25 20 15 12 12 12 13 13 13 10 5 2004 2005 NOTES 40 166 2006 2007 Time 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) FIGURE 7.2 Malaysia’s electronic filing system has eased compliance with tax obligations for businesses 0 Payments Source: Doing Business database. hours to file taxes than in 2005 (figure 7.2). By 2007 far more small and medium-size companies were filing electronically, further reducing time to comply with corporate income and labor taxes obligations from 166 hours in 2006 to 145 in 2007. In 2010 tax preparers deployed new software linked to IRB’s e-filing system. In addition, IRB improved its e-filing system and introduced online filing of tax estimates. These improvements cut compliance time to 133 hours a year. CONCLUSION Electronic systems for filing and paying taxes, if implemented well and used by most taxpayers, benefit both tax authorities and taxpayers. Malaysia’s experience has shown the opportunities that technology can provide as well as the challenges that may emerge as the users are phasing in the change over time. Bird and Zolt 2008. Edwards-Dowe 2008. Bird and Zolt 2008. Edwards-Dowe 2008. World Bank 2000. World Bank 2000. Alvarez Voullième, Capdevila de la Cerda, Flores Labra, Foxley Rioseco and Navarro Haeussler 2006. 8. Dohrmann and Pinshaw 2009. 9. Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee 2012. 10. GAO 2002. 11. Kopczuk and Pop-Eleches 2005. 12. Malaysia Inland Revenue Board data. 13. IRB data. This is the percentage of taxpayers who used e-filing but did not necessarily pay taxes electronically. 14. Abdul Aziz and Idris 2012; Azmi and Kamarulzaman 2010. 15. Malaysia Inland Revenue Board website. For corporate taxpayers, the due date is 7 months from the closing of account. If a company’s accounting period ends with the calendar year (which is usually the case), the deadline for manual submission is the end of July, with an additional 15 days if filings are submitted electronically. 16. Malaysia Inland Revenue Board data. 17. World Bank, World Development Indicators database. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 59 Implementing trade single windows in Singapore, Colombia and Azerbaijan • Trade single window systems can cut trade times and costs by making information flows more efficient and streamlining trade procedures. • Implementing a single window system involves many stakeholders and requires long-term commitment from government and business. • Systems must fit the environment and level of development where they operate. • Singapore’s TradeNet system, in operation since 1989, has evolved into a highly integrated virtual platform. • Colombia’s Single Window for Foreign Trade, launched in 2005, has adopted a gradual approach, adding functions and integrating agencies over time. • Azerbaijan has sought to learn from other economies while implementing its single window system. An economy’s competitiveness is driven by many factors, including how quickly, reliably and cost-effectively the private sector can trade goods. Today’s manufacturers and agricultural producers operate in a global supply chain. Thus an efficient international trade system can increase economic opportunities and improve livelihoods—especially in poor economies with small domestic markets. But in many parts of the world, international traders must spend a lot of time preparing and submitting information to government offices ranging from customs to port authorities, each with its own rules and form requirements. These reporting requirements are often confusing, overlapping and onerous. In Madagascar the government offices involved in trade span 350 kilometers, and hard copies of forms had to be submitted to each until an electronic platform introduced in 2011 transformed the document submission process and reduced delays (see the chapter on trading across borders). A single window system can improve information flows by sharing needed information with all parties involved in trade, including private participants such as banks and insurance companies and public agencies such as immigration and vehicle registration authorities. The key concept for an effective system is to enable traders to submit standardized information and documents through a single gateway, eliminate redundant processes by traders and government agencies and improve coordination and cooperation between authorities.1 Reducing multiple data submissions to different agencies helps minimize errors during data entry too. Single window systems have other benefits. One that collects data systematically enables consignments to be categorized more easily based on the associated risk by allowing creation of trader profiles, limiting physical inspections to risky cargo and potentially making trade procedures more secure and efficient. By combining a portal where up-to-date information on tariffs and other legal and procedural requirements are available and by integrating a payment system, duties and other charges can be paid more quickly and accurately, raising government revenues. Today 73 economies have single window systems of varying complexity.2 Exporting and importing a standardized cargo container is faster in such economies. In addition, fewer documents are required for importing, but the impact is smaller than the impact on time—an average of 6.6 documents in economies with single window systems compared with 7.8 in those without—underscoring the point that single window systems are mainly making submission of information more efficient (figure 8.1). Using a single window to lodge information can even fight corruption by reducing interactions between traders and authorities. And it can make the clearance process more predictable and enhance transparency. Among the 73 economies with single window systems, 86% make information on duties and tariffs publicly available, while only 54% of the other 110 economies measured by Doing Business do so. Though a single window system brings considerable gains, implementation is a major undertaking involving many stakeholders and requiring long-term commitment from multiple players in government and business.3 Implementation IMPLEMENTING TRADE SINGLE WINDOWS IN SINGAPORE, COLOMBIA AND AZERBAIJAN FIGURE 8.1 Economies with single window systems spend less time preparing documents and clearing customs 14 8 8 4 Import time Document preparation (days) 2 Import time Customs clearance (days) Economies with no single window system 7 Import documents (number) Economies with single window system Source: Doing Business database. takes many years and might have to be done in phases. Though their overarching goals are the same, single window systems differ greatly, highlighting the need to adapt them to each economy—taking into account the computerization of users, internet connectivity and the capacity of implementing bodies. This case study describes the experiences of Singapore, Colombia and Azerbaijan. In the late 1980s Singapore became one of the first economies to embrace the single window concept, and it has evolved into a highly integrated virtual system, recognized as global good practice. Colombia’s single window was launched in 2005 and has also developed in stages. Today the system links 21 trade entities and is continuously adapting its system to make things more efficient for traders and government. Azerbaijan’s single window is the newest covered in this chapter and provides a revealing contrast to Singapore’s mature system. Azerbaijan launched its system in 2009 and so is still in the early stages of implementation. But the government is leveraging its position as a latecomer by learning from other economies. By choosing 3 economies in different regions with different degrees of single window implementation, this case study aims to show the various approaches that governments take and the challenges encountered of pursuing effective single windows. The case study does not aim to promote a particular type of single window system nor endorse the experiences of these economies. SINGAPORE Singapore’s single window for trade—TradeNet, which began operating in 1989— began as an electronic data interchange system that allows computer-to-computer exchange of structured trade messages between the government and members of Singapore’s trading community.4 After experiencing a recession in the 1980s, Singapore’s government established a high-level committee to review the weaknesses of the economy and develop strategies to improve economic competitiveness. One of the committee’s recommendations was to increase the use of information technology in trade. From vision to implementation Singapore’s government created a steering committee for TradeNet to oversee the conceptualization of a national electronic data interchange system for trade declarations and permits. Three subcommittees—1 each for sea shipping, air shipping and government agencies—were then formed to improve exporting and importing processes, and to specify functional requirements and propose data standards. Before TradeNet some clearances were done manually and no overall computer system coordinated them. Every subcommittee developed profiles of essential trade documentation activities and cut the more than 20 forms used in international trade to a single online form for nearly all trade. This form was the core of the new computerized system. The government created a private company to manage TradeNet, which in 1988 led to the formation of Singapore Network Services, now known as CrimsonLogic. Though funded by government agencies, the company is structured as a private, for-profit firm. The government reasoned that this approach would not require it to bear the cost of operating a nationwide network of infrastructure and services. Each account user pays $20 a month and less than $3 per transaction or permit. The first transaction on TradeNet was a shipping application submitted on January 1, 1989. By the end of that year TradeNet handled 45% of documentation for sea and air shipments in Singapore. Overcoming obstacles The government had previously established a 2-day standard for normal processing of trade documents. But traders wanted quicker turnaround for just-intime inventory management and deemed that waiting 2 days for normal processing (which could extend to 4 days for permit approvals) was too long. So the government embarked on a large-scale effort to streamline the regulatory processes involved in approving trade permits. Committees of senior government officials and business leaders were created to ensure sufficient backing for using technology to reengineer and improve trade regulations and processes. Early on, the main challenge was to convince users to switch to electronic trade declaration. Singapore adopted a phased approach to minimize the efforts involved in making the change. First it implemented electronic processing and approval of trade permit applications for noncontrolled and nondutiable goods, later extended to controlled and dutiable goods. In the initial phase the system was piloted on 50 users. Even after the system was extended, using it was voluntary for more than 2 years and did not become mandatory until 1991. Singapore also launched a nationwide campaign to promote the system and smooth the transition to it. Even today, when the government rolls out major 61 62 DOING BUSINESS 2014 changes to the system, it deploys mass marketing and communication programs to raise awareness and prepare users. While promoting the new electronic system, the government recognized the challenges facing some businesses. Some companies were more computerized, so adjustments and burdens imposed by the new system differed. The government provided training and assistance for operations. Singapore Customs conducted courses, and public terminals were installed for small companies. And to encourage companies to switch, manual processing fees were raised to S$10 a document, while TradeNet users paid S$6.5 Thanks to such initiatives, today TradeNet handles more than 30,000 declarations a day, processes 99% of permits in 10 minutes and receives all collections through interbank deductions.6 What’s next? Since 2007 Singapore has been pushing to extend aspects of TradeNet to commercial transactions in the trade community through TradeXchange. This system includes trade-finance transactions (for example, cargo insurance applications and supporting documents for factoring applications) and commercial documents (including commercial invoices and waybills). The government envisions achieving a more seamless flow of information along the supply chain. But as in other economies with similar initiatives—u-TradeHub in the Republic of Korea, the Digital Trade & Transportation Network in Hong Kong SAR, China—the system is yet to be embraced by the business world at large. Singapore is an active member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional body that has embraced the concept of single window systems and has an ambitious goal to establish an ASEAN-wide single window by 2015. Plans call for integrating members’ national single windows so that a single submission of information suffices for all ASEAN members. COLOMBIA Colombia began developing its single window system for foreign trade—Ventanilla Unica de Comercio Exterior (VUCE) in Spanish—in the early 2000s.7 After years of financial crises and economic slowdowns, in 2002 the new administration made modernizing public agencies and services a high priority. As part of a wide-ranging e-government initiative, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism introduced the single window for foreign trade with the support of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies. The push for new technology in the public sector came at a time when Colombia was becoming increasingly integrated with global trade markets. Negotiations for a free trade agreement with the United States began in 2003 and went into force in 2012, while other accords were negotiated with the European Union, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Turkey, among many others. The public and private sectors agreed on the need to address the bureaucratic, uncoordinated, inefficient nature of significant parts of the public administration. The government also wanted better information systems. Many ministries and public agencies involved in foreign trade were working in isolation, sharing little or no information on trade procedures despite requiring essentially the same information from users and each other. Depending on the type of good exported or imported, traders had to visit and complete similar procedures at the different agencies in charge of issuing permits and approvals—such as the Colombian Agricultural Institute, National Institute for the Surveillance of Drugs and Food and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. This led to duplicated processes, inefficient controls and reduced transparency in public administrations. For traders it increased delays and transactions costs. After consulting with stakeholders, reviewing the process and identifying bottlenecks, Colombia’s government established an action plan and created a task force to lead efforts to harmonize requirements, procedures and documents among the entities involved in foreign trade. That led to the creation of the single window for foreign trade, which became operational in early 2005. Features and implementation The single window connects 21 public agencies involved in foreign trade—mostly ministries and health and safety entities— and 3 private companies that provide e-signature certificates and legal information on registered traders. The single window links them with importers, exporters, customs agents and brokers through an online platform that allows users to request procedures, approvals, authorizations and other certifications needed to import and export goods. In addition, tax identification and business registration records are available to the agencies connected to the system. The single window is being implemented in stages. The first involved the import module, which handled import registration requests and import licenses for certain products. By November 2006, after the module’s gradual rollout, all such requests were made electronically. That same year the government introduced the export module for export authorizations. The third component, the single foreign trade form module, went online in 2008 and integrates registers of domestic producers and handles some export quota requests. Existing laws and regulations offered the legal basis for using electronic signatures and payments, though implementation was not always easy. For example, some banks and companies were initially unprepared to conduct payments online. In 2010 a fourth module of simultaneous inspection was launched. Key among its features is a system to facilitate exchange of information among control entities and anti-narcotics agencies so that inspections can be conducted simultaneously. The current scope is for containerized maritime exports. From resistance to endorsement At first, users and the officials in charge of processing requests resisted switching from the paper-based system. But their resistance eased thanks to the staged implementation of the modules, each featuring transition periods and training and outreach for all the parties involved. Officials also educated and trained users through conferences, workshops, official IMPLEMENTING TRADE SINGLE WINDOWS IN SINGAPORE, COLOMBIA AND AZERBAIJAN communications and e-learning software. Moreover, the private sector tested electronic procedures through the single window before they were fully operational, making evident the advantages of the system from an early stage. The single window has provided benefits to entities involved in trade, increasing efficiency and cutting times and costs. According to government sources, the system streamlined 135 procedures and 35 forms needed for importing into 1 step for traders, eliminating the need to visit agencies, reducing reliance on messenger services and minimizing the use of hard copies. The average response time has dropped by about 5 days for requests made at territorial offices that require approval from an agency linked to the single window.8 In addition, it takes 30% less time to issue a license requested through the system.9 The system has enhanced the safety and integrity of trade transactions and generated more reliable data on foreign trade procedures and volumes for customs and other government agencies. There have also been gains for the entities linked to the single window for foreign trade. Besides better coordination and lower costs, the system has enabled agencies to expand their geographic reach and increase users. Updated equipment and electronic systems are helping agencies improve internal processes as well—a benefit not originally anticipated. The system has increased use of e-payment systems and e-signatures for procedures that go beyond foreign trade. According to an index that assesses e-government, Colombia ranks 43rd in the world, second only to Chile among Latin American and Caribbean economies.10 for export and import through a separate system. Furthermore, though the single window allows traders in Colombia to conduct processes related to approvals and authorizations electronically, reliance on paper and manual procedures during importing and exporting persists, creating processing delays that slow the flow of trade transactions. The government recognizes these constraints and is examining how to ensure that all agencies involved in trade reach the desired levels of efficiency. A 2012 decree established time limits for the agencies linked to the single window. Between 2012 and early 2013 that decree helped to cut response times for import registration requests at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism by more than 95% (figure 8.2). In addition, Colombia’s single window system is being reengineered to optimize business processes. In addition to enhancing data management, the effort aims to standardize the information in line with international standards. As a result some functions of the single window were made inactive in late 2012 and will not become operational again until 2014. The Colombian government is working to include new functionalities for the 4th module of simultaneous inspection systems for exports and to develop a similar system for imports. A risk management module for reviewing and approving import requests according to established criteria is planned for launch in 2014. Furthermore, a logistic module to link public and private users to facilitate the information exchange at ports and airports will be developed. AZERBAIJAN The government of Azerbaijan has long considered establishing a single window system a key step toward modernizing customs services and improving the trade environment. The desire for a single window has been further motivated by the need to simplify and expedite exchanges of information between the public and private sectors and to increase transparency in trade.11 With these goals in mind, in 2008 the president of Azerbaijan made the State Customs Committee the lead authority for controlling goods and transportation crossing state borders.12 Choosing from global good practices As a first step, the State Customs Committee analyzed the process for inspecting goods and transportation passing through border checkpoints. It also studied global good practices for implementing a single window and researched international norms and standards. The government considered 3 types of common single windows. The first is based on the principle of a single authority, where customs authorities are responsible for exercising or coordinating all border control functions for other FIGURE 8.2 Response times for import registration requests plummeted at Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism between 2012 and early 2013 1.5 A work in progress 1.2 Days 0.9 0.6 0.3 Source: Colombia Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. Apr–13 Mar–13 Feb–13 Jan–13 Dec–12 Nov–12 Oct–12 Sep–12 Aug–12 Jul–12 Jun–12 May–12 Apr–12 Mar–12 Feb–12 0.0 Jan–12 Despite all the improvements, Colombia’s move toward a fully integrated single window system is still a work in progress, and challenges remain. The speeds at which the different entities linked to the single window have implemented electronic and streamlined procedures internally have varied. For example, the Colombian National Tax and Customs Authority (DIAN) is electronically linked to the single window but handles declarations 63 64 DOING BUSINESS 2014 agencies. The Netherlands and Sweden use such a system. The second type is a single system, which collects standardized data from traders, then processes and distributes it to all agencies involved in international trade. The United States uses such a system. The third type is an automated system, where traders submit a single electronic declaration to relevant authorities for processing and approvals and these agencies send users electronic releases and approvals. Mauritius and Singapore use this type of single window.13 Azerbaijan chose to implement the single authority model, which involved transferring certain responsibilities from relevant agencies to the Customs Committee. Implementation Before the introduction of single window the same documents had to be submitted multiple times to various authorities operating at the border. Each authority (such as veterinary, phytosanitary and quarantine agencies) relied on their local databases, which were not connected electronically. Such lack of coordination hindered control and coordination at the border as well as caused delays for the traders. To prepare for the transition to the single window, the Customs Committee established a commission to implement the new system. The government identified the main authorities to be integrated into the single window system as the Customs Committee, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Taxes, Ministry of Transport, Central Bank, State Road Police, State Committee on Standardization, Metrology and Patents, a state sea administration and a state nuclear and radiological agency under the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Among the challenges for the State Customs Committee was to prepare its staff to work with the new system. The government improved the staffing of local customs authorities and developed hardware and software for the system.14 Upon the single window implementation, the Customs Committee became responsible for controlling and checking all required permits and certificates for goods crossing the borders. While traders no longer interact directly with relevant agencies (veterinary, phytosanitary and quarantine agencies), these agencies still monitor the clearances performed by customs on their behalf. This approach has helped to eliminate duplication of control function at the border and has simplified document processing. Introduction of the single window has also led to the development of a central database used by various government authorities. It gathers information on the types of goods and transportation crossing the border, the exchange of electronic certificates among relevant ministries, pre-arrival information for declared goods and pre-arrival notices for transportation crossing the border, reports on violations of customs rules, financial reports of traders and reports on savings in foreign currency.15 Azerbaijan’s single window system is fully financed by the government. As a first step, an automated customs clearance system was implemented at inland border crossings on January 1, 2009 and became available to users free of charge. Implementation continued through 2011 in Baku and Sumgayit.16 In addition, an article on the single window was included in the new customs code that entered into force on January 1, 2012. It establishes that 29 customs checkpoints at the state border are to follow the single window principle—meaning that the single window covers all of the country’s customs posts.17 Building on initial successes The efforts to implement a single window were well received by the private sector, and even in its initial phases the single window system helped reduce waiting times for customs procedures at the border from 2 to 3 hours to 15 to 20 minutes.18 Most small and medium-size enterprises, however, still physically submit customs declarations and supporting documents for customs clearance. In May 2011 the president signed a decree requiring government agencies to introduce electronic services as a first priority.19 Plans are to mainstream electronic submission of all documents for customs clearance, introduce e-signatures and e-payments and integrate information systems of other state agencies such as the railway, airports and Caspian seaports by 2016. LESSONS Single window systems can benefit the entire trading community, public and private, by streamlining complex systems of BOX 8.1 United Nations recommendations for establishing trade single window systems The UN has identified key factors for successful implementation of single windows: • Political will • Strong lead agency • Partnership between government and trade community • Establishment of clear project boundaries and objectives • User friendliness and accessibility • Enabling legal environment • International standards and recommendations • Identification of possible obstacles • Appropriate financial model for the system • Communications, promotion and marketing Source: UN/CEFACT 2005. IMPLEMENTING TRADE SINGLE WINDOWS IN SINGAPORE, COLOMBIA AND AZERBAIJAN intertwined and duplicative data submission. The need to make trade more efficient is greater in a globalized economy, where fast and cheap delivery of goods is essential. Governments considering the implementation of such systems can look to other economies to learn what has worked well and what had to be overcome for a smooth transition to a new system. Though the overarching principles and motivations for implementing single window systems are the same, the systems in Azerbaijan, Colombia and Singapore differ enormously. The maturity and level of integration of these systems vary, partly because of differences in when they started being implemented. As important, these economies have learned from their peers and developed systems adapted to the environment and level of development where they operate. Still, Azerbaijan, Colombia and Singapore offer some common lessons. To successfully implement single window systems economies must do so through strong political will and commitment. Moreover, to sustain momentum for reform over many years and move things forward, it is crucial to have a lead agency as well as collaboration between government and the trade community (box 8.1). Overcoming behavioral hurdles requires persistence The 3 economies studied show that moving from a paper-based to an electronic system requires behavioral changes among users in both government and the trading community. People used to writing information in a paper-based system must be trained to enter it on a computer, and may feel that it takes longer to do so. Moreover, the switch might require additional investments, such as computer purchases and internet connections. For developing economies adequate electricity supply might also be a large constraint. Thus the authority in charge of implementation must have the patience and persistence to ensure sufficient time, training and outreach. Collaboration with the private sector is essential The business community must be fully on board with the move to a single window system, and its needs properly addressed. Businesses must be involved from the design stage through implementation. Moreover, they should have opportunities to provide feedback. Colombia used satisfaction surveys to identify issues, and Singapore provided facilities for online inquiries to maintain open, positive relations between the government and users of its single window system. A single window system is a longterm commitment Singapore’s single window system is more than 20 years old and still evolving. Yet there are many nonperforming single windows around the world. A single window is analogous to a complex piece of machinery with many moving parts: it only needs 1 faulty part to derail the entire system.20 Perhaps some projects were too ambitious or expensive, lacked high-level government commitment or funding, or were poorly managed. As seen in Colombia, some governments take an incremental approach—adding functions and integrating more entities over time. Legal basis must be established Single window systems require changes to procedures in customs agencies and affect many other authorities. To ensure a smooth transition, a clear and comprehensive legal basis must be established for implementation of the new system. NOTES This case study was written by Mikiko Imai Ollison, Iryna Bilotserkivska and Robert Murillo. 1. UN/CEFACT 2005. 2. Doing Business database, based on infor- mation from local experts. Eighteen have a single window system that links relevant government agencies electronically, 55 a system that does so partially. 3. UN/CEFACT 2005. 4. This section is based on Koh Tat Tsen 2010; UNECE 2010; Crown Agents 2012, and input from Singapore Customs. 5. Neo and Long 1994. 6. All fees, taxes and duties are computed automatically and deducted from the traders’ bank accounts. 7. This section is based on WTO 2011; Crown Agents 2012; Fuentes 2010; Rodriguez 2011; Ulloa Urritia and Constain 2012; UNECE 2009. 8. Ministerio de Comunicaciones, Republica de Colombia 2008. 9. World Bank Group 2013a. 10. UNDESA 2012. 11. Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2007. “Decree of the President of Azerbaijan #1925 from February 1, 2007 establishing a State program on development of customs system in the Republic of Azerbaijan during 2007–2011." Available at http://www.customs.gov.az/ru/abr11.html 12. Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2008. “Decree of the President of Azerbaijan # 12 from November 11, 2008 on the implementation of the principle of single window when checking goods and methods of transportation crossing the borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan 13. Mirzoev 2009. 14. State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2013. 15. UNECE 2011. 16. Ahundov, A. “Azerbaijan Customs Extends the Application of the Single Window Principal.”Trend, September 12, 2011, http://www. trend.az/capital/business/1930232.html. 17. Customs Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 18. State Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2013. These efforts were recognized in the Doing Business 2010 report. 19. Customs Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 2011. “Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan # 429 from May 23, 2011 on some measures in the area of electronic services provided by the government." 20. UNESCWA 2011. 65 Improving court efficiency: the Republic of Korea’s e-court experience • Korea was a pioneer in using electronic features to streamline court processes, launching electronic case management in the mid-1980s. • The electronic case filing system—which allows for electronic filing of civil, commercial, administrative and family-affairs cases and will soon integrate insolvency cases—began operating in 2010, and by June 2013 almost half of civil cases were e-filed. • E-court solutions in Korea mainly encompass features to help judges, facilitate the filing of cases for litigants and inform the public about case outcomes. • Savings from the implementation of e-court systems can be substantial and result from a reduction in the use of paper, the time spent in court, the need for storage space, as well as easier archiving of documents and a general streamlining of processes and services. Fair, speedy trials are essential for small enterprises embroiled in disputes. If business disputes take months or even years for courts to resolve, small firms might not have the financial strength to stay in business that long, regardless of trial outcomes.1 In such cases justice delayed is justice denied. Though small and medium-size enterprises usually try to avoid going to trial, effective contract enforcement systems matter for them.2 Efficient courts and enforcement reduce informality, improve access to credit and increase trade.3 E-government has been adopted by policy makers around the world to increase efficiency. Korea ranks first in the world on the E-Government Readiness Index, a composite measure of the capacity and willingness of economies to use e-government for development.4 An e-court is a suite of services that entails minimum use of paper from the moment a case is filed until its disposal. With e-courts, information is captured and passed on digitally, data exchange is not fragmented and case histories are complete and ready on demand, case management is automated, correspondence is exchanged electronically, fee payments are dealt with through dedicated websites and forms that simplify and streamline court proceedings are available to court users online. In Seoul attorneys and litigants can file lawsuits electronically. Lawsuits are automatically registered through the electronic case filing system, and then assigned to a judge who can access the corresponding files, organize and schedule cases and start processing claims. THE COMPUTERIZATION OF KOREAN COURTS For Korea efforts to achieve well-functioning e-courts started in the late 1970s, when visionary judges sought to create an orderly database of cases flowing through courts. After a group of judges started recording some cases on floppy disks, in 1979 the judiciary contacted the Korea Institute of Science and Technology to study the feasibility of electronic judicial proceedings. Convinced of the benefits of using information technology in courts, judges started creating more advanced databases and developing case management software. Before word processing software was introduced in the early 1980s, Korean judges faced challenges such as writing judgments by hand and otherwise dealing with a paper-based system. Though some judges lacked basic information technology skills, Korea decided to start streamlining court processes through computerization. Efficient processes, increased transparency and better accessibility sought to increase public trust in the judiciary. In 1986 the case management system was launched. This platform enabled internal court users such as clerks and judges to search all civil cases in the database. It was not easy to convince court users to change how they worked. But the new system had the potential to help judges deal with their caseloads more efficiently. Korea invested considerable resources in making the system as efficient and user friendly as possible. IMPROVING COURT EFFICIENCY: THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA’S E-COURT EXPERIENCE A master plan for creating e-courts was then conceived and the case management system expanded and shifted from a client and server system (a centralized server accessible only in specific locations) to a web-based system (accessible through a web browser), allowing external users to search the database of cases. In addition, electronic signatures and digital certificates (for safety) were added to the system and—thanks to a nationwide information network—immediate national data on court activities became available, allowing for better resource allocation in courts. E-filing of cases ensures better recording and faster processing. In 2010 Korea launched the electronic case filing system, which enables electronic submission, registration, service notification and access to court documents. To implement this system, Korea had to modernize its information technology infrastructure and amend laws and regulations to shift to paperless approaches. The system allows for e-filing of civil, commercial, administrative and family-affairs cases, and will soon integrate insolvency cases. It enables some judges to adjudicate up to 3,000 cases a year, manage up to 400 a month and hear up to 100 pleas a month.5 CHALLENGES WHEN TRANSITIONING TO E-COURTS The popularity of a new system depends on its user friendliness, and it is sometimes difficult to anticipate the needs of users at the design stage—in this case, if technicians are not familiar with legal proceedings or if judges are not well-versed in information technology. According to a Korean judge, “The users are the heart of any judicial [information technology] system; to develop any such system efficiently you must know what the people want, what they need.”6 In other words, a stepby-step approach should gradually implement the desired system. Korea did not go paperless immediately; it started with paper-on-demand to allow users to adapt and then moved to a paperless system. Despite the system’s sophistication, Korea has a long way to go in changing the mindset of lawyers and court users. Among Korea’s 50 million inhabitants are about 12,500 lawyers, 40% of whom are registered with the system—but only 20%, or approximately 2,500 attorneys use it regularly. In 2012 lawyers filed just over a third of the nearly 1 million cases electronically. Every month more attorneys are using the new system, attracted by its convenience, including: • 24/7 access to registries and court documents. • Easier, faster access to information that no longer requires a trip to court. • Increased transparency because litigants can also access the system. • Document security, guaranteed by a high-tech information technology system. Convincing users to transition to e-filing requires training and adjustment on both sides of the electronic platform. It might also require financial incentives. For example, Korea recently cut court fees by 10% for lawyers who use e-filing. An electronic docket viewer that allows lawyers to manage multiple lawsuits in different jurisdictions was also implemented. Another challenge was to secure funding to maintain and enhance the system. Korea invested about $20 million in developing the e-court system, and about as much will be needed to integrate new features by 2015. Maintenance fees and data preservation cost about $30 million a year. In 2012, of the $1.8 billion budget for the Korean judiciary, $180 million went to information and communication technology. The return on investment from computerizing the judiciary cannot be quantified in a single way. Research on courts in the U.S. state of New York found that reducing the need to travel to a courthouse and eliminating the requirement to serve the opposing party could save $75–95 for each document.7 Given the number of cases e-filed per year, the savings are significant. E-courts can also help level the playing field between small and large law firms, especially because small firms have fewer staff and benefit more from not having to visit courthouses.8 FUNCTIONS OF THE E-COURT SYSTEM Approaches to e-courts vary by economy depending on the priorities of the judiciary. The tools available to court users in Korea have regularly expanded (table 9.1). The system now mainly encompasses features dedicated to help judges (case management system and judge support system), facilitate the filing of cases for litigants (e-filing) and inform the public (publication of cases). In the two months after the launch of the e-filing system for civil cases approximately 5% were filed electronically. This TABLE 9.1 Korea’s courts have a range of features and support systems Case Management System • • • • • • • • • Docket System Case Allocation System Case Filing System Calendaring System Service System Payment System Deposit System Case Files Archiving Common Service System E-courts System ECF • Electronic Money Claim Case Workflow System Groupware Decision Support System Law Search Information Exchange • Standard E-Courtroom • Electronic Entrusting • Audio Video Recording, Video• Electronic Property Conferencing Inquiry Judge Support System • • • • E-Courtroom Public Information Service • • • • • Court Homepage Case Information Certificate Issuance Law Search Self Help Center Note: ECF means Electronic Case Filing. Source: Presentation from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea. 67 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Online help centers featuring frequently asked questions and tools for pro se litigants were also created to allow the public to get fast answers on questions about the Supreme Court and its processes.9 One of the most important components of these help centers is the self-represented litigation homepage, which provides information and templates needed to file a case and respond to claims of counterparties without the help of a certified lawyer. For judges, the support system includes four main features: • The case management system, which allows judges to organize their work based on the status of procedures and to separately manage cases for which special measures are needed. • “My case history,” which allows judges to track cases they have disposed and the final determination of the cases. • A scheduling system to organize cases by day, week or month that is integrated with the court registry. • A writing support system with features such as automatic document formatting, multiple judgment editing in small cases and collaborative decision writing in panel cases. This system automatically creates a draft of the final judgment after the relevant case and desired template have been selected. Once completed, judges enter a digital signature and register the decision in a searchable database of judgments. 100,000 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2011 December November October September July August June May April March January February December October November September July August May To further streamline procedures, a system facilitates payment of all submission fees electronically using credit card or wire transfers at the time of filing. In addition, users are notified by e-mail or text message of any submission of additional documents by the opposing party. And after the case allocation system assigns cases, the designated judge and the attorneys can view all their cases online, including PDFs of all documents filed in a given lawsuit. FIGURE 9.1 Civil cases filed under Korea’s e-litigation system jumped between May 2011 and December 2012 June number almost decupled in 18 months (figure 9.1). In fact, two years later, in June 2013, that share had soared to more than 45%. Number of cases 68 2012 Paper filing E-filing Note: Refers to first instance cases. Source: Supreme Court of the Republic of Korea database. BENEFITS OF E-COURTS Research in the United States has found that more than 80% of judges consider e-filing superior to paper-based filing.10 E-courts make claim processing faster, more reliable and convenient, minimize courthouse visits and reduce record storage and reproduction costs. Cost and space savings The implementation of Korea’s e-court system resulted in savings of $221 per e-filing.11 These savings result from a reduction in the use of paper, the time spent in court, cheaper service of process, lower transportation costs, easier archiving of documents, and easier payment of fees. In terms of space savings, in 2008 in Chicago, Illinois a paper document filing took up to 5 days for a circuit court clerk to process, whereas e-filing took just 4 seconds.12 And given that courthouses are expensive storage spaces, eliminating several miles of archives can save a lot of money. A courthouse can cost $300 or more per square foot to construct, and maintenance can be expensive too.13 In the United States it costs $360,000 to build and $18,000 a year to heat, cool and maintain a 20 by 60 foot file room— assuming a low maintenance cost of 5%. By comparison, a 150 gigabyte hard drive costs less than $100 and has storage capacity equivalent to 70 filing cabinets. That many filing cabinets, with the floor space required, cost $22,000.14 The U.S. National Center for State Courts offers tools to estimate savings from e-courts.15 Security Computerized court systems also make archives more secure. Risks such as document loss, files being stolen and archive destruction can be significantly reduced or eliminated. E-filing minimizes the costs of these risks, especially because paper documents can be misfiled or stolen. Though it is possible to recreate court files from litigant copies, this approach is inefficient. Electronic storage reduces these risks. For instance, an e-filing system can improve file security and confidentiality by making it easier to restrict access to case files or documents sealed by court order. In addition, electronic files can be encrypted, providing additional security.16 Transparency E-courts can also enhance transparency. By making judicial decisions more transparent, more trade and investment is likely, fostering economic growth.17 Publishing the cases rendered in a jurisdiction IMPROVING COURT EFFICIENCY: THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA’S E-COURT EXPERIENCE allows attorneys and court users to better understand case law and increases legal predictability. Making decisions available to the public online also helps make judges more accountable because anyone can comment on and assess the quality of decisions. In the United States case information, including docket sheets and filed documents, are provided online for viewing and downloading by attorneys and the public at any time from locations other than the courthouse. In some countries e-filing systems can also fight corruption. If formal procedures are streamlined and attorneys are no longer required to file claims in person, there is less traffic in courthouses—reducing opportunities for bribery.18 Access to justice E-court services significantly extend the availability of justice, as with a 24/7 system for filing, registration and auctions.19 Moreover, providing remote access to judges makes the system convenient and efficient. Most systems employ extensive security to mitigate tampering with the integrity of files. Singapore’s system, in addition to providing full remote access to judges, has a “pack and go” feature that allows court files to be transferred to CD-ROMs or USB memory devices for offline use. and costs 10% of the claim—making Korea the runner-up in Doing Business’s ease of enforcing contracts ranking. By contrast, it takes 400 days, 36 procedures and 29% of the value of the claim in Vietnam; 842 days, 37 procedures and 26% of the value of the claim in the Philippines and 622 days, 38 procedures and 35% of the value of the claim globally. Contract enforcement is faster in economies with e-filing (figure 9.2). Concerns about budget and technology limitations are among the most common reasons for not implementing e-court features.20 That should not prevent less developed economies from looking into e-courts. E-courts can be implemented with donor assistance, and reforms can be inspired by peer learning from leading economies. Malaysia, with an income per capita half that of Korea’s, has been implementing an ambitious upgrade of the computerization of its courts. In late 2008, with the appointment of a new chief justice, Malaysia initiated reforms targeting judicial delays and court backlogs that included two information technology contracts totaling $43 million. The program introduced court recording and transcription equipment and launched an e-filing system and electronic case management system that automated manual processes, provided courts with registries of case filings and events and introduced modules to handle e-filing, schedule hearings and the like. The new equipment is expected to expedite hearings and reduce back office processing.21 Rwanda and Tanzania, two countries with income per capita below $1,000, have also started computerizing their courts. Tanzania’s project received funds from several donors and provided the judiciary with modern information technology—including computers and digital court recording equipment—and training for judges and staff. Computerization has had many benefits, such as improving the quality of research by judges.22 Rwanda’s Strategic Plan of the Supreme Court has recruited new court officers well trained in the use of information technology. Thanks to donor funds, the country now has an e-filing system, electronic records management system and legal information portal.23 According to data collected for Doing Business 2014, Rwanda and Tanzania are top performers in Sub-Saharan Africa in the ease of enforcing contracts ranking. FIGURE 9.2 Globally, contract enforcement is faster in economies with e-filing 1,600 1,402 1,296 1,400 1,185 1,200 1,010 842 According to Doing Business, in Seoul resolving a standard contract enforcement dispute takes 230 days, 33 procedures 642 635 524 600 456 EAP LAC MENA SSA With e-filing Angola Egypt, Arab Rep. United Arab Emirates Guatemala Brazil Serbia Uzbekistan ECA Rwanda 230 195 150 Singapore 0 230 Philippines 200 Italy 400 OECD SHARING GOOD PRACTICES THROUGH PEER LEARNING 731 800 Without e-filing 1,000 Korea, Rep. Time (calendar days) E-courts can also aid cases where geographic distance makes it difficult for parties to attend, making videoconferencing a pragmatic solution. While some trials last only about 30 minutes, advocates often must spend a lot of time traveling. Thus videoconferencing saves time and money. In the United States, it was estimated that about $900 could be saved per trial by not having to pay for transport fares, accommodations and related allowances. In other economies poor infrastructure makes it difficult to travel between cities, justifying an investment in such information technology. Globally Note: OECD = OECD high income; EAP = East Asia and the Pacific; ECA = Europe and Central Asia; LAC = Latin America and the Caribbean; MENA = Middle East and North Africa; SSA = SubSaharan Africa. Source: Doing Business database. 69 70 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Through its involvement in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, Korea has helped improve the region’s business regulations.24 Korea, named a “champion” in judicial reform by APEC, has invested significant resources to help countries such as Indonesia, Peru, the Philippines and Thailand improve contract enforcement. A Korean delegation visited partner economies in 2011 to review systems and procedures for enforcing contracts and proposed reforms based on its experience in expediting court proceedings. In addition, peer-learning events were held to focus on improving such systems. Together these events attracted more than 200 participants, including judges, attorneys, professors and government officials. In addition, in 2011 the Korean government brought together legal experts and high-level policy makers to discuss the future of those economies’ systems for enforcing contracts. should take into account costs of data preservation and system maintenance. • Users should receive adequate training. • Cases covering various subject matter should be integrated. • Systems in other economies can offer useful guidance. 9. 10. NOTES 11. This case study was written by Julien Vilquin and Erica Bosio. 12. 1. 2. 3. LESSONS Experiences with e-courts in Korea and elsewhere show that: 4. • The system must be user friendly and adapt in response to comments from users; a thorough needs analysis is required. • The information technology budget 8. 5. 6. 7. Kingston 2000; Doing Business 2012, enforcing contracts chapter. Kingston (2000) found that only about 20% of the responding small and medium-size enterprises using courts to defend their patents actually went to trial. Dabla-Norris and Inchauste Comboni 2008; Safavian and Sharma (2007), in a study on Eastern Europe, found that in economies with slower courts, firms tend to have less bank financing for new investments. Duval and Utoktham (2009) found that simplifying contract enforcement procedures increases bilateral trade. UNDESA 2012. Interview with Korean Judge Hoshin Won, who has been active in promoting e-courts. Ibid. Pfau 2011. A conservative estimate for New York, with $40 in savings for each 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. document and 4 million cases filed electronically each year, would save the private sector and government hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Pfau 2011. Pro se legal representation means advocating on one’s behalf rather than being represented by a lawyer. The National Judicial College, Judicial Survey: Electronic Filing in U.S. State Trial Courts. This amount is the result of calculations provided to the Doing Business team by the Supreme Court of Korea. Chicago Bar Association Task Force on Green Courts Initiative for the Circuit Court of Green County 2008. Ibid. McMillan, Pettijohn and Berg 2012. National Center for State Courts 2013. http://www.ncsc.org/informationand-resources/budget-resource-center/ calculators.aspx. McMillan 2010. Hayo and Voigt 2008. Djankov, La Porta and others 2003. Horowitz and Zorza 2006; Mapp 2008. The National Judicial College, Judicial Survey: Electronic Filing in U.S. State Trial Courts. World Bank 2011a. Ramadhani 2010. International Records Management Trust 2011. See the case study on APEC economies in World Bank Group (2012). Starting a business • Starting a business is easiest in New Zealand, where it takes 1 procedure, half a day, less than 1% of income per capita and no paid-in minimum capital. • Doing Business recorded 51 reforms making it easier to start a business worldwide between June 2012 and June 2013 and 244 over the past 5 years. • Greece made the biggest improvement in the ease of starting a business in the past year. • Guinea-Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire are among the economies making the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in starting a business since 2009. • Most economies improving business start-up processes over the past 5 years focused on simplifying company registration. • Among regions, Sub-Saharan Africa has improved business start-up processes the most since 2009. For more information on good practices and research related to starting a business, visit http://www .doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/ starting-a-business. For more on the methodology, see the section on starting a business in the data notes. Starting a business is an act of faith. Many entrepreneurs invest and risk their personal savings in business plans they believe in. Starting a new business involves multiple unavoidable obstacles, but excessive bureaucracy should not be one of them—because entrepreneurship matters for economies’ economic performance. In fact, there is a positive relationship between entrepreneurship, growth and job creation.1 In 2007 young start-ups accounted for nearly 8 million of the 12 million new jobs created in the U.S. economy.2 Doing Business data measure the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital required for small and medium-size limited liability companies to formally operate. To make the data comparable across 189 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people within the first month of operations. Doing Business measures the main stages of starting a business: preregistration, registration and postregistration. Preregistration may involve checking the availability of the proposed company name, having a notary draft and notarize statutes and depositing minimum capital in a bank account. Registration includes procedures under the mandate of the commercial registry. Postregistration includes registering with tax authorities, obtaining a business license, buying and legalizing company books and obtaining a company seal. Although registration includes on average a low number of procedures, it is often the most costly part of starting a business. On the other hand, preregistration—nonexistent in economies following good practices—is generally the least time-consuming process measured by Doing Business (figure 10.1). Starting a business is the Doing Business indicator set that has consistently had the most reforms each year, and economies have enjoyed the benefits of these reforms. Reforms making it easier to start a formal business are associated with increases in the number of newly registered firms and sustained gains in economic performance—including improvements in employment and productivity.3 In the Philippines start-up simplification in the municipality of San Jose de Buenavista reduced the number of procedures, time and cost to obtain business permits. These changes increased the number of registered businesses, generating revenue for the local government.4 Portugal’s introduction of one-stop shops raised the number of registered enterprises by about 17% and created 7 new jobs a month for every 100,000 inhabitants.5 Peru’s simplification of obtaining a start-up business license nearly quintupled business registrations between the year before and the year after, when 8,517 new firms were registered.6 Simplified business registration in Mexico increased the number of registered firms by 5% and employment by 2.2%.7 Informal business owners, particularly those with an entrepreneurial drive, were 14.3% more inclined to formally register their businesses.8 WHO REFORMED IN STARTING A BUSINESS IN 2012/13? In 2012/13, 51 economies made it easier to start a business (table 10.1). Another 13 made it more difficult, mostly by STARTING A BUSINESS FIGURE 10.1 Postregistration procedures can be costly and time-consuming Averages by ranking group Procedures (number) 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 Cost (% of income per capita) Time (days) 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Preregistration Registration Postregistration Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of starting a business. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of starting a business. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. Source: Doing Business database. increasing start-up costs and minimum capital requirements. Among those making it easier, several created online onestop shops allowing entrepreneurs to register with different agencies through a single website. For example, Côte d’Ivoire created a one-stop shop for firm creation and replaced the requirement to obtain a copy of founders’ criminal records with a sworn declaration at the time of company registration. Other economies, including Costa Rica and Portugal, simplified postregistration procedures. In Poland entrepreneurs no longer have to register new companies at the National Labor Inspectorate and National Sanitary Inspectorate. Globally, Greek entrepreneurs experienced the biggest improvement in the ease of starting a business in the past year. In 2012 the Greek government introduced a simpler type of limited liability company, called a private company, that is cheaper to incorporate (figure 10.2). A year later Greece abolished the minimum capital requirement. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Over the past 5 years Doing Business recorded 244 business registration reforms in 135 economies. All regions have actively reformed in the area of starting a business. Globally since 2009 the average time to start a business has fallen by about 13 days. By region, Sub-Saharan Africa has shown the most improvement, with the average time to start a business falling from 55 days to 30 (figure 10.3). Still, relative to other regions, the time to start a business in Sub-Saharan Africa remains high, leaving ample room for further improvement. OECD high-income and European and Central Asian economies remain the front runners on the ease of starting a business. Economies sustaining reform efforts over time have considerably revamped their start-up processes, substantially improving their rankings on the ease of starting a business. Chile, for instance, has been an active reformer over the past 5 years. In 2010 it introduced an online system for company registration. In 2011 a new law required local governments to provide temporary or permanent working licenses to companies immediately upon request.9 That same year the Internal Revenue Service began authorizing electronic invoicing for companies that had obtained revenue identification numbers and initiated business activities—enabling entrepreneurs to legally operate immediately after formalizing their companies. Finally, in 2013 Chile introduced a law allowing entrepreneurs to register certain types of legal entities online and free of charge.10 As a result of these improvements, the time to register a business in Santiago fell from 27 days in 2009 to 5.5 in 2013. Armenia also has been continuously reforming its business incorporation regulations in recent years. Armenia established a one-stop shop in 2010, allowing electronic registration and merging procedures for reserving a business name, registering a business and issuing a tax identification number. In 2013 Armenia eliminated company registration fees. Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Lithuania, the former Yu- 73 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 10.1 Who made starting a business easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Simplified preregistration and registration Afghanistan; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Bhutan; Republic of Congo; Gabon; Greece; formalities (publication, notarization, Hong Kong SAR, China; Israel; Italy; inspection and other requirements) Jamaica; Kazakhstan; Liberia; Lithuania; Malaysia; Moldova; Mongolia; Morocco; Nepal; Nicaragua; Niger; Romania; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Suriname; Swaziland; Trinidad and Tobago; Ukraine; Zambia Hong Kong SAR, China abolished the capital duty levied on local companies. Morocco cut registration fees from 3,129 Moroccan dirhams to 1,700—about 6% of income per capita. Suriname adopted a new civil code, shortening the time to obtain a declaration of no objection and approval of the president from 500 days to 14. Abolished or reduced minimum capital requirement Cape Verde; Croatia; Djibouti; Greece; Kyrgyz Republic; Lithuania; Netherlands; Poland; West Bank and Gaza Croatia, Greece and Lithuania introduced a new corporate form with no minimum capital requirement. The Netherlands eliminated the minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies. Created or improved one-stop shop Benin; Burundi; Costa Rica; Côte d’Ivoire; Guatemala; Guinea; Kosovo; Togo Guatemala launched an electronic platform that allows new companies to register with the commercial registrar, tax authority, social security institute and Ministry of Labor through a single online form. Cut or simplified postregistration procedures (tax registration, social security registration, licensing) Afghanistan; Costa Rica; Kosovo; Panama; Poland; Portugal Costa Rica eliminated the requirement to legalize accounting books and simplified legalization of corporate books. Panama eliminated the requirement to visit municipalities to obtain municipal taxpayer numbers. Introduced or improved online procedures Azerbaijan; Chile; Nepal; Panama Chile introduced an online facility for business registration, allowing entrepreneurs to register certain types of legal entities online for free. Nepal introduced electronic filing of documents, reducing registration time from 15 days to 7. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 10.2 Greece made starting a business easier in 2012/13 by introducing a simpler type of limited liability company and abolishing the minimum capital requirement Time to start a business (days) 74 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 6 procedures eliminated Changes in 2012/13 eliminated 6 procedures and cut cost by 16% of income per capita 1 2 3 4 5 2012 6 Procedures 7 8 9 10 11 2013 Source: Doing Business database. goslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Mozambique, Peru, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and Ukraine are among other economies that have steadily improved business incorporation regulations. Common features of the most recent reforms included making notarization of incorporation documents optional, introducing online features for company registration and creating and improving one-stop shops. Since 2009 Guinea-Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire have been among the economies making the fastest advances toward the frontier in regulatory practice for starting a business (figure 10.4). In addition to previous reforms, in 2012 Côte d’Ivoire launched a one-stop shop for business incorporation, allowing entrepreneurs to register with the commercial registrar, tax authority and social security institute at the same time instead of visiting them separately. Similarly, Guinea-Bissau created a onestop shop for business creation in 2011. Launched on May 15, the Centro de Formalização de Empresas led to a significant reduction in the procedures, time and cost to register a business. Guinea-Bissau also eliminated the requirement to obtain a business license for low-risk activities. Instead, a simple declaration of commercial activities is required to be submitted at the one-stop shop. In addition, the requirement for a copy of the founders’ criminal records was replaced by one for a sworn declaration, and the cost for the publication of the notice of incorporation was reduced. Since 2009 the time and cost of starting a business has dropped worldwide. Simplifying registration has been the most STARTING A BUSINESS 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 61 43 53 36 51 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 Number of reforms making it easier to start a business Average time (days) FIGURE 10.3 Sub-Saharan Africa has shown the greatest improvement in the time to start a business 0 Number of reforms Time: Latin America & Caribbean East Asia & Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East & North Africa South Asia Europe & Central Asia OECD high income Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. common feature of start-up reforms. Online services ranging from company name searches to business registration have lowered the time and cost of starting a business worldwide. Economies with the fastest business registration systems all offer at least some electronic services. More than 20 low- and lower-middleincome economies offer electronic services. In Liberia company name reservation and business registration can be completed online in 1.5 days. In addition, Liberian entrepreneurs can track their application status online. In Rwanda the number of companies using the online business registration system has been steadily increasing since its creation in 2009. In India the director of a company can obtain an identification number online. Over the past 5 years economies from all regions either lowered or eliminated registration costs. Benin and South Africa considerably reduced notary fees, while Spain exempted small and medium-size enterprises from the burdensome Asset Transfer and Legal Documented Acts Tax. Other economies simplified or eliminated preregistration requirements such as having company documents notarized and obtaining approvals from different agencies. The past 5 years saw other changes as well. Lesotho, Mongolia and Uruguay simplified start-up processes by eliminating notarization requirements and introducing standardized articles of association. Bhutan and Romania simplified the process for obtaining a security clearance certificate. The Dominican Republic, Peru and the Philippines eliminated 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 New Zealand Macedonia, FYR Kyrgyz Republic Australia Portugal Azerbaijan Malaysia Taiwan, China Burundi Lithuania Ireland Sweden Hungary France Iceland Belarus Panama Romania Maldives United States Israel Greece Uruguay United Arab Emirates Kazakhstan Zambia Croatia Marshall Islands Serbia St. Lucia Sri Lanka Ukraine Russian Federation Luxembourg Cape Verde St. Vincent and the Grenadines Bangladesh Slovak Republic Sierra Leone Tajikistan Qatar Kosovo Japan Antigua and Barbuda Solomon Islands Trinidad and Tobago Mozambique Saudi Arabia Guatemala Bhutan Kiribati El Salvador Spain Côte d'Ivoire São Tomé and Príncipe Cameroon Senegal Gabon Vietnam Nigeria Syrian Arab Republic Sudan Botswana Iraq Lao PDR Honduras Swaziland Argentina Namibia Mali Guinea Benin India Ethiopia Mauritania Guinea-Bissau Timor-Leste Djibouti Comoros Bolivia Brunei Darussalam Togo Congo, Rep. Venezuela, RB Suriname Chad Congo, Dem. Rep. Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 10.4 Guinea-Bissau and Côte d’Ivoire are among the economies advancing the most toward the frontier in starting a business over the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the starting a business indicators since DB2004 (2003). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in starting a business between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. 75 76 DOING BUSINESS 2014 the requirement to obtain a document confirming payment of share capital in a bank. Ukraine eliminated the requirement to obtain approval for a corporate seal, and Suriname significantly reduced the time to obtain the president’s approval for company incorporation. Ninety-six economies have at least some type of one-stop shop for business registration, including 35 that established or improved theirs in the past 5 years. Ninety-nine economies require no paid-in minimum capital, and many others have lowered the requirement.11 NOTES This topic note was written by Valentina Saltane, Paula García Serna, Baria Nabil Daye and Fernanda Maretto de Barros. 1. Fritsch and Noseleit 2013. 2. Stangler and Litan 2009. 3. Motta, Oviedo and Santini 2010; Klapper and Love 2011. 4. Gumasing 2013. 5. Branstetter, and others 2013. The study notes that the increase in the number of business registrations as a result of start-up reforms was largely due to the entry of marginal firms. 6. Mullainathan and Schnabl 2010. 7. Bruhn 2011. 8. Bruhn 2013. 9. Law No. 20.494. 10. Law No. 20.659. 11. For more information on minimum capital reforms, see the case study on minimum capital requirements. Dealing with construction permits Sound regulation of construction helps protect the public from faulty building practices. Besides enhancing public safety, well-functioning building permitting and inspection systems can also strengthen property rights and contribute to the process of capital formation.1 But if procedures are too complicated or costly, builders tend to proceed without a permit.2 By some estimates 60–80% of building projects in developing economies are undertaken without the proper permits and approvals.3 And because the construction permitting process generally involves licensing requirements from several different agencies, those using the process are exposed to different bureaucracies, which creates opportunities for rent seeking. One way to adopt sound regulation is by implementing risk-based inspection systems. Such systems can help ensure a safe, well-functioning approach that does not impose overly burdensome requirements on less complex buildings. Economies at all income levels are implementing these systems to account for the varying risk levels of different buildings.4 In fact, there has been growing awareness in the construction industry about the advantages of a system in which less risky structures are subject to fewer inspections than more complicated ones, which might need more inspections at various stages of construction. The United Kingdom started modifying its building control system in 2007 to add a risk-based component. The goal was to develop a risk assessment tool for building inspectors and move from strict public enforcement toward a combination of public and private practices. In 2009 the Department for Communities and Local Government partnered with the private sector to develop a risk assessment tool.5 High-risk projects such as hotels and movie theaters would have at least as many inspections as low-risk projects at key stages of construction—and in most cases would require additional inspections to comply with safety regulations. The use of risk assessment has improved the inspection system. Since 2008 it has eliminated 8 procedures and 49 days from the process of obtaining a construction permit and connecting to utilities, as measured by Doing Business.6 Introducing a risk-based inspection system is not the only route to sound regulation. Economies continually working to improve their building regulatory systems have also reformed in many other areas. Some are taking advantage of increasingly sophisticated technological systems that enhance not only the efficiency of the construction permitting process but also its transparency. And some are adopting performance-based building codes that focus more on outcomes and on demonstrating compliance with performance requirements.7 Beyond these elements, qualification requirements for inspectors, liability regimes for faulty construction, conflict resolution systems, information technology and other factors can all help strengthen building regulatory systems. To measure the ease of dealing with construction permits, Doing Business records the procedures, time and cost required for a small or medium-size business to obtain the approvals needed to build a simple commercial warehouse and connect it to water, sewerage and a fixed telephone line. That includes all the inspections and certificates needed before, during and after construction of the warehouse. To make the data comparable across 189 economies, it is assumed that the warehouse is in the periurban area of • Dealing with construction permits is easiest in Hong Kong SAR, China, where it takes 6 procedures and 71 days and costs 15.4% of income per capita to comply with requirements for building a storage warehouse and connecting it to water, sewerage and a fixed telephone line. • Doing Business recorded 24 reforms making it easier to deal with construction permits worldwide between June 2012 and June 2013 and 109 over the past 5 years. • Ukraine made the biggest improvement in the ease of dealing with construction permits in the past year. • Ukraine has also made the fastest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in construction permitting since 2009. • Among regions, Europe and Central Asia has made the biggest improvements in the ease of dealing with construction permits since 2009. • Streamlining processes and implementing risk-based approval systems were among the most common features of construction permitting reforms in the past 5 years. For more information on good practices and research related to dealing with construction permits, visit http://www .doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/ dealing-with-construction-permits. For more on the methodology, see the section on dealing with construction permits in the data notes. DOING BUSINESS 2014 In economies where it is easy to obtain construction permits, many preconstruction procedures—such as clearances and approvals—are streamlined, often through a one-stop shop. Alternatively, preliminary clearances are not required and construction companies can apply for building permits when submitting the required blueprints. The average time to complete preconstruction procedures in the 5 top-ranked economies is just 30 days, compared with 137 in the 5 lowest-ranked economies (figure 11.1). Economies that make it difficult to obtain construction permits require several layers of clearances that must be obtained separately from different agencies. They often also require many more inspections. Economies ranking in the middle of the distribution require an average of 3 inspections during construction, while those ranking in the top 5 require only 1. WHO REFORMED IN DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS IN 2012/13? Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 24 reforms making it easier to deal with construction permits and 2 making it more difficult (table 11.1). Europe and Central Asia had the most reforms making it easier, with 8. SubSaharan Africa had 7 making it easier but 1 making it more difficult. East Asia and the Pacific had 3 making it easier, Latin America and the Caribbean and OECD high-income economies each had 2, and South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa each had 1. OECD highincome economies also had 1 making the process more difficult. 30 Procedures (number) While Doing Business identifies burdensome practices in many economies, other hurdles are not captured by the data. For example, Doing Business does not address the extent to which the necessary permits may include provisional or conditional permits—which in some economies can be used as a mechanism for the authorities to impose further conditions or extract further payments once construction is under way or completed. FIGURE 11.1 Formalities before construction begins are the most time-consuming and costly part of dealing with construction permits Averages by ranking group 25 20 15 10 5 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies 300 250 Time (days) the largest business city, is not in a special economic or industrial zone and will be used for general storage. 200 150 100 50 0 Cost (% of income per capita) 78 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Before construction During construction After construction Utilities Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits, excluding “no practice” economies. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of dealing with construction permits. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 topranked economies. The “before construction” stage involves all procedures that must be completed before the start of construction, such as obtaining approvals of construction drawings and obtaining building permits. The “during construction” stage involves all procedures that occur during construction, such as on-site inspections by relevant agencies. The “after construction” stage involves all procedures that must be completed after construction for the warehouse to become operational, such as obtaining an occupancy permit and registering the warehouse. The “utilities” stage involves all procedures required to connect the warehouse to water, sewerage and a fixed telephone line, such as an on-site inspection from the relevant water authority. Source: Doing Business database. In the past year Ukraine made the biggest improvement in the ease of dealing with construction permits (figure 11.2). In mid-2012 the government adopted a riskbased approval system, classifying construction projects into 5 categories based on their complexity, with categories 1–3 being simpler buildings. This has simplified the process and streamlined the procedures needed to obtain construction permits for less complex buildings like warehouses, which fall into category 3. For warehouses the requirement to obtain a construction permit was replaced with DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS TABLE 11.1 Who made dealing with construction permits easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Streamlined procedures The Russian Federation eliminated duplicate clearances from several Botswana; Costa Rica; Côte d’Ivoire; Gabon; government agencies. Guatemala; Kosovo; Latvia; FYR Macedonia; Malaysia; Montenegro; Mozambique; Philippines; Poland; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Sri Lanka; Togo; Ukraine Reduced time for processing permit applications Botswana; Costa Rica; Côte d’Ivoire; Gabon; Guatemala; Latvia; Malaysia; Montenegro; Mozambique; Russian Federation; Slovenia; Sri Lanka; Turkey Turkey implemented strict time limits to obtain a lot plan and simplified documentation requirements to obtain an occupancy permit. Introduced or improved one-stop Burundi; Gabon; Guatemala; Malaysia; Mongolia; Guatemala and Malaysia introduced one-stop shops for construction permits shop Montenegro and postconstruction approvals. Reduced fees Kosovo; Malaysia; Malta; Mongolia; Rwanda; Sri Lanka Sri Lanka reduced the fee to obtain a construction permit by eliminating the development tax. Introduced or improved online services Costa Rica; Gabon; Guatemala; Mozambique; Rwanda Costa Rica launched an e-government platform that allows online submission of construction permit applications and streamlines internal reviews. Introduced risk-based approvals Botswana; Malaysia; Ukraine Botswana clarified environmental impact assessment requirements for projects. Ukraine introduced a risk-based approval system, eliminating preconstruction utility approvals and postconstruction certification procedures. Adopted a new building code Azerbaijan Azerbaijan adopted a new construction code that streamlined procedures and established official time limits for completing various procedures in the construction permitting process. Improved building control process Togo Togo improved its workflow communication and implemented a standard procedure for processing applications. Source: Doing Business database. a requirement to provide notification that construction works had commenced. In addition, the process for obtaining technical requirements was simplified by streamlining procedures and eliminating the requirement to obtain technical requirements from the Fire Safety Department and Department of State Auto Inspection. Project supervision was FIGURE 11.2 Ukraine made dealing with construction permits faster and easier 10 procedures eliminated 400 350 Introducing risk-based approvals and simplifying registration of ownership rights cut procedures and time Time (days) 300 250 302 days saved 200 simplified by eliminating the requirement to develop a preproject city planning justification for the State Enterprises (Ukrderzhbudexpertyza) and the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Construction Control in Kiev. Ukraine also amended the Law on State Registration of Property Rights to Real Estate and Their Encumbrances, which went into effect on January 1, 2013. The law reduced the number of agencies that can register ownership rights over real estate and issue ownership certificates and introduced strict time limits for registering real estate. Together these changes eliminated 10 procedures and reduced the time for dealing with construction permits by 302 days. 150 WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? 100 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2012 Source: Doing Business database. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Procedures 2013 Since 2009, 73 economies have implemented 109 reforms making it easier to deal with construction permits. Europe and Central Asia made the most reforms, with 29, followed by Sub-Saharan Africa with 26, Latin America and the Caribbean with 17, OECD high-income economies 79 DOING BUSINESS 2014 300 35 250 30 200 25 20 150 15 100 10 50 0 31 19 15 20 24 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 5 0 Number of reforms making it easier to deal with construction permits Average time (days) FIGURE 11.3 Europe and Central Asia has achieved the most time savings in dealing with construction permits good coordination among all agencies involved and often requires overarching legislation that ensures information sharing and establishes oversight mechanisms to minimize cases of noncompliance. In 2011 Taiwan, China established its first one-stop shop for construction permits and continues to improve its operations. By 2012 the number of procedures required to process permit applications had fallen from 25 to 11 and the time from 125 days to 94. Since 2009, 17 economies have successfully implemented one-stop shops for permit applications. Number of reforms Time: Latin America & Caribbean Europe & Central Asia South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa OECD high income East Asia & Pacific Middle East & North Africa Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. with 14, East Asia and the Pacific with 11, the Middle East and North Africa with 10 and South Asia with 2. Since 2009 Europe and Central Asia has achieved the most time savings, reducing the time to deal with construction permits by 64 days on average (figure 11.3). Over the past 5 years the most common feature of these reforms was streamlining project clearances. Building approvals tend to require technical oversight by multiple agencies, and one way to simplify this process is by establishing one-stop shops. But the success of one-stop shops depends on Ukraine saw the fastest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in construction permitting over the past 5 years (figure 11.4), largely due to the improvements in more recent years discussed above. But Ukraine began reforming construction permitting before that. In 2005 it adopted the Provincial Act on Construction of Buildings, which clearly defined procedures for obtaining permits to design and develop buildings and for drafting, approving and ensuring the accuracy of project documentation. The act also identified the main requirements for construction work. In 2006 the Law on the System of Permits for Business Activity introduced a FIGURE 11.4 Ukraine has advanced the most toward the frontier in dealing with construction permits over the past 5 years 100 75 2013 2009 50 25 0 Hong Kong SAR, China Singapore Georgia St. Lucia Sweden United Arab Emirates Grenada Taiwan, China Thailand Jamaica United Kingdom Tonga Antigua and Barbados Norway Maldives Vanuatu Mexico Ukraine St. Kitts and Nevis Nambia Belarus Comoros Finland Guatemala Qatar Macedonia, FYR Kyrgyz Republic Paraguay United States France Portugal Estonia Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Costa Rica Switzerland Morocco Malaysia Iceland São Tomé and Principe Gabon Benin Gambia, The Bangladesh Spain Angola Ireland Togo Chile Fiji Jordan Suriname Pakistan Japan Bulgaria Italy Armenia Montenegro Latvia Guinea-Bissau Poland Palau Brunei Darussalam Kosovo Slovak Republic Sri Lanka Congo, Dem. Rep. Cameroon Trinidad and Tobago Israel Congo, Rep. Nicaragua Philippines Turkey Mauritius Mongolia Ghana Puerto Rico (U.S.) Romania Kuwait Venezuela, RB Algeria Sudan Cyprus Tanzania Sierra Leone Czech Republic Lesotho Uruguay Burundi Haiti Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Malawi Takikistan Azerbaijan China Serbia Cambodia Russian Federation Nigeria Afghanistan India Zimbabwe Eritrea Distance to frontier (percentage points) 80 Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the dealing with construction permits indicators since DB2006 (2005). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in dealing with construction permits between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS principle under which any authorization or permit required to conduct business activity as well as procedures for its issuance must be provided for exclusively in the laws of Ukraine (as opposed to local legislation and similar regulation). The law also provided for administrative liability of officials in violation of issuance procedures. Together the 2005 and 2006 legislation cut the time to obtain a permit by 23 days. for issuing certificates of compliance. These changes reduced the number of procedures by 9 and the time to obtain a permit by 161 days. And in a region in which many economies still have cumbersome construction permitting procedures, Ukraine’s reforms can serve as an example for others. NOTES In 2009 more dramatic changes were introduced. Legislation eliminated the need for preproject city planning approvals if projects comply with town planning documentation and rules for building in Kiev and set a limit of 10 business days This topic note was written by Marie Lily Delion, Anushavan Hambardzumyan, Joyce Ibrahim, Momodou Salifu Sey and Matthew Williger. 1. World Bank Group 2013b. 2. Moullier 2009. 3. De Soto 2000. 4. For more information, see the case study on risk-based inspections. 5. Berman 2012. 6. Under the Doing Business methodology, if a private inspection firm is hired, only 1 procedure is recorded for the firm. Subsequent inspections are not recorded. Private inspection firms tend to operate more efficiently than government agencies that conduct inspections because government agencies usually conduct other tasks as well. Furthermore, there is generally less opportunity for rent seeking with private firms. 7. World Bank Group 2013b. 81 Getting electricity • Getting an electricity connection is easiest in Iceland, where it takes 4 procedures and 22 days and costs 14.4% of income per capita ($5,554). • Doing Business recorded 14 reforms making it easier to get electricity worldwide between June 2012 and June 2013—and has recorded 45 since 2010. • The Russian Federation made the biggest improvement in the ease of getting electricity in 2012/13. • The Russian Federation and Tanzania are among the economies making the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in getting electricity since 2009. • Europe and Central Asia has the most complex processes for getting electricity but also implemented the most reforms to make electricity regulations more business-friendly in 2012/13. • Making utilities’ internal processes more efficient has been the most common feature of reforms to make it easier to get electricity since 2010. Electricity matters for businesses. Unreliable electricity supply, lack of distribution network in rural areas and high connection costs all hinder business activity. Where the quality and accessibility of infrastructure services are good, they encourage investment, productivity and growth.1 World Bank Enterprise Surveys in 137 economies show that firms consider getting electricity the second biggest obstacle to their business.2 Self-supply is often prohibitively expensive, especially for small firms.3 The first step in getting electricity is for a customer to obtain a connection—and this is the key step that the getting electricity indicators aim to measure. Doing Business measures the procedures, time and cost for a small to medium-size business to get a new electricity connection for a warehouse (figure 12.1). To make the data comparable across 189 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized case study of a new warehouse requiring a connection 150 meters long and with a power need of 140 kilovolt-amperes. The warehouse is assumed to be located in the largest business city, in an area where warehouses usually locate and electricity is most easily available.4 WHO REFORMED IN GETTING ELECTRICITY IN 2012/13? For more information on good practices and research related to getting electricity, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/getting-electricity. For more on the methodology, see the section on getting electricity in the data notes. Economies where getting an electricity connection is easy share several good practices. Other economies are adopting some of these practices (table 12.1). Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 14 reforms that made getting electricity easier. Across regions, increasing the efficiency of utilities’ internal processes has been the most common reform. It is also among the most effective ways to reduce connection delays. In Colombia the utility Codensa opened a one-stop shop for builders that provides counseling on and review and approval of electricity connection projects. Codensa reduced the time to prepare feasibility studies by eliminating the preparation of quotes and enabling clients to request the studies online. Utilities in Malaysia and Sri Lanka made getting electricity easier by improving communications with contractors, introducing electronic document management systems and increasing staff and resources for inspections. Other economies have adopted broader approaches. The Russian Federation’s MOESK, Moscow’s electricity utility, overhauled the steps required to obtain a connection (figure 12.2). For example, the utility now obtains excavation permits for customers and eliminated the need for them to get electricity applications from MKS, a subsidiary of MOESK. In addition, the Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision now conducts risk-based inspections only for larger installations. And the Moscow Regional Energy Commission revised fee structures and lowered connection charges to standardized rates.5 These changes have halved the number of procedures required to obtain an electricity connection, reduced the time by more than 40% and cut the cost by nearly 80%, making the Russian Federation the economy that improved the most in the ease of getting electricity in 2012/13. GETTING ELECTRICITY Procedures (number) FIGURE 12.1 Duplicated inspections and long delays make it harder to get electricity Averages by ranking group 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Time (days) 250 In Burundi the electricity utility Regideso ended its monopoly on the sale of transformers and other equipment needed for electricity connections. Since June 2012 this change has decreased the time to obtain a connection by 30 days because customers can now import materials instead of buying them from Regideso if the materials are not in the company’s stock. The utility also opened a center that combines all the internal services of the utility involving new connections. 200 150 WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? 100 50 Cost (% of income per capita) 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 200 0 Application and estimate External works Other inspections Final connection Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of getting electricity. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 137 to 141 on the ease of getting electricity. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 90 to 94. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. The application and estimate stage involves all procedures related to submitting an application and obtaining an estimate of the cost of works or technical conditions to obtain a connection. This stage also includes the time needed for any inspections by the electricity utility. The external works stage involves all procedures that occur during construction, such as purchasing materials and establishing the connection. The other inspections stage involves all procedures related to approval of internal wiring or the connection by agencies outside the electricity utility. The final connection stage involves all procedures required to finalize the connection, such as signing the supply contract and installing the meter. Source: Doing Business database. Since 2010, 41 economies have implemented 45 changes to regulations and their implementation that made it easier to get electricity. Sub-Saharan Africa made the most such reforms, with 12, followed by Europe and Central Asia with 10. The average time to connect to the electrical grid fell in Latin America and the Caribbean from 77 days to 65 and in Europe and Central Asia from 170 days to 150. In Sub-Saharan Africa it dropped from 159 days to 134 (figure 12.3). The types of reforms recorded in getting electricity have varied by income group. Upper-middle-income economies have made the most changes in the past 4 years, with 16. More than half of these improved connection process efficiency. TABLE 12.1 Who made getting electricity easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Improved process efficiencya Belarus; Colombia; Ecuador; Malaysia; Mexico; Mongolia; Nicaragua; Sri Lanka; United Arab Emirates; Turkey In Colombia the utility Codensa opened a one-stop shop for electricity connections and made its internal processes more efficient, reducing the time to get a connection by 60 days. Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Electricity Board introduced an electronic document management system that streamlined its internal workflow and cut by 22 days the time to process new applications. Improved regulation Burundi; FYR Macedonia; Mongolia; Russian of connection processes and costs Federation In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia the government adopted a new distribution grid code that set time limits for approving new connections and standardized connections with capacity below 400 kilowatts. The law also fixed connection fees per kilowatt. The time to obtain an electricity connection was reduced by 44 days and the cost by 13%. Streamlined approval processb In the Russian Federation the utility MOESK reduced the steps in getting a connection. The utility obtains permits for customers, who also no longer need electricity applications from MKS, a MOESK subsidiary. The Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision now conducts risk-based inspections only for larger installations. Russian Federation; Ukraine a. Refers to utilities or public agencies reengineering their internal processes to reduce the time and number of internal approvals. b. Refers to utilities or public agencies working with each other to centralize procedures on behalf of the customer or to reduce the duplication of formalities. Source: Doing Business database. 83 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Shortening connection times and streamlining processes were not the only reforms. Since 2010, 27 economies have reduced electricity connection costs using different strategies. Trinidad and Tobago thoroughly revised its capital contribution policy, drastically lowering costs for customers to connect to the grid.6 Between 2009 and 2013 the Russian Federation cut the cost of an electricity connection by more than 90%. In 2012 the Republic of Korea introduced a policy under which customers pay only 30% of connection costs up front and the remaining 70% over the next 2 years, enabling entrepreneurs to invest the outstanding amount in developing their businesses. Since 2009 the Russian Federation and Tanzania have been among the economies making the most progress in narrowing the gap with the regulatory systems of economies with the most efficient practices in connecting new customers (figure 12.4). 300 Cost reduced from $163,668 to $37,307 250 Time cut from 281 days to 162 200 150 Procedures cut from 10 to 5 100 50 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Procedures 7 2012 9 8 10 2013 Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 12.3 Sub-Saharan Africa has achieved the most time savings in getting electricity 180 16 160 14 140 12 120 10 100 8 80 6 60 4 40 2 20 0 DB2010 9 9 13 14 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 Number of reforms making it easier to get electricity Most reforms in lower-middle-income economies have involved streamlining coordination among agencies to eliminate unnecessary or duplicate approval requirements. These procedures become a burden when they are carried out by several agencies, or when it is the customer and not the utility who obtains the required administrative permits for the construction works. Ukraine’s Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry eliminated the need for the State Energy Inspectorate to inspect electrical installations because other agencies conduct similar inspections. FIGURE 12.2 The Russian Federation made obtaining an electricity connection easier, faster and cheaper Time to get electricity (days) Electricity utilities in these economies tended to focus on streamlining procedures and reducing delays by making internal processes more efficient and training staff. For example, Mexico’s electricity utility, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, streamlined the process for obtaining electricity, offered training to contractors and implemented a geographic information system (GIS) that maps the electricity network. This commitment has paid off: the time to obtain a new electricity connection in Mexico City dropped from 291 days in 2009 to 85 in 2013. Average time to get electricity (days) 84 0 Number of reforms Time: Europe & Central Asia East Asia & Pacific South Asia OECD high income Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East & North Africa Latin America & Caribbean Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Doing Business began recording reforms in getting electricity in DB2011. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING ELECTRICITY 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 Germany United Arab Emirates Switzerland Sweden Korea, Rep. Taiwan, China St. Kitts and Nevis Singapore Thailand Denmark Guatemala Japan United States Saudi Arabia Norway Suriname Austria Malaysia Georgia Slovenia Qatar Finland Tonga Uruguay Iraq Cameroon Estonia Costa Rica Bahamas, The Paraguay Belize Dominica Chile Fiji Comoros Marshall Islands Rwanda Spain Ghana Namibia Ethiopia Grenada Tanzania Afghanistan Oman Haiti Latvia Colombia Luxembourg Palau Italy Nicaragua Belgium Argentina Eritrea Vanuatu China Jamaica Indonesia Sudan Kosovo India Russian Federation Mali Togo Israel Dominican Republic Ecuador Zambia Mexico Gambia, The Honduras Vietnam Guinea Canada Niger Zimbabwe Hungary Angola South Africa Mongolia Liberia Mozambique Kiribati Pakistan Czech Republic Kyrgyz Republic Romania Congo, Dem. Rep. Chad Sierra Leone Benin Burundi Senegal Uganda Nigeria Central African Republic Malawi Madagascar Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 12.4 The Russian Federation and Tanzania are among the economies advancing the most toward the frontier in getting electricity over the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the getting electricity indicators since DB2010 (2009). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in getting electricity between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. NOTES This topic note was written by Iana Ashchian, Maya Choueiri, Caroline Frontigny and Jayashree Srinivasan. 1. World Bank 2010. 2. World Bank Group 2010. 3. Iimi 2008. 4. For more details on the methodology, see the data notes. Doing Business records all the procedures, the time and the cost required for a business to obtain an electricity connection for a newly constructed building, including an extension or expansion of the existing infrastructure. All 3 aspects have the same weight, and the ranking on the ease of getting electricity is the simple average of an economy’s percentile rankings on those 3 components. 5. Resolution 421 adopted by the Moscow Regional Energy Commission on December 12, 2012. 6. For more information, see the case study on Trinidad and Tobago. 85 Registering property • As measured by Doing Business, registering property is easiest in Georgia. • Doing Business recorded 31 reforms making it easier to register property worldwide between June 2012 and June 2013. • Burundi made the biggest improvement in the ease of registering property in the past year. • Over the past 5 years 90 economies undertook 124 reforms increasing the efficiency of property transfer procedures. • Maldives has advanced the furthest in narrowing the gap with the most efficient practice and regulations in registering property since 2009. • Economies that have improved their property registration systems have looked at the property transaction as a whole and implemented regulatory reforms that centralize procedures in a single agency. In addition, they have used information and communication technology or better caseload management systems to make the process faster and cheaper. For more information on good practices and research related to registering property, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/registering-property. For more on the methodology, see the section on registering property in the data notes. Unregistered property cannot be used as collateral by banks, limiting financing opportunities for new businesses and expansion opportunities for existing ones. In developing economies only 30% of land is subject to a form of land registration.1 Just 10% of land in Sub-Saharan Africa is registered.2 Providing an efficient, transparent and affordable system to register new titles and transfer existing ones is an important first step toward guaranteeing secure access to land and improving access to credit.3 Doing Business records the full sequence of procedures needed for a business to purchase an immovable property from another business and formally transfer the property title to the buyer’s name. The process starts with obtaining the required documents, such as a copy of the seller’s title, and ends when the buyer is registered as the new property owner. Every procedure required by law or necessary in practice is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer and even if it must be completed by a third party on their behalf. The registering property indicators identify 5 main types of procedures: • Due diligence procedures to obtain the necessary guarantees on the security of the transaction. • Legalization procedures to make the sale agreement legally binding. • Tax requirement procedures to comply with tax regulations related to the transfer of a property, including inspections or surveys of the property to determine its value and thus the taxes to be paid. • Registration procedures to register the property in the name of the new owner and pay the associated transfer taxes. • Publication procedures to give public notice of the intention to transfer a property so as to allow any interested third parties to object. Economies that rank well on the ease of registering property tend to have simple procedures, effective administrative time limits, fixed registration fees, low transfer taxes and online registries (figure 13.1). WHO REFORMED IN REGISTERING PROPERTY IN 2012/13? In 2012/13, 31 economies made it easier for businesses to register property by reducing the time, procedures or cost required (table 13.1). The most common improvements were combining procedures, increasing administrative efficiency, computerizing registries and lowering property transfer taxes. On the other hand, 6 economies raised the cost of transferring property. No economy increased the time or number of procedures to transfer property. Burundi made the biggest improvement in the ease of registering property in the past year by creating a one-stop shop for property registration (figure 13.2). Opened in March 2013, the one-stop shop combined the services of the municipality of Bujumbura, Burundi Revenue Authority and land registry, enabling companies to complete property transfers faster without making multiple visits to different agencies. This was the first step toward a more efficient property registration system. Among regions, Sub-Saharan Africa made the most reforms making it easier REGISTERING PROPERTY Cost (% of property value) Time (days) Procedures (number) FIGURE 13.1 Registration and due diligence are the most cumbersome aspects of transferring property Averages by ranking group 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Due diligence Legalization Tax requirements Registration Publication Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of registering property, excluding “no practice” economies. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of registering property. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. Source: Doing Business database. to register property in 2012/13. For example, Guinea-Bissau opened a notary office in charge of property-related transactions. Lesotho eliminated the ministerial approval for property transfers and recruited new staff at the registry. Uganda reduced time by introducing a new system, eStamp, for certifying documents subject to a stamp duty. In Europe and Central Asia new fasttrack procedures and time limits were successfully enforced. In addition, land and building databases were being digitized. In the Russian Federation the creation of a unified electronic land and property database eliminated the need for applicants to visit Bureau of Technical Inventory offices and obtain cadastral passports. In addition, Ukraine introduced a new system of registration of property rights and encumbrances over real property. The system requires sellers to re-register titles before transferring them to buyers. Online procedures were introduced by some OECD high-income economies. The Netherlands made it possible to submit deed registrations and obtain documentation related to property transfers online. In the United Kingdom, the Land Registry for England and Wales introduced electronic lodgment of property transfer applications. Between 2012 and 2013 average property transfer costs went down. But diverging trends appeared within income groups. Though low-income economies made transferring property more affordable (reducing the cost from 7.9% of 87 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 13.1 Who made registering property easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Combined or reduced procedures Burundi; Italy; Kosovo; Montenegro; Panama; Rwanda; Ukraine Kosovo and Montenegro introduced new notary systems and combined procedures for drafting and legalizing sale and purchase agreements. Rwanda cut 2 procedures by eliminating the property valuation requirement for tax purposes. Increased administrative efficiency France; Guinea-Bissau; Lesotho; Morocco; Suriname; United Arab Emirates France reorganized its land registry and reduced the time for registering a deed of sale by 10 days. The United Arab Emirates extended the working hours of the Dubai Land Registry, making property transfers 4 days faster. Computerized procedures Cape Verde; Liberia; FYR Macedonia; Uganda Cape Verde and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia digitized their land registries. Liberia stopped writing deeds by hand and computerized its land registry—reducing the time to transfer property by 6 days. Introduced online Netherlands; Singapore; procedures United Kingdom Singapore introduced an online fast-track registration process for single transfers, enabling property transfers to be completed in 1 day. Introduced fasttrack procedures Belarus; Kazakhstan Belarus cut the time to register property by 5 days by implementing an expedited procedure. Kazakhstan introduced a fast-track procedure, saving 16 days. Set up effective time limits Russian Federation The Russian Federation introduced a 20-day limit for the Federal Service of State Registration, Cadastre and Cartography to transfer a property. Reduced taxes or fees The Bahamas; Chad; Côte Guinea decreased the transfer tax from 10% to 5%. Senegal lowered the transfer tax from 15% to 10%. d’Ivoire; Guinea; Malawi; Niger; Senegal; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan Source: Doing Business database. the property value to 7.5% on average), 6 middle- and high-income economies raised property transfer taxes. In February 2013, to slow down the real estate market and prevent the risk of a bubble, Hong Kong SAR, China doubled its stamp duty (from 3.75% to 7.5% for commercial properties worth 6.72–20 million Hong Kong dollars). WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Over the past 5 years the average time to transfer property worldwide fell by 15 days, from 65 to 50, and the average cost by 0.2 percentage point, from 6% of the property value to 5.8% (figure 13.3). Computerizing property transfer processes helps reduce processing times and enhance efficiency. In the 45 economies that computerized procedures— as diverse as Malaysia, the Netherlands and Sierra Leone—the average time to transfer a property was cut in half, from 64 days to 32, over the past 5 years. Going electronic also makes it easier to identify errors and overlapping titles, improving title security. FIGURE 13.2 Burundi made transferring property faster and easier 65 Procedures cut from 8 to 5 60 55 Time to register property (days) 88 50 Time cut from 64 days to 26 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1 2 3 4 5 Procedures 2012 6 7 8 2013 Source: Doing Business database. Implementing a fully computerized system takes several years and requires a step-by-step approach. In the past the Danish property registration system was time consuming, and government employees had to maintain an archive of 80 million paper documents. Information was kept by local district courts that were not connected. As a preliminary step, all the information stored in local courts had to be centralized in a single place. This is why a unified land registry was set up in the city of Hobro. REGISTERING PROPERTY 120 35 100 30 25 80 20 60 15 40 10 20 0 33 23 20 17 31 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 5 Number of reforms making it easier to register property Average time to register property (days) FIGURE 13.3 The average time to transfer property is falling worldwide 0 Number of reforms Time: South Asia East Asia & Pacific Latin America & Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East & North Africa Europe & Central Asia OECD high income Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. started screening applications in a fast and efficient way. As a result, over 5 years the time to transfer a property was slashed from 42 days to 4 (figure 13.4). The Danish system was designed to respond to the needs of a variety of stakeholders, from citizens to financial institutions. With online access to a single source of land registry information, citizens and businesses could transfer property on their own with no third party and get information on any property. In addition, the Danish financial sector created a central hub for sharing land registration data between banks and the land registry—facilitating access to information and credit. NOTES This topic note was written by Edgar Chavez Sanchez, Laura Diniz, Frédéric Meunier and Parvina Rakhimova. In 2009 the Danish government began modernizing its land registry by digitizing and automating property registration. Processes had to be streamlined and reorganized. The centralized land registry initiated its computerization and records were progressively digitized. Once digitization was complete, the land registry introduced electronic lodgment of property transfers. By 2011 property transfer applications were only accepted online and the information technology system 1. UN-Habitat 2012. 2. UNDP 2008. 3. For instance, Dower and Potamites (2012), in a recent paper on land titling, find that possessing a formal land title is an important factor in accessing formal credit in Indonesia. 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 Georgia New Zealand Belarus United Arab Emirates Norway Lithuania Armenia Denmark Rwanda Slovak Republic Estonia Kyrgyz Republic Iceland Bahrain Azerbaijan Kazakhstan Russian Federation Portugal Saudi Arabia Guatemala Thailand Moldova Nepal Czech Republic Austria United States Mongolia Taiwan, China Singapore China Italy Malaysia Poland Costa Rica Samoa Burundi Ireland Chile Australia Serbia El Salvador Kosovo Turkey Tunisia Colombia Cape Verde Bhutan Lao PDR Bulgaria Spain Panama Malawi Japan Romania Slovenia Niger Lesotho Korea, Rep. India Zimbabwe Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. Ukraine Honduras Dominican Republic Croatia Gambia, The Mali Mexico Israel Central African Republic Antigua and Barbuda Uzbekistan Uruguay Benin Sierra Leone Puerto Rico (U.S.) Djibouti Angola Guinea-Bissau Solomon Islands Kiribati Chad Maldives Belgium Bahamas, The Cameroon Haiti Nigeria Marshall Islands Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 13.4 Maldives, Denmark and Portugal are among the economies advancing the most toward the frontier in registering property over the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the registering property indicators since DB2005 (2004). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in registering property between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. 89 Getting credit • Malaysia and the United Kingdom remain tied at the top of the ranking on the ease of getting credit. • Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 9 reforms strengthening legal rights of borrowers and lenders and 20 improving credit information systems. Since 2009, 49 economies have implemented 53 reforms to strengthen legal rights, and 77 have implemented 100 reforms to deepen credit information. • Palau made the biggest improvement in the ease of getting credit in the past year. • Ghana is among the 10 economies making the fastest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in the area of getting credit since 2009. • In the past 5 years Pacific island economies have made concerted efforts to improve their secured transactions and credit information systems. • Implementing collateral registries was among the most common features of reforms strengthening legal rights of borrowers and lenders. Among economies improving credit information systems, the most common change was establishing a new credit registry or bureau. For more information on good practices and research related to getting credit, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/getting-credit. For more on the methodology, see the section on getting credit in the data notes. Promoting access to finance for small and medium-size firms has been on the agenda of national governments and the international community for many years, with an increased focus since the recent financial crisis. These firms are more likely than large ones to face constraints on credit in all regions of the developing world.1 There are many reasons why firms, especially small and medium-size ones, do not get the finance they need. Doing Business focuses on 2 regulatory areas in which governments can take measures making it easier for firms to get credit. Doing Business measures 2 types of systems and institutions that can facilitate access to finance and improve its allocation: the legal rights of borrowers and lenders in secured transactions and bankruptcy laws and the strength of credit registries and bureaus. These systems and institutions work best together.2 Legal rights can facilitate the use of collateral and the ability to enforce claims in the event of default, while information is one tool to help creditors assess the creditworthiness of borrowers. For legal rights, the World Bank and other international institutions have recognized that secured credit is more widely available to businesses in economies with efficient, effective laws that provide for consistent, predictable outcomes for secured lenders in the event of nonpayment by borrowers.3 Sharing credit information through credit registries and bureaus facilitates access to credit because it can empower both lenders and borrowers. By reducing information asymmetries, it enables lenders to make more informed decisions. And it allows borrowers to develop good reputations for repayment, which they can use as collateral, supplementary to traditional collateral that they might not have. The legal rights of borrowers and lenders and the strength of credit reporting systems are assessed by 2 sets of measures. The first analyzes the legal framework for secured transactions by looking at how well collateral and bankruptcy laws facilitate lending. The second examines the coverage, scope and quality of credit information available through public credit registries and private credit bureaus. But these institutions are not enough to guarantee access to finance for small and medium-size firms or firms in general, because the availability of credit depends on many other factors as well. Rankings on the ease of getting credit are based on the sum of the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. The getting credit indicators make it possible to compare economies in different parts of the world. Such comparisons show, for example, that the existence of an institution that efficiently records security interests in companies’ movable property is strongly correlated with a higher score on the strength of legal rights index (figure 14.1). Credit registries and bureaus aim to achieve 3 main goals in credit reporting: to cover as many targeted borrowers as possible, to provide as much information in credit reports as possible and to guarantee the privacy of the information and the accuracy of products and services. Most credit registries and bureaus start by building inclusive databases covering both firms and individuals and both big and small loans (figure 14.2). As they develop, registries and bureaus tend to broaden the type of information provided in credit reports. While some registries and bureaus receive only negative credit information from banks and GETTING CREDIT Average score on strength of legal rights index FIGURE 14.1 The biggest variations in the strength of secured creditors’ rights are in the existence of collateral registries and the creation of security interests 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Enforcement of security interest Existence of collateral registry Creation of security interest Note: Poor practice economies are the 15 economies that score 1–2 of 10 points on the strength of legal rights index. The second column represents the 19 economies that score 4 points, the third column the 31 economies that score 6 points and the fourth column the 15 economies that score 8 points. Good practice economies are the 10 economies that score the maximum 10 points. Source: Doing Business database. 100 70 60 75 50 40 50 30 20 25 10 0 Poor practice economies Distributing both positive and negative data, data from retailers and utilities and historical data Good practice economies Guaranteeing by law borrowers’ right to inspect their data Credit information coverage (% of adults) Share of economies with element of credit information system (%) FIGURE 14.2 More developed credit information systems have higher coverage rates 0 Covering both firms and individuals and small borrowers Credit information coverage Palau improved the most in the ease of getting credit in 2012/13 with the implementation of a new legal framework for secured transactions. Three economies in Europe and Central Asia made major reforms by amending existing laws or implementing new ones. Lithuania amended the Civil Code (chapters on pledges and mortgages) and Code of Civil Procedure, making it possible to create a pledge over a property complex. This means that debtors can now use as collateral any group of movable assets, whose configuration or composition is constantly changing. The amendments also made it possible to create an enterprise mortgage using part of or the whole business enterprise as collateral, including its immovable property. In addition, the execution procedure for pledges was simplified to allow for speedier out-of-court enforcement. Secured transactions legislation was also changed in other regions. In Sub-Saharan Africa the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa by adopting the Uniform Act on Secured Transactions. Djibouti adopted a new Commercial Code that regulates security interests over movable property and secured creditors’ rights in bankruptcy. Rwanda continued improving its legal framework by adopting a new Law on Security Interests over Movable Property. Note: Poor practice economies are the 15 economies that score 1 of 6 points on the depth of credit information index. The second group represents the 18 economies that score 2–3 points, the third group the 32 economies that score 4 points and the fourth group the 57 economies that score 5 points. Good practice economies are the 31 economies that score the maximum 6 points. The figure excludes the 35 economies that do not have a credit registry or bureau and the 1 economy that has a registry but scores 0 points. Credit information coverage is not included in the calculation of rankings on the ease of getting credit. For economies with both a credit registry and a credit bureau, the credit information coverage is the higher of the 2. Source: Doing Business database. Latin America and the Caribbean is the only region where no reforms were recorded in the areas covered by the strength of legal rights index. But reforms are expected in the near future in at least 3 economies. Colombia’s Congress recently approved a new secured transactions law, and Costa Rica and El Salvador plan to follow suit in the next few months. other financial institutions, the more advanced ones collect positive credit information as well. Three credit registries and 55 credit bureaus also include retailers and utilities as data providers. Many registries and bureaus distribute more than 2 years of historical data, including on repaid defaults. In 2012/13, 20 economies improved their credit reporting systems (table 14.2). Eleven of these—Australia, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Latvia, the Philippines, Singapore, Tanzania and Vietnam—enhanced access to credit information by adopting laws or regulations improving frameworks for sharing credit WHO REFORMED IN GETTING CREDIT IN 2012/13? In 2012/13, 9 economies improved secured transactions legislation or strengthened secured creditors’ rights in bankruptcy procedures (table 14.1). Globally 91 92 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 14.1 Who strengthened legal rights of borrowers and lenders in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Expanded range of movable assets that can be used as collateral Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti; Lithuania; Palau Palau’s Secured Transactions Act established that all types of movable assets, present or future, can be used as collateral to secure loans. Moreover, the act allows a general or specific description of the collateral and states that any types of obligations can be secured with movable property. Created a unified registry for movable property Afghanistan; Republic of Korea Afghanistan introduced an online national registry that allows for registration of notices and searches of liens on movable property. Searches can be performed using the identification number of the debtor. Expanded the types of obligations that can be secured with movable property FYR Macedonia; Rwanda Rwanda’s Law on Security Interests over Movable Property repealed the previous legal framework for secured transactions, clearly defining the types of obligations that can be secured with movable property. Strengthened rights of secured creditors during reorganization procedures Moldova Moldova’s new insolvency law changed reorganization procedures, specifying conditions under which secured creditors can apply for relief of the moratorium during insolvency and restructuring proceedings. Source: Doing Business database. information or protecting borrowers’ right to inspect their data. Most credit information reforms provided for the licensing and establishment of future registries or bureaus. Credit bureaus are often established after the financial industry sees the need for a credit reporting system to support informed decisions and facilitate fact-based risk management. Historically, credit registries started as internal databases in central banks with the goal of supervising financial activities in economies to allow for better enforcement of regulations. Over time many of these registries started issuing credit reports to share information externally because functioning credit information systems did not exist.4 The Bank of Tanzania enacted new credit bureau regulations and issued the first licenses to 2 credit bureaus at the end of 2012. Tajikistan, Tonga and Vanuatu established credit bureaus in 2012/13, and Brunei Darussalam created a credit registry. The new credit bureaus and registry in these 4 economies collect and distribute data on both individuals and firms and on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita. The credit registry in Brunei Darussalam and credit bureau in Tajikistan also distribute both positive and negative credit information as well as guarantee borrowers’ right to inspect their data. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Worldwide, 74 of 183 economies have advanced toward the frontier in regulatory practice in getting credit since 2009. Among the 10 economies narrowing the gap the most, Ghana improved the legal rights of borrowers and lenders in secured transactions and the sharing of credit information (figure 14.3). In 2008 Ghana began reforming its legal framework and registration mechanism for movable collateral. When the Borrowers and Lenders Act was enacted that year, the Bank of Ghana established a collateral registry. By June 2013 more than 53,000 security interests had been registered by financial institutions. These account for more than $10 billion in loans secured with movable property—loans that have benefited more than 7,000 small and medium-size enterprises and 30,000 microenterprises.5 In 2010 XDS Data Ghana, the country’s first credit bureau, started operations. By January 1, 2013, it listed 1,357,230 individuals and 170,141 firms with information TABLE 14.2 Who improved the sharing of credit information in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Improved regulatory framework for sharing credit information Australia; Bhutan; Georgia; Indonesia; Jamaica; Latvia; Tanzania; Vietnam Tanzania adopted regulations that provide for the licensing of credit bureaus and specify the functions and purposes of their databases. Expanded set of information collected and distributed by credit registry or bureau Bahrain; Mauritius; Ukraine; Uzbekistan; Venezuela, RB Bahrain’s credit bureau started distributing payment histories from retailers. Created a credit registry or bureau Brunei Darussalam; Tajikistan; Tonga; Vanuatu Brunei Darussalam established a credit registry that retrieves and provides information from private commercial banks and finance corporations. Guaranteed by law borrowers’ right to access data Bhutan; China; Philippines; Singapore In China the new Credit Information Industry Regulations guarantee borrowers’ right to access their data in the credit registry free of charge twice a year. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING CREDIT 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 Malaysia Macedonia, FYR Georgia Australia Hong Kong SAR, China United States Moldova Nigeria Rwanda Ireland Kenya Korea, Rep. Kyrgyz Republic Romania Ghana Austria Denmark Japan Kosovo South Africa Trinidad and Tobago Uganda Cambodia Mauritius Croatia Mexico Iceland Slovak Republic Vietnam Brunei Darussalam Tonga Chile Mongolia Vanuatu Czech Republic Fiji Namibia Panama Swaziland China Argentina Bosnia and Herzegovina Colombia Pakistan Thailand Netherlands Palau Solomon Islands Liberia Marshall Islands Papua New Guinea Bangladesh Dominican Republic Egypt, Arab Rep. Indonesia Turkey Bhutan Cameroon Central African Republic Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Brazil Jamaica Maldives Nicaragua Russian Federation Tunisia Venezuela, RB Benin Chad Guinea-Bissau Niger Togo Qatar Afghanistan Bahrain Antigua and Barbuda Bolivia Kuwait Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Samoa St. Lucia Tanzania Comoros Guinea Lao PDR Timor-Leste Gambia, The Guyana Luxembourg Seychelles Suriname Syrian Arab Republic Iraq Eritrea Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 14.3 Ghana is among the 10 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in getting credit over the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the getting credit indicators since DB2005 (2004). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 16 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in getting credit between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. on their borrowing history from the previous 5 years. All financial institutions and insurance companies are required to provide data on loans of all sizes to the credit bureau. Lenders can access valuable information on firms and individuals—such as payment history, default information, property information and loan guarantor details. Strengthening legal rights High rankings on the strength of legal rights index capture economies where laws allow registered entities to easily use movable property as collateral—while secured creditors’ rights are protected. In the past 5 years Doing Business has recorded 53 reforms affecting the strength of legal rights index. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 25 20 15 10 5 10 7 22 5 9 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 0 Number of reforms strengthening legal rights of borrowers and lenders Average strength of legal rights index FIGURE 14.4 Europe and Central Asia and OECD high-income economies remain at the top on the strength of legal rights index Number of reforms Strength of legal rights index: OECD high income Latin America & Caribbean Europe & Central Asia South Asia Middle East & North Africa East Asia & Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. Economies in East Asia and the Pacific have consistently improved secured transactions regimes for small and medium-size firms (figure 14.4). Various Pacific island economies have implemented new secured transactions legislation and registries. Over the past year Palau replaced an outdated framework with a new Secured Transactions Act. Since 2006 the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu have passed new collateral laws that strengthened their secured transactions regimes. All these laws except Samoa’s took a unitary approach to secured transactions, treating all types of security interests in movable property—such as pledges, charges and financial leases—equally in terms of creation, publicity, priority and enforcement. Among their many modern features, the new laws broadened the range of assets that can be used as collateral. The types of obligations—such as future or conditional obligations—that can be secured with movable property were also broadened. The new frameworks provide for clear priority rules outside bankruptcy and out-of-court enforcement procedures for secured creditors, so they can provide credit on more favorable terms. A key feature of these reforms was the establishment of notice-based collateral 93 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform momentum in the region seems to be continuing. Papua New Guinea is awaiting the implementation of a new collateral registry. A new secured transactions regime is also expected in Samoa, which adopted collateral provisions for corporations with its 2001 Companies Act and passed the Personal Property Securities Act in 2013, which is pending implementation of its collateral registry. After East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean is the other region where economies have established the most collateral registries, with Chile, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico doing so in the past 5 years. Other regions have also made great strides in improving their collateral regimes. Europe and Central Asia has slightly surpassed OECD high-income economies as the region with the highest average score on the strength of legal rights index. In the past 5 years 9 economies in Europe and Central Asia—including Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia—have modernized their secured transactions systems, compared with 4 OECD high-income economies (Australia, the Republic of Korea, Poland and Sweden). Sub-Saharan Africa has the most economies reforming secured transactions, with 22—17 of which became members of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa and adopted the Uniform Act on Secured Transactions. Overall, 16 economies, representing all regions except the Middle East and North Africa, introduced collateral registries over the past 5 years. Nevertheless, enactment of secured transactions laws is planned for Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, and West Bank and Gaza. The reform process has also started in Morocco. Deepening credit information In the past 5 years 77 economies—half of those with a credit reporting system as recorded by Doing Business (154 in total)—implemented 100 regulatory reforms to improve their credit information systems (figure 14.5). All 7 regions implemented at least 1 reform a year in the past 5 years except in 2011, when only 5 regions made such reforms. East Asia and the Pacific is the region implementing the most reforms in the past year, with 8. Since 2009, 23 economies have passed legislation that provides borrowers with the right to access data held on them.7 These include 5 in East Asia and the Pacific (China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam), 5 in Europe and Central Asia (Cyprus, Montenegro, Serbia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan), 4 in the Middle East and North Africa (Algeria, Oman, West Bank and Gaza, the Republic of Yemen), 4 in Sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone), 3 in Latin America and the Caribbean (Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala), 1 in South Asia (Bhutan) and 1 OECD high-income economy (the Slovak Republic). Today 111 of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business guarantee by law consumers’ right to access their credit information. In the other 78 economies borrowers do not have that right by law, though many credit registries and bureaus allow borrowers to inspect their own data in practice. While some credit registries and bureaus charge a fee for the access, more than half of the responding registries and bureaus grant free access at least once a year or under certain circumstances (such as following an adverse action by a lender).8 FIGURE 14.5 Latin America and the Caribbean leads the world in the depth of credit information index 6 25 5 20 4 15 3 10 2 5 1 23 16 23 18 20 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 Number of reforms improving credit information systems registries, where security rights are publicized and subsequently effective against third-party claims. The Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu have established such registries. In economies that introduce modern movable collateral registries, firms tend to receive increased access to bank finance, lower interest rates and longer loan maturities. Recent studies show that the impact of a new collateral registry can be economically significant. In economies with such reforms, the number of firms with access to bank finance increases by about 8% on average, with a 3 percentage point reduction in interest rates and a 6-month extension of the maturity of loans. And a bigger positive impact is felt by smaller firms.6 Average depth of credit information index 94 0 0 Depth of credit information index: Europe & Central Asia South Asia Number of reforms Latin America & Caribbean East Asia & Pacific Sub-Saharan Africa OECD high income Middle East & North Africa Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. The data on the depth of credit information index exclude the 35 economies that do not have a credit registry or bureau: 12 in Latin America and the Caribbean, 11 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 7 in East Asia and the Pacific, 2 in the Middle East and North Africa, 1 in Europe and Central Asia, 1 in South Asia and 1 OECD high-income economy. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING CREDIT Many economies expanded the coverage of borrowers by lowering the minimum threshold for loans included in registry or bureau databases.9 From 2009 to 2013 the number of economies with a minimum loan threshold below 1% of income per capita (including those where loans of all sizes are reported) increased from 104 to 129. The minimum threshold is often lowered by enacting new laws and regulations. In 2012 Algeria issued a Regulation on the Organization and Functioning of the Risk Center requiring banks and other financial institutions to declare all loans every month. In Brazil a circular that went into force in 2011 reduced the minimum threshold for loans reported by the central bank’s credit information system by 80%. In 2010 Mongolia’s credit registry eliminated the minimum threshold for loans included in its database. As a result the registry’s coverage doubled after just 1 year. Globally 8 economies expanded the set of information collected and distributed by adding data from retailers and utilities to credit reports. In 2010 Armenia adopted a decree granting the Armenian Credit Reporting Agency access to data of 3 national utility companies (Armenian Water and Sewerage, Electric Networks of Armenia and ArmRosGazprom). In 2011 the Bank of Mauritius Act went into force, extending coverage by the Mauritius Credit Information Bureau to all institutions offering credit facilities—including leasing facilities, hire-purchase companies and utilities. Including credit information from retailers and utilities is an effective way of expanding the range of information distributed by credit registries and bureaus. Information on payment of, say, electricity and phone bills can help establish good credit histories for people without previous bank loans or credit cards. In Rwanda, when 2 mobile phone companies and an electricity and gas company started providing credit information in 2011, the country’s credit bureau saw an immediate 2% increase in the number of firms and individuals registered in its database. Today credit registries and bureaus in 57 economies collect and distribute credit information from retailers and utilities. information about borrowers through the registry.10 Among 47 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, more than half have a credit registry but only 11 have credit bureaus. But a project is under way to establish credit bureaus in the 8 member states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. Bureaus have also been licensed in Jamaica, Tanzania and Vietnam, and a new registry is being established in the United Arab Emirates. Two other prominent features of credit information reforms were the development of online platforms to retrieve data and the provision of additional value added services. In the past 5 years 8 economies have established online platforms that allow for the retrieval and exchange of credit information. Credit bureaus also offer fraud detection, debt collection, marketing services and credit scoring, while credit registries offer ratings to financial institutions and other services to financial supervisors. NOTES In the past 5 years 19 economies established credit registries or bureaus. Seven are in East Asia and the Pacific (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu), 5 in Sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda), 4 in Europe and Central Asia (Cyprus, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Tajikistan), 2 in the Middle East and North Africa (the Islamic Republic of Iran, Morocco) and 1 in South Asia (Bhutan). In China the introduction of a public credit registry increased access to credit when banks learned additional This topic note was written by Santiago Croci Downes, Catrice Christ, Nan Jiang, Magdalini Konidari and Yasmin Zand. Kuntchev and others 2012. Djankov, McLiesh and Shleifer 2007. World Bank 2011b; UNCITRAL 2007. World Bank 2012, p. 21. Earlier findings were discussed at the International Finance Corporation’s Secured Transactions and Collateral Registries Peer to Peer Learning Event, Accra, Ghana, July 3–5, 2012. 6. Love, Martínez Pería and Singh 2013. 7. In addition, Guyana adopted the Credit Reporting Act No. 9 of 2010, which guarantees consumers’ right to access their data. The first credit bureau license was granted to Creditinfo with effect from July 15, 2013, and it is expected to be open for business to the public starting December 1, 2013. 8. Eighty of 99 credit bureaus and 61 of 93 credit registries responded to the question, “What is the cost for borrowers to inspect their data?” 9. While lowering a minimum threshold for loans included in registry or bureau databases is an effective way of expanding coverage, it may have side effects in increasing the number of borrowers blacklisted for small credit incidents. 10. Cheng and Degryse 2010. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 95 Protecting investors For more information on good practices and research related to protecting investors, visit http://www.doingbusiness .org/data/exploretopics/protectinginvestors. For more on the methodology, see the section on protecting investors in the data notes. Obtaining capital is essential for entrepreneurs. But investors may be reluctant to provide funding if corporate insiders might simply pocket the funds. When legislation does not allow minority shareholders to bring suits and hold company directors accountable, investors tend to refrain from funding corporations unless they become controlling shareholders—reducing an economy’s ability to finance private sector growth. A recent OECD study highlighted how policy makers have strengthened regulation to prevent the potential damage that related-party transactions can cause to investor confidence. Measures taken to improve effectiveness include increasing scrutiny by market supervisors, establishing specialized courts and offsetting legal fees for shareholder actions.2 Another study shows that minority shareholder expropriation by controlling shareholders is the main channel through which corporate governance affects firm value.3 Doing Business assesses the strength of minority shareholder protections against directors’ misuse of corporate assets for personal gain. The indicators measure 3 aspects of investor protections: approval FIGURE 15.1 Economies with extensive legislation on related-party transactions address the 3 aspects of regulation measured by Doing Business Average cumulative index score (higher is better) • New Zealand provides the strongest minority investor protections in related-party transactions as measured by Doing Business—for the ninth year in a row. • Doing Business recorded 9 legal changes strengthening minority investor protections in relatedparty transactions between June 2012 and June 2013 and 54 in the past 5 years. • The United Arab Emirates made the biggest improvement in the strength of investor protections in 2012/13. • Burundi has advanced the furthest toward the frontier in regulatory practice in protecting investors in related-party transactions since 2009. • Increasing disclosure requirements was the most common feature of investor protection reforms in the past 5 years. • Among regions, economies in Europe and Central Asia have strengthened investor protections the most since 2009—increasing disclosure obligations and amending the approval process for related-party transactions. Following suspicions raised by shareholders and former executives, the Japanese group Olympus Corporation admitted to overpaying for goods and services purchased from related parties. In one instance Olympus executives agreed to consultancy fees of more than 30% for the $2 billion acquisition of medical equipment maker Gyrus Group. They did so to hide losses. In 2012 shareholders filed a lawsuit seeking $240 million in compensation for the resulting losses on their investments.1 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Ease of shareholder suits Extent of director liability Extent of disclosure Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the strength of investor protections. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the strength of investor protections. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. Source: Doing Business database. PROTECTING INVESTORS FIGURE 15.2 The United Arab Emirates strengthened investor protections the most in 2012/13 +6.7 Macedonia, FYR +3.4 Rwanda +6.4 Turkey Panama +3.3 Kuwait +3.3 +10 United Arab Emirates +3.4 Congo, Dem. Rep. +3.3 Vietnam 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 Distance to frontier (percentage points) Improvement 2012 2013 Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the protecting investors indicators since DB2006 (2005). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. Source: Doing Business database. shareholder and a member of the boards of directors of both. The transaction is overpriced and causes damages to the buying company. and transparency of related-party transactions (extent of disclosure index), liability of company directors for self-dealing (extent of director liability index) and shareholders’ ability to obtain corporate documents before and during derivative or direct shareholder litigation (ease of shareholder suits index; figure 15.1). The standard case study assumes a related-party transaction between 2 companies where 1 individual is the controlling Though seemingly narrow in scope, regulation of related-party transactions involves many aspects of an economy’s legal framework. Securities regulation, company law and procedural rules governing FIGURE 15.3 European and Central Asian economies improved the most on investor protections against self-dealing Average strength of investor protection index (0–10) 12 6.0 10 5.5 8 5.0 6 4 4.5 4.0 2 12 7 13 13 9 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 0 WHO REFORMED INVESTOR PROTECTIONS IN 2012/13? Number of reforms strengthening investor protections 14 6.5 Number of reforms Strength of investor protection index: East Asia & Pacific Middle East & North Africa OECD high income South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa civil or commercial jurisdictions all play a role. In New Zealand the Companies Act, Financial Reporting Act, Securities Market Act, Exchange Listing Rules, Evidence Act, Limitation Act, Judicature Act, High Court Rules and Rules of Professional Conduct for Barristers and Solicitors are all taken into account by Doing Business. Together they create the most detailed and stringent regulation applying specifically to related-party transactions as measured by Doing Business. Europe & Central Asia Latin America & Caribbean Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. Nine economies implemented legal changes strengthening minority investor protections in related-party transactions between June 2012 and June 2013. The United Arab Emirates was the economy improving minority shareholder protections the most in 2012/13 (figure 15.2). Ministerial Decree 239-1, adopted in August 2012, requires companies to include in their annual financial statements detailed information on transactions concluded in the past year with parties closely related to the company through family ties, cross-investments or common executives. No such disclosure obligation previously existed. It also entitles any shareholder of a company to file a petition in court seeking to suspend transactions allegedly concluded in breach of the law’s 97 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 15.1 Who strengthened investor protections in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Increased disclosure requirements Democratic Republic of Congo; Panama; United Arab Emirates; Vietnam Panama amended its rules on form, content and timing for communication of significant events of issuers registered with the National Securities Commission. The sale or acquisition of assets that represent 10% or more of a company’s value must now be publicly disclosed. Made it easier to sue directors Democratic Republic of Congo; Turkey; United Arab Emirates Turkey adopted a new Commercial Code. Interested directors are now required to reveal profits from related-party transactions. Regulated approval of relatedparty transactions Democratic Republic of Congo; Greece The Democratic Republic of Congo adopted the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa’s Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups. Now both shareholders and boards of directors must approve related-party transactions. Increased access to corporate information Rwanda; Turkey Rwanda adopted the Law Relating to the Civil, Commercial, Labor and Administrative Procedure 21/2012, which amends provisions of the Civil Procedure Code. The parties are now entitled to confront each other in civil and commercial hearings and, with court authorization, cross-examine witnesses. Allowed company inspections by external auditors Kuwait Kuwait amended its Companies Law. Shareholders who hold 5% of the shares of a company may now request the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to appoint an external auditor to inspect the company. Source: Doing Business database. requirements. In addition, Kuwait amended its Companies Law, making it possible to appoint external auditors to inspect companies. Two economies in Sub-Saharan Africa also amended legislation to better protect minority shareholders (table 15.1). The Democratic Republic of Congo joined the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa in July 2012. As a result the organization’s Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups became applicable. The act provides approval and disclosure requirements for related-party transactions and makes it possible to sue directors for mismanagement of company affairs. Rwanda allowed parties to confront each other in civil and commercial hearings and, with court authorization, cross-examine witnesses. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? FIGURE 15.4 Burundi has advanced the most toward the frontier in protecting investors over the past 5 years 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 New Zealand Hong Kong SAR, China Malaysia Ireland United States United Kingdom Thailand Slovenia Albania Georgia Peru Macedonia, FYR Belgium Kazakhstan Tajikistan Armenia Mongolia Rwanda Kyrgyz Republic Saudi Arabia Trinidad and Tobago Burundi Cyprus Taiwan, China Sweden Turkey Chile Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Grenada Pakistan St. Kitts and Nevis St. Vincent and the Grenadines Iceland Korea, Rep. Sri Lanka Solomon Islands Bulgaria Indonesia Kiribati Poland Romania Lithuania Australia Mexico Madagascar Nigeria Paraguay Greece Moldova Kuwait Angola Cambodia Guyana Malawi Namibia Serbia West Bank and Gaza Kosovo Lesotho United Arab Emirates Belarus Algeria Austria Czech Republic Kenya Oman Tanzania Dominican Republic Tonga Morocco Netherlands Bahamas, The Brunei Darussalam Russian Federation Timor-Leste Swaziland Cameroon Luxembourg Qatar Zimbabwe Cape Verde Comoros Guinea-Bissau Uzbekistan Iran, Islamic Rep. Congo, Dem. Rep. Burkina Faso Equatorial Guinea Mali Togo Chad Côte d'Ivoire Niger Vietnam Croatia Guatemala Sudan Costa Rica Honduras Senegal Gambia, The Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Djibouti Suriname Afghanistan Distance to frontier (percentage points) 98 Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the protecting investors indicators since DB2006 (2005). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 26 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in protecting investors between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. PROTECTING INVESTORS Over the past 5 years Europe and Central Asia has been the most active region in strengthening minority shareholder protections against self-dealing, continuing a trend of closing the gap with OECD high-income economies (figure 15.3). Almost half the economies in the region (48%) implemented at least 1 such reform, followed by 35% in the Middle East and North Africa, 20% in East Asia and the Pacific, 19% among OECD high-income economies, 18% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa and 13% in South Asia. During that period the most common change has been increasing disclosure obligations and amending the approval process for related-party transactions—with 70% of reformers doing so—as opposed to, for example, increasing director liability or access to evidence. Among OECD high-income economies that share was even higher, at 85%. Contrary to global trends, most economies in Latin America and the Caribbean that amended legislation focused on increasing the liability of company directors in cases of prejudicial related-party transactions. Meanwhile, Sub-Saharan Africa had the largest share of economies undertaking a comprehensive overhaul of regulations affecting all 3 aspects of investor protections measured by Doing Business. Law enacted in May 2011 introduced several good practices and principles designed to prevent the misuse of corporate funds, such as shareholder approval for related-party transactions, extensive disclosure requirements, prior external review of related-party transactions and explicit penalties for company executives found liable in case of losses. Over the past 5 years Albania, Burundi, Kosovo, Mexico, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tajikistan and Thailand have been among the economies making comprehensive changes to several areas of regulation that affect the protections of minority shareholders in related-party transactions. Burundi, the economy that has advanced the furthest toward the frontier in regulatory practice in protecting investors since 2009, did so by thoroughly updating the way private companies are governed (figure 15.4). A new Company NOTES This topic note was written by Hervé Kaddoura and Nadine Abi Chakra. 1. Hiroko Tabuchi, "Arrests in Olympus Scandal Point to Widening Inquiry Into a Cover-Up," New York Times, February 16, 2012, http:// www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/business/ global/7-arrested-in-olympus-accounting-cover-up.html. 2. OECD 2012. 3. Bae and others 2012. 99 Paying taxes For more information on good practices and research related to paying taxes, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/paying-taxes. For more on the methodology, see the section on paying taxes in the data notes. administrative processes and modernize payment systems. Today firms can file tax returns electronically in 76 of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business—from the taxpayer’s home, library, workplace or, as Russia shows, even from space. Payments (number per year) FIGURE 16.1 Labor taxes and mandatory contributions account for a large share of the tax payments in many economies 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies 1,400 Time (hours per year) • Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 32 reforms making it easier or less costly for companies to pay taxes—and since 2009 has recorded 189. • Guatemala made the biggest improvement in the ease of paying taxes in the past year. • Belarus has advanced the most toward the frontier in regulatory practice in paying taxes since 2008. • The most common feature of tax reforms in the past 5 years was to reduce profit tax rates, often in the context of parallel efforts to improve tax compliance. But in the past 3 years more economies focused on introducing or improving electronic systems. • Among regions, Europe and Central Asia made the biggest improvement in the ease of paying taxes over the past 5 years. Russian cosmonaut Pavel Vinogradov, an International Space Station crew member, has become the first person ever to pay taxes from space. Pavel paid his land tax using the Russian Federation’s Sberbank online banking system.1 Revenue authorities around the world are continuously making great efforts to streamline 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Profit tax Labor tax Consumption tax (sales and VAT) Other taxes Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of paying taxes. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of paying taxes. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. Profit tax refers to taxes levied on taxable income or capital gains. Labor tax refers to all labor taxes and mandatory contributions levied on gross salaries, net salaries or number of employees. Consumption tax refers to value added tax (VAT) and sales tax for which the statutory incidence does not fall on the firm. Other taxes refers to all other taxes except labor, profit and consumption taxes, such as property taxes, vehicle taxes, interest taxes and municipal fees. Doing Business measures only the time to comply with 3 major taxes: profit tax, labor tax and consumption tax. Source: Doing Business database. PAYING TAXES Doing Business records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a standard medium-size firm must pay in a given year and measures the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions.2 It does so using 3 indicators: number of payments, time and total tax rate. The number of payments indicates the frequency with which the company has to file and pay different types of taxes and contributions, adjusted for the manner in which those filings and payments are made.3 The time indicator captures the number of hours it takes to prepare, file and pay 3 major types of taxes: profit taxes, consumption taxes, and labor taxes and mandatory contributions. The total tax rate measures the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions borne by the standard firm (as a percentage of commercial profit).4 These indicators do not take into account the fiscal health of economies, the macroeconomic conditions under which governments collect revenue or the public services supported by taxation. Rankings on the ease of paying taxes are simple averages of the percentile rankings of its component indicators, with a threshold applied to the total tax rate.5 According to World Bank Enterprise Surveys covering 121 economies, in the majority of these economies businesses consider tax rates to be among the top 5 constraints to their business, and tax administration to be among the top 11.6 Research has shown that high corporate tax rates are negatively associated with levels of corporate investment and entrepreneurship. Moreover, economies with high tax rates have larger informal sectors.7 And corporate tax rates might be negatively correlated with economic growth.8 Another study showed that a 1 percentage point increase in the total tax rate can be associated with a 3 percentage point increase in evasion.9 Yet taxes are essential to raise revenues so that governments can fund social programs and public investments that promote economic growth and development. Striking the right balance is therefore a great challenge for governments when designing tax policies. Whom to tax, by how much and how? One way to encourage compliance and have an effective tax system is to keep rules as clear and simple as possible. Thus it is important to measure both the level of tax rates and the administrative burden of compliance (figure 16.1). Overly complicated tax systems encourage evasion and are associated with larger informal sectors, more corruption and less investment.10 WHO REFORMED IN PAYING TAXES IN 2012/13? Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 32 reforms making it easier or less costly for firms to pay taxes (table 16.1). Europe and Central Asia recorded the most reforms easing compliance with tax obligations (by 9 economies of 26), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (8 of 47) and Latin America and the Caribbean (5 of 32). Eleven economies introduced or enhanced electronic filing, eliminating the need for 74 separate tax payments and reducing compliance time by almost 200 hours in total. Guatemala improved the most on the ease of paying taxes in 2012/13. The Guatemalan tax authority in January 2012 launched its new online system, Declaraguate, for filing and paying all taxes (except labor taxes and mandatory contributions). The new system allows taxpayers to pay their taxes online without a need to sign a contract and open an account with a specific bank. In addition, Declaraguate has expanded the TABLE 16.1 Who made paying taxes easier and lowered the tax burden in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Introduced or enhanced electronic systems Croatia; Guatemala; FYR Macedonia; Madagascar; Maldives; Moldova; Morocco; Paraguay; Philippines; Rwanda; Sri Lanka Rwanda introduced e-filing for corporate income tax, value added tax and labor contributions. The system was fully rolled out in 2012. Reduced profit tax rate by 2 percentage points or more Burundi; Gabon; Guyana; Jamaica; Lao PDR; Myanmar; Sweden; Tajikistan The government of Sweden, in its 2013 budget statement, reduced the corporate income tax rate from 26.3% to 22% for 2013. Merged or eliminated taxes other than profit tax Armenia; Burkina Faso; Republic of Congo; Iceland; South Africa; Tajikistan; Uzbekistan Tajikistan merged the minimal income tax with the corporate income tax and abolished the retail sales tax. Decreased number of tax Albania; Panama; Romania filings or payments Panama changed the payment frequency for corporate income taxes from monthly to quarterly. Reduced labor taxes and mandatory contributions Thailand decreased employers’ social security contribution rate from 5% in 2011 to 3% for January–June 2012 and 4% for July–December 2012. Republic of Congo; Thailand Simplified tax compliance Qatar; Ukraine process Qatar relaxed the disclosure requirements accompanying the corporate income tax return for entities 100% owned by Qatari or Gulf Cooperation Council nationals. Introduced change in cascading sales tax The Gambia replaced the sales tax with the value added tax, now set at 15%. The Gambia Source: Doing Business database. 101 DOING BUSINESS 2014 FIGURE 16.2 Ukraine has systematically reduced the time to comply with tax obligations 160 2,500 140 2,000 120 100 1,500 80 1,000 60 40 500 Time (hours per year) Payments (number per year) Total tax rate (% of commercial profit) 102 20 0 2004 2005 2006 2007 Payments 2008 2009 Total tax rate 2010 2011 2012 0 Time Source: Doing Business database. electronic filing and payment option to such taxes as the solidarity tax. An electronic system for generation, transmission, validation and payment of social security contributions has been available since 2009, through the online platform administered by the Guatemalan Social Security Institute, and by 2012 this payment method had been picked up by the majority of medium-size businesses. This reduced the number of payments from 21 to 7 and the time to comply with tax obligations by 6 hours as measured by Doing Business. Twelve economies implemented other measures to ease compliance with tax obligations. Three economies (Albania, Panama and Romania) lowered the number of tax filings or payments. In Albania and Panama corporate income taxes are now paid quarterly rather than monthly. Seven economies merged or eliminated some types of taxes (Armenia, Burkina Faso, the Republic of Congo, Iceland, South Africa, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). Two other economies, Qatar and Ukraine, simplified tax returns. Ukraine simplified the corporate income tax, VAT and social security contribution reports filed by companies. In 2012 these efforts reduced the time to comply with Ukrainian tax regulations by 101 hours, from 491 to 390 hours (figure 16.2). Eight economies reduced profit tax rates in 2012/13: 1 high-income economy (Sweden), 2 upper-middle-income ones (Gabon and Jamaica), 2 lowermiddle-income ones (Guyana and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic) and 3 low-income ones (Burundi, Myanmar and Tajikistan). Reductions in profit tax rates are often combined with efforts to widen the tax base by eliminating exemptions and with increases in the rates of other taxes, such as the VAT. In 2012/13 some economies increased the tax burden for small and medium-size firms. Eight increased profit or income taxes (the Arab Republic of Egypt, El Salvador, Greece, Senegal, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, South Sudan and Togo). Four increased labor taxes and mandatory contributions (the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Tonga and Vietnam). And Bosnia and Herzegovina, Fiji, Mauritania, the Seychelles and Tonga introduced new taxes in the past year. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Since 2009 Doing Business has recorded 189 tax reforms in 114 economies. Of these reforms, 57 introduced or enhanced online filing systems. These and other improvements to simplify tax compliance reduced the time to comply with the 3 main taxes measured (profit, labor and consumption) by 20 hours on average, and the number of payments by 4. Europe and Central Asia had the biggest improvement, reducing the number of payments by 20 on average and the time by 80 hours (figure 16.3). Belarus has advanced the furthest toward the frontier in regulatory practice in paying taxes in Europe and Central Asia and globally since 2008 (figure 16.4). Besides easing the administrative burden of taxes, many economies also reduced tax rates, often from relatively high levels and with complementary efforts to improve tax compliance. Among regions, Sub-Saharan Africa had the largest reduction in the total tax rate: 17.5 percentage points on average since 2008. Some of this reduction came from the introduction of the VAT, which replaced the cascading sales tax.11 Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, The Gambia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Swaziland all introduced VAT systems. Some Sub-Saharan economies also lowered profit tax rates over the past 5 years, including Benin, Cape Verde, the Republic of Congo, The Gambia, Madagascar, Mali, Niger and Sudan. Over the same period, the biggest reduction in the share of profit taxes in the total tax rate occurred in East Asia and the Pacific, where it fell by 5.3 percentage points on average. Electronic systems for filing and paying taxes, if implemented well and used by most taxpayers, benefit both tax authorities and firms. For tax authorities, e-filing lightens workloads and reduces operational costs such as for processing, handling and storing tax returns. At the same time, e-filing increases compliance with tax obligations and saves time.12 By 2012, 76 economies had fully implemented electronic filing and payment of taxes. PAYING TAXES FIGURE 16.3 Economies in Europe and Central Asia have decreased the time to comply with tax obligations the most since 2008 60 50 40 30 20 Number of reforms making it easier to pay taxes Average time (hours per year) 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 broadband access, power shortages, slow network speeds and system failures, implementation is slow and the challenges are even greater.13 In Latin America and the Caribbean, economies including Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay have implemented electronic systems for filing and paying taxes over the past 5 years. In 2010 Colombia began requiring all companies with turnover equal to or above Col$500 million (about $262,885) to file and pay the corporate income tax and VAT through the Electronic Informatic Services provided by the National Tax Authority. In the same year, Colombia upgraded its electronic system, the MUISCA (Single Automated Model of Income, Services and Control) system, to ease e-filing and payment for the corporate income tax and VAT. As a result the time to comply with these tax obligations dropped by 15 hours, and the number of payments by 11. In 2012/13, however, electronic systems became more popular among taxpayers in Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda and Uganda. In East Asia and the Pacific 7 of 25 economies have established electronic systems for filing and paying taxes: China; 10 50 43 33 31 32 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 0 Number of reforms Time: Latin America & Caribbean South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Europe & Central Asia East Asia & Pacific Middle East & North Africa OECD high income Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2008) to DB2014 (2012). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after DB2010 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for DB2014. Source: Doing Business database. Sub-Saharan economies face particularly difficult challenges with implementing electronic systems for filing and paying taxes. Rolling out new information and communication technologies, and then educating taxpayers and tax officials in their use, are not easy tasks for any government. But where citizens face limited The Kenya Revenue Authority began introducing an online filing system for VAT in 2009, and over the past 3 years use of the system picked up among taxpayers. Companies have reported improvements in the processing speed on the filing website, a major source of delay in previous years. The time required to comply with VAT has fallen from 340 hours to 308. 100 2012 75 2008 50 25 0 United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia Singapore Ireland Oman Denmark Kiribati Kazakhstan Switzerland Korea, Rep. Georgia New Zealand Finland Rwanda Malaysia Estonia Macedonia, FYR Latvia Taiwan, China Sweden Timor-Leste Greece Bahamas, The Peru Turkey Liberia Botswana United States Suriname Thailand Belize Tonga Morocco Gautemala Germany West Bank and Gaza Austria Bulgaria Bangladesh Armenia Spain Montenegro Cape Verde Bhutan St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tunisia Poland Malawi Hungary Lesotho Grenada Guyana Ethiopia Lao PDR Belarus Czech Republic Japan Mozambique Sierra Leone Philippines Costa Rica Romania Palau Burundi Uruguay Kyrgyz Republic Albania Colombia Italy Angola Mali São Tomé and Príncipe Burkina Faso Jamaica Antigua and Barbuda Ukraine India Nicaragua Comoros Argentina Sri Lanka Equatorial Guinea Brazil Algeria Uzbekistan Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Gambia, The Guinea Venezuela, RB Chad Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 16.4 Belarus has advanced the most toward the frontier in paying taxes since 2008 Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the paying taxes indicators since DB2006 (2004). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in paying taxes between 2008 and 2012. Source: Doing Business database. 103 104 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Hong Kong SAR, China; Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Taiwan, China; and Thailand. In the past 5 years only Malaysia and the Philippines have further rolled out their electronic systems. Similarly, economies in the Middle East and North Africa have been slow in picking up the pace on new technology for filing and paying taxes. Only 5 of 20 economies have implemented electronic systems for submitting tax declarations and paying taxes. These include Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which reformed in this area in the past 5 years. In South Asia, India is the only economy (of 8) with a complete online system for filing and paying taxes. But in the past year Maldives and Sri Lanka have introduced online platforms for filing and paying labor contributions, easing the administrative burden for businesses of complying with labor regulations. Still, as of 2012 most companies were not taking advantage of the electronic payment options. Pakistan also has an established electronic system for filing and paying the corporate income tax and VAT, but uptake has been limited. NOTES This topic note was written by Valter Deperon, Michelle Hanf, Joanna Nasr, Nadia Novik and Nina Paustian. 1. Svetlana Kalmykova, “Taxmen Reach 2. 3. 4. 5. Agreement on Cooperation,” The Voice of Russia, May 16, 2013. http://voiceofrussia .com/2013_05_16/Taxmen-reach -agreement-on-cooperation. The case study company started operations on January 1, 2011. Doing Business measures all taxes and mandatory contributions that apply to the standardized business in its second year of operation, January 1– December 31, 2012. Companies sometimes prefer more frequent payments to smooth cash flows. Commercial profit is essentially net profit before all taxes borne. It differs from the conventional profit before tax, reported in financial statements. In computing profit before tax, many of the taxes borne by a firm are deductible. In computing commercial profit, these taxes are not deductible. Commercial profit is computed as sales minus cost of goods sold, minus gross salaries, minus administrative expenses, minus other expenses, minus provisions, plus capital gains (from the property sale) minus interest expense, plus interest income and minus commercial depreciation. To compute the commercial depreciation, a straight-line depreciation method is applied, with the following rates: 0% for the land, 5% for the building, 10% for the machinery, 33% for the computers, 20% for the office equipment, 20% for the truck and 10% for business development expenses. Commercial profit amounts to 59.4 times income per capita. The threshold is set at the 15th percentile of the total tax rate distribution, which in this year’s report (for 2012) is 25.5%. All economies with a total tax rate below this level receive the same percentile ranking on this component. The threshold is not based on any economic theory of an “optimal tax rate” that minimizes distortions or maximizes efficiency in the tax system of an economy overall. Instead it is mainly empirical, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax rates levied on medium-size enterprises in the manufacturing sector as observed through the paying taxes indicators. This approach reduces the bias in the indicators toward economies that do not need to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized company because they raise revenue in other ways—for example, through taxes on foreign companies, taxes on sectors other than manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). 6. http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/. 7. Djankov and others 2010. 8. Lee and Gordon 2005. 9. Fisman and Wei 2004. 10. Djankov and others 2010. 11. The VAT is collected by firms and its cost is fully passed on to consumers. Because firms have to make the payments and spend time filling out returns, the VAT is included in the indicators on payments and time. But the amount of VAT paid is not included in the total tax rate. A cascading sales tax, which is paid at every point of the supply chain, is included in the total tax rate because firms cannot deduct the sales tax they pay on supplies from the amount they owe on sales. Economies introducing the VAT to replace the sales tax have therefore seen a reduction in their total tax rate. 12. Edwards-Dowe 2008. 13. For more information, see the case study on Malaysia. Trading across borders In the past year the time to import in Madagascar fell by 13%. “Before the MIDAC (Ministries, Departments and Control Agencies) system was rolled out, I would spend more than a week completing the necessary paperwork for the import process. Paper documents had to be obtained and submitted through different government offices spanning over 350 kilometers,” says a trader in Antananarivo, speaking about an electronic platform introduced in 2012 that connects ministries, operators and control agencies involved in trade. “Those days are over. I now submit most documents on the electronic platform, which gives me additional resources for my core operations as I handle more imports every month. My bottom line has increased, and so has trade.” Red tape and costs to ship goods overseas are significant impediments to trade. Complicated border processes and bureaucratic bottlenecks hinder economic growth considerably by reducing access to global markets. This is a particular problem in developing economies: in some African economies revenue losses from inefficient border procedures are estimated to exceed 5% of GDP.1 Excessive delays in exporting and importing can lower the volume of trade. A 10% reduction in the time it takes to move cargo from the production line to the ship increases exports by 4%, all else being equal.2 In Sub-Saharan Africa reducing inland travel time by 1 day increases exports by 7%.3 In Uruguay a 10% increase in the median time spent in customs lowers the growth rate of exports by 1.8%.4 In short, trade competitiveness is greatly affected by economies’ trade procedures and infrastructure. The more costly and time-consuming it is to export or import, the more difficult it is for local companies to reach international markets, especially in landlocked economies. Outdated and inefficient border procedures, inadequate infrastructure and unreliable logistics services are all likely to increase the time it takes to trade—driving up costs like storage fees and inspection charges. To shed light on the bureaucratic and logistical hindrances facing traders, Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) of exporting and importing a standard containerized cargo by sea transport and the number of documents needed to complete the transaction.5 The indicators cover documentation requirements and procedures at customs and other regulatory agencies as well as at ports. They also cover logistical aspects, including the time and cost of inland transport between the largest business city and the main port used by traders. As measured by Doing Business, trading across borders has been easiest in Singapore since 2007. Of the 4 components of trade covered by Doing Business—document preparation, port and terminal handling, customs clearance and inland transport—the 2 biggest obstacles for traders in low-ranking economies are document preparation and inland transport because of administrative hurdles and poor infrastructure (figure 17.1). WHO REFORMED IN TRADING ACROSS BORDERS IN 2012/13? Benin recorded the biggest improvement in the ease of trading across borders in 2012/13. The government implemented a series of changes affecting exports and imports that helped cut delays by 10% in 2012/13 alone. But many improvements started earlier. In 2007 Benin began • Trading across borders is easiest in Singapore for the seventh year in a row. • Doing Business recorded 22 reforms making it easier to trade across borders between June 2012 and June 2013 and 133 in the past 5 years. • Benin made the biggest improvement in the ease of trading across borders in the past year. • Belarus has made the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in trading across borders since 2009. The other 9 of the 10 economies that have made the most progress are in SubSaharan Africa. • The most common feature of trade facilitation reforms recorded by Doing Business in the past 5 years was the introduction or improvement of electronic submission and processing. But in 2012/13 the most common feature was the improvement of customs administration. • Among regions, Sub-Saharan Africa made the biggest reductions in the time to trade across borders in the past 5 years. Europe and Central Asia made the biggest reductions in the number of documents required to export and import. OECD high-income economies made the biggest reductions in export and import costs. For more information on good practices and research related to trading across borders, visit http://www.doingbusiness .org/data/exploretopics/trading-acrossborders. For more on the methodology, see the section on trading across borders in the data notes. DOING BUSINESS 2014 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 2 2 Poor practice economies 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Good practice economies Poor practice economies Poor practice economies Good practice economies Good practice economies 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Poor practice economies Inland transport Good practice economies Customs clearance Poor practice economies Port and terminal handling Good practice economies 0 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Time to import (days) 0 Documents to import (number) 14 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Cost to import (US$ per container) Time to export (days) Documents to export (number) FIGURE 17.1 It is easier, less time-consuming and cheaper to trade in economies following good practices Averages by ranking group Cost to export (US$ per container) 106 Document preparation Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of trading across borders. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of trading across borders. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. Document preparation includes the obtainment, preparation and submission of all documents involved in trade. Port and terminal handling includes all processes at ports. Customs clearance includes clearance by customs authorities and all other border agencies involved. Inland transport refers to transport between the trader’s warehouse in the largest business city to the port most used by the trader. Source: Doing Business database. renovating its ports to increase access and efficiency and improve conditions through 24-hour operations, secure payment systems and an expanded container terminal in Cotonou. In 2010 an Automated System for Customs Data (Asycuda++) was installed, allowing for electronic submission of the documents required to export and import. And in 2012 an electronic single window and electronic payment system was introduced, further reducing document preparation times. Building on these reforms, in 2012/13 the port of Cotonou reduced vessel waiting times by implementing a window berthing system to use terminal resources optimally according to cargo ship arrivals. In the meantime, infrastructure upgrades increased the number of exit points and terminals, while designated parking areas and loading and unloading time limits for trucks reduced congestion around the port, which had added considerably to transport time in previous years. Though administrative burdens remain in Benin, the situation for traders has greatly improved: it takes 29% less time to import and 24% less time to export than in 2006 (figure 17.2). As a result export and import times in Benin are now aligned with those in many neighboring economies. Improvements in Benin have also had effects beyond its borders. Because overseas goods that go to and from Niger transit through the port of Cotonou, Nigerien traders have also seen lower export and import times. Benin was not alone. Another 21 economies also recorded reforms making it easier to trade across borders in 2012/13 (table 17.1). Of the total of 22 reforms, Sub-Saharan Africa had 10, followed by Europe and Central Asia with 6. Reforms were also recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (4), OECD high-income economies (1) and South Asia (1). Four economies made trading across borders more difficult: 3 in Sub-Saharan Africa and 1 in Latin America and the Caribbean. Improving customs administration was the most common feature of trade facilitation reforms in 2012/13, with 8 economies reducing the number of documents required by customs or streamlining the process to obtain and submit forms. Four of these economies are in Sub-Saharan Africa, where document preparation time is a considerable hurdle for trade—with an average delay of 16.8 days for exports and 20.6 days for imports. Automation continued to play an important role in reforms as well. As in previous years, several economies—for example, Greece, Madagascar and the TRADING ACROSS BORDERS also had a large share of economies reforming—67% in both regions. TABLE 17.1 Who made trading across borders easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Improved customs administration Argentina; Azerbaijan; Benin; Burundi; Republic of Congo; Swaziland; Ukraine; Uzbekistan Uzbekistan abolished the need to register import contracts with customs. Introduced or improved electronic submission and processing El Salvador; Greece; Madagascar; Russian Federation; Sri Lanka; Uruguay The Russian Federation introduced an electronic system for submitting export and import documents. Introduced electronic single window El Salvador; Mexico; Mozambique; Rwanda Mexico implemented an electronic single window for trade. Strengthened transport and port infrastructure Benin; Central African Republic; Croatia The Central African Republic rehabilitated the key transit road at its border with Cameroon. Improved port procedures Benin; Guinea; Latvia Latvia launched a new electronic container terminal booking system at the port of Riga. Introduced or improved riskbased inspections Mauritania Mauritania introduced a risk-based inspection system with scanners. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 17.2 A series of reforms made importing faster in Benin 40 Time to import (days) 35 30 25 2 4 3 6 6 4 3 5 3 3 3 7 5 4 5 4 5 4 20 4 3 5 3 2 4 18 18 2012 2013 15 10 5 0 26 25 22 20 20 20 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Inland transport Customs clearance Port and terminal handling Document preparation Source: Doing Business database. Russian Federation—automated customs submission and processing by allowing electronic lodgment and payments. Economies are also virtually linking traders and agencies involved in trade and transport through electronic single windows. This report features a case study on single window systems that tracks the challenges and successes associated with the systems implemented in Azerbaijan, Colombia and Singapore. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Over the past 5 years Doing Business recorded 133 trade facilitation reforms around the world. Sub-Saharan Africa implemented the most reforms by far, with 46. During the same period, 70% of economies in that region implemented at least 1 reform. Europe and Central Asia as well as the Middle East and North Africa The effects recorded from the reforms varied by region. Europe and Central Asia made the biggest reductions in the number of documents required to export and import. OECD high-income economies made the biggest reductions in export and import costs. And Sub-Saharan Africa made the biggest reductions in the time to trade. The 133 reforms recorded in the past 5 years in 100 economies have made trading across borders faster and easier around the world. In 2009 the world average to export a standard containerized cargo by sea transport was 23.5 days, and 25.9 days to import.6 Today it takes 21.8 days on average to export and 24.2 days to import (figure 17.3). The approximately 2-day cut in the average world trading time could seem like a small feat, but even small gains can provide significant benefits. Research has found that for each additional day that a product is delayed before being shipped, trade volume falls by more than 1%.7 Though many economies have made great strides in improving international trade practices in the past 5 years, Belarus’ case is particularly noteworthy. Belarus has undertaken a series of reforms in customs administration and electronic submission, including the implementation of a risk-based management system and the improvement of border crossing operations. All this has resulted in considerable gains in narrowing the gap with the frontier in regulatory practice in trading across borders—especially since 2009 (figure 17.4). Equally remarkably, 9 of the 10 economies that made the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in trading across borders over the past 5 years are in Sub-Saharan Africa. In a region where trading across borders remains the most difficult, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda and Zambia took steps to make it easier for traders to trade with their overseas partners. Globally the most common feature of trade facilitation reforms in all regions 107 DOING BUSINESS 2014 40 35 35 30 30 25 25 20 20 15 15 10 10 5 Average time to import (days) 0 38 33 18 22 22 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 5 0 40 40 35 35 30 30 25 25 20 20 15 15 10 10 5 5 38 33 18 22 22 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 0 0 Number of reforms making it easier to trade across borders 40 Number of reforms making it easier to trade across borders Average time to export (days) FIGURE 17.3 Export and import times have fallen by an average of 2 days across regions since 2009 Number of reforms Time: South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Europe & Central Asia East Asia & Pacific Latin America & Caribbean Middle East & North Africa OECD high income Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. over the past 5 years was the introduction or improvement of electronic submission and processing of customs declarations. Improving customs administration and enhancing port procedures were the second and third most common features, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa. The introduction or improvement of risk-based inspection systems has also facilitated trade, especially in Europe and Central Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. NOTES This topic note was written by Jean Arlet, Iryna Bilotserkivska, Robert Murillo and Mikiko Imai Ollison. 1. The OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) measure the relative economic impact of addressing specific hurdles in the trade and border procedures in 133 countries. Moise and Sorescu (2013) provide further details on the methodology and findings from the TFIs. They find that the policy areas that seem to have the greatest impact on trade volumes and trade costs are the availability of trade-related information, the simplification and harmonization of documents, the streamlining of procedures and the use of automated processes. FIGURE 17.4 Of the 10 economies making the greatest progress toward the frontier in trading across borders over the past 5 years, 9 are in Sub-Saharan Africa 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 Singapore Korea, Rep. Estonia Panama France Israel Austria United States United Kingdom Japan Belgium New Zealand Spain Georgia Luxembourg Mexico Dominican Republic Chile Costa Rica St. Vincent and the Grenadines Greece Grenada Djibouti Peru Jordan Bahamas, The St. Kitts and Nevis Senegal Samoa Nicaragua Honduras Kiribati Guyana Puerto Rico (U.S.) Bahrain Uruguay China Lebanon South Africa Albania Slovak Republic Timor-Leste Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Palau Madagascar Armenia Vanuatu Guinea-Bissau Benin Bolivia Kuwait Kosovo West Bank and Gaza Swaziland Cambodia Bangladesh Fiji Papua New Guinea Sierra Leone Tanzania Guinea Lesotho Paraguay Belarus Mauritania Liberia Kenya Botswana Lao PDR Sudan Russian Federation Mali Uganda Rwanda Ethiopia Angola Zambia Azerbaijan Bhutan Malawi Nepal Burundi Eritrea Burkina Faso Congo, Dem. Rep. Mongolia Venezuela, RB Zimbabwe Niger Central African Republic Tajikistan Distance to frontier (percentage points) 108 Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the trading across borders indicators since DB2006 (2005). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in trading across borders between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. TRADING ACROSS BORDERS 2. Djankov, Freund and Pham 2010. The 4. Carballo, Graziano and Martincus 2013. authors determine how time delays affect international trade, especially the days it takes to move a standard cargo from the factory gate to the vessel. They use a gravity equation that controls for remoteness and find significant effects of time and costs on trade. 3. Freund and Rocha 2011. The authors use a modified gravity equation that controls for importer fixed effects and exporter remoteness to determine whether different types of export costs affect trade differently. A key conclusion is that inland transit delays have a robust negative effect on the value of exports. The authors estimate the trade effects of customs delays on firm exports in Uruguay during 2002–11. Using a dataset that consists of nearly all export transactions in Uruguay during that period—with the associated time it took for each of these transactions to go through customs—the authors find a significant correlation between time delays and export flows. Effects are particularly severe for exports of time-sensitive products to secondary buyers in OECD economies. 5. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) of exporting and importing a standardized 20-foot, 10-ton cargo container of goods by sea transport, except for the time and cost at sea. Because the Doing Business methodology only considers trade by sea transport, regional trade—which is becoming increasingly important for small and medium-size enterprises—might not be captured in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe and Central Asia. To ensure comparability across economies, Doing Business assumes trade by sea transport because it accounted for 80% of the volume of global trade in 2012 (UNCTAD 2013). 6. Includes every official procedure but excludes the actual time at sea. 7. Djankov, Freund and Pham 2010. 109 Enforcing contracts • Enforcing contracts is easiest in Luxembourg, where resolving the standardized commercial dispute measured by Doing Business takes 321 days and 26 procedures and costs 9.7% of the value of the claim. • Doing Business recorded 14 reforms making it easier to enforce contracts between June 2012 and June 2013—and 66 over the past 5 years. • Côte d’Ivoire improved the most in the ease of enforcing contracts in 2012/13 after creating a specialized commercial court. • Among regions, Sub-Saharan Africa made the most reforms in enforcing contracts over the past 5 years. • Since 2009 Poland has made the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in enforcing contracts. • Introducing e-filing was a common feature of reforms making it easier to enforce contracts in the past 5 years, considerably streamlining court procedures. For more information on good practices and research related to enforcing contracts, visit http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/ exploretopics/enforcing-contracts. For more on the methodology, see the section on enforcing contracts in the data notes. Efficient contract enforcement is essential for a business-friendly environment. It reduces informality, improves access to credit and increases trade. A study of 27 economies found that the informal sector’s share in overall economic activity decreases with better contract enforcement quality, measured by a country-wide measure of rule of law, as well as by the firm’s perception of the fairness of courts.1 A study in Eastern Europe found that in economies with slower courts, firms tend to have less bank financing for new investments.2 And recent research on East Asia and the Pacific found that simplifying contract enforcement was associated with higher international trade.3 Doing Business measures the time, cost and procedures involved in resolving a standardized commercial lawsuit between 2 domestic businesses through the local first-instance court. The dispute involves the breach of a sales contract worth twice the income per capita of the economy. The case study assumes that a seller delivers custom-made goods to a buyer who refuses delivery of the goods, alleging that they are of inadequate quality. To enforce the sales agreement, the seller files a claim with a local court, which hears arguments on the merits of the case. Before reaching a decision in favor of the seller, the judge appoints an expert who provides an opinion on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt enforcement. The time, cost and procedures are measured throughout the 3 main phases of court proceedings: filing and service of process, trial and judgment, and enforcement. The efficiency of courts continues to vary greatly around the world. Contract enforcement can take less than 10 months in New Zealand and Norway but almost 4 years in Bangladesh. The trial and judgment phase, which mainly involves exchanging briefs, appearing in court and obtaining a judgment—as well as corresponding waiting periods—is the most time-consuming one. On average it accounts for 64% of the time to resolve the standardized case measured by the enforcing contracts indicators. There are also wide variations in the cost of contract enforcement, ranging from 21% of the value of the claim in OECD high-income economies to 51.6% in Sub-Saharan Africa. The largest expense is attorney fees to try cases and enforce judgments. On average such fees account for two-thirds of total costs. Among the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, Luxembourg has the top ranking on the ease of enforcing contracts. But contract enforcement is fastest in Singapore, where it takes just 150 days to resolve the standardized case measured by Doing Business. On average the enforcement phase—the period from when the time to file an appeal has elapsed until the plaintiff has recovered the value of the claim—accounts for 29.6% of the time for contract enforcement globally, but only 21.9% in the 5 top-ranked economies (figure 18.1). WHO REFORMED IN ENFORCING CONTRACTS IN 2012/13? Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 14 reforms making it easier to enforce contracts (table 18.1). During that time Côte d’Ivoire improved the most in the ease of enforcing contracts. After the postelectoral crisis of 2011, resolving a commercial dispute in Abidjan took 770 days. Civil courts ENFORCING CONTRACTS Time (days) FIGURE 18.1 The enforcement phase takes proportionally less time in the 5 top-ranked economies 1,400 1,200 1,000 800 600 400 200 0 Poor practice economies Good practice economies Filing and service Trial and judgment Enforcement Note: Poor practice economies are the 5 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of enforcing contracts. The second column represents the 5 economies ranked from 140 to 144 on the ease of enforcing contracts. The third column represents the 5 economies ranked from 93 to 97. The fourth column represents the 5 economies ranked from 45 to 49. Good practice economies are the 5 top-ranked economies. The filing and service phase is the period from when the plaintiff brings a lawsuit until process is served on the defendant. This includes seeking compliance with the contract outside of court, mandatory mediation if applicable, meeting with a lawyer, drafting the statement of claim, filing it with the court and serving it on the defendant. The trial and judgment phase is the period from when process is served on the defendant until the time to file an appeal has elapsed. This includes exchanging written briefs between the parties, 1 or more hearings, appointing an expert, writing the judgment and the appeal time. The enforcement phase is the period from when the time to file an appeal has elapsed until the plaintiff has recovered the value of the claim. This includes locating and seizing the defendant’s movable assets, organizing and advertising the public sale, holding the sale and recovering the value of the claim. Source: Doing Business database. in Abidjan were backlogged, and commercial cases were stuck among civil cases. In 2012, to provide more suitable responses to business disputes, a standalone commercial court was created in Abidjan. In addition, professional judges were appointed to work with newly recruited lay judges. Today it takes 585 days to resolve a commercial dispute in Abidjan (figure 18.2). Other economies also reformed in enforcing contracts in 2012/13. New Zealand implemented an electronic case management system that monitors and manages cases on court dockets from the filing of claims until judgments are issued, which should lead to lower costs and shorter resolution times. Palau made its courts more efficient by introducing e-filing. The system allows litigants to file complaints electronically—increasing transparency, expediting the filing and service of process and preventing the loss, destruction or concealment of court records. Making execution proceedings more efficient has also been a common feature of reforms in enforcing contracts. Three economies implemented such changes in 2012/13. In 2012 the Czech Republic established that for most cases, courts are no longer responsible for ordering execution proceedings and nominating executors, instead delegating execution proceedings to entrusted executors and making the process cheaper and faster. That same year Mauritius liberalized the enforcement officer profession, allowing winning parties to choose between private and court bailiffs to conduct enforcement proceedings. China, Colombia, Mexico and Romania amended procedural rules for commercial cases, mainly to reduce backlogs, simplify and expedite court proceedings and limit obstructive tactics by the parties. New legislation adopted by China in August 2012 imposes more stringent rules on service of process and requires judgments to be made publicly available online. Since June 2012 Italy has reduced attorney fees the most among all the economies measured. Judges were given an official fee schedule to determine attorney fees when agreements are not reached between attorneys and clients, which contributed to the adjustment of the market price for legal services and cut attorney fees by 6.8 percentage points, to 15% of the value of the claim. TABLE 18.1 Who made enforcing contracts easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Increased procedural efficiency at main trial court China; Colombia; Estonia; Italy; Mexico; New Zealand; Romania China made enforcing contracts easier by amending its Code of Civil Procedure to streamline and expedite court proceedings. Made enforcement of judgment more efficient Croatia; Czech Republic; Mauritius The Czech Republic established that for most cases, courts are no longer responsible for ordering execution proceedings and nominating executors, instead delegating execution proceedings to entrusted executors. Introduced or expanded specialized Côte d’Ivoire; Togo commercial court Côte d’Ivoire created a specialized commercial court. Introduced electronic filing Palau made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an e-filing system. Source: Doing Business database. Palau; Uzbekistan WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? In the past 5 years Doing Business recorded 66 reforms that made it easier to enforce contracts (figure 18.3). Sub-Saharan Africa had the most reforms, with 22. Some economies in the region overhauled the organization of their courts or systems of judicial case management for commercial dispute resolution, but the main trend has been to introduce specialized commercial courts. Three other regions—East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and the Middle East and North Africa—shortened litigation times. 111 DOING BUSINESS 2014 The introduction of specialized courts tends to lead to greater specialization of judges—resulting in faster resolution times, cheaper contract enforcement, shorter court backlogs and increased efficiency.4 Of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, 90 have dedicated standalone courts for enforcing contracts, specialized commercial sections in existing courts or specialized judges in general civil courts. In the 10 Sub-Saharan economies that have introduced commercial courts or sections since 2003—Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Togo—the average time to resolve the standardized case measured by Doing Business has reduced by 2.5 months. Other economies have made courts more efficient by introducing comprehensive case management systems that control the movement of cases through courts or the total workload of courts. Case management is often performed by judges but can also be done by court administrators, especially if fully automated. Benefits associated with efficient case management systems include better record-keeping and better assessments of judges’ performance and workloads. Sophisticated systems, such as that of the Republic of Korea (described in this report’s case study on the country’s e-court system), can also include detailed statistics that allow for more efficient distribution of tasks among court officials. Such information facilitates reallocation of resources in courts and raises judiciary productivity. Total time cut by 185 days—from 770 days to 585 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Filing and service Trial and judgment 2011 Enforcement 2013 Note: The white arrow indicates the decrease in the time for trial and judgment. The blue arrow indicates the decrease in the enforcement time. The red arrow indicates the decrease in the total time. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 18.3 Contract enforcement remains fastest in Europe and Central Asia 1,200 1,100 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 17 13 11 11 14 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Number of reforms making it easier to enforce contracts Since 2009 Poland has made the most progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in enforcing contracts (figure 18.4). Poland has benefited from implementing a case management system, introducing an electronic court in Lublin, deregulating the bailiff profession, increasing the number of judges and amending the Civil Procedure Code. FIGURE 18.2 Côte d’Ivoire introduced a commercial court and cut the time to enforce contracts Time to enforce a contract (days) Over the years the most significant improvements in enforcing contracts have been made by economies that have introduced commercial courts, implemented case management systems or made e-filing readily available. Average time to enforce a contract 112 Number of reforms Time: South Asia Latin America & Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East & North Africa East Asia & Pacific OECD high income Europe & Central Asia Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. Some economies have paired the introduction of electronic case management with the implementation of e-filing, allowing for the electronic transmission of initial complaints and supporting documents to courts. Advanced e-filing systems usually also allow court users to pay fees online and deliver service of process electronically, resulting in speedier trials, lower storage costs, better access to courts and more reliable and efficient service of process. In Malaysia, which introduced an electronic case management system and e-filing between 2009 and 2011, court backlogs were reduced by more than 50% and the time to enforce contracts by almost 30% by 2012. Of the 10 top performers in enforcing contracts, 7 have introduced e-filing or specialized commercial courts—and 3 have both. ENFORCING CONTRACTS 100 2013 2009 75 50 25 0 Singapore Iceland Korea, Rep. Hong Kong SAR, China Belgium France Norway Ireland Netherlands Lithuania Russian Federation Sweden Malaysia Switzerland Hungary Georgia China United Kingdom Thailand Czech Republic Denmark Bhutan Uzbekistan Rwanda Tajikistan South Africa Slovak Republic Vietnam Tonga Botswana Poland Nicaragua Mauritius Fiji Marshall Islands Chile Canada Mexico Guyana Eritrea El Salvador Côte d'Ivoire Bulgaria Yemen, Rep. Morocco Macedonia, FYR Haiti Paraguay Zambia Bosnia and Herzegovina Maldives Peru Albania St. Vincent and the Grenadines Seychelles West Bank and Gaza Lebanon Saudi Arabia Israel Bolivia Philippines Lesotho Cyprus St. Kitts and Nevis Mali Palau Costa Rica Bahrain Kuwait Togo Nepal Kenya Iraq Guatemala Italy Solomon Islands Senegal Chad Dominica Congo, Rep. Greece Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Burundi Zimbabwe Sri Lanka Colombia Nigeria Djibouti Sierra Leone Indonesia Malawi Comoros São Tomé and Príncipe Cambodia Papua New Guinea Afghanistan India Bangladesh Timor-Leste Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 18.4 Poland has made the greatest progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in enforcing contracts in the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the enforcing contracts indicators since DB2004 (2003). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in enforcing contracts between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. NOTES This topic note was written by Erica Bosio and Julien Vilquin. Dabla-Norris and Inchauste Comboni 2008. 2. Safavian and Sharma 2007. 3. Duval and Utoktham 2009. 4. Djankov and others 2003. 1. 113 Resolving insolvency • Creditors of firms facing insolvency in Japan have higher recovery rates than in other economies. • Doing Business recorded 12 reforms aimed at improving insolvency proceedings between June 2012 and June 2013 and 92 in the past 5 years. • The Philippines made the biggest improvement in the efficiency of insolvency proceedings in the past year. • The Czech Republic has made the most progress toward the frontier in regulatory practice in resolving insolvency since 2009. • Common features of insolvency reforms in the past 5 years include passing new bankruptcy laws, eliminating formalities and tightening time limits of insolvency proceedings, and regulating the profession of insolvency administrators. • OECD high-income economies had the biggest increase in the recovery rate in the past 5 years, while Europe and Central Asia had the most insolvency reforms. For more information on good practices and research related to resolving insolvency, visit http://doingbusiness.org/ data/exploretopics/resolving-insolvency. For more on the methodology, see the section on resolving insolvency in the data notes. The financial crisis tested insolvency frameworks around the world. In the United States the number of business insolvency filings rose from 39,307 in 2008 to 55,645 in 2009. Though the number of new cases fell after 2009—to 51,259 in 2010 and 43,470 in 2011—not until 2012 did the system return to precrisis filing levels.1 In Western Europe corporate insolvency filings rose 22% between 2008 and 2009, with the biggest increases in Ireland (81%) and Spain (77%).2 Western Europe is still far from returning to its precrisis numbers. At the end of 2011 corporate insolvency filings were still 17% higher than in 2008. Between 2008 and 2012 Spain recorded one of the biggest increases—182%. In 2012 alone the number of corporate insolvency filings in Spain jumped from 5,666 to 7,780.3 The increase in corporate insolvency filings in Ireland between 2008 and 2012 was nearly as staggering—118%. But Ireland has shown some improvement, with only negligible increases between 2011 and 2012.4 Weaknesses of insolvency regimes become apparent during crises. When a weak insolvency framework does not provide for effective formal and out-of-court mechanisms to address financial distress, more debts remain unresolved and more companies languish, unprofitable but with their assets unavailable to their creditors and little chance of turnaround. An insolvency framework that allows debtors and creditors to find solutions through fast, inexpensive, transparent procedures can facilitate debt repayment, encourage lending and lead to a higher survival rate for viable enterprises. A recent study shows that Brazil’s 2005 reform, which established greater protection for secured creditors, led to a significant reduction in the cost of debt and an increase in both short-term and long-term debt.5 To analyze the efficiency of insolvency frameworks across economies, Doing Business measures the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic entities. The time for creditors to recover loans is recorded in calendar years. The cost of proceedings is recorded as a percentage of the value of the debtor’s estate. The recovery rate for creditors depends on whether the distressed company emerges from the proceedings as a going concern or its assets are sold piecemeal. The rate is recorded as cents on the dollar recouped by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt collection (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. If an economy had no reorganization, liquidation, receivership or foreclosure cases over the past 5 years, it receives a “no practice” classification— meaning that creditors are unlikely to recover their money through a formal legal process, in or out of court. Rankings on the ease of resolving insolvency are based on the recovery rate, which is affected by the time, cost and outcome associated with the most likely insolvency procedure applicable to the indicator’s case study in each economy. Doing Business analyzes 1 of the 4 types of procedures that may apply to an insolvent firm: reorganization, liquidation, receivership and foreclosure. These procedures differ in 3 main ways: the extent to which they allow secured creditors to recover their debt, the likelihood that a viable business will continue operating as a going concern after insolvency proceedings and the extent to which the concerns of unsecured creditors are addressed. RESOLVING INSOLVENCY Reorganization has the advantage of addressing debts of all creditors, secured and unsecured, and allows viable businesses to continue operating as a going concern. This is the most economically efficient outcome for the Doing Business case study, since it assumes a company that is viable. Liquidation also addresses the concerns of all creditors collectively, though the business is usually shut down upon the completion of proceedings. In receiverships, where a secured creditor takes over the operation of the debtor’s company to protect its collateral, the business may continue operating as a going concern. But the secured creditor is in full control of the process, not allowing unsecured creditors to participate at all. At the same time, the receiver is obligated to pay unsecured creditors if there are sufficient funds after the secured creditor has been paid in full. Finally, foreclosures may maximize the interests of secured creditors but do not allow the continuation of the business and ignore the concerns of unsecured creditors. WHO REFORMED IN RESOLVING INSOLVENCY IN 2012/13? Between June 2012 and June 2013 Doing Business recorded 12 reforms aimed at making resolving insolvency easier (table 19.1). Most reforms were recorded in Europe and Central Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Promoting reorganization was a common feature of several recent reforms. Croatia established an expedited out-ofcourt restructuring procedure with strict timeframes, while Moldova introduced the option of prepackaged reorganizations. Rwanda instituted a moratorium on enforcement actions during reorganizations, and Ukraine adopted a new insolvency framework that strengthened protections of secured creditors, introduced debt-equity swaps and streamlined the insolvency process. Italy made its restructuring proceedings more accessible and flexible. Debtors can now take advantage of a moratorium on creditor collection actions to allow sufficient time to negotiate and develop a restructuring plan. Before this change, debtors applying for restructuring proceedings had to propose a plan at the time of commencement, which discouraged many from seeking restructuring and caused them to pursue liquidation instead. As a result of the reform viable businesses have a better chance of coming through restructuring and continuing to operate as a going concern. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? Average recovery rate (cents on the dollar) The highest recovery rates are recorded in economies where reorganization is the most common insolvency proceeding (figure 19.1). Recovery rates vary significantly among economies where liquidation is the most common procedure because of major differences in the legal institutions (such as courts and insolvency representatives) applying the insolvency framework. Individual debt enforcement proceedings (receiverships and foreclosures) result in comparatively high recovery rates for secured creditors, though unsecured creditors receive nil returns. Finally, Doing Business has observed 19 “no practice” economies, where the recovery rate is recorded as zero. In the past 5 years Doing Business recorded 92 insolvency reforms in 62 economies (figure 19.2). These reforms have different purposes and objectives and can be classified into 2 categories: foundational and evolutionary. Foundational reforms create an insolvency framework or establish new insolvency procedures and usually require legislative action. Evolutionary reforms improve existing procedures by strengthening the legal framework or the institutions applying it, to achieve the most economically efficient outcomes. Note: Poor practice economies are the 15 lowest-ranked economies on the ease of resolving insolvency, excluding “no practice” economies. The second column represents the 15 economies ranked from 135 to 149 on the ease of resolving insolvency. The third column represents the 15 economies ranked from 88 to 102. The fourth column represents the economies ranked from 40 to 54. Good practice economies are the 15 top-ranked economies. The line refers to the average recovery rate for the 15 economies represented by each column. Reorganization is the process aimed at restoring the financial health and viability of a debtor’s business so that it can continue to operate as a going concern. Liquidation is the process of assembling and selling the assets of an insolvent debtor in order to dissolve it and distribute the proceeds to its creditors. Liquidation may include a piecemeal sale of the debtor’s assets or a sale of all or most of its assets as a going concern. Receivership is the process of appointing a receiver to take custody of the business of a defaulting debtor for the benefit of secured creditors. Foreclosure is the process of taking possession of a mortgaged property as a result of the debtor’s failure to keep up mortgage payments in order to sell the property and distribute the proceeds to its creditors. Source: Doing Business database. Economies undertaking foundational reforms usually have no formal insolvency regime, and creditors mostly rely on individual proceedings as a means of debt enforcement in cases of debtor default. Individual court proceedings such as foreclosures can be effective for returning secured creditors’ investment but do not allow the reorganization and rescue of a viable business, which maximizes the economic value of debtors’ assets. To address these problems, most economies have adopted insolvency frameworks with one or more collective debt proceedings. Share of economies where procedure is most common (%) FIGURE 19.1 Higher recovery rates are more likely in economies where reorganization is the most common insolvency proceeding 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Poor practice economies Foreclosure Good practice economies Liquidation Receivership Reorganization 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Recovery rate 115 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 19.1 Who made resolving insolvency easier in 2012/13—and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Increased the likelihood of successful reorganization Israel; Italy; Moldova; Rwanda; Ukraine Italy extended moratorium protections to the period when restructuring plans are being prepared, granted priority to postcommencement financing and allowed debtors under restructuring to participate in public tenders. Regulated profession of insolvency administrators The Bahamas; Belarus; Moldova; Ukraine The Bahamas clearly defined professional requirements, duties, powers and remuneration of insolvency practitioners and liquidators. Eliminated formalities or introduced or tightened time limits Moldova; Rwanda; Tanzania; Ukraine Moldova shortened statutory periods for several stages of insolvency proceedings, including the maximum duration of liquidation and restructuring procedures, and reduced opportunities for appeal. Established or promoted reorganization, liquidation or foreclosure procedures Democratic Republic of Congo; Djibouti The Democratic Republic of Congo and Djibouti established clear frameworks for 3 proceedings—preventive settlement, composition with creditors and liquidation. Strengthened the rights of secured creditors Italy; Ukraine Ukraine allowed creditors to file claims after statutory deadlines and granted secured creditors the right to veto proposed rehabilitation plans. Introduced framework for out-of-court restructurings Croatia; Mauritius Croatia established a prebankruptcy settlement procedure. Source: Doing Business database. 80 35 70 30 60 25 50 20 40 15 30 20 10 10 5 18 16 29 17 12 DB2010 DB2011 DB2012 DB2013 DB2014 0 Recovery rate: Number of reforms making it easier to resolve insolvency FIGURE 19.2 OECD high-income economies have consistently had the highest recovery rate 0 Number of reforms OECD high income Europe & Central Asia East Asia & Pacific Latin America & Caribbean Middle East & North Africa South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Note: To ensure accurate comparisons, the figure shows data for the same 183 economies for all years, from DB2010 (2009) to DB2014 (2013). The economies added to the Doing Business sample after 2009 and so excluded here are Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan. This figure uses regional classifications for 2013. Source: Doing Business database. Just over two-thirds of the reforms in the past 5 years were evolutionary. Such reforms include creating specialized bankruptcy courts, expediting insolvency proceedings, making business operations during reorganization easier and regulating the profession of insolvency representatives. FIGURE 19.3 The Czech Republic made insolvency proceedings more efficient 70 Recovery rate tripled 7 60 65.0 6 50 6.5 55.9 5 Time cut by 40 two-thirds 30 20 4 3 3.2 20.9 2.1 2 10 1 0 0 2008 Time 2010 2013 Recovery rate Source: Doing Business database. Time (years) Economies undertaking evolutionary reforms already have insolvency frameworks with one or more collective proceedings, but aspects of these frameworks need improvement. A successful insolvency framework consists of more than comprehensive laws and regulations—it encompasses established practices related to insolvency proceedings as well as effective institutions in charge of implementing regulations and maintaining established practices, such as applicable courts and insolvency representatives. Evolutionary reforms improve regulations and institutions and remedy problems identified through practice. Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Commercial Code that largely follows the provisions in that act. Nearly a third of the reforms in the past 5 years were foundational. Two economies with recent foundational reforms are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Djibouti. The Democratic Republic of Congo established new legal frameworks for liquidation and reorganization proceedings in 2012, implementing provisions of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa’s Uniform Act Organizing Collective Proceedings for Wiping Off Debts. Djibouti adopted a new Average recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 116 RESOLVING INSOLVENCY 100 2013 75 2009 50 25 0 Japan Finland Netherlands United Kingdom Canada Iceland New Zealand Germany Austria Korea, Rep. United States Hong Kong SAR, China Sweden Puerto Rico (U.S.) Spain Cyprus Colombia Mexico Czech Republic Belize Bahamas, The Italy Botswana Israel Qatar Poland Slovak Republic Tunisia Slovenia Malaysia Latvia Lithuania France Brunei Darussalam Uruguay Luxembourg Russian Federation Vanuatu Sri Lanka Mauritius Albania Uzbekistan Seychelles Bolivia Morocco Pakistan Zambia Ethiopia China Antigua and Barbuda South Africa Nicaragua Azerbaijan Georgia El Salvador Bulgaria Kuwait Palau Croatia Philippines Serbia Saudi Arabia Gambia, The Peru Panama Trinidad and Tobago Ghana Tonga Syrian Arab Republic India Kenya Nepal Solomon Islands Iran, Islamic Rep. Mali Kyrgyz Republic Mongolia Brazil Honduras Rwanda Samoa Guyana Ecuador Guinea Djibouti Vietnam Cameroon Gabon Zimbabwe Sierra Leone Suriname Ukraine Burundi São Tomé and Príncipe Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Bhutan Comoros Eritrea Guinea Equatorial Guinea Haiti Kiribati Lao PDR Chad St. Vincent and the Grenadines Distance to frontier (percentage points) FIGURE 19.4 The Czech Republic has advanced the most toward the frontier in resolving insolvency in the past 5 years Note: The distance to frontier scores shown in the figure indicate how far each economy is from the best performance achieved by any economy on the resolving insolvency indicators since DB2004 (2003). The scores are normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The data refer to the 183 economies included in DB2010 (though for practical reasons the figure does not show all 183). Barbados, Libya, Malta, Myanmar, San Marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The vertical bars show the improvement in the 20 economies advancing the most toward the frontier in resolving insolvency between 2009 and 2013. Source: Doing Business database. The Czech Republic provides a good example of successful evolutionary reforms, achieving some of the biggest improvements in the past 5 years as measured by Doing Business by continuously strengthening its insolvency framework. A new insolvency law went into effect in 2008 and declared reorganization the preferred method of resolving insolvency. Liquidation and reorganization proceedings were streamlined, and insolvency representatives became subject to educational and professional requirements as well as stricter government oversight. Application of the new regulations identified some inefficiencies that led to further reforms in 2009 and 2012. By 2011 reorganization was the most common insolvency procedure in the Czech Republic, and survival of distressed but viable companies was the prevailing outcome. By 2013 the time to complete insolvency proceedings had fallen by 4.4 years compared with 2008 (figure 19.3). The recovery rate of creditors in the Czech Republic more than tripled over the past 6 years (from 20.9 cents on the dollar in 2008 to 65.0 cents on the dollar in 2013). Examples like the Czech Republic, as well as many other economies, show that meaningful improvements to insolvency systems require sustained, continuous efforts. Foundational reforms can produce results, but they are often insufficient to facilitate the most economically efficient outcomes of insolvency proceedings— the reorganization of businesses that are economically viable and the liquidation of businesses that are not. By implementing both foundational and evolutionary reforms over the past 5 years, economies have significantly narrowed the gap with the frontier in regulatory practice in resolving insolvency (figure 19.4). Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act of 2010—was adopted in July 2010, but its impact was felt in the resolving insolvency indicators only in 2012/13. NOTES This topic note was written by Fernando Dancausa, Rong Chen and Olena Koltko. 1. United States Courts: Bankruptcy Statis- 2. In many cases effects of reforms are not immediately evident, and it may take several years before they can be quantified. An absence of instant results should not discourage economies from adopting further reforms and continuing to improve the insolvency framework. A good example is the Philippines, the economy that made the biggest improvement in the efficiency of insolvency proceedings in 2012/13. The new insolvency law that led to this improvement—the Financial 3. 4. 5. tics, http://www.uscourts.gov/Statistics/ BankruptcyStatistics.aspx. Statistics represent business filings under Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Creditreform 2010. http://www.insolvencyjournal.ie/stats. Statistics represent corporate insolvency filings that include both liquidations and reorganizations. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, http:// www.ine.es/. Statistics represent corporate insolvency filings that include both liquidations and reorganizations. Creditreform 2012. http://www.insolvencyjournal.ie/stats. Statistics represent corporate insolvency filings that include both liquidations and reorganizations. Funchal 2008. 117 Annex: employing workers • Thirteen economies implemented reforms in labor regulation affecting the Doing Business indicators on employing workers between June 2012 and June 2013; 51 did so in the past 5 years. • This annex highlights 3 of the 29 areas of labor regulation measured: probationary period, paid annual leave and length of the workweek. • Most economies set 3–6 months as the maximum duration for probationary periods. • Seventy-nine economies provide 15–21 days paid annual leave, consistent with International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 132 on holidays with pay. • One hundred and seventy-eight economies limit employees’ workweek in manufacturing to 6 or fewer days, complying with ILO Convention 14 on the length of the workweek. For more information on the methodology for the employing workers indicators, see the section on employing workers in the data notes or visit http://www .doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/ employing-workers. Rules governing relations between employers and employees are a key component of an economy’s regulatory environment. All economies covered by Doing Business have some type of labor regulations. These regulations most commonly address areas where labor markets do not work efficiently and equitably. Examples include information asymmetries between employers and employees, uneven bargaining power between the 2 parties and insufficient insurance against risks related to employment (such as loss of employment). These types of market imperfections can result in inefficient and unjust outcomes and should be addressed by labor laws. But it is possible to have excessively burdensome regulation that is counterproductive, adversely affecting the interests of the people (employees) the regulation is intended to protect. Overly rigid labor regulations can slow job creation and hinder economic performance. Well-functioning employment laws address the imperfections of labor markets without imposing excessive rigidities on the economy.1 Doing Business, through its employing workers indicators, measures flexibility in regulation of employment relating to hiring, work scheduling, redundancy rules and redundancy costs. These measures are fully consistent with the conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO) but focus on formal labor regulations rather than whether such regulations are enforced in practice.2 To make data comparable across 189 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized case study that assumes, among other things, a limited liability manufacturing company with 60 employees. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Doing Business covers 29 areas related to employing workers, all listed in the employing workers data section on the Doing Business website and summarized at the end of this report. This year’s report highlights 3 of them: probationary period, paid annual leave and length of the workweek. Probationary period The probationary period is a fixed-length monitoring period imposed on new employees to determine whether they have the skills and abilities needed to perform the work agreed to in their employment contracts. By asking new employees to serve probationary periods, businesses can gain important information on the workers’ skills, work quality and habits, and level of cooperation. If employers are not satisfied, they can terminate the employment contracts of workers under probation with more flexible conditions than for regular workers.3 The probationary period can make the transition of young workers into the labor market easier because it provides them with training opportunities and removes some of the risks to employers of hiring employees with little or no work experience. Probation also provides an opportunity for new employees to acquire organizational and professional knowledge while displaying their skills. Because learning processes are gradual, employees acquire the abilities needed to perform their jobs adequately only after a certain period, at the end of which their performance can be evaluated.4 ANNEX: EMPLOYING WORKERS But if some critical elements are overlooked, probation provisions might fail to generate the expected benefits. First, in economies with rigid employment contracts, employers might seek flexibility by abusing probation and hiring workers only for the trial period, then replacing them at the end of their probation. As a solution some labor laws set a maximum number of trial workers for a single position. Second, efficient regulations should set the probationary period for an appropriate duration. If the probationary period is too short, employers will not be able to correctly assess new employees. Moreover, new employees will not be able to receive sufficient training for their jobs. Conversely, workers might lack adequate protection if an excessively long probationary period is allowed. Jobs entailing complex tasks typically require longer learning horizons, so in many economies trial periods tend to be longer for positions requiring greater skills and specialization.5 Among the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, 7% do not allow any probation, 59% allow a probationary period of 3 months or less, 2% allow between 3 and 6 months and 32% allow 6 months or more (figure 20.1). FIGURE 20.1 The most common maximum limits for probationary periods are 3 and 6 months Distribution of economies by maximum length of probationary period (%) 40 Paid annual leave Paid annual leave is the time that employees are granted leave with social protection and income. Paid annual leave is in addition to public holidays, sick leave, weekly rest, and maternity and paternal leave. According to ILO Convention 132 on holidays with pay, employees have the right to 3 weeks of paid leave a year. The Doing Business paid annual leave indicator shows that 24% of economies provide less than 3 weeks of paid annual leave—provisions that can be characterized as excessively flexible. For example, average paid annual leave in Hong Kong SAR, China for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure is 10.33 days. More than 40% (79) of the economies covered by Doing Business balance flexibility and worker protection by offering 15–21 days of paid annual leave (figure 20.2).6 Examples include Cambodia, where the average is 19.33 days, and the Netherlands, where it is 20. 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 No probation Less than 3 months 3 months Between 3 and 6 months 6 months More than 6 months Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 20.2 More than 40% of economies balance flexibility and protection in mandatory paid annual leave Distribution of economies by mandatory paid annual leave (%) 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Excessively flexible (less than 15 days) Balanced (15–21 days) Semirigid (21–26 days) Excessively rigid (more than 26 days) Note: The designation excessively flexible accords with ILO Convention 132, which states that paid annual leave should not be less than 3 working weeks (15 working days if a 5-day workweek is assumed). The designations semirigid and excessively rigid are based on the final report of the Employing Workers Consultative Group. Paid annual leave refers to economy averages for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure. Source: Doing Business database. Economies with different income levels tend to have different provisions for paid annual leave. On average, uppermiddle-income and lower-middle-income economies mandate less paid annual leave than do high- and lowincome economies (figure 20.3). The formal sectors of low-income economies provide the most days of mandatory paid annual leave. But in these economies the formal sector does not include most workers, so this benefit is available to only a small group of workers. Length of the workweek Regulation on the maximum number of workdays per week is among the main subjects of labor legislation. A proper amount of weekly rest is needed to ensure high productivity and work efficiency while maintaining employees’ physical and mental health. While ensuring that workers are entitled to sufficient time off, labor legislation should also provide firms with the flexibility they need to shape their operations around market dynamics. In 166 of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, labor regulations balance flexibility and worker protection by limiting the length of the workweek 119 120 DOING BUSINESS 2014 to between 5.5 and 6 days (figure 20.4). Conversely, in 11 economies labor legislation is excessively flexible, allowing employees to work 7 days a week in case of need. Finally, in 12 of the economies covered, weekly rest provisions prohibit firms from employing workers for more than 5 days a week. In Ghana the maximum number of working days per week is 5. In Austria, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden it is 5.5. In Barbados, New Zealand and Puerto Rico (territory of the United States) it is 7. Most of the economies covered by Doing Business have balanced provisions. This is true across all income groups. But when focusing on economies with excessively rigid or flexible workweek regulations, some interesting trends emerge. More than 10% of low-income economies limit the workweek to 5 days. Conversely, when workweek regulations are off balance in high-income and lower-middle-income economies, it is often because of excessive flexibility (figure 20.5). WHO REFORMED IN EMPLOYING WORKERS IN 2012/13? In 2012/13, 13 economies changed their labor regulations in ways that affect the Doing Business indicators on employing workers (table 20.1). Of these, 7 economies changed their laws to increase labor market flexibility, while 6 did the opposite. Of those 7 economies, 2 are in the OECD high-income group and 2 are in East Asia and the Pacific. While most of the changes increasing labor market flexibility focused on redundancy costs or procedures, 2 economies introduced a minimum wage for the first time. FIGURE 20.3 Upper-middle-income economies require the least paid annual leave Average mandatory paid annual leave (working days) Low income Lower middle income Upper middle income High income 0 5 10 15 20 25 Note: Paid annual leave refers to economy averages for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 20.4 Almost 90% of economies balance flexibility with worker protection in setting the maximum length of the workweek Distribution of economies by maximum length of workweek (%) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Excessively rigid (5 days) Balanced (5.5–6 days) Excessively flexible (7 days) Note: The designation excessively flexible accords with ILO Convention 14, which states that all staff in any industrial undertaking should enjoy in every period of 7 days a period of rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours. The designation excessively rigid is based on the final report of the Employing Workers Consultative Group. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 20.5 More than 10% of low-income economies limit the workweek to 5 days Share of economies with excessively rigid or flexible workweek provisions (%) 14 12 10 8 WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED FROM 5 YEARS OF DATA? 6 In the past 5 years 51 economies implemented 69 reforms affecting the employing workers indicators (figure 20.6). OECD high-income economies made the most changes, with 24, followed by Europe and Central Asia with 17, Sub-Saharan Africa with 8 and East Asia and the Pacific with 7. 2 4 0 High income Upper middle income Excessively rigid (5 days) Lower middle income Low income Excessively flexible (7 days) Note: The designation excessively flexible accords with ILO Convention 14, which states that all staff in any industrial undertaking should enjoy in every period of 7 days a period of rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours. The designation excessively rigid is based on the final report of the Employing Workers Consultative Group. Source: Doing Business database. ANNEX: EMPLOYING WORKERS implemented a number of changes, including an increase in mandatory annual leave, removal of the obligation for third-party approval in cases of redundancy dismissal and a reduction of the notice period in cases of redundancy, which was longer than in other economies in the region. TABLE 20.1 Who changed labor legislation in 2012/13? Feature Economies Some highlights Hiring rules Bahrain; Czech Republic; Malaysia; Niger; Slovak Republic; Spain; West Bank and Gaza Bahrain restricted previously unlimited fixed-term contracts to 5 years. The Czech Republic abolished the lower minimum wage for an apprentice. Malaysia and West Bank and Gaza implemented a minimum wage in the private sector for the first time. Niger extended the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts from 24 months to 48. The Slovak Republic decreased the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts from 36 months to 24. Spain restricted previously unlimited fixed-term contracts to 12 months. Redundancy costs and procedures Ireland; Portugal; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; United Kingdom; Vietnam Ireland removed the third-party notification requirement for terminating a redundant worker. Portugal eliminated the priority rules that applied to redundancy dismissals or layoffs. The Slovak Republic reintroduced the obligation to notify an employee’s representatives upon termination of the employment relationship and mandatory severance pay for employees who worked at a company for more than 2 years. Slovenia shortened notice periods, decreased severance payments in cases of redundancy dismissal and eliminated priority rules for reemployment. The United Kingdom increased the cap on weekly wage provided to employees on the severance payment. Vietnam abolished priority rules for redundancies. Work scheduling Hungary; Portugal Hungary lowered the premium for work performed at night or on a weekly rest day. Portugal reduced the wage premium for weekly holiday work, the time worked beyond the standard workweek, from 100% to 50%. Governments in OECD high-income economies followed a different pattern. On the one hand they focused on reforming regimes for fixed-term contracts, generally allowing them to run longer. For example, in 2012 the Czech Republic increased the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts to 36 months, and to 108 months including all renewals. On the other hand, 5 labor regulation changes introduced by OECD high-income economies in the past 5 years either shortened the required notice period or reduced severance payments in cases of redundancy dismissal. Today the average notice period globally is 5.1 weeks and the average severance payment is 11.9 weeks of salary. Five years ago these averages were 5.25 weeks and 12.3 weeks. The changes were usually linked to efforts to increase labor market flexibility as part of strategies aimed at boosting employment. Source: Doing Business database. Governments in Sub-Saharan Africa focused on reforming redundancy cost and work scheduling provisions. For example, Togo increased the wage premium for weekly holiday work in 2012. In 2010 Zimbabwe reduced severance payments to redundant workers; these were perceived by the authorities as being high, providing perverse incentives to employers not to hire. In 2009 Mauritius Economies in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on reforms related FIGURE 20.6 Since 2009 governments in every region have implemented reforms affecting different areas of labor regulation 16 10 8 7 7 6 6 4 3 3 4 4 3 2 2 2 1 East Asia & Pacific Europe & Central Asia 1 0 Latin America & Caribbean Hiring rules 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 Middle East & North Africa Work scheduling OECD high income Redundancy rules 0 0 South Asia Redundancy cost Note: A single regulatory reform can affect more than 1 of the 4 areas covered by the employing workers indicators. Source: Doing Business database. Sub-Saharan Africa 121 122 DOING BUSINESS 2014 to redundancy costs, generally changing the required notice period for employees or the severance pay applicable in cases of redundancy dismissal. One such change occurred in Belize in 2013. The number of labor regulation reforms in Europe and Central Asia has been significant, and the reforms are evenly distributed among the different areas measured by the employing workers indicators. NOTES This annex was written by Raian Divanbeigi, Dorina Georgieva, Jiawen Pan and Morgann Ross. 1. World Bank 2013b. 2. The employing workers indicators do not cover any of the ILO core labor standards, such as the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labor, the abolition of child labor and equitable treatment in employment practices. 3. Zhang 2012. 4. Riphahn and Thalmaier 1999. 5. Pierre and Scarpetta 2004. 6. 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Fourth, a set of indicators documents the tax burden on businesses. Finally, a set of data covers different aspects of employment regulation. The 11 sets of indicators measured in Doing Business were added over time, and the sample of economies expanded (table 21.1). The data for all sets of indicators in Doing Business 2014 are for June 2013.1 METHODOLOGY The Doing Business data are collected in a standardized way. To start, the Doing Business team, with academic advisers, designs a questionnaire. The questionnaire uses a simple business case to ensure comparability across economies TABLE 21.1 Topics and economies covered by each Doing Business report Topic DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB DB 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Getting electricity Dealing with construction permits Trading across borders Paying taxes Protecting investors Registering property Getting credit Resolving insolvency Enforcing contracts Employing workers Starting a business Number of economies 133 145 155 175 178 181 183 183 183 185 189 Note: Data for the economies added to the sample each year are back-calculated to the previous year. The exception is Kosovo, which was added to the sample after it became a member of the World Bank Group. DATA NOTES and over time—with assumptions about the legal form of the business, its size, its location and the nature of its operations. Questionnaires are administered to more than 10,200 local experts, including lawyers, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials and other professionals routinely administering or advising on legal and regulatory requirements (table 21.2). These experts have several rounds of interaction with the Doing Business team, involving conference calls, written correspondence and visits by the team. For Doing Business 2014 team members visited 33 economies to verify data and recruit respondents. The data from questionnaires are subjected to numerous rounds of verification, leading to revisions or expansions of the information collected. The Doing Business methodology offers several advantages. It is transparent, using factual information about what laws and regulations say and allowing multiple interactions with local respondents to clarify potential misinterpretations of questions. Having representative samples of respondents is not an issue; Doing Business is not a statistical survey, and the texts of the relevant laws and regulations are collected and answers checked for accuracy. The methodology is inexpensive and easily replicable, so data can be collected in a large sample of economies. Because standard assumptions are used ECONOMY CHARACTERISTICS Gross national income per capita Doing Business 2014 reports 2012 income per capita as published in the World Bank’s World Development Indicators 2013. Income is calculated using the Atlas method (current U.S. dollars). For cost indicators expressed as a percentage of income per capita, 2012 gross national income (GNI) in U.S. dollars is used as the denominator. GNI data were not available from the World Bank for Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Djibouti, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, San Marino, the Syrian Arab Republic, West Bank and Gaza, and the Republic of Yemen. In these cases GDP or GNP per capita data and growth rates from other sources, such as the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook database and the Economist Intelligence Unit, were used. Region and income group Doing Business uses the World Bank regional and income group classifications, available at http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications. The World Bank does not assign regional classifications to high-income economies. For the purpose of the Doing Business report, high-income OECD economies are assigned the “regional” classification OECD high income. Figures and tables presenting regional averages include economies from all income groups (low, lower middle, upper middle and high income). Population Doing Business 2014 reports midyear 2012 population statistics as published in World Development Indicators 2013. in the data collection, comparisons and benchmarks are valid across economies. Finally, the data not only highlight the extent of specific regulatory obstacles to business but also identify their source and point to what might be reformed. LIMITS TO WHAT IS MEASURED The Doing Business methodology has 5 limitations that should be considered when interpreting the data. First, the TABLE 21.2 How many experts does Doing Business consult? Economies with given number of respondents (%) Indicator set Respondents 1–2 3–5 5+ 1,831 5 28 67 Dealing with construction permits 956 25 37 38 Getting electricity 811 25 50 24 Registering property 1,189 17 35 47 Getting credit 1,453 7 33 60 Protecting investors 1,110 24 37 40 Paying taxes 1,186 8 39 52 Trading across borders 1,040 20 49 31 Enforcing contracts 1,248 18 39 43 Resolving insolvency 1,047 23 37 40 Employing workers 1,155 19 40 42 13,026 17 39 44 Starting a business Total 131 132 DOING BUSINESS 2014 collected data refer to businesses in the economy’s largest business city (which in some economies differs from the capital) and may not be representative of regulation in other parts of the economy. To address this limitation, subnational Doing Business indicators were created (box 21.1). Second, the data often focus on a specific business form—generally a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) of a specified size—and may not be representative of the regulation on other businesses, for example, sole proprietorships. Third, transactions described in a standardized case scenario refer to a specific set of issues and may not represent the full set of issues a business encounters. Fourth, the measures of time involve an element of judgment by the expert respondents. When sources indicate different estimates, the time indicators reported in Doing Business represent the median values of several responses given under the assumptions of the standardized case. Finally, the methodology assumes that a business has full information on what is required and does not waste time when completing procedures. In practice, completing a procedure may take longer if the business lacks information or is unable to follow up promptly. Alternatively, the business may choose to disregard some burdensome procedures. For both reasons the time delays reported in Doing Business 2014 would differ from the recollection of entrepreneurs reported in the World Bank Enterprise Surveys or other perception surveys. CHANGES IN WHAT IS MEASURED The methodology for 2 indicator sets— trading across borders and paying taxes— was updated this year. For trading across borders, documents that are required purely for purposes of preferential treatment are no longer included in the list of documents (for example, a certificate of origin if the use is only to qualify for a preferential tariff rate under trade agreements). For paying taxes, the value of fuel taxes is no longer included in the total tax rate because of the difficulty of computing these taxes in a consistent way across all economies covered. The fuel tax amounts are in most cases very small, and measuring these amounts is often complicated because they depend on fuel consumption. Fuel taxes continue to be counted in the number of payments. In a change involving several indicator sets, the rule establishing that each procedure must take at least 1 day was removed for procedures that can be fully completed online in just a few hours. This change affects the time indicator for starting a business, dealing with construction permits and registering property.2 For procedures that can be fully BOX 21.1 Subnational Doing Business indicators This year Doing Business completed subnational studies in Colombia, Italy and the city of Hargeisa (Somaliland) and is currently updating indicators in Egypt, Mexico and Nigeria. Doing Business also published regional studies for the g7+ and the East African Community. The g7+ group is a country-owned and country-led global mechanism established in April 2010 to monitor, report and draw attention to the unique challenges faced by fragile states. The member countries included in the report are Afghanistan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, the Solomon Islands, South Sudan, Timor-Leste and Togo. The subnational studies point to differences in business regulation and its implementation—as well as in the pace of regulatory reform—across cities in the same economy. For several economies subnational studies are now periodically updated to measure change over time or to expand geographic coverage to additional cities. This year that is the case for all the subnational studies published. completed online, the duration is now set at half a day rather than a full day. The threshold for the total tax rate introduced in 2011 for the purpose of calculating the ranking on the ease of paying taxes was updated. All economies with a total tax rate below the threshold (which is calculated and adjusted on a yearly basis) receive the same ranking on the total tax rate indicator. The threshold is not based on any economic theory of an “optimal tax rate” that minimizes distortions or maximizes efficiency in the tax system of an economy overall. Instead, it is mainly empirical in nature, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax rates levied on medium-size enterprises in the manufacturing sector as observed through the paying taxes indicators. This reduces the bias in the indicators toward economies that do not need to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized case study company because they raise public revenue in other ways—for example, through taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors other than manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). This year the threshold is 25,5%. DATA CHALLENGES AND REVISIONS Most laws and regulations underlying the Doing Business data are available on the Doing Business website at http://www .doingbusiness.org. All the sample questionnaires and the details underlying the indicators are also published on the website. Questions on the methodology and challenges to data can be submitted through the website’s “Ask a Question” function at http://www.doingbusiness.org. Doing Business publishes 10,584 indicators (56 indicators per country) each year. To create these indicators, the team measures more than about 58,000 data points, each of which is made available on the Doing Business website. Historical data for each indicator and economy are available on the website, beginning with the first year the indicator or economy was included in the report. To provide a comparable time series for research, the data set is back-calculated to adjust for DATA NOTES changes in methodology and any revisions in data due to corrections. The website also makes available all original data sets used for background papers. The correction rate between Doing Business 2013 and Doing Business 2014 is 8.5%.3 Governments submit queries on the data and provide new information to Doing Business. During the Doing Business 2014 production cycle the team received 82 such queries from governments. government officials complete and verify the data. Information is also collected on the sequence in which procedures are to be completed and whether procedures may be carried out simultaneously. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. If answers by local experts differ, inquiries continue until the data are reconciled. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the procedures are used. STARTING A BUSINESS Doing Business records all procedures officially required, or commonly done in practice, for an entrepreneur to start up and formally operate an industrial or commercial business, as well as the time and cost to complete these procedures and the paid-in minimum capital requirement (figure 21.1). These procedures include obtaining all necessary licenses and permits and completing any required notifications, verifications or inscriptions for the company and employees with relevant authorities. The ranking on the ease of starting a business is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.2). After a study of laws, regulations and publicly available information on business entry, a detailed list of procedures is developed, along with the time and cost to comply with each procedure under normal circumstances and the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Subsequently, local incorporation lawyers, notaries and • • • • Assumptions about the business Procedures The business: • Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most popular among domestic firms is chosen. Information on the most popular form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical office. • Operates in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1 at the end of the data notes). • Is 100% domestically owned and has 5 owners, none of whom is a legal entity. • Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita, paid in cash. • Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale to the public of products FIGURE 21.1 What are the time, cost, paid-in minimum capital and number of procedures to get a local limited liability company up and running? Cost (% of income per capita) Formal operation Paid-in minimum capital • or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily polluting production processes. Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate. Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees 1 month after the commencement of operations, all of them domestic nationals. Has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. Has a company deed 10 pages long. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries). Interactions between company founders or company officers and employees are not counted as procedures. Procedures that must be completed in the same building but in different offices or at different counters are counted separately. If founders have to visit the same office several times for different sequential procedures, each is counted separately. The founders are assumed to complete all procedures themselves, without middlemen, facilitators, accountants or lawyers, unless the use of such a third party is mandated by law or solicited by the majority of entrepreneurs. If the services FIGURE 21.2 Starting a business: getting a local limited liability company up and running Rankings are based on 4 indicators 25% Time Number of procedures $ As % of income per capita, no bribes included Preregistration, registration and postregistration (in calendar days) 25% Procedures Entrepreneur Preregistration Registration, incorporation Postregistration Time (days) Procedures are completed when final document is received 25% Cost 25% Paid-in minimum capital Funds deposited in a bank or with a notary before registration, as % of income per capita 133 134 DOING BUSINESS 2014 of professionals are required, procedures conducted by such professionals on behalf of the company are counted separately. Each electronic procedure is counted separately. If 2 procedures can be completed through the same website but require separate filings, they are counted as 2 separate procedures. Both pre- and postincorporation procedures that are officially required for an entrepreneur to formally operate a business are recorded (table 21.3). Procedures required for official correspondence or transactions with public agencies are also included. For example, if a company seal or stamp is required on official documents, such as tax declarations, obtaining the seal or stamp is counted. Similarly, if a company must open a bank account before registering for sales tax or value TABLE 21.3 What do the starting a business indicators measure? Procedures to legally start and operate a company (number) Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) Registration in the economy’s largest business city Postregistration (for example, social security registration, company seal) Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot start on the same day). Procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule. Procedure considered completed once final incorporation document is received No prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes added tax, this transaction is included as a procedure. Shortcuts are counted only if they fulfill 4 criteria: they are legal, they are available to the general public, they are used by the majority of companies, and avoiding them causes substantial delays. Only procedures required of all businesses are covered. Industry-specific procedures are excluded. For example, procedures to comply with environmental regulations are included only when they apply to all businesses conducting general commercial or industrial activities. Procedures that the company undergoes to connect to electricity, water, gas and waste disposal services are not included. Time Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary in practice to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days), again with the exception of procedures that can be fully completed online. A procedure is considered completed once the company has received the final incorporation document, such as the company registration certificate or tax number. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest procedure is chosen if that option is more beneficial to the economy’s ranking. It is assumed that the entrepreneur does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. The time that the entrepreneur spends on gathering information is ignored. It is assumed that the entrepreneur is aware of all entry requirements and their sequence from the beginning but has had no prior contact with any of the officials. No professional fees unless services required by law Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) Funds deposited in a bank or with a notary before registration (or within 3 months) professional services if such services are required by law. Fees for purchasing and legalizing company books are included if these transactions are required by law. Although value added tax registration can be counted as a separate procedure, value added tax is not part of the incorporation cost. The company law, the commercial code and specific regulations and fee schedules are used as sources for calculating costs. In the absence of fee schedules, a government officer’s estimate is taken as an official source. In the absence of a government officer’s estimate, estimates of incorporation lawyers are used. If several incorporation lawyers provide different estimates, the median reported value is applied. In all cases the cost excludes bribes. Cost Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or Paid-in minimum capital The paid-in minimum capital requirement reflects the amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. The amount is typically specified in the commercial code or the company law. Many economies require minimum capital but allow businesses to pay only a part of it before registration, with the rest to be paid after the first year of operation. In Turkey in June 2013, for example, the minimum capital requirement was 10,000 Turkish liras, of which onefourth needed to be paid before registration. The paid-in minimum capital recorded for Turkey is therefore 2,500 Turkish liras, or 14.35% of income per capita. The data details on starting a business can be found for each economy at http://www .doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov and others (2002) and is adopted here with minor changes. DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS Doing Business records all procedures required for a business in the construction industry to build a warehouse (figure 21.3). These procedures include obtaining and submitting all relevant project-specific documents (for example, building plans, DATA NOTES FIGURE 21.3 What are the time, cost and number of procedures to comply with formalities to build a warehouse? Cost (% of income per capita) Completed warehouse architects or engineers. • Has paid all taxes and taken out all necessary insurance applicable to its general business activity (for example, accidental insurance for construction workers and third-person liability). • Owns the land on which the warehouse is built. Number of procedures Assumptions about the warehouse The warehouse: A business in the construction industry Preconstruction Construction site maps and certificates of urbanism) to the authorities; hiring external third-party supervisors, engineers or inspectors (if necessary); obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates; submitting all required notifications; and requesting and receiving all necessary inspections (unless completed by a private, third-party inspector). Doing Business also records procedures for obtaining connections for water, sewerage and a fixed landline. Procedures necessary to register the property so that it can be used as collateral or transferred to another entity are also counted. The questionnaire divides the process of building a warehouse into distinct procedures and solicits data for calculating the time and cost to complete Time Postconstruction and utilities (days) each procedure. The ranking on the ease of dealing with construction permits is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.4). Information is collected from experts in construction licensing, including architects, civil engineers, construction lawyers, construction firms, utility service providers and public officials who deal with building regulations, including approvals, permit issuance and inspections. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. Assumptions about the construction company The business (BuildCo): FIGURE 21.4 Dealing with construction permits: building a warehouse Rankings are based on 3 indicators As % of income per capita, no bribes included Days to build a warehouse in main city 33.3% Time 33.3% Cost 33.3% Procedures Procedures are completed when final document is received; construction permits, inspections and utility connections included • Is a limited liability company. • Operates in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Is 100% domestically and privately owned. • Has 5 owners, none of whom is a legal entity. • Is fully licensed and insured to carry out construction projects, such as building warehouses. • Has 60 builders and other employees, all of them nationals with the technical expertise and professional experience necessary to obtain construction permits and approvals. • Has at least 1 employee who is a licensed architect or engineer and registered with the local association of • Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. The warehouse will not be used for any goods requiring special conditions, such as food, chemicals or pharmaceuticals. • Has 2 stories, both above ground, with a total surface of 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor is 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high. • Has road access and is located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city (that is, on the fringes of the city but still within its official limits). • Is not located in a special economic or industrial zone. The zoning requirements for warehouses are met by building in an area where similar warehouses can be found. • Is located on a land plot of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo and is accurately registered in the cadastre and land registry. • Is a new construction (there was no previous construction on the land). • Has complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. • Will include all technical equipment required to make the warehouse fully operational. • Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements). Assumptions about the utility connections The water and sewerage connection: • Is 10 meters (32 feet, 10 inches) from the existing water source and sewer tap. • Does not require water for fire protection reasons; a fire extinguishing 135 136 DOING BUSINESS 2014 system (dry system) will be used instead. If a wet fire protection system is required by law, it is assumed that the water demand specified below also covers the water needed for fire protection. • Has an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. • Has a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. • Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year. The telephone connection: • Is 10 meters (32 feet, 10 inches) from the main telephone network. • Is a fixed landline. each procedure is 1 day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days), again with the exception of procedures that can be fully completed online. If a procedure can be accelerated legally for an additional cost and the accelerated procedure is used by the majority of companies, the fastest procedure is chosen. It is assumed that BuildCo does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. The time that BuildCo spends on gathering information is ignored. It is assumed that BuildCo is aware of all building requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Cost Procedures A procedure is any interaction of the company’s employees or managers, or any party acting on behalf of the company, with external parties, including government agencies, notaries, the land registry, the cadastre, utility companies and public inspectors—or the hiring of private inspectors and technical experts apart from in-house architects and engineers. Interactions between company employees, such as development of the warehouse plans and inspections conducted by employees, are not counted as procedures. But interactions necessary to obtain any plans, drawings or other documents from external parties, or to have such documents approved or stamped by external parties, are counted as procedures. Procedures that the company undergoes to connect to water, sewerage and telephone services are included. All procedures that are legally required, or that are done in practice by the majority of companies, to build a warehouse are counted, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases (table 21.4). Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. Only TABLE 21.4 What do the dealing with construction permits indicators measure? Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections Obtaining utility connections for water, sewerage and a land telephone line Registering the warehouse after its completion (if required for use as collateral or for transfer of the warehouse) Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day. Procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule. Procedure considered completed once final document is received Time Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that local experts indicate is necessary to complete a procedure in practice. It is assumed that the minimum time required for No prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes official costs are recorded. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to legally build a warehouse are recorded, including those associated with obtaining land use approvals and preconstruction design clearances; receiving inspections before, during and after construction; obtaining utility connections; and registering the warehouse property. Nonrecurring taxes required for the completion of the warehouse project are also recorded. Sales taxes (such as value added tax) or capital gains taxes are not recorded. Nor are deposits that must be paid up front and are later refunded. The building code, information from local experts and specific regulations and fee schedules are used as sources for costs. If several local partners provide different estimates, the median reported value is used. The data details on dealing with construction permits can be found for each economy at http://www.doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. GETTING ELECTRICITY Doing Business records all procedures required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection and supply for a standardized warehouse (figure 21.5). These procedures include applications and contracts with electricity utilities, all necessary inspections and clearances from the utility and other agencies and the external and final connection works. The questionnaire divides the process of getting an electricity connection into distinct procedures and solicits data for calculating the time and cost to complete each procedure. The ranking on the ease of getting electricity is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.6). Data are collected from the electricity distribution utility, then completed and verified by electricity regulatory agencies and independent professionals such as electrical engineers, electrical contractors and construction companies. The electricity distribution utility consulted is the one serving the area (or areas) where warehouses are located. If there is a choice of distribution utilities, the one serving the largest number of customers is selected. DATA NOTES FIGURE 21.5 Doing Business measures the connection process at the level of distribution utilities FIGURE 21.6 Getting electricity: obtaining an electricity connection Rankings are based on 3 indicators Days to obtain an electricity connection in main city Generation Transmission 33.3% Time Distribution XNew connections Network operation and maintenance Metering and billing Customer To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse and the electricity connection are used. • Has 2 stories, both above ground, with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). Assumptions about the warehouse The warehouse: • Is owned by a local entrepreneur. • Is located in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Is located within the city’s official limits and in an area where other warehouses are located (a nonresidential area). • Is not located in a special economic or investment zone; that is, the electricity connection is not eligible for subsidization or faster service under a special investment promotion regime. If several options for location are available, the warehouse is located where electricity is most easily available. • Has road access. The connection works involve the crossing of a road (for excavation, overhead lines and the like), but they are all carried out on public land; that is, there is no crossing onto another owner’s private property. • Is located in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. • Is used for storage of refrigerated goods. • Is a new construction (that is, there was no previous construction on the land where it is located). It is being connected to electricity for the first time. As % of income per capita, no bribes included Assumptions about the electricity connection The electricity connection: • Is a permanent one. • Is a 3-phase, 4-wire Y, 140-kilovoltampere (kVA) (subscribed capacity) connection. • Is 150 meters long. The connection is to either the low-voltage or the mediumvoltage distribution network and either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the economy and in the area where the warehouse is located. The length of any connection in the customer’s private domain is negligible. • Involves the installation of only one electricity meter. The monthly electricity consumption will be 0.07 gigawatt-hour (GWh). The internal electrical wiring has already been completed. 33.3% Cost 33.3% Procedures Steps to file an application, prepare a design, complete works, obtain approvals, go through inspections, install a meter and sign a supply contract supply utilities, government agencies, electrical contractors and electrical firms. Interactions between company employees and steps related to the internal electrical wiring, such as the design and execution of the internal electrical installation plans, are not counted as procedures. Procedures that must be completed with the same utility but with different departments are counted as separate procedures (table 21.5). The company’s employees are assumed to complete all procedures themselves unless the use of a third party is mandated (for example, if only an electrician registered with the utility is allowed to submit an application). If the company can, but is not required to, request the services of professionals (such as a private firm rather than the utility for the external works), these procedures are recorded if they are commonly done. For all procedures, only the most likely cases (for example, more than 50% of the time the utility has the material) and those followed in practice for connecting a warehouse to electricity are counted. Time Procedures A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company’s employees or its main electrician or electrical engineer (that is, the one who may have done the internal wiring) with external parties such as the electricity distribution utility, electricity Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that the electricity utility and experts indicate is necessary in practice, rather than required by law, to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up and no extra payments. It is also assumed that 137 138 DOING BUSINESS 2014 the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day (that is, simultaneous procedures start on consecutive days). It is assumed that the company does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. The time that the company spends on gathering information is ignored. It is assumed that the company is aware of all electricity connection requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Cost Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. Costs are recorded exclusive of value added tax. All the fees and costs associated with completing the procedures to connect a warehouse to electricity are recorded, including those related to obtaining clearances from government agencies, applying for the connection, receiving inspections of both the site and the internal wiring, purchasing material, getting the TABLE 21.5 What do the getting electricity indicators measure? Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances and permits Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing material for these works Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final supply Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Is at least 1 calendar day Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering information Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes Value added tax excluded actual connection works and paying a security deposit. Information from local experts and specific regulations and fee schedules are used as sources for costs. If several local partners provide different estimates, the median reported value is used. In all cases the cost excludes bribes. Security deposit Utilities require security deposits as a guarantee against the possible failure of customers to pay their consumption bills. For this reason the security deposit for a new customer is most often calculated as a function of the customer’s estimated consumption. Doing Business does not record the full amount of the security deposit. If the deposit is based on the customer’s actual consumption, this basis is the one assumed in the case study. Rather than the full amount of the security deposit, Doing Business records the present value of the losses in interest earnings experienced by the customer because the utility holds the security deposit over a prolonged period, in most cases until the end of the contract (assumed to be after 5 years). In cases where the security deposit is used to cover the first monthly consumption bills, it is not recorded. To calculate the present value of the lost interest earnings, the end2012 lending rates from the International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics are used. In cases where the security deposit is returned with interest, the difference between the lending rate and the interest paid by the utility is used to calculate the present value. In some economies the security deposit can be put up in the form of a bond: the company can obtain from a bank or an insurance company a guarantee issued on the assets it holds with that financial institution. In contrast to the scenario in which the customer pays the deposit in cash to the utility, in this scenario the company does not lose ownership control over the full amount and can continue using it. In return the company will pay the bank a commission for obtaining the bond. The commission charged may vary depending on the credit standing of the company. The best possible credit standing and thus the lowest possible commission are assumed. Where a bond can be put up, the value recorded for the deposit is the annual commission times the 5 years assumed to be the length of the contract. If both options exist, the cheaper alternative is recorded. In Honduras in June 2013 a customer requesting a 140-kVA electricity connection would have had to put up a security deposit of 126,894 Honduran lempiras (L) in cash or check, and the deposit would have been returned only at the end of the contract. The customer could instead have invested this money at the prevailing lending rate of 18.45%. Over the 5 years of the contract this would imply a present value of lost interest earnings of L 72,475. In contrast, if the customer chose to settle the deposit with a bank guarantee at an annual rate of 2.5%, the amount lost over the 5 years would be just L 15,862. The data details on getting electricity can be found for each economy at http://www .doingbusiness.org. REGISTERING PROPERTY Doing Business records the full sequence of procedures necessary for a business (buyer) to purchase a property from another business (seller) and to transfer the property title to the buyer’s name so that the buyer can use the property for expanding its business, use the property as collateral in taking new loans or, if necessary, sell the property to another business. The process starts with obtaining the necessary documents, such as a copy of the seller’s title if necessary, and conducting due diligence if required. The transaction is considered complete when it is opposable to third parties and when the buyer can use the property, use it as collateral for a bank loan or resell it (figure 21.7). The ranking on the ease of registering property is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.8). Every procedure required by law or necessary in practice is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer or must be completed by a third party on their behalf. Local property lawyers, notaries and property registries provide information on procedures as well as the DATA NOTES FIGURE 21.7 What are the time, cost and number of procedures required to transfer property between 2 local companies? FIGURE 21.8 Registering property: transfer of property between 2 local companies Cost (% of property value) Rankings are based on 3 indicators Buyer can use the property, resell it or use it as collateral Number of procedures Days to transfer property in main city As % of property value, no bribes included 33.3% Time Land & 2-story warehouse Seller with property registered and no title disputes Preregistration Registration time and cost to complete each of them. The registering property indicators do not measure the accessibility of property registration systems, the legal security offered by formal registration, the use of informal property registration systems or the equity of land policies. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. Assumptions about the parties The parties (buyer and seller): • Are limited liability companies. • Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Are 100% domestically and privately owned. • Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. • Perform general commercial activities. Postregistration Assumptions about the property The property: • Has a value of 50 times income per capita. The sale price equals the value. • Is fully owned by the seller. • Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. • Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. 33.3% Procedures Time (days) • Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. • Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A 2-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition and complies with all safety standards, building codes and other legal requirements. It has no heating system. The property of land and building will be transferred in its entirety. • Will not be subject to renovations or additional building following the purchase. • Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. • Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. • Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Procedures A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer or the seller, their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) or the property with external parties, including government agencies, inspectors, notaries and lawyers. Interactions between company officers and employees are not considered. All procedures that are legally or in practice required for registering property are recorded, even if 33.3% Cost Steps to check encumbrances, obtain clearance certificates, prepare deed and transfer title so that the property can be occupied, sold or used as collateral they may be avoided in exceptional cases (table 21.6). It is assumed that the buyer follows the fastest legal option available and used by the majority of property owners. Although the buyer may use lawyers or other professionals where necessary in the registration process, it is assumed that the buyer does not employ an outside facilitator in the registration process unless legally or in practice required to do so. Time Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers, notaries or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day, except for procedures that can be fully completed online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day, again with the exception of procedures that can be fully completed online. It is assumed that the buyer does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost, the fastest legal procedure available and used by the majority of property owners is chosen. If procedures can be undertaken simultaneously, it is assumed that they are. It is assumed that the parties 139 140 DOING BUSINESS 2014 involved are aware of all requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Time spent on gathering information is not considered. Cost Cost is recorded as a percentage of the property value, assumed to be equivalent to 50 times income per capita. Only official costs required by law are recorded, including fees, transfer taxes, stamp duties and any other payment to the property registry, notaries, public agencies or lawyers. Other taxes, such as capital gains tax or value added tax, are excluded from the cost measure. Both costs borne by the buyer and those borne by the seller are included. If cost estimates differ among sources, the median reported value is used. The data details on registering property can be found for each economy at http://www .doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. TABLE 21.6 What do the registering property indicators measure? Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property (number) Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) Registration procedures in the economy’s largest business city GETTING CREDIT Doing Business measures the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through one set of indicators and the sharing of credit information through another. The first set of indicators measures whether certain features that facilitate lending exist within the applicable collateral and bankruptcy laws. The second set measures the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through public credit registries and private credit bureaus (figure 21.9). The ranking on the ease of getting credit is based on the percentile rankings on the sum of its component indicators: the depth of credit information index and the strength of legal rights index (figure 21.10). Legal rights The data on the legal rights of borrowers and lenders are gathered through a questionnaire administered to financial lawyers and verified through analysis of laws and regulations as well as public sources of information on collateral and bankruptcy laws. Questionnaire responses are verified through several rounds of follow-up communication with respondents as well as by contacting third parties and consulting public sources. The questionnaire data are confirmed through teleconference calls or on-site visits in all economies. Strength of legal rights index The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending (table 21.7). Two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine the scope of the secured transactions system. The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, the incorporated company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank. For example, in some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case A or case B to apply (not both). Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower and lender are used: • ABC is a domestically incorporated, limited liability company. • The company has up to 50 employees. • ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). The strength of legal rights index does not cover functional equivalents Postregistration procedures (for example, filing title with municipality) Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information FIGURE 21.9 Do lenders have credit information on entrepreneurs seeking credit? Is the law favorable to borrowers and lenders using movable assets as collateral? Each procedure starts on a separate day. Procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule. Procedure considered completed once final document is received No prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property value) Official costs only, no bribes No value added or capital gains taxes included Credit information Potential borrower Can movable assets be used as collateral? Movable asset Collateral registry What types can be used as collateral? Credit registries and credit bureaus Lender Can lenders access credit information on borrowers? DATA NOTES FIGURE 21.10 Getting credit: collateral rules and credit information Rankings are based on 2 indicators 100% Sum of depth of credit information index (0–6) and strength of legal rights index (0–10) Scope, quality and accessibility of credit information through public and private credit registries and bureaus Regulations on nonpossessory security interests in movable property Note: Private bureau coverage and public registry coverage are measured but do not count for the rankings. to security over movable assets (for example, leasing or reservation of title). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. TABLE 21.7 What do the getting credit indicators measure? Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Protection of rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral laws Protection of secured creditors’ rights through bankruptcy laws Depth of credit information index (0–6) Scope and accessibility of credit information distributed by public credit registries and private credit bureaus Public credit registry coverage (% of adults) Number of individuals and firms listed in a public credit registry as percentage of adult population Private credit bureau coverage (% of adults) Number of individuals and firms listed in largest private credit bureau as percentage of adult population The strength of legal rights index includes 8 aspects related to legal rights in collateral law and 2 aspects in bankruptcy law. A score of 1 is assigned for each of the following features of the laws: • Any business may use movable assets as collateral while keeping possession of the assets, and any financial institution may accept such assets as collateral. • The law allows a business to grant a nonpossessory security right in a single category of movable assets (such as accounts receivable or inventory), without requiring a specific description of the collateral. • The law allows a business to grant a nonpossessory security right in substantially all its movable assets, without requiring a specific description of the collateral. • A security right may be given over future or after-acquired assets and may extend automatically to the products, proceeds or replacements of the original assets. • A general description of debts and obligations is permitted in the collateral agreement and in registration documents; all types of debts and obligations can be secured between the parties, and the collateral agreement can include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered. • A collateral registry or registration institution for security interests over movable property is in operation, unified geographically and by asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtors’ names. • Secured creditors are paid first (for example, before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency procedure. • Secured creditors are paid first (for example, before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated. • Secured creditors either are not subject to an automatic stay or moratorium on enforcement procedures when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization procedure, or the law provides secured creditors with grounds for relief from an automatic stay or moratorium (for example, if the movable property is in danger) or sets a time limit for the automatic stay. • The law allows parties to agree in a collateral agreement that the lender may enforce its security right out of court. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating that collateral and bankruptcy laws are better designed to expand access to credit. Credit information The data on credit information sharing are built in 2 stages. First, banking supervision authorities and public information sources are surveyed to confirm the presence of a public credit registry or private credit bureau. Second, when applicable, a detailed questionnaire on the public credit registry’s or private credit bureau’s structure, laws and associated rules is administered to the entity itself. Questionnaire responses are verified through several rounds of follow-up communication with respondents as well as by contacting third parties and consulting public sources. The questionnaire data are confirmed through teleconference calls or on-site visits in all economies. Depth of credit information index The depth of credit information index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through either a public credit registry or a private credit bureau. A score of 1 is assigned for each of the following 6 features of the public credit registry or private credit bureau (or both): • Data on both firms and individuals are distributed. • Both positive credit information (for example, outstanding loan amounts and pattern of on-time repayments) and negative information (for example, late payments and the number and amount of defaults and bankruptcies) are distributed. • Data from retailers and utility companies as well as financial institutions are distributed. • More than 2 years of historical data are distributed. Credit registries and bureaus that erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this indicator. 141 142 DOING BUSINESS 2014 • Data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita are distributed. Note that a credit registry or bureau must have a minimum coverage of 1% of the adult population to score a 1 on this indicator. • By law, borrowers have the right to access their data in the largest credit registry or bureau in the economy. The index ranges from 0 to 6, with higher values indicating the availability of more credit information, from either a public credit registry or a private credit bureau, to facilitate lending decisions. If the credit registry or bureau is not operational or has a coverage of less than 0.1% of the adult population, the score on the depth of credit information index is 0. In Lithuania, for example, both a public credit registry and a private credit bureau operate. Both distribute positive and negative information (a score of 1). Both distribute data on firms and individuals (a score of 1). Both distribute more than 2 years of historical data (a score of 1). Although the public credit registry does not distribute data from retailers or utilities, the private credit bureau does do so (a score of 1). Although the public credit registry has a threshold of 1,000 litai, the private credit bureau distributes data on loans of any value (a score of 1). Borrowers have the right to access their data in both the public credit registry and the private credit bureau (a score of 1). Summing across the indicators gives Lithuania a total score of 6. Public credit registry coverage The public credit registry coverage indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed in a public credit registry’s database as of January 1, 2013, with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years. The number is expressed as a percentage of the adult population (the population age 15 and above in 2012 according to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators). A public credit registry is defined as a database managed by the public sector, usually by the central bank or the superintendent of banks, that collects information on the creditworthiness of borrowers (individuals or firms) in the financial system and facilitates the exchange of credit information among banks and other regulated financial institutions. If no public registry operates, the coverage value is 0.0%. Private credit bureau coverage The private credit bureau coverage indicator reports the number of individuals and firms listed in a private credit bureau’s database as of January 1, 2013, with information on their borrowing history from the past 5 years. The number is expressed as a percentage of the adult population (the population age 15 and above in 2012 according to the World Bank’s World Development Indicators). A private credit bureau is defined as a private firm or nonprofit organization that maintains a database on the creditworthiness of borrowers (individuals or firms) in the financial system and facilitates the exchange of credit information among creditors. Credit investigative bureaus and credit reporting firms that do not directly facilitate information exchange among banks and other financial institutions are not considered. If no private bureau operates, the coverage value is 0.0%. distinguish 3 dimensions of investor protections: transparency of related-party transactions (extent of disclosure index), liability for self-dealing (extent of director liability index) and shareholders’ ability to sue officers and directors for misconduct (ease of shareholder suits index) (figure 21.11). The data come from a questionnaire administered to corporate and securities lawyers and are based on securities regulations, company laws, civil procedure codes and court rules of evidence. The ranking on the strength of investor protection index is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.12). To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the transaction are used. Assumptions about the business The business (Buyer): The data details on getting credit can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov, McLiesh and Shleifer (2007) and is adopted here with minor changes. PROTECTING INVESTORS Doing Business measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against directors’ misuse of corporate assets for personal gain. The indicators • Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple shareholders. • Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. • Has a supervisory board (applicable to economies with a 2-tier board system) on which 60% of the shareholder- FIGURE 21.11 How well are minority shareholders protected against self-dealing in relatedparty transactions? Extent of disclosure Disclosure and approval requirements Lawsuit Extent of director liability Ability to sue directors for damages Ease of shareholder suits Access by shareholders to Minority documents plus other shareholders evidence for trial Mr. James 60% ownership, sits on board of directors Company A (buyer) 90% ownership, sits on board of directors Company B (seller) Transaction involving conflict of interest DATA NOTES FIGURE 21.12 Protecting investors: minority shareholder rights in relatedparty transactions Rankings are based on 3 indicators Requirements on approval and disclosure of related-party transactions 33.3% Extent of disclosure index Liability of CEO and board of directors in a related-party transaction 33.3% Extent of director liability index 33.3% Ease of shareholder suits index Type of evidence that can be collected before and during the trial elected members have been appointed by Mr. James. • Is a manufacturing company. • Has its own distribution network. Assumptions about the transaction • Mr. James is Buyer’s controlling shareholder and a member of Buyer’s board of directors. He owns 60% of Buyer and elected 2 directors to Buyer’s 5-member board. • Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. • Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. • The proposed transaction is part of the company’s ordinary course of business and is not outside the authority of the company. • Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosures made (that is, the transaction is not fraudulent). • The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the other parties that approved the transaction. Extent of disclosure index The extent of disclosure index has 5 components (table 21.8): • Which corporate body can provide legally sufficient approval for the transaction. A score of 0 is assigned if it is the CEO or the managing director alone; 1 if the board of directors, the supervisory board or shareholders must vote and Mr. James is permitted to vote; 2 if the board of directors or the supervisory board must vote and Mr. James is not permitted to vote; 3 if shareholders must vote and Mr. James is not permitted to vote. • Whether immediate disclosure of the transaction to the public, the regulator or the shareholders is required.4 A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure is required; 1 if disclosure on the terms of the transaction is required but not on Mr. James’s conflict of interest; 2 if disclosure on both the terms and Mr. James’s conflict of interest is required. • Whether disclosure in the annual report is required. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure on the transaction is required; 1 if disclosure on the terms of the transaction is required but not on Mr. James’s conflict of interest; 2 if disclosure on both the terms and Mr. James’s conflict of interest is required. • Whether disclosure by Mr. James to the board of directors or the supervisory board is required. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure is required; 1 if a general disclosure of the existence of a conflict of interest is required without any specifics; 2 if full disclosure of all material facts relating to Mr. James’s interest in the Buyer-Seller transaction is required. • Whether it is required that an external body, for example, an external auditor, review the transaction before it takes place. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating greater disclosure. In Poland, for example, the board of directors must approve the transaction and Mr. James is not allowed to vote (a score of 2). Buyer is required to disclose immediately all information affecting the stock price, including the conflict of interest (a score of 2). In its annual report Buyer must also disclose the terms of the transaction and Mr. James’s ownership in Buyer and Seller (a score of 2). Before the transaction Mr. James must disclose his conflict of interest to the other directors, but he is not required to provide specific information about it (a score of 1). Poland does not require an external body to review the transaction (a score of 0). Adding these numbers gives Poland a score of 7 on the extent of disclosure index. Extent of director liability index The extent of director liability index has 7 components:5 • Whether a shareholder plaintiff is able to hold Mr. James liable for the damage the Buyer-Seller transaction causes to the company. A score of 0 is assigned if Mr. James cannot be held liable or can be held liable only for fraud, bad faith or gross negligence; 1 if Mr. James can be held liable only if he influenced the approval of the transaction or was negligent; 2 if Mr. James can be held liable when TABLE 21.8 What do the protecting investors indicators measure? Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Approval process for related-party transactions Disclosure requirements in case of related-party transactions Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ability of minority shareholders to file a direct or derivative lawsuit Ability of minority shareholders to hold interested parties and members of the approving body liable for prejudicial related-party transactions Available legal remedies (damages, disgorgement of profits, fines, imprisonment and rescission of the transaction) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Access to internal corporate documents (directly or through a government inspector) Documents and information available during trial Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Simple average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder suits indices 143 144 DOING BUSINESS 2014 • • • • • • the transaction is unfair or prejudicial to the other shareholders. Whether a shareholder plaintiff is able to hold the approving body (the CEO, members of the board of directors or members of the supervisory board) liable for the damage the transaction causes to the company. A score of 0 is assigned if the approving body cannot be held liable or can be held liable only for fraud, bad faith or gross negligence; 1 if the approving body can be held liable for negligence; 2 if the approving body can be held liable when the transaction is unfair or prejudicial to the other shareholders. Whether a court can void the transaction upon a successful claim by a shareholder plaintiff. A score of 0 is assigned if rescission is unavailable or is available only in case of fraud, bad faith or gross negligence; 1 if rescission is available when the transaction is oppressive or prejudicial to the other shareholders; 2 if rescission is available when the transaction is unfair or entails a conflict of interest. Whether Mr. James pays damages for the harm caused to the company upon a successful claim by the shareholder plaintiff. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. Whether Mr. James repays profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by the shareholder plaintiff. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. Whether both fines and imprisonment can be applied against Mr. James. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. Whether shareholder plaintiffs are able to sue directly or derivatively for the damage the transaction causes to the company. A score of 0 is assigned if suits are unavailable or are available only for shareholders holding more than 10% of the company’s share capital; 1 if direct or derivative suits are available for shareholders holding 10% or less of share capital. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating greater liability of directors. Assuming that the prejudicial transaction was duly approved and disclosed, in order to hold Mr. James liable in Panama, for example, a plaintiff must prove that Mr. James influenced the approving body or acted negligently (a score of 1). To hold the other directors liable, a plaintiff must prove that they acted negligently (a score of 1). The prejudicial transaction cannot be voided (a score of 0). If Mr. James is found liable, he must pay damages (a score of 1) but he is not required to disgorge his profits (a score of 0). Mr. James cannot be fined and imprisoned (a score of 0). Direct or derivative suits are available for shareholders holding 10% or less of share capital (a score of 1). Adding these numbers gives Panama a score of 4 on the extent of director liability index. Ease of shareholder suits index The ease of shareholder suits index has 6 components: • What range of documents is available to the shareholder plaintiff from the defendant and witnesses during trial. A score of 1 is assigned for each of the following types of documents available: information that the defendant has indicated he intends to rely on for his defense; information that directly proves specific facts in the plaintiff’s claim; any information relevant to the subject matter of the claim; and any information that may lead to the discovery of relevant information. • Whether the plaintiff can directly examine the defendant and witnesses during trial. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes, with prior approval of the questions by the judge; 2 if yes, without prior approval. • Whether the plaintiff can obtain categories of relevant documents from the defendant without identifying each document specifically. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. • Whether shareholders owning 10% or less of the company’s share capital can request that a government inspector investigate the Buyer-Seller transaction without filing suit in court. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. • Whether shareholders owning 10% or less of the company’s share capital have the right to inspect the transaction documents before filing suit. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. • Whether the standard of proof for civil suits is lower than that for a criminal case. A score of 0 is assigned if no; 1 if yes. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating greater powers of shareholders to challenge the transaction. In Croatia, for example, the plaintiff can access documents that the defendant intends to rely on for his defense (a score of 1). The plaintiff can examine the defendant and witnesses during trial, without prior approval of the questions by the court (a score of 2). The plaintiff must specifically identify the documents being sought (for example, the Buyer-Seller purchase agreement of July 15, 2006) and cannot simply request categories (for example, all documents related to the transaction) (a score of 0). A shareholder holding 5% of Buyer’s shares can request that a government inspector review suspected mismanagement by Mr. James and the CEO without filing suit in court (a score of 1). Shareholders cannot inspect the transaction documents before deciding whether to sue (a score of 0). The standard of proof for civil suits is the same as that for a criminal case (a score of 0). Adding these numbers gives Croatia a score of 4 on the ease of shareholder suits index. Strength of investor protection index The strength of investor protection index is the average of the extent of disclosure index, the extent of director liability index and the ease of shareholder suits index. The index ranges from 0 to 10, with higher values indicating more investor protection. The data details on protecting investors can be found for each economy at http://www .doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov and others (2008). PAYING TAXES Doing Business records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay in a given year as well as measures of the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions (figure 21.13). The project was developed and implemented in cooperation with PwC.6 Taxes and contributions measured include the profit or corporate income tax, social contributions and labor taxes paid by the employer, property taxes, property transfer taxes, dividend tax, capital gains DATA NOTES tax, financial transactions tax, waste collection taxes, vehicle and road taxes, and any other small taxes or fees. The ranking on the ease of paying taxes is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators, with a threshold being applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax rate (figure 21.14). The threshold is defined as the highest total tax rate among the top 15% of economies in the ranking on the total tax rate. It is calculated and adjusted on a yearly basis. This year’s threshold is 25.5%. All economies with a total tax rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. The threshold is not based on any economic theory of an “optimal tax rate” that minimizes distortions or maximizes efficiency in the tax system of an economy overall. Instead, it is mainly empirical in nature, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax rates levied on medium-size enterprises in the manufacturing sector as observed through the paying taxes indicators. This reduces the bias in the indicators toward economies that do not need to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized case study company because they raise public revenue in other ways—for example, through taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors other than manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). Doing Business measures all taxes and contributions that are government mandated (at any level—federal, state or lo- cal) and that apply to the standardized business and have an impact in its financial statements. In doing so, Doing Business goes beyond the traditional definition of a tax. As defined for the purposes of government national accounts, taxes include only compulsory, unrequited payments to general government. Doing Business departs from this definition because it measures imposed charges that affect business accounts, not government accounts. One main difference relates to labor contributions. The Doing Business measure includes government-mandated contributions paid by the employer to a requited private pension fund or workers’ insurance fund. The indicator includes, for example, Australia’s compulsory superannuation guarantee and workers’ compensation insurance. For the purpose of calculating the total tax rate (defined below), only taxes borne are included. For example, value added taxes are generally excluded (provided they are not irrecoverable) because they do not affect the accounting profits of the business—that is, they are not reflected in the income statement. They are, however, included for the purpose of the compliance measures (time and payments), as they add to the burden of complying with the tax system. Doing Business uses a case scenario to measure the taxes and contributions paid by a standardized business and the complexity of an economy’s tax compliance system. This case scenario uses a set of financial statements and assumptions about transactions made over the course of the year. In each economy tax experts from a FIGURE 21.13 What are the time, total tax rate and number of payments necessary for a local medium-size company to pay all taxes? Total tax rate Time number of different firms (in many economies these include PwC) compute the taxes and mandatory contributions due in their jurisdiction based on the standardized case study facts. Information is also compiled on the frequency of filing and payments as well as time taken to comply with tax laws in an economy. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the taxes and contributions are used. The methodology for the paying taxes indicators has benefited from discussion with members of the International Tax Dialogue and other stakeholders, which led to a refinement of the questions on the time to pay taxes, the collection of additional data on the labor tax wedge for further research and the introduction of a threshold applied to the total tax rate for the purpose of calculating the ranking on the ease of paying taxes. Assumptions about the business The business: • Is a limited liability, taxable company. If there is more than one type of limited liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is chosen. The most common form is reported by incorporation lawyers or the statistical office. • Started operations on January 1, 2011. FIGURE 21.14 Paying taxes: tax compliance for a local manufacturing company Rankings are based on 3 indicators Number of hours per year to prepare, file returns and pay taxes 33.3% Time % of profit before all taxes Hours per year To prepare, file and pay value added or sales tax, profit tax and labor taxes and contributions Firm tax liability as % of profits before all taxes borne 33.3% Total tax rate 33.3% Payments Number of tax payments per year Number of payments (per year) Note: All economies below the threshold receive the same score in the total tax rate component as the economies at the threshold. 145 146 DOING BUSINESS 2014 • • • • • • • • • • • • At that time the company purchased all the assets shown in its balance sheet and hired all its workers. Operates in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). Is 100% domestically owned and has 5 owners, all of whom are natural persons. At the end of 2011, has a start-up capital of 102 times income per capita. Performs general industrial or commercial activities. Specifically, it produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. It does not participate in foreign trade (no import or export) and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. At the beginning of 2012, owns 2 plots of land, 1 building, machinery, office equipment, computers and 1 truck and leases 1 truck. Does not qualify for investment incentives or any benefits apart from those related to the age or size of the company. Has 60 employees—4 managers, 8 assistants and 48 workers. All are nationals, and 1 manager is also an owner. The company pays for additional medical insurance for employees (not mandated by any law) as an additional benefit. In addition, in some economies reimbursable business travel and client entertainment expenses are considered fringe benefits. When applicable, it is assumed that the company pays the fringe benefit tax on this expense or that the benefit becomes taxable income for the employee. The case study assumes no additional salary additions for meals, transportation, education or others. Therefore, even when such benefits are frequent, they are not added to or removed from the taxable gross salaries to arrive at the labor tax or contribution calculation. Has a turnover of 1,050 times income per capita. Makes a loss in the first year of operation. Has a gross margin (pretax) of 20% (that is, sales are 120% of the cost of goods sold). Distributes 50% of its net profits as dividends to the owners at the end of the second year. Sells one of its plots of land at a profit at the beginning of the second year. • Has annual fuel costs for its trucks equal to twice income per capita. • Is subject to a series of detailed assumptions on expenses and transactions to further standardize the case. All financial statement variables are proportional to 2005 income per capita. For example, the owner who is also a manager spends 10% of income per capita on traveling for the company (20% of this owner’s expenses are purely private, 20% are for entertaining customers and 60% for business travel). Assumptions about the taxes and contributions • All the taxes and contributions recorded are those paid in the second year of operation (calendar year 2012). A tax or contribution is considered distinct if it has a different name or is collected by a different agency. Taxes and contributions with the same name and agency, but charged at different rates depending on the business, are counted as the same tax or contribution. • The number of times the company pays taxes and contributions in a year is the number of different taxes or contributions multiplied by the frequency of payment (or withholding) for each tax. The frequency of payment includes advance payments (or withholding) as well as regular payments (or withholding). Tax payments The tax payments indicator reflects the total number of taxes and contributions paid, the method of payment, the frequency of payment, the frequency of filing and the number of agencies involved for this standardized case study company during the second year of operation (table 21.9). It includes taxes withheld by the company, such as sales tax, value added tax and employee-borne labor taxes. These taxes are traditionally collected by the company from the consumer or employee on behalf of the tax agencies. Although they do not affect the income statements of the company, they add to the administrative burden of complying with the tax system and so are included in the tax payments measure. The number of payments takes into account electronic filing. Where full electronic filing and payment is allowed and it is used by the majority of medium-size businesses, the tax is counted as paid once a year even if filings and payments are more frequent. For payments made through third parties, such as tax on interest paid by a financial institution or fuel tax paid by a fuel distributor, only one payment is included even if payments are more frequent. Where 2 or more taxes or contributions are filed for and paid jointly using the same form, each of these joint payments is counted once. For example, if mandatory health insurance contributions and mandatory pension contributions are filed for and paid together, only one of these contributions would be included in the number of payments. TABLE 21.9 What do the paying taxes indicators measure? Tax payments for a manufacturing company in 2012 (number per year adjusted for electronic and joint filing and payment) Total number of taxes and contributions paid, including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) Method and frequency of filing and payment Time required to comply with 3 major taxes (hours per year) Collecting information and computing the tax payable Completing tax return forms, filing with proper agencies Arranging payment or withholding Preparing separate mandatory tax accounting books, if required Total tax rate (% of profit before all taxes) Profit or corporate income tax Social contributions and labor taxes paid by the employer Property and property transfer taxes Dividend, capital gains and financial transactions taxes Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes DATA NOTES Time Time is recorded in hours per year. The indicator measures the time taken to prepare, file and pay 3 major types of taxes and contributions: the corporate income tax, value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social contributions. Preparation time includes the time to collect all information necessary to compute the tax payable and to calculate the amount payable. If separate accounting books must be kept for tax purposes—or separate calculations made—the time associated with these processes is included. This extra time is included only if the regular accounting work is not enough to fulfill the tax accounting requirements. Filing time includes the time to complete all necessary tax return forms and file the relevant returns at the tax authority. Payment time considers the hours needed to make the payment online or at the tax authorities. Where taxes and contributions are paid in person, the time includes delays while waiting. Total tax rate The total tax rate measures the amount of taxes and mandatory contributions borne by the business in the second year of operation, expressed as a share of commercial profit. Doing Business 2014 reports the total tax rate for calendar year 2012. The total amount of taxes borne is the sum of all the different taxes and contributions payable after accounting for allowable deductions and exemptions. The taxes withheld (such as personal income tax) or collected by the company and remitted to the tax authorities (such as value added tax, sales tax or goods and service tax) but not borne by the company are excluded. The taxes included can be divided into 5 categories: profit or corporate income tax, social contributions and labor taxes paid by the employer (in respect of which all mandatory contributions are included, even if paid to a private entity such as a requited pension fund), property taxes, turnover taxes and other taxes (such as municipal fees and vehicle taxes). Fuel taxes are no longer included in the total tax rate because of the difficulty of computing these taxes in a consistent way for all economies covered. The fuel tax amounts are in most cases very small, and measuring these amounts is often complicated because they depend on fuel consumption. Fuel taxes continue to be counted in the number of payments. The total tax rate is designed to provide a comprehensive measure of the cost of all the taxes a business bears. It differs from the statutory tax rate, which merely provides the factor to be applied to the tax base. In computing the total tax rate, the actual tax payable is divided by commercial profit. Data for Kiribati are provided as an example (table 21.10). Commercial profit is essentially net profit before all taxes borne. It differs from the conventional profit before tax, reported in financial statements. In computing profit before tax, many of the taxes borne by a firm are deductible. In computing commercial profit, these taxes are not deductible. Commercial profit therefore presents a clear picture of the actual profit of a business before any of the taxes it bears in the course of the fiscal year. TABLE 21.10 Computing the total tax rate for Kiribati Statutory rate r (%) Statutory tax base b ($A) Corporate income tax (taxable income) 20.0–35.0 87,565 25,647 109,801 23.4 Employer-paid social security contributions (taxable wages) 7.5 123,854 9,289 109,801 8.5 Type of tax (tax base) Total Actual tax payable a=r×b ($A) Commercial profit* c ($A) 34,936 * Profit before all taxes borne. Note: Commercial profit is assumed to be 59.4 times income per capita. $A is Australian dollar. Source: Doing Business database. Total tax rate t = a/c (%) 31.8 Commercial profit is computed as sales minus cost of goods sold, minus gross salaries, minus administrative expenses, minus other expenses, minus provisions, plus capital gains (from the property sale) minus interest expense, plus interest income and minus commercial depreciation. To compute the commercial depreciation, a straight-line depreciation method is applied, with the following rates: 0% for the land, 5% for the building, 10% for the machinery, 33% for the computers, 20% for the office equipment, 20% for the truck and 10% for business development expenses. Commercial profit amounts to 59.4 times income per capita. The methodology for calculating the total tax rate is broadly consistent with the Total Tax Contribution framework developed by PwC and the calculation within this framework for taxes borne. But while the work undertaken by PwC is usually based on data received from the largest companies in the economy, Doing Business focuses on a case study for a standardized medium-size company. The data details on paying taxes can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov and others (2010). TRADING ACROSS BORDERS Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with exporting and importing a standardized cargo of goods by sea transport. The time and cost necessary to complete every official procedure for exporting and importing the goods are recorded; however, the time and cost for sea transport are not included. All documents needed by the trader to export or import the goods across the border are also recorded. For exporting goods, procedures range from packing the goods into the container at the warehouse to their departure from the port of exit. For importing goods, procedures range from the vessel’s arrival at the port of entry to the cargo’s delivery at the warehouse. For landlocked economies, these include procedures at the inland border post, since the port is located in the transit economy. Payment is made by letter of credit, and the time, 147 148 DOING BUSINESS 2014 cost and documents required for the issuance or advising of a letter of credit are taken into account (figure 21.15). The ranking on the ease of trading across borders is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.16). FIGURE 21.15 How much time, how many documents and what cost to export and import by sea transport? Time Time Cost Cost Documents Documents To export Local freight forwarders, shipping lines, customs brokers, port officials and banks provide information on required documents and cost as well as the time to complete each procedure. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the traded goods are used. Full, 20-foot container To import Import Export Port and terminal handling Customs and border agencies Inland transport Assumptions about the traded goods The traded product travels in a drycargo, 20-foot,7 full container load. It weighs 10 tons and is valued at $20,000. The product: • Is not hazardous nor does it include military items. • Does not require refrigeration or any other special environment. • Does not require any special phytosanitary or environmental safety standards other than accepted international standards. • Is one of the economy’s leading export or import products. FIGURE 21.16 Trading across borders: exporting and importing by sea transport Rankings are based on 3 indicators Document preparation, customs clearance and technical control, port and terminal handling, inland transport and handling All documents required by customs and other agencies 33.3% Documents to export and import 33.3% Time to export and import 33.3% Cost to export and import US$ per 20-foot container, no bribes or tariffs included Assumptions about the business The business: • Has at least 60 employees. • Is located in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Is a private, limited liability company. • Does not operate in an export processing zone or an industrial estate with special export or import privileges. • Is 100% domestically owned. • Exports more than 10% of its sales. of origin if the use is only to qualify for a preferential tariff rate under trade agreements. It is assumed that the exporter will TABLE 21.11 What do the trading across borders indicators measure? Documents required to export and import (number) Bank documents Customs clearance documents Documents All documents required per shipment to export and import the goods are recorded (table 21.11). It is assumed that a new contract is drafted per shipment and that the contract has already been agreed upon and executed by both parties. Documents required for clearance by relevant agencies—including government ministries, customs, port authorities and other control agencies—are taken into account. For landlocked economies, documents required by authorities in the transit economy are also included. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are also taken into account. Documents that are requested at the time of clearance but that are valid for a year or longer and do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are not included. Documents that are required purely for purposes of preferential treatment are no longer included—for example, a certificate Port and terminal handling documents Transport documents Time required to export and import (days) Obtaining, filling out and submitting all the documents Inland transport and handling Customs clearance and inspections Port and terminal handling Does not include sea transport time Cost required to export and import (US$ per container) All documentation Inland transport and handling Customs clearance and inspections Port and terminal handling Official costs only, no bribes DATA NOTES always obtain a certificate of origin for its trade partner, however, and the time and cost associated with obtaining it are included in the time and cost to export. Time The time for exporting and importing is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for a procedure starts from the moment it is initiated and runs until it is completed. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost and is available to all trading companies, the fastest legal procedure is chosen. Fasttrack procedures applying only to firms located in an export processing zone, or only to certain accredited firms under authorized economic operator programs, are not taken into account because they are not available to all trading companies. Sea transport time is not included. It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. Procedures that can be completed in parallel are measured as simultaneous. But it is assumed that document preparation, inland transport, customs and other clearance, and port and terminal handling require a minimum time of 1 day each and cannot take place simultaneously. The waiting time between procedures—for example, during unloading of the cargo—is included in the measure. Cost Cost measures the fees levied on a 20foot container in U.S. dollars. All the fees associated with completing the procedures to export or import the goods are taken into account. These include costs for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and inspections, customs broker fees, port-related charges and inland transport costs. The cost does not include customs tariffs and duties or costs related to sea transport. Only official costs are recorded. The data details on trading across borders can be found for each economy at http:// www.doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov, Freund and Pham (2010) and is adopted here with minor changes. ENFORCING CONTRACTS Indicators on enforcing contracts measure the efficiency of the judicial system in resolving a commercial dispute. The data are built by following the step-bystep evolution of a commercial sale dispute before local courts. The data are collected through study of the codes of civil procedure and other court regulations as well as questionnaires completed by local litigation lawyers and by judges (figure 21.17). The ranking on the ease of enforcing contracts is the simple average of the percentile rankings on its component indicators (figure 21.18). The name of the relevant court in each economy—the court in the largest business city with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita—is published at http://www .doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/ enforcing-contracts. Assumptions about the case • The value of the claim equals 200% of the economy’s income per capita. • The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between 2 businesses (Seller and Buyer), located in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). Seller sells goods worth 200% of the economy’s income per capita to Buyer. After Seller delivers the goods to Buyer, Buyer refuses to pay for the goods on the grounds that the delivered goods were not of adequate quality. • Seller (the plaintiff) sues Buyer (the defendant) to recover the amount under the sales agreement (that is, 200% of the economy’s income per capita). Buyer opposes Seller’s claim, saying that the quality of the goods is not adequate. The claim is disputed on the merits. The court cannot decide the case on the basis of documentary evidence or legal title alone. • A court in the economy’s largest business city with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita decides the dispute. • Seller attaches Buyer’s movable assets (for example, office equipment and vehicles) before obtaining a judgment because Seller fears that Buyer may become insolvent. FIGURE 21.17 What are the time, cost and number of procedures to resolve a commercial dispute through the courts? Court Time Cost Number of procedures Company A (seller & plaintiff) Filing of court case Commercial dispute Company B (buyer & defendant) Trial & judgment Enforcement • An expert opinion is given on the quality of the delivered goods. If it is standard practice in the economy for each party to call its own expert witness, the parties each call one expert witness. If it is standard practice for the judge to appoint an independent expert, the judge does so. In this case the judge does not allow opposing expert testimony. • The judgment is 100% in favor of Seller: the judge decides that the goods are of adequate quality and that Buyer must pay the agreed price. • Buyer does not appeal the judgment. Seller decides to start enforcing the FIGURE 21.18 Enforcing contracts: resolving a commercial dispute through the courts Rankings are based on 3 indicators Days to resolve commercial sale dispute through the courts 33.3% Time Attorney, court and enforcement costs as % of claim value 33.3% Cost 33.3% Procedures Steps to file claim, obtain judgment and enforce it 149 150 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 21.12 What do the enforcing contracts indicators measure? Procedures to enforce a contract through the courts (number) Steps to file and serve the case Steps for trial and judgment Steps to enforce the judgment Time required to complete procedures (calendar days) Time to file and serve the case Time for trial and obtaining judgment Time to enforce the judgment Cost required to complete procedures (% of claim) Average attorney fees Court costs Enforcement costs judgment as soon as the time allocated by law for appeal expires. • Seller takes all required steps for prompt enforcement of the judgment. The money is successfully collected through a public sale of Buyer’s movable assets (for example, office equipment and vehicles). Procedures The list of procedural steps compiled for each economy traces the chronology of a commercial dispute before the relevant court. A procedure is defined as any interaction, required by law or commonly used in practice, between the parties or between them and the judge or court officer. Other procedural steps, internal to the court or between the parties and their counsel, may be counted as well. Procedural steps include steps to file and serve the case, steps to assign the case to a judge, steps for trial and judgment and steps necessary to enforce the judgment (table 21.12). To indicate overall efficiency, 1 procedure is subtracted from the total number for economies that have specialized commercial courts, and 1 procedure for economies that allow electronic filing of the initial complaint in court cases. Some procedural steps that are part of others are not counted in the total number of procedures. Time Time is recorded in calendar days, counted from the moment the plaintiff decides to file the lawsuit in court until payment. This includes both the days when actions take place and the waiting periods between. The average duration of different stages of dispute resolution is recorded: the completion of service of process (time to file and serve the case), the issuance of judgment (time for the trial and obtaining the judgment) and the moment of payment (time for enforcement of the judgment). FIGURE 21.19 What are the time, cost and outcome of the insolvency proceedings against a local company? Court Outcome Time Cost Recovery rate Secured creditor (bank) Insolvent company Secured loan Unsecured creditors Other claims Cost Cost is recorded as a percentage of the claim, assumed to be equivalent to 200% of income per capita. No bribes are recorded. Three types of costs are recorded: court costs, enforcement costs and average attorney fees. Court costs include all court costs that Seller (plaintiff) must advance to the court, regardless of the final cost to Seller. Enforcement costs are all costs that Seller (plaintiff) must advance to enforce the judgment through a public sale of Buyer’s movable assets, regardless of the final cost to Seller. Average attorney fees are the fees that Seller (plaintiff) must advance to a local attorney to represent Seller in the standardized case. The data details on enforcing contracts can be found for each economy at http://www .doingbusiness.org by selecting the economy in the drop-down list. This methodology was developed by Djankov and others (2003) and is adopted here with minor changes. ease of resolving insolvency is based on the recovery rate (figure 21.20). To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used. Assumptions about the business The business: • Is a limited liability company. • Operates in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). FIGURE 21.20 Resolving insolvency: time, cost and outcome of the insolvency proceedings against a local company Rankings are based on 1 indicator Recovery rate is a function of time, cost and other factors such as lending rate and the likelihood of the company continuing to operate RESOLVING INSOLVENCY Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic entities. The data are derived from questionnaire responses by local insolvency practitioners and verified through a study of laws and regulations as well as public information on bankruptcy systems (figure 21.19). The ranking on the 100% Recovery rate Note: Time and cost do not count separately for the rankings. DATA NOTES • Is 100% domestically owned, with the founder, who is also the chairman of the supervisory board, owning 51% (no other shareholder holds more than 5% of shares). • Has downtown real estate, where it runs a hotel, as its major asset. • Has a professional general manager. • Has 201 employees and 50 suppliers, each of which is owed money for the last delivery. • Has a 10-year loan agreement with a domestic bank secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s real estate property. A universal business charge (for example, a floating charge) is also assumed in economies where such collateral is recognized. If the laws of the economy do not specifically provide for a universal business charge but contracts commonly use some other provision to that effect, this provision is specified in the loan agreement. • Has observed the payment schedule and all other conditions of the loan up to now. • The business’s market value, operating as a going concern, is 100 times income per capita or $200,000, whichever is greater. The market value of the company’s assets, if sold piecemeal, is 70% of the business’s market value. judicial procedure aimed at the liquidation or winding-up of the company; or a debt enforcement or foreclosure procedure against the company, enforced either in court (or through another government authority) or out of court (for example, by appointing a receiver). Assumptions about the parties The bank wants to recover as much as possible of its loan, as quickly and cheaply as possible. The unsecured creditors will do everything permitted under the applicable laws to avoid a piecemeal sale of the assets. The majority shareholder wants to keep the company operating and under its control. Management wants to keep the company operating and preserve its employees’ jobs. All the parties are local entities or citizens; no foreign parties are involved. The amount outstanding under the loan agreement is exactly equal to the market value of the hotel business and represents 74% of the company’s total debt. The other 26% of its debt is held by unsecured creditors (suppliers, employees, tax authorities). The company has too many creditors to negotiate an informal out-of-court workout. The following options are available: a judicial procedure aimed at the rehabilitation or reorganization of the company to permit its continued operation; a The recovery rate is recorded as cents on the dollar recouped by creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure) proceedings. The calculation takes into account the outcome: whether the business emerges from the proceedings as a going concern or the assets are sold piecemeal. Then the costs of the proceedings are deducted (1 cent for each percentage point of the value of the debtor’s estate). Finally, the value lost as a result of the time the money remains tied up in insolvency proceedings is taken into account, including the loss of value due to depreciation of the hotel furniture. Consistent with international accounting practice, the annual depreciation rate for furniture is taken to be 20%. The furniture is assumed to account for a quarter of the total value of assets. The recovery rate is the present value of the Time Time for creditors to recover their credit is recorded in calendar years (table 21.13). The period of time measured by Doing Business is from the company’s default until the payment of some or all of the money owed to the bank. Potential delay tactics by the parties, such as the filing of dilatory appeals or requests for extension, are taken into consideration. Assumptions about the case The business is experiencing liquidity problems. The company’s loss in 2012 reduced its net worth to a negative figure. It is January 1, 2013. There is no cash to pay the bank interest or principal in full, due the next day, January 2. The business will therefore default on its loan. Management believes that losses will be incurred in 2013 and 2014 as well. Recovery rate TABLE 21.13 What do the resolving insolvency indicators measure? Time required to recover debt (years) Measured in calendar years Appeals and requests for extension are included Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) Measured as percentage of estate value Cost The cost of the proceedings is recorded as a percentage of the value of the debtor’s estate. The cost is calculated on the basis of questionnaire responses and includes court fees and government levies; fees of insolvency administrators, auctioneers, assessors and lawyers; and all other fees and costs. Outcome Recovery by creditors depends on whether the hotel business emerges from the proceedings as a going concern or the company’s assets are sold piecemeal. If the business keeps operating, no value is lost and the bank can satisfy its claim in full, or recover 100 cents on the dollar. If the assets are sold piecemeal, the maximum amount that can be recovered will not exceed 70% of the bank’s claim, which translates into 70 cents on the dollar. Court fees Fees of insolvency administrators Lawyers’ fees Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees Other related fees Outcome Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors (cents on the dollar) Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by creditors Present value of debt recovered Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted Depreciation of furniture is taken into account Outcome for the business (survival or not) affects the maximum value that can be recovered 151 152 DOING BUSINESS 2014 remaining proceeds, based on end-2012 lending rates from the International Monetary Fund’s International Financial Statistics, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. FIGURE 21.21 How flexible are hiring, work scheduling and redundancy rules? 2. Work scheduling Schedule No practice If an economy had zero cases a year over the past 5 years involving a judicial reorganization, judicial liquidation or debt enforcement procedure (foreclosure), the economy receives a “no practice” ranking. This means that creditors are unlikely to recover their money through a formal legal process (in or out of court). The recovery rate for “no practice” economies is zero. This methodology was developed by Djankov and others (2008) and is adopted here with minor changes. EMPLOYING WORKERS Hours ii 1. Hiring employing-workers. This year Doing Business continued research collecting additional data on regulations covering workers’ probationary period. Doing Business measures flexibility in the regulation of employment, specifically as it affects the hiring and redundancy of workers and the rigidity of working hours (figure 21.21). Over the period from 2007 to 2011 improvements were made to align the methodology for the employing workers indicators with the letter and spirit of the ILO conventions. Only 4 of the 188 ILO conventions cover areas measured by Doing Business: employee termination, weekend work, holiday with pay and night work. The Doing Business methodology is fully consistent with these 4 conventions. The ILO conventions covering areas related to the employing workers indicators do not include the ILO core labor standards—8 conventions covering the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced labor, the abolition of child labor and equitable treatment in employment practices. Doing Business 2014 presents the data on the employing workers indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. Detailed data collected on labor regulations are available on the Doing Business website (http://www .doingbusiness.org). The data on employing workers are based on a detailed questionnaire on employment regulations that is completed by local lawyers and public officials. Employment laws and regulations as well as secondary sources are reviewed to ensure accuracy. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the worker and the business are used. Between 2009 and 2011 the World Bank Group worked with a consultative group— including labor lawyers, employer and employee representatives, and experts from the ILO, the OECD, civil society and the private sector—to review the employing workers methodology and explore future areas of research.8 A full report with the conclusions of the consultative group, along with the employing workers methodology it proposed, is available at http:// www.doingbusiness.org/methodology/ • Earns a salary plus benefits equal to the economy’s average wage during the entire period of his employment. • Has a pay period that is the most common for workers in the economy. • Is a lawful citizen who belongs to the same race and religion as the majority of the economy’s population. • Resides in the economy’s largest business city (see table 21A.1). • Is not a member of a labor union, unless membership is mandatory. R d d 3 Redundancy 3. Assumptions about the business The business: • Is a limited liability company. • Operates in the economy’s largest business city. • Is 100% domestically owned. • Operates in the manufacturing sector. • Has 60 employees. • Is subject to collective bargaining agreements in economies where such agreements cover more than half the manufacturing sector and apply even to firms not party to them. • Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining agreement. Rigidity of employment Assumptions about the worker The worker: Rigidity of employment covers 3 areas: difficulty of hiring, rigidity of hours and difficulty of redundancy (table 21.14). Difficulty of hiring covers (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanent tasks; (ii) the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; and (iii) the ratio of the minimum wage for a trainee or first-time employee to the average value added per worker.9 Rigidity of hours covers 5 areas: (i) whether there are restrictions on night work; (ii) whether there are restrictions on weekly holiday work; (iii) whether the DATA NOTES TABLE 21.14 What do the employing workers indicators measure? Rigidity of employment Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Maximum duration of fixed-term contracts Ratio of minimum wage for trainee or first-time employee to value added per worker 9 redundant workers; (iv) whether the employer needs approval from a third party to terminate 1 redundant worker; (v) whether the employer needs approval from a third party to terminate a group of 9 redundant workers; (vi) whether the law requires the employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making the worker redundant; (vii) whether priority rules apply for redundancies; and (viii) whether priority rules apply for reemployment. 5. 6. Rigidity of hours Restrictions on night work and weekend work? Allowed maximum length of the workweek in days and hours, including overtime Fifty-hour workweeks permitted for 2 months due to an increase in production? Paid annual vacation days Difficulty of redundancy Redundancy allowed as grounds for termination? Notification required for termination of a redundant worker or group of workers? Approval required for termination of a redundant worker or group of workers? Employer obligated to reassign or retrain and to follow priority rules for redundancy and reemployment? Redundancy cost (weeks of salary) Notice requirements, severance payments and penalties due when terminating a redundant worker, expressed in weeks of salary workweek can consist of 5.5 days or is more than 6 days; (iv) whether the workweek can extend to 50 hours or more (including overtime) for 2 months a year to respond to a seasonal increase in production; and (v) whether the average paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure, a worker with 5 years and a worker with 10 years is more than 26 working days or fewer than 15 working days. Difficulty of redundancy looks at 8 questions: (i) whether redundancy is disallowed as a basis for terminating workers; (ii) whether the employer needs to notify a third party (such as a government agency) to terminate 1 redundant worker; (iii) whether the employer needs to notify a third party to terminate a group of Redundancy cost Redundancy cost measures the cost of advance notice requirements, severance payments and penalties due when terminating a redundant worker, expressed in weeks of salary. The average value of notice requirements and severance payments applicable to a worker with 1 year of tenure, a worker with 5 years and a worker with 10 years is considered. One month is recorded as 4 and 1/3 weeks. The data details on employing workers can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness.org. The Doing Business website provides historical data sets to allow comparison of data across years. The employing workers methodology was developed by Botero and others (2004). Doing Business 2014 does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators. 7. NOTES The data for paying taxes refer to January– December 2012. 2. For getting electricity the rule that each procedure must take a minimum of 1 day still applies because in practice there are no cases in which procedures can be fully completed online in less than a day. For example, even though in some cases it is possible to apply for an electricity connection online, additional requirements mean that the process cannot be completed in less than 1 day. 3. This correction rate reflects changes that exceed 5% up or down. 4. This question is usually regulated by stock exchange or securities laws. Points are awarded 1. 8. 9. only to economies with more than 10 listed firms in their most important stock exchange. When evaluating the regime of liability for company directors for a prejudicial related-party transaction, Doing Business assumes that the transaction was duly disclosed and approved. Doing Business does not measure director liability in the event of fraud. PwC refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL), or, as the context requires, individual member firms of the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm. PwCIL does not provide any services to clients. PwCIL is not responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any of its member firms nor can it control the exercise of their professional judgment or bind them in any way. No member firm is responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any other member firm nor can it control the exercise of another member firm’s professional judgment or bind another member firm or PwCIL in any way. While different types of containers are used around the world, the 2 most important are 20-foot and 40-foot containers. Use of 40foot containers is growing, but this year’s research confirms that 20-foot containers are still common in the majority of economies. According to respondents questioned in each of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, 20-foot and 40-foot containers are equally common in 49% of the economies, 20-foot containers are more common in 29%, and 40-foot containers are mostly relied on in only 10%. For the remaining 12% of economies no data on the use of the 2 types of containers were available. The trading across borders indicators will continue to be based on 20-foot containers because this size remains the most relevant for international trade across the globe. For the terms of reference and composition of the consultative group, see World Bank, “Doing Business Employing Workers Indicator Consultative Group,” http://www.doingbusiness.org. The average value added per worker is the ratio of an economy’s GNI per capita to the working-age population as a percentage of the total population. 153 154 DOING BUSINESS 2014 TABLE 21A.1 Largest business city in each economy covered by the Doing Business report Economy Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana City Kabul Tirana Algiers Luanda St. John’s Buenos Aires Yerevan Sydney Vienna Baku Nassau Manama Dhaka Bridgetown Minsk Brussels Belize City Cotonou Thimphu La Paz Sarajevo Gaborone São Paulo Bandar Seri Begawan Sofia Ouagadougou Bujumbura Phnom Penh Douala Toronto Praia Bangui Economy Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong SAR, China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Rep. Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Rep. Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia Lebanon Lesotho City Athens St. George’s Guatemala City Conakry Bissau Georgetown Port-au-Prince Tegucigalpa Hong Kong SAR, China Budapest Reykjavik Mumbai Jakarta Tehran Baghdad Dublin Tel Aviv Rome Kingston Tokyo Amman Almaty Nairobi Tarawa Seoul Pristina Kuwait City Bishkek Vientiane Riga Beirut Maseru N’Djamena Liberia Monrovia Santiago Shanghai Bogotá Moroni Kinshasa Brazzaville San José Abidjan Zagreb Nicosia Prague Copenhagen Djibouti Ville Roseau Santo Domingo Quito Cairo San Salvador Malabo Asmara Tallinn Addis Ababa Suva Helsinki Paris Libreville Banjul Tbilisi Berlin Accra Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, FYR Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Tripoli Vilnius Luxembourg Skopje Antananarivo Blantyre Kuala Lumpur Malé Bamako Valletta Majuro Nouakchott Port Louis Mexico City Island of Pohnpei Chişinău Ulaanbaatar Podgorica Casablanca Maputo Yangon Windhoek Kathmandu Amsterdam Auckland Managua Niamey Lagos Oslo Muscat Economy Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico (U.S.) Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, China Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, RB Vietnam West Bank and Gaza Yemen, Rep. Zambia Zimbabwe City Karachi Koror Panama City Port Moresby Asunción Lima Quezon City Warsaw Lisbon San Juan Doha Bucharest Moscow Kigali Apia San Marino São Tomé Riyadh Dakar Belgrade Victoria Freetown Singapore Bratislava Ljubljana Honiara Johannesburg Juba Madrid Colombo Basseterre Castries Kingstown Khartoum Paramaribo Mbabane Stockholm Zurich Damascus Taipei Dushanbe Dar es Salaam Bangkok Dili Lomé Nuku’alofa Port of Spain Tunis Istanbul Kampala Kiev Dubai London New York City Montevideo Tashkent Port-Vila Caracas Ho Chi Minh City Ramallah Sana’a Lusaka Harare Ease of doing business and distance to frontier This year’s report presents results for 2 aggregate measures: the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business and the distance to frontier measure. The ease of doing business ranking compares economies with one another, while the distance to frontier measure benchmarks economies to the frontier in regulatory practice, measuring the absolute distance to the best performance on each indicator. Both measures can be used for comparisons over time. When compared across years, the distance to frontier measure shows how much the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs in each economy has changed over time in absolute terms, while the ease of doing business ranking can show only relative change. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS The ease of doing business index ranks economies from 1 to 189. For each economy the ranking is calculated as the simple average of the percentile rankings on each of the 10 topics included in the index in Doing Business 2014: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The employing workers indicators are not included in this year’s aggregate ease of doing business ranking. Construction of the ease of doing business index Here is one example of how the ease of doing business index is constructed. In Denmark it takes 4 procedures, 5.5 days and 0.2% of annual income per capita in fees to open a business. The minimum capital requirement is 24% of annual income per capita. On these 4 indicators Denmark ranks in the 12th, 11th, 1st and 79th percentiles. So on average Denmark ranks in the 25th percentile on the ease of starting a business. It ranks in the 21st percentile on getting credit, 19th percentile on paying taxes, 27th percentile on enforcing contracts, 5th percentile on resolving insolvency and so on. Higher rankings indicate simpler regulation and stronger protection of property rights. The simple average of Denmark’s percentile rankings on all topics is 17th. When all economies are ordered by their average percentile rankings, Denmark stands at 5 in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. More complex aggregation methods —such as principal components and unobserved components—yield a ranking nearly identical to the simple average used by Doing Business.1 Thus Doing Business uses the simplest method: weighting all topics equally and, within each topic, giving equal weight to each of the topic components. If an economy has no laws or regulations covering a specific area—for example, insolvency—it receives a “no practice” mark. Similarly, an economy receives a “no practice” or “not possible” mark if regulation exists but is never used in practice or if a competing regulation prohibits such practice. Either way, a “no practice” mark puts the economy at the bottom of the ranking on the relevant indicator. The ease of doing business index is limited in scope. It does not account for an economy’s proximity to large markets, the quality of its infrastructure services (other than services related to trading across borders 156 DOING BUSINESS 2014 and getting electricity), the strength of its financial system, the security of property from theft and looting, macroeconomic conditions or the strength of underlying institutions. Variability of economies’ rankings across topics Each indicator set measures a different aspect of the business regulatory environment. The rankings of an economy can vary, sometimes significantly, across indicator sets. The average correlation coefficient between the 10 indicator sets included in the aggregate ranking is 0.38, and the coefficients between 2 sets of indicators range from 0.18 (between getting credit and getting electricity) to 0.58 (between trading across borders and resolving insolvency and between trading across borders and getting electricity). These correlations suggest that economies rarely score universally well or universally badly on the indicators (table 22.1). Consider the example of Canada. It stands at 19 in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business. Its ranking is 2 on starting a business, 4 on protecting investors, and 8 on paying taxes. But its ranking is only 58 on enforcing contracts, 116 on dealing with construction permits and 145 on getting electricity. Figure 1.3 in the overview illustrates the degree of variability in each economy’s performance across the different areas of business regulation covered by Doing Business. The figure draws attention to economies with a particularly uneven performance by showing the distance between the average of the highest 3 topic rankings and the average of the lowest 3 for each of 189 economies across the 10 topics included in this year’s aggregate ranking. While a relatively small distance between these 2 averages suggests a broadly consistent approach across the areas of business regulation measured by Doing Business, a relatively large distance suggests a more uneven approach, with greater room for improvement in some areas than in others. Variation in performance across the indicator sets is not at all unusual. It reflects differences in the degree of priority that government authorities give to particular areas of business regulation reform and the ability of different government agencies to deliver tangible results in their area of responsibility. DISTANCE TO FRONTIER MEASURE A drawback of the ease of doing business ranking is that it can measure the regulatory performance of economies only relative to the performance of others. It does not provide information on how the absolute quality of the regulatory environment is improving over time. Nor does it provide information on how large the gaps are between economies at a single point in time. The distance to frontier measure is designed to address both shortcomings, complementing the ease of doing business ranking. This measure illustrates the distance of an economy to the “frontier,” and the change in the measure over time shows the extent to which the economy has closed this gap. The frontier is a score derived from the most efficient practice or highest score achieved on each of the component indicators in 10 Doing Business indicator sets (excluding the employing workers indicators) by any economy. In starting a business, for example, Canada and New Zealand have achieved the highest performance on the number of procedures required (1) and on the time (0.5 days), Denmark and Slovenia on the cost (0% of income per capita) and Chile, Zambia and 99 other economies on the paid-in minimum capital requirement (0% of income per capita) (table 22.2). Calculating the distance to frontier for each economy involves 2 main steps. TABLE 22.1 Correlations between economy rankings on Doing Business topics Dealing with construction Registering permits property Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Registering property Getting credit Protecting investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency Source: Doing Business database. 0.33 Getting credit Protecting investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency Getting electricity 0.35 0.47 0.57 0.41 0.40 0.42 0.46 0.25 0.24 0.26 0.24 0.39 0.45 0.22 0.33 0.45 0.41 0.34 0.38 0.28 0.50 0.39 0.25 0.49 0.27 0.39 0.39 0.52 0.18 0.39 0.38 0.30 0.45 0.23 0.51 0.35 0.44 0.47 0.39 0.58 0.58 0.49 0.28 0.37 EASE OF DOING BUSINESS AND DISTANCE TO FRONTIER First, individual indicator scores are normalized to a common unit: except for the total tax rate, each of the 31 component indicators y is rescaled to (max − y)/ (max − min), with the minimum value (min) representing the frontier—the highest performance on that indicator across all economies since 2003 or the first year the indicator was collected.2 For the total tax rate, consistent with the calculation of the rankings, the frontier is defined as the total tax rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution of total tax rates for all years. Second, for each economy the scores obtained for individual indicators are aggregated through simple averaging into one distance to frontier score, first for each topic and then across all topics. An economy’s distance to frontier is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 the frontier. The maximum (max) and minimum (min) observed values are computed for all economies included in the Doing Business sample since 2003 and for all years (from 2003 to 2013). To mitigate the effects of extreme outliers in the distributions of the rescaled data (very few economies need 694 days to complete the procedures to start a business, but many need 9 days), the maximum (max) is defined as the 95th percentile of the pooled data for all economies and all years for each indicator. The exceptions are the getting credit, protecting investors and resolving insolvency indicators, whose construction precludes outliers. In addition, the cost to export and cost to import for each year are divided by the GDP deflator, so as to take the general price level into account when benchmarking these absolute-cost indicators across economies with different inflation trends. The base year for the deflator is 2013 for all economies. The difference between an economy’s distance to frontier score in any previous year and its score in 2013 illustrates the extent to which the economy has closed the gap to the frontier over time. And in any given year the score measures how far an economy is from the highest performance at that time. Take Colombia, which has a score of 70.5 on the distance to frontier measure TABLE 22.2 Who sets the frontier in regulatory practice? Topic and indicator Who sets the frontier Best performance (frontier) Worst performance (95th percentile)a Starting a business Procedures (number) Canada; New Zealand 1 15 Time (days) New Zealand 0.5 115 Cost (% of income per capita) Slovenia; Denmark 0 208 Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Chile; Zambiab 0 507 6 28 Dealing with construction permits Procedures (number) Hong Kong SAR, China Time (days) Singapore 26 395 Cost (% of income per capita) Azerbaijan 0.2 2,560 3 8 17 257 Getting electricity Procedures (number) Sweden; Switzerlandc Time (days) Germany Cost (% of income per capita) Japan 0 9,057 Procedures (number) Georgia; Norway; Portugal; Sweden 1 10 Time (days) New Zealand; Portugal 1 245 Cost (% of property value) Saudi Arabia 0 17 10 0 6 0 Registering property Getting credit Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Australia; New Zealandd Depth of credit information index (0–6) Peru; Polande Protecting investors Extent of disclosure index (0–10) China; Indonesiaf 10 0 Extent of director liability index (0–10) Cambodia 10 0 Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Hong Kong SAR, China; Kenya; New Zealand 10 0 Payments (number per year) Hong Kong SAR, China; Saudi Arabia 3 64 Time (hours per year) Maldives 0 696 Total tax rate (% of commercial profit) Canada Paying taxes 26.2 85 2 10 6 57 g Trading across borders Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) France; Ireland h Estonia; United States (continued on next page) 157 158 DOING BUSINESS 2014 for 2014. This score indicates that the economy is 29.5 percentage points away from the frontier constructed from the best performances across all economies and all years. Colombia was further from the frontier in 2009, with a score of 66.2. The difference between the scores shows an improvement over time. (CONTINUED) TABLE 22.2 Who sets the frontier in regulatory practice? The distance to frontier measure can also be used for comparisons across economies in the same year, complementing the ease of doing business ranking. For example, Colombia stands at 43 this year in the ease of doing business ranking, while Peru, which is 29.3 percentage points from the frontier, stands at 42. Best performance (frontier) Worst performance (95th percentile)a 390 3,210 France; Ireland 2 12 Time to import (days) Singapore 4 67 Cost to import (US$ per container) Singapore 367 3,830 21 49 Topic and indicator Who sets the frontier Cost to export (US$ per container) China Documents to import (number) Enforcing contracts Procedures (number) Ireland; Singapore Time (days) Singapore 120 1,340 Cost (% of claim) Bhutan 0.1 92 Norway 94.4 0 Resolving insolvency Economies that improved the most across 3 or more Doing Business topics in 2012/13 Doing Business 2014 uses a simple method to calculate which economies improved the most in the ease of doing business. First, it selects the economies that in 2012/13 implemented regulatory reforms making it easier to do business in 3 or more of the 10 topics included in this year’s ease of doing business ranking.3 Twenty-nine economies meet this criterion: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Djibouti, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, the Republic of Congo, Romania, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates. Second, Doing Business sorts these economies on the increase in their distance to frontier measure from the previous year using comparable data. Selecting the economies that implemented regulatory reforms in at least 3 topics and improved the most in the distance to frontier measure is intended to highlight economies with ongoing, broadbased reform programs. The criterion for Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) a. Worst performance is defined as the 95th percentile for each indicator. For getting credit, protecting investors and resolving insolvency, worst performance refers to the worst value recorded. b. Ninety-nine other economies also have a minimum capital requirement of 0. c. In 8 other economies it also takes only 3 procedures to get an electricity connection. d. Eight other economies also score 10 points on the strength of legal rights index. e. Twenty-nine other economies also score 6 points on the depth of credit information index. f. Eight other economies also score 10 points on the extent of disclosure index. g. The total tax rate shown is the threshold set for the indicator from the overall distribution of total tax rates for all years. h. In 3 other economies it also takes only 6 days to export. Source: Doing Business database. identifying the top improvers was changed from last year. The improvement in ease of doing business ranking is no longer used. The improvement in the distance to frontier measure is used instead because under this measure economies are sorted according to their absolute improvement instead of relative improvement. NOTES 1. See Djankov, Manraj and others (2005). Principal components and unobserved components methods yield a ranking nearly identical to that from the simple average method because both these methods assign roughly equal weights to the topics, since the pairwise correlations among indicators do not differ much. An alternative to the simple average method is to give different weights to the topics, depending on which are considered of more or less importance in the context of a specific economy. 2. Even though scores for the distance to frontier are calculated from 2005, data from as early as 2003 are used to define the frontier 3. Doing Business reforms making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the total number of those making it easier to do business. Summaries of Doing Business reforms in 2012/13 Doing Business reforms affecting all sets of indicators included in this year’s report, implemented from June 2012 to June 2013. 9 Doing Business reform making it easier to do business 8 Doing Business reform making it more difficult to do business Afghanistan 9 Starting a business Afghanistan made starting a business easier by reducing the time and cost to obtain a business license and by eliminating the inspection of the premises of newly registered companies. 9 Getting credit Afghanistan strengthened its secured transactions system by implementing a unified collateral registry. Argentina 8 Starting a business Argentina made starting a business more difficult by increasing the incorporation costs. 9 Trading across borders Argentina reduced the number of documents necessary for importing by eliminating nonautomatic license requirements. Armenia 9 Starting a business Armenia made starting a business easier by eliminating the company registration fees. 9 Paying taxes Armenia made paying taxes easier by merging the employee and employer social contributions and individual income tax into one unified income tax. Albania 9 Paying taxes Albania made paying taxes easier by allowing corporate income tax to be paid quarterly. Angola 8 Trading across borders Angola increased documentation requirements for cross-border trade by introducing a mandatory registration for all traders and a new license for export and import transactions. Australia 9 Getting credit Australia improved its credit information system through the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Act 2012, which permits credit bureaus to collect account payment history with improved privacy protection. Azerbaijan 9 Starting a business Azerbaijan made starting a business easier by introducing free online Reforms affecting the employing workers indicators are included here but do not affect the ranking on the ease of doing business. 160 DOING BUSINESS 2014 registration services and eliminating preregistration formalities. 9 Dealing with construction permits Azerbaijan adopted a new construction code that streamlined procedures relating to the issuance of building permits and established official time limits for some procedures. 9 Trading across borders Azerbaijan made trading across borders easier by streamlining internal customs procedures. Bahamas, The 9 Registering property The Bahamas made transferring property easier by reducing the stamp duty. 9 Resolving insolvency The Bahamas enhanced its insolvency process by implementing rules for the remuneration of liquidators, allowing voluntary liquidations and outlining clawback provisions for suspect transactions. Bahrain 8 Starting a business Bahrain made starting a business more expensive by increasing the cost of the business registration certificate. 9 Getting credit Bahrain improved access to credit information by starting to collect payment information from retailers. Employing workers Bahrain reduced the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts, made third-party notification mandatory for redundancy dismissals and increased paid annual leave. Bangladesh 9 Starting a business Bangladesh made starting a business easier by automating the registration process and reducing the time required to obtain a trading license and to complete the tax and value added tax registration. Belarus 9 Starting a business Belarus made starting a business easier by reducing the registration fees and eliminating the requirement for an initial capital deposit at a bank before registration. 9 Getting electricity Belarus made getting electricity easier by speeding up the process of issuing technical specifications and excavation permits and by reducing the time needed to connect to the electricity network. 9 Registering property Belarus made transferring property easier by introducing a fast-track procedure for property registration. 9 Resolving insolvency Belarus improved its insolvency process through a new insolvency law that, among other things, changes the appointment process for insolvency administrators and encourages the sale of assets in insolvency. The law also regulates the liability of shareholders and directors of the insolvent company. Benin 9 Starting a business Benin made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop. 9 Trading across borders Benin made trading across borders easier by improving port management systems, enhancing the infrastructure around the port and putting in place new rules for the transit of trucks. Bhutan 9 Starting a business Bhutan made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to obtain the security clearance certificate. 9 Getting credit Bhutan improved access to credit information through new regulations governing the licensing and functioning of the credit bureau and guaranteeing borrowers’ right to access their data. Bosnia and Herzegovina 8 Paying taxes Bosnia and Herzegovina introduced a penalty for failure to employ the required minimum number of people in special categories—though it also temporarily abolished the forestry tax. Botswana 9 Dealing with construction permits Botswana made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement for an environmental impact assessment for low-risk projects. Brunei Darussalam 9 Getting credit Brunei Darussalam improved access to credit information by establishing a public credit registry. Burkina Faso 9 Paying taxes Burkina Faso made paying taxes easier for companies by abolishing the separate capital gains tax on real estate properties. Burundi 9 Starting a business Burundi made starting a business easier by allowing registration with the Ministry of Labor at the one-stop shop and by speeding up the process of obtaining the registration certificate. 9 Dealing with construction permits Burundi made dealing with construction permits easier by establishing a one-stop shop for obtaining building permits and utility connections. 9 Getting electricity Burundi made getting electricity easier by eliminating the electricity utility’s monopoly on the sale of materials needed for new connections and by dropping the processing fee for new connections. 9 Registering property Burundi made transferring property easier by creating a one-stop shop for property registration. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 9 Paying taxes Burundi made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. 9 Trading across borders Burundi made trading across borders easier by eliminating the requirement for a preshipment inspection clean report of findings. Chad 9 Registering property Chad made transferring property easier by lowering the property transfer tax. 8 Trading across borders Chad made trading across borders more difficult by introducing a new export and import document. Cambodia 8 Starting a business Cambodia made starting a business more difficult by introducing a requirement for a company name check at the Department of Intellectual Property and by increasing the costs both for getting registration documents approved and stamped by the Phnom Penh Tax Department and for completing incorporation with the commercial registrar. Cameroon 8 Dealing with construction permits Cameroon made dealing with construction permits more complex by introducing notification and inspection requirements. At the same time, Cameroon made it easier by decentralizing the process for obtaining a building permit and by introducing strict time limits for processing the application and issuing the certificate of conformity. Cape Verde 9 Starting a business Cape Verde made starting a business easier by abolishing the minimum capital requirement. 9 Registering property Cape Verde made property transfers faster by digitizing its land registry. Chile 9 Starting a business Chile made starting a business easier by creating a new online system for business registration. China 9 Getting credit China improved its credit information system by introducing credit information industry regulations, which guarantee borrowers’ right to inspect their data. 9 Enforcing contracts China made enforcing contracts easier by amending its civil procedure code to streamline and speed up all court proceedings. Colombia 9 Getting electricity Colombia made getting electricity easier by opening a one-stop shop for electricity connections and improving the efficiency of the utility’s internal processes. 9 Enforcing contracts Colombia made enforcing contracts easier by simplifying and speeding up the proceedings for commercial disputes. Comoros Central African Republic 9 Trading across borders The Central African Republic made trading across borders easier by rehabilitating the key transit road at the border with Cameroon. 9 Starting a business Comoros made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to deposit the minimum capital in a bank before incorporation. Congo, Dem. Rep. 8 Starting a business The Democratic Republic of Congo made starting a business more complicated by increasing the minimum capital requirement. At the same time, it made the process easier by reducing the time and cost and by eliminating the requirement to obtain a certificate confirming the location of the new company’s headquarters. 9 Getting credit The Democratic Republic of Congo strengthened its secured transactions system by adopting the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) Uniform Act on Secured Transactions. The new law broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral (including future assets) and the range of obligations that can be secured, extends security interests to the proceeds of the original asset and introduces the possibility of out-of-court enforcement. 9 Protecting investors The Democratic Republic of Congo strengthened investor protections by adopting the OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest Groups, which introduces additional approval and disclosure requirements for related-party transactions and makes it possible to sue directors when such transactions harm the company. 8 Paying taxes The Democratic Republic of Congo made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the employers’ social security contribution rate— though it also reduced the corporate income tax rate. 9 Resolving insolvency The Democratic Republic of Congo made resolving insolvency easier by adopting the OHADA Uniform Act Organizing Collective Proceedings for Wiping Off Debts. The law allows an insolvent debtor to file for preventive settlement, legal redress or liquidation and sets out clear rules on the steps and procedures for each of the options available. 161 162 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Congo, Rep. 9 Starting a business The Republic of Congo made starting a business easier by reducing the registration costs and eliminating the merchant card. 9 Paying taxes The Republic of Congo made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by merging several employment taxes into a single tax, reducing the corporate income tax rate and lowering the tax rate on rental value. 9 Trading across borders The Republic of Congo made trading across borders easier by implementing prearrival processing of ship manifests and making improvements in customs administration. Costa Rica 9 Starting a business Costa Rica made starting a business easier by creating an online platform for business registration, reducing the time to register with social security and simplifying the legalization of company books. 9 Dealing with construction permits Costa Rica made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating procedures, improving efficiency and launching an online platform that streamlined the building permit process by integrating different agencies’ approval processes. Côte d’Ivoire 9 Starting a business Côte d’Ivoire made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop, reducing the notary fees and replacing the requirement for a copy of the founders’ criminal records with one for a sworn declaration at the time of company registration. 9 Dealing with construction permits Côte d’Ivoire reduced the time required for obtaining a building permit by streamlining procedures at the onestop shop (Service du Guichet Unique du Foncier et de l’Habitat). 9 Registering property Côte d’Ivoire made transferring property easier by streamlining procedures and reducing the property transfer tax. 8 Paying taxes Côte d’Ivoire made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the employers’ contribution rate for social security related to retirement and by increasing the rate for the special tax on equipment. 9 Enforcing contracts Côte d’Ivoire made enforcing contracts easier by creating a specialized commercial court. Czech Republic 8 Registering property The Czech Republic made transferring property more costly by increasing the property transfer tax rate. 9 Enforcing contracts The Czech Republic made enforcing contracts easier by simplifying and speeding up the proceedings for the execution and enforcement of judgments. Employing workers The Czech Republic abolished the minimum wage for young workers. Denmark Croatia 9 Starting a business Croatia made starting a business easier by introducing a new form of limited liability company with a lower minimum capital requirement and simplified incorporation procedures. 9 Paying taxes Croatia made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for social security contributions and by reducing the rates for the forest and Chamber of Commerce contributions. 9 Trading across borders Croatia made trading across borders easier by improving the physical and information system infrastructure at the port of Rijeka and by streamlining export customs procedures in preparation for accession to the Common Transit Convention of the European Union. 9 Enforcing contracts Croatia made enforcing contracts easier by streamlining litigation proceedings and transferring certain enforcement procedures from the courts to state agencies. 9 Resolving insolvency Croatia made resolving insolvency easier by introducing an expedited outof-court restructuring procedure. 8 Dealing with construction permits Denmark made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the fee for building permits. Djibouti 9 Starting a business Djibouti made starting a business easier by simplifying registration formalities and eliminating the minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies. 9 Getting credit Djibouti strengthened its secured transactions system by adopting a new commercial code, which broadens the range of movable assets that can be used as collateral. 9 Resolving insolvency Djibouti made resolving insolvency easier through its new commercial code, which allows an insolvent debtor to file for preventive settlement, legal redress or liquidation and sets out clear rules on the steps and procedures for each of the alternatives available. Ecuador 9 Getting electricity Ecuador made getting electricity easier by dividing the city of Quito into zones for the purpose of handling applications for new connections—a change that improved the utility’s customer SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 service—and by reducing the fees to obtain a connection. Egypt, Arab Rep. 8 Paying taxes Egypt made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate. by eliminating the requirement for an on-site inspection before construction starts. 9 Paying taxes Gabon made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Gambia, The El Salvador 8 Paying taxes El Salvador made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate. 9 Trading across borders El Salvador made trading across borders easier by developing a one-stop shop for exporting and by implementing electronic data interchange systems. 9 Paying taxes The Gambia made paying taxes easier for companies by replacing the sales tax with a value added tax. Georgia 9 Getting credit Georgia improved its credit information system by implementing a new law on personal data protection. 9 Enforcing contracts Estonia made enforcing contracts easier by lowering court fees. 8 Starting a business Ghana made starting a business more difficult by requiring entrepreneurs to obtain a tax identification number prior to company incorporation. Fiji 8 Paying taxes Fiji made paying taxes more complicated for companies by transferring the fringe benefit tax liability from employees to employers and by limiting the deductibility of mandatory contributions. France 9 Registering property France made transferring property easier by speeding up the registration of the deed of sale at the land registry. Gabon 9 Starting a business Gabon made starting a business easier by replacing the requirement for a copy of the founders’ criminal records with one for a sworn declaration. 9 Dealing with construction permits Gabon made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the time required to obtain a building permit and 9 Starting a business Guatemala made starting a business easier by creating an online platform that allows simultaneous registration of a new company with different government agencies. 9 Dealing with construction permits Guatemala made dealing with construction permits easier by streamlining procedures through the creation of a one-stop shop, backed by agreements between institutions and agencies involved in the permitting process. 9 Paying taxes Guatemala made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing a new electronic filing and payment system. Guinea Ghana Estonia Guatemala Greece 9 Starting a business Greece made starting a business easier by introducing a simpler form of limited liability company and abolishing the minimum capital requirement for such companies. 9 Protecting investors Greece strengthened investor protections by introducing a requirement for director approval of related-party transactions. 8 Paying taxes Greece made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate—though it also reduced the employers’ contribution rate to the social security fund. 9 Trading across borders Greece made trading across borders easier by implementing a system allowing electronic submission of customs declarations for exports. 9 Starting a business Guinea made starting a business easier by enabling the one-stop shop to publish incorporation notices and by reducing the notary fees. 9 Registering property Guinea made transferring property easier by reducing the property transfer tax. 9 Trading across borders Guinea made trading across borders easier by improving port management systems. Guinea-Bissau 9 Registering property Guinea-Bissau made transferring property easier by increasing the number of notaries dealing with property transactions. Guyana 9 Paying taxes Guyana made paying taxes easier for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Hong Kong SAR, China 9 Starting a business Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business less costly by abolishing 163 164 DOING BUSINESS 2014 the capital duty levied on local companies. 8 Registering property Hong Kong SAR, China, made transferring property more costly by increasing the stamp duty. Hungary Employing workers Hungary reduced the premium for night work and weekly holiday work and increased the minimum wage. Iceland 9 Paying taxes Iceland made paying taxes easier for companies by reducing employers’ social security contribution rate and abolishing the weight distance tax— though it also introduced a new rehabilitation fund contribution. Indonesia 9 Getting credit Indonesia improved its credit information system through a new regulation setting up a legal framework for establishing credit bureaus. Ireland Employing workers Ireland ended a 60% rebate for employers on severance payments and eliminated the requirement for third-party notification when terminating a redundant worker. Israel 9 Starting a business Israel made starting a business easier by reducing the time required for registration at the Income Tax Department and the National Insurance Institute. 9 Resolving insolvency Israel made resolving insolvency easier through amendments to its companies law allowing the assumption or rejection of executory contracts, granting maximum priority to postcommencement credit, extending the maximum period of moratorium during restructuring proceedings and allowing the sale of secured assets when necessary to ensure a successful restructuring. Italy Kazakhstan 9 Starting a business Kazakhstan made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to register a company at the Public Registration Center. 9 Registering property Italy made transferring property easier by eliminating the requirement for an energy performance certificate for commercial buildings with no heating system. 9 Registering property Kazakhstan made transferring property easier by introducing a fast-track procedure for property registration. 9 Enforcing contracts Italy made enforcing contracts easier by regulating attorneys’ fees and streamlining some court proceedings. 9 Getting credit Korea strengthened its secured transactions system by creating new types of security rights that can be publicized through registration. 9 Resolving insolvency Italy made resolving insolvency easier through amendments to its bankruptcy code that introduce a stay period for enforcement actions while the debtor is preparing a restructuring plan, make it easier to convert from one type of restructuring proceeding to another, facilitate continued operation by the debtor during restructuring and impose stricter requirements on auditors evaluating a restructuring plan. Jamaica 9 Starting a business Jamaica made starting a business easier by enabling the Companies Office of Jamaica to stamp the new company’s articles of incorporation at registration. 8 Registering property Jamaica made transferring property more difficult by increasing the transfer tax and the stamp duty. 9 Getting credit Jamaica improved its credit information system by creating a legal and regulatory framework for private credit bureaus. 9 Paying taxes Jamaica made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate—though it also increased vehicle and asset taxes. Korea, Rep. Kosovo 9 Starting a business Kosovo made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop for incorporation. 9 Dealing with construction permits Kosovo made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement for validation of the main construction project, eliminating fees for technical approvals from the municipality and reducing the building permit fee. 9 Registering property Kosovo made transferring property easier by introducing a new notary system and by combining procedures for drafting and legalizing sale and purchase agreements. Kuwait 8 Starting a business Kuwait made starting a business more difficult by increasing the minimum capital requirement. 9 Protecting investors Kuwait strengthened investor protections by making it possible for minority shareholders to request the appointment of an auditor to review the company’s activities. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 Lao PDR 9 Paying taxes Lao PDR made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate—though it also introduced a new property transfer tax. Latvia 9 Starting a business Latvia made starting a business easier by making it possible to file the applications for company registration and value added tax registration simultaneously at the commercial registry. 9 Dealing with construction permits Latvia made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing new time limits for issuing a building permit and by eliminating the Public Health Agency’s role in approving building permits and conducting inspections. 9 Getting credit Latvia improved its credit information system by adopting a new law regulating the public credit registry. 9 Trading across borders Latvia made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents required for importing. Lesotho 9 Registering property Lesotho made transferring property easier by streamlining procedures and increasing administrative efficiency. Liberia 9 Starting a business Liberia made starting a business easier by eliminating the business trade license fees and reducing the time to obtain the business registration certificate. 9 Registering property Liberia made transferring property easier by digitizing the records at the land registry. Lithuania 9 Starting a business Lithuania made starting a business easier by creating a new form of limited liability company with no minimum capital requirement. 9 Getting credit Lithuania strengthened its secured transactions system by broadening the range of movable assets that can be used as collateral, allowing a general description in the security agreement of the assets pledged as collateral and permitting out-of-court enforcement. Macedonia, FYR 9 Dealing with construction permits FYR Macedonia made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the time required to register a new building and by authorizing the municipality to register the building on behalf of the owner. 9 Getting electricity FYR Macedonia made getting electricity easier by reducing the time required to obtain a new connection and by setting fixed connection fees per kilowatt (kW) for connections requiring a capacity below 400 kW. 9 Registering property FYR Macedonia made property registration faster and less costly by digitizing the real estate cadastre and eliminating the requirement for an encumbrance certificate. 9 Getting credit FYR Macedonia strengthened its secured transactions system by providing more flexibility on the description of assets in a collateral agreement and on the types of debts and obligations that can be secured. 9 Protecting investors FYR Macedonia strengthened investor protections by allowing shareholders to request the rescission of unfair related-party transactions and the appointment of an auditor to investigate alleged irregularities in the company’s activities. 9 Paying taxes FYR Macedonia made paying taxes easier for companies by encouraging the use of electronic filing and payment systems for corporate income and value added taxes. Madagascar 8 Starting a business Madagascar made starting a business more difficult by increasing the cost to register with the National Center for Statistics. 9 Paying taxes Madagascar made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by training taxpayers in the use of the online system for value added tax declarations and by reducing the corporate income tax rate. 9 Trading across borders Madagascar made trading across borders easier by rolling out an online platform linking trade operators with government agencies involved in the trade process and customs clearance. Malawi 9 Registering property Malawi made transferring property easier by reducing the stamp duty. Malaysia 9 Starting a business Malaysia made starting a business less costly by reducing the company registration fees. 9 Dealing with construction permits Malaysia made dealing with construction permits easier by establishing a one-stop shop. 9 Getting electricity Malaysia made getting electricity easier by increasing the efficiency of internal processes at the utility and improving its communication and dialogue with contractors. Employing workers Malaysia introduced a minimum wage. 165 166 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Maldives 9 Paying taxes Maldives made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing electronic filing systems for corporate income tax, sales tax and pension contributions. Mali 8 Starting a business Mali made starting a business more difficult by ceasing to regularly publish the incorporation notices of new companies on the official website of the one-stop shop. Malta 9 Dealing with construction permits Malta made dealing with construction permits less costly by significantly reducing the building permit fees. standardizing the process of registration, suspension and removal of insolvency practitioners. Mexico 9 Getting electricity Mexico made getting electricity easier by increasing the efficiency of the utility’s internal processes and by enforcing a “silence is consent” rule for the approval of the feasibility study for a new connection. 9 Trading across borders Mexico made trading across borders easier by implementing an electronic single-window system. 9 Enforcing contracts Mexico made enforcing contracts easier by creating small claims courts, with oral proceedings, that can hear both civil and commercial cases. Mauritania 8 Paying taxes Mauritania made paying taxes more costly for companies by introducing a new health insurance contribution for employers that is levied on gross salaries. 9 Trading across borders Mauritania made trading across borders easier by introducing a new riskbased inspection system with scanners. Mauritius 9 Getting credit Mauritius improved access to credit information by expanding the scope of credit information and increasing the coverage of the historical data distributed from 2 years to 3. 9 Enforcing contracts Mauritius made enforcing contracts easier by liberalizing the profession of ushers, providing competitive options for litigants to enforce binding decisions. 9 Resolving insolvency Mauritius made resolving insolvency easier by introducing guidelines for out-of-court restructuring and Moldova 9 Getting credit Moldova strengthened its secured transactions system by introducing new grounds for relief from an automatic stay during insolvency and restructuring proceedings. 9 Paying taxes Moldova made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic filing and payment system for the value added tax, corporate income tax, land improvement tax and tax on immovable property. 9 Resolving insolvency Moldova made resolving insolvency easier by introducing new restructuring mechanisms, reducing opportunities for appeals, adding moratorium provisions and establishing strict statutory periods for several stages of the insolvency proceeding. register a new company with the local tax office. 9 Dealing with construction permits Mongolia made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement for a technical review of the building plans by the state for low- and medium-risk construction projects. 9 Getting electricity Mongolia made getting electricity easier by increasing the efficiency of the utility’s internal processes, enforcing time limits at different stages of the connection process and eliminating the fees for testing the installation. Montenegro 9 Dealing with construction permits Montenegro made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing a one-stop shop and imposing strict time limits for the issuance of approvals. 9 Registering property Montenegro made registering property easier by introducing a notary system. Morocco 9 Starting a business Morocco made starting a business easier by reducing the company registration fees. 9 Registering property Morocco made transferring property easier by reducing the time required to register a deed of transfer at the tax authority. 9 Paying taxes Morocco made paying taxes easier for companies by increasing the use of the electronic filing and payment system for social security contributions. Mozambique Mongolia 9 Starting a business Mongolia made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to get company statutes and charters notarized as well as the requirement to 9 Dealing with construction permits Mozambique made dealing with construction permits easier by improving internal processes at the Department of Construction and Urbanization—though it also increased the fees for building permits and occupancy permits. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 9 Trading across borders Mozambique made trading across borders easier by implementing an electronic single-window system. Myanmar 9 Paying taxes Myanmar made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Namibia 8 Registering property Namibia made transferring property more expensive by increasing the transfer and stamp duties. Nicaragua 9 Starting a business Nicaragua made starting a business easier by merging the procedures for registering with the revenue authority and with the municipality and by reducing the time required for incorporation. 9 Getting electricity Nicaragua reduced the time required for getting electricity by increasing efficiency in granting approval of the connection design and by informing the customer in advance what the amount of the security deposit will be. Niger Nepal 9 Starting a business Nepal made starting a business easier by reducing the administrative processing time at the company registrar and by establishing a data link between agencies involved in the incorporation process. Netherlands 9 Starting a business The Netherlands made starting a business easier by abolishing the minimum capital requirement. 9 Registering property The Netherlands made transferring property easier by increasing the efficiency of the title search process. 8 Getting credit The Netherlands weakened its secured transactions system through an amendment to the Collection of State Taxes Act that grants priority outside bankruptcy to tax claims over secured creditors’ claims. New Zealand 9 Enforcing contracts New Zealand made enforcing contracts easier by improving its case management system to ensure a speedier and less costly adjudication of cases. 9 Starting a business Niger made starting a business easier by replacing the requirement for a copy of the founders’ criminal records with one for a sworn declaration at the time of company registration. 9 Registering property Niger made transferring property easier by reducing the registration fees. Employing workers Niger increased the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts. Palau 9 Getting credit Palau strengthened its secured transactions system through a new law that establishes a centralized collateral registry, broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral to include future assets, allows a general description in the security agreement of debts and obligations as well as assets pledged as collateral, establishes clear priority rules outside bankruptcy for secured creditors and allows out-of-court enforcement of the collateral. 9 Enforcing contracts Palau made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Panama 9 Starting a business Panama made starting a business easier by eliminating the need to visit the municipality to obtain the municipal taxpayer number. 9 Registering property Panama made transferring property easier by connecting the land registry with the cadastre. 9 Protecting investors Panama strengthened investor protections by increasing the disclosure requirements for publicly held companies. 9 Paying taxes Panama made paying taxes easier for companies by changing the payment frequency for corporate income taxes from monthly to quarterly and by implementing a new online platform for filing the social security payroll. Paraguay 9 Paying taxes Paraguay made paying taxes easier for companies by making electronic filing and payment mandatory for corporate income and value added taxes. Philippines 9 Dealing with construction permits The Philippines made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a health certificate. 9 Getting credit The Philippines improved access to credit information by beginning to distribute both positive and negative information and by enacting a data privacy act that guarantees borrowers’ right to access their data. 9 Paying taxes The Philippines made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic filing and payment system for social security contributions. 167 168 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Poland Russian Federation 9 Starting a business Poland made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to register the new company at the National Labor Inspectorate and the National Sanitary Inspectorate. 9 Starting a business Russia made starting a business easier by abolishing the requirement to have the bank signature card notarized before opening a company bank account. 9 Dealing with construction permits Poland made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a description of the geotechnical documentation of the land. 9 Dealing with construction permits Russia made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating several requirements for project approvals from government agencies and by reducing the time required to register a new building. Portugal 9 Starting a business Portugal made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to report to the Ministry of Labor. 9 Getting electricity Russia made getting electricity simpler and less costly by setting standard connection tariffs and eliminating many procedures previously required. Employing workers Portugal reduced the wage premium for weekly holiday work and abolished priority rules for redundancy dismissals. 9 Registering property Russia made transferring property easier by streamlining procedures and implementing effective time limits for processing transfer applications. Qatar 9 Paying taxes Qatar made paying taxes easier for companies by eliminating certain requirements associated with the corporate income tax return. 9 Trading across borders Russia made trading across borders easier by implementing an electronic system for submitting export and import documents and by reducing the number of physical inspections. Rwanda Romania 9 Starting a business Romania made starting a business easier by transferring responsibility for issuing the headquarters clearance certificate from the Fiscal Administration Office to the Trade Registry. 9 Paying taxes Romania made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by reducing the payment frequency for the firm tax from quarterly to twice a year and by reducing the vehicle tax rate. 9 Enforcing contracts Romania made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new civil procedure code that streamlines and speeds up all court proceedings. 9 Starting a business Rwanda made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to obtain a registration certificate. 9 Dealing with construction permits Rwanda made dealing with construction permits easier and less costly by reducing the building permit fees, implementing an electronic platform for building permit applications and streamlining procedures. 9 Registering property Rwanda made transferring property easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a tax clearance certificate and by implementing the web-based Land Administration Information System for processing land transactions. 9 Getting credit Rwanda strengthened its secured transactions system by providing more flexibility on the types of debts and obligations that can be secured through a collateral agreement. 9 Protecting investors Rwanda strengthened investor protections through a new law allowing plaintiffs to cross-examine defendants and witnesses with prior approval of the questions by the court. 9 Paying taxes Rwanda made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by fully rolling out its electronic filing system to the majority of businesses and by reducing the property tax rate and business trading license fee. 9 Trading across borders Rwanda made trading across borders easier by introducing an electronic single-window system at the border. 9 Resolving insolvency Rwanda made resolving insolvency easier through a new law clarifying the standards for beginning insolvency proceedings; preventing the separation of the debtor’s assets during reorganization proceedings; setting clear time limits for the submission of a reorganization plan; and implementing an automatic stay of creditors’ enforcement actions. Samoa 8 Registering property Samoa made transferring property more expensive by increasing the stamp duty. Senegal 9 Registering property Senegal made transferring property easier by reducing the property transfer tax. 8 Paying taxes Senegal made paying taxes more costly by increasing the corporate income tax rate. At the same time, Senegal facilitated tax payments by making tax forms available online and SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 creating the Center for Medium Enterprises. Serbia 8 Paying taxes Serbia made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate. requirement to obtain project conditions from the water and sewerage provider. Employing workers Slovenia abolished priority rules for reemployment, changed the notice period and severance pay provisions for redundancy dismissals and increased the minimum wage. Seychelles 8 Paying taxes The Seychelles made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a value added tax. Singapore 9 Registering property Singapore made transferring property easier by introducing an online procedure for property transfers. 9 Getting credit Singapore improved its credit information system by guaranteeing by law borrowers’ right to inspect their own data. Slovak Republic 8 Starting a business The Slovak Republic made starting a business more difficult by adding a new procedure for establishing a limited liability company. 8 Paying taxes The Slovak Republic made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate and by adjusting land appraisal values. Employing workers The Slovak Republic reduced the maximum cumulative duration of fixedterm contracts, reintroduced the requirement for third-party notification when terminating an employee, reintroduced mandatory severance pay for workers with more than 2 years of service in the company and increased the minimum wage. Slovenia 9 Dealing with construction permits Slovenia made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the South Africa 9 Paying taxes South Africa made paying taxes easier for companies by replacing the secondary tax on companies with a dividend tax borne by shareholders. South Sudan 8 Paying taxes South Sudan made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate. Spain 9 Starting a business Spain made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a municipal license before starting operations and by improving the efficiency of the commercial registry. Employing workers Spain reduced the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts and increased the minimum wage. Sri Lanka 9 Dealing with construction permits Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a tax clearance and by reducing building permit fees. 9 Getting electricity Sri Lanka made getting electricity easier by improving the utility’s internal workflow and by reducing the time required to process new applications for connections. 9 Paying taxes Sri Lanka made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic filing system for social security contributions. 9 Trading across borders Sri Lanka made trading across borders easier by introducing an electronic payment system for port services. St. Lucia 8 Trading across borders St. Lucia made trading across borders more difficult by introducing a new export document. Suriname 9 Starting a business Suriname made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to obtain the president’s approval for the registration of a new company. 9 Registering property Suriname made transferring property easier by increasing administrative efficiency at the land registry. Swaziland 9 Starting a business Swaziland made starting a business easier by shortening the administrative processing times for registering a new business and obtaining a trading license. 9 Trading across borders Swaziland made trading across borders easier by streamlining the process for obtaining a certificate of origin. Sweden 9 Paying taxes Sweden made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Tajikistan 8 Starting a business Tajikistan made starting a business more difficult by requiring preliminary approval from the tax authority and the submission of additional documents at registration. 169 170 DOING BUSINESS 2014 9 Getting credit Tajikistan improved access to credit information by establishing a private credit bureau. 9 Paying taxes Tajikistan made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate, merging the minimal income tax with the corporate income tax and abolishing the retail sales tax. At the same time, Tajikistan increased the land and vehicle tax rates. Tanzania 9 Getting credit Tanzania improved its credit information system through new regulations that provide for the licensing of credit reference bureaus and outline the functions of the credit reference data bank. 9 Resolving insolvency Tanzania made resolving insolvency easier through new rules clearly specifying the professional requirements and remuneration for insolvency practitioners, promoting reorganization proceedings and streamlining insolvency proceedings. Thailand 9 Paying taxes Thailand made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing employers’ social security contribution rate. Togo 9 Starting a business Togo made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to register at the one-stop shop and by reducing registration costs. 9 Dealing with construction permits Togo made dealing with construction permits easier by improving internal operations at the City Hall of Lomé. 8 Paying taxes Togo made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate and employers’ social security contribution rate and by introducing a new tax on corporate cars. At the same time, Togo reduced the payroll tax rate. 8 Trading across borders Togo made trading across borders more difficult by granting monopoly control of all port activities at the port of Lomé to a private company. 9 Enforcing contracts Togo made enforcing contracts easier by creating specialized commercial divisions within the court of first instance. Tonga 9 Getting credit Tonga improved access to credit information by establishing a private credit bureau. 8 Paying taxes Tonga made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a superannuation levy—though it also abolished the business license for 2013. Trinidad and Tobago 9 Starting a business Trinidad and Tobago made starting a business easier by merging the statutory declaration of compliance into the standard articles of incorporation form. Tunisia 8 Starting a business Tunisia made starting a business more difficult by increasing the cost of company registration. Turkey 8 Starting a business Turkey made starting a business more difficult by increasing the minimum capital requirement. 9 Dealing with construction permits Turkey reduced the time required for dealing with construction permits by setting strict time limits for granting a lot plan and by reducing the documentation requirements for an occupancy permit. 9 Getting electricity Turkey made getting electricity easier by eliminating external inspections and reducing some administrative costs. 8 Registering property Turkey made transferring property more costly by increasing the registration and several other fees. 9 Protecting investors Turkey strengthened investor protections through a new commercial code that requires directors found liable in abusive related-party transactions to disgorge their profits and that allows shareholders to request the appointment of an auditor to investigate alleged prejudicial conflicts of interest. Uganda 9 Registering property Uganda made transferring property easier by eliminating the need to have instruments of land transfer physically embossed to certify payment of the stamp duty. Ukraine 9 Starting a business Ukraine made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement for registration with the statistics authority and by eliminating the cost for value added tax registration. 9 Dealing with construction permits Ukraine made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing a risk-based approval system, eliminating requirements for certain approvals and technical conditions and simplifying the process for registering real estate ownership rights. 9 Getting electricity Ukraine made getting electricity easier by streamlining the process for obtaining a new connection. 9 Registering property Ukraine made transferring property easier by streamlining procedures and revamping the property registration system. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2012/13 9 Getting credit Ukraine improved access to credit information by beginning to collect data on firms from financial institutions. 9 Paying taxes Ukraine made paying taxes easier for companies by simplifying tax returns and further improving its electronic filing system. 9 Trading across borders Ukraine made trading across borders easier by releasing customs declarations more quickly and reducing the number of physical inspections. 9 Resolving insolvency Ukraine made resolving insolvency easier by strengthening the rights of secured creditors, introducing new rehabilitation procedures and mechanisms, making it easier to invalidate suspect transactions and shortening the statutory periods for several steps of the insolvency process. United Arab Emirates 9 Getting electricity The United Arab Emirates made getting electricity easier by eliminating the requirement for site inspections and reducing the time required to provide new connections. 9 Registering property The United Arab Emirates made transferring property easier by increasing the operating hours of the land registry and reducing transfer fees. 9 Protecting investors The United Arab Emirates strengthened investor protections by introducing greater disclosure requirements for related-party transactions in the annual report and to the stock exchange and by making it possible to sue directors when such transactions harm the company. United Kingdom 9 Starting a business The United Kingdom made starting a business easier by providing model articles for use in preparing memorandums and articles of association. 9 Registering property The United Kingdom made transferring property easier by introducing electronic lodgment for property transfer applications. Employing workers United Kingdom increased the cap on weekly wage provided to employees on the severance payment and the minimum wage. Uruguay 9 Trading across borders Uruguay made trading across borders easier by implementing an electronic customs declaration system. Uzbekistan 9 Starting a business Uzbekistan made starting a business easier by abolishing the paid-in minimum capital requirement and by eliminating the requirement to have signature samples notarized before opening a bank account. 9 Registering property Uzbekistan made transferring property easier by reducing the notary fees. 9 Getting credit Uzbekistan improved access to credit information by expanding the scope of credit information and requiring that more than 2 years of historical data be collected and distributed. 9 Paying taxes Uzbekistan made paying taxes easier for companies by eliminating some small taxes. 9 Trading across borders Uzbekistan made trading across borders easier by eliminating the need to register import contracts with customs, tightening the time limits for banks to register export or import contracts and reducing the number of export documents required. 9 Enforcing contracts Uzbekistan made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Vanuatu 9 Getting credit Vanuatu improved access to credit information by establishing a private credit bureau. Venezuela, RB 8 Starting a business República Bolivariana de Venezuela made starting a business more costly by increasing the company registration fees. 9 Getting credit República Bolivariana de Venezuela improved access to credit information by starting to collect data on firms from financial institutions. Vietnam 9 Getting credit Vietnam improved its credit information system through a decree setting up a legal framework for the establishment of private credit bureaus. 9 Protecting investors Vietnam strengthened investor protections by introducing greater disclosure requirements for publicly held companies in cases of related-party transactions. 8 Paying taxes Vietnam made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing employers’ social security contribution rate. Employing workers Vietnam abolished priority rules for redundancy dismissals or layoffs and increased the minimum wage. West Bank and Gaza 9 Starting a business West Bank and Gaza made starting a business less costly by eliminating the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Employing workers West Bank and Gaza introduced a minimum wage. 171 172 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Zambia 9 Starting a business Zambia made starting a business easier by raising the threshold at which value added tax registration is required. Country tables Reform making it easier to do business AFGHANISTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 164 24 3 5 14.4 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 167 South Asia Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 175 9 250 5.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) 130 7 Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 12 330 3,247.3 Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 0 0.0 0.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 104 4 109 1,731.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 189 1 1 1 1.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 98 20 275 36.3 ALBANIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 90 76 5 4.5 21.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 189 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 158 6 177 543.3 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 119 6 33 11.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 13.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 14 7 9 6 7.3 146 42 357 31.7 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 622 29.8 184 10 81 4,645 10 85 5,180 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 168 47 1,642 25.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 115 2.0 25 26.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,090 3.2 85 7 19 745 8 18 730 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 124 39 525 35.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 62 2.0 10 40.7 174 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business ALGERIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 153 164 14 25 12.4 28.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 147 19 241 60.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 148 5 180 1,562.9 Middle East & North Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 176 10 63 7.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 3 4 2.4 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 98 5 6 4 5.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ANGOLA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 179 178 8 66 130.1 21.8 65 12 204 28.6 170 7 145 689.7 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 71 92 8 21 10.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 21 10 134 22.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 20 4 42 126.2 132 7 191 3.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 3 4 2.4 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 4 6 6 5.3 128 7 26 10.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 4,110 38.5 133 8 17 1,270 9 27 1,330 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 129 45 630 21.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 60 2.5 7 41.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,580 20.8 169 10 40 1,860 9 43 2,700 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 187 46 1,296 44.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 155 30 282 52.1 Latin America & Caribbean High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 174 29 451 71.9 Sub-Saharan Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business 151 57 207 41.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 12,640 0.1 93 5 16 1,090 7 23 1,520 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 65 44 351 22.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 80 3.0 7 35.9 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business ARGENTINA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 126 164 14 25 19.9 5.7 181 24 365 234.1 80 6 91 40.3 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ARMENIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 37 6 2 4 1.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 79 21 84 68.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 109 5 242 98.9 AUSTRALIA Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 11 4 3 2.5 0.7 0.0 10 11 112 13.3 34 5 75 8.7 73 4 6 41.9 100.0 98 7 2 6 5.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,740 41.1 129 6 12 1,650 8 30 2,260 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 57 36 590 20.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 97 2.8 12 30.8 153 9 405 107.8 Europe & Central Asia GNI per capita (US$) 3,720 Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3.0 117 5 16 1,885 8 18 2,175 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 138 7 53.5 6.6 Reform making it more difficult to do business OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 5 3 7 0.1 42 6 6 21.9 63.8 22 6 6 8 6.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 112 49 570 19.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 76 1.9 11 36.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 59,570 22.7 46 5 9 1,150 7 8 1,170 103 10 380 38.8 40 5 4.5 5.0 3 10 5 0.0 100.0 68 8 2 7 5.7 44 11 105 47.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 14 28 395 21.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18 1.0 8 81.3 175 176 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business AUSTRIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 30 138 8 25 4.8 47.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 94 13 194 55.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 28 5 23 101.7 OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 36 3 20.5 4.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 28 7 6 1.7 51.8 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) AZERBAIJAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 70 10 3 7 1.0 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 180 28 212 282.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 181 9 241 570.8 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) BAHAMAS, THE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 84 83 7 23.5 10.4 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 75 14 178 28.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 45 5 67 102.1 Reform making it more difficult to do business 98 5 5 5 5.0 8.5 19 3 9 1,090 4 8 1,155 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 6 25 397 18.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 14 1.1 10 82.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 6,050 9.3 168 9 28 3,540 11 25 3,560 79 12 166 52.4 13 4 11 0.5 55 6 5 23.0 0.0 22 7 5 8 6.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 28 40 237 18.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 86 2.3 8 34.0 77 18 214 40.0 Latin America & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 182 7 122 12.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 2 5 7 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 45 18 58 46.6 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 48,160 22,833 0.4 72 5 19 1,005 5 13 1,770 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 125 49 427 28.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 32 3.0 12 63.5 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business BAHRAIN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 46 99 7 9 0.9 226.6 4 12 60 9.3 52 5 90 55.5 BANGLADESH Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 130 74 7 10.5 19.9 0.0 93 11 201 110.3 189 9 404 4,483.4 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 3 4 0.0 26.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 8 4 2 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 7 13 36 13.5 South Asia Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 177 8 245 6.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 7 2 0.8 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 22 6 7 7 6.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) BARBADOS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 91 77 8 18 7.2 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 56 10 442 8.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 83 7 65 60.9 32 2 31 2.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 23,477 1.3 81 7 11 955 8 15 995 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 122 48 635 14.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27 2.5 10 67.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 840 154.7 130 6 25 1,075 8 35 1,470 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 185 41 1,442 66.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 119 4.0 8 25.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 16,152 0.3 30 5 9 810 5 8 1,615 100 20 302 35.0 Latin America & Caribbean High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 142 6 153 5.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 2 1 6 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 112 28 237 40.8 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 110 38 1,340 19.7 28 1.8 15 65.1 177 178 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business BELARUS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 63 15 5 9 0.8 0.0 30 12 128 21.3 168 7 161 431.7 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) BELGIUM Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 36 49 3 4 5.2 18.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 100 13 214 54.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 90 6 88 92.5 BELIZE 106 167 9 44 46.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 16 8 91 87.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 57 5 66 357.5 109 3 5 60.3 0.0 98 7 0 8 5.0 180 8 64 12.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 6 4 96.2 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 16 8 6 7 7.0 6,530 9.5 149 9 15 1,510 10 30 2,315 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 13 29 275 23.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 74 3.0 22 36.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 44,990 11.1 28 4 9 1,240 4 8 1,400 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 16 26 505 17.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 6 0.9 4 89.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,180 0.3 101 5 17 1,355 7 19 1,580 76 11 160 57.5 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 143 8 60 4.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 3 4 6 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 48 29 147 33.2 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 133 10 319 54.0 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 3 2 4 0.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 173 51 892 27.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30 1.0 23 64.5 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business BENIN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 174 139 4 15 122.7 261.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 95 11 188 165.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 160 5 158 16,321.0 BHUTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 141 86 8 32 5.0 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 132 22 150 77.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 91 5 82 693.1 BOLIVIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 162 180 15 49 71.6 1.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 136 16 275.5 61.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 128 8 42 952.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 137 4 120 11.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 10.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 179 55 270 65.9 South Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 86 3 92 5.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 15.6 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 4 3 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 104 19 274 40.8 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 750 10.1 119 6 26 1,030 7 27 1,520 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 181 42 795 64.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 140 4.0 22 18.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,420 0.7 172 9 38 2,230 12 38 2,330 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37 47 225 0.1 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 Latin America & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 2,220 Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 144 7 91 4.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 1 6 14.1 36.5 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 10.5 126 7 21 1,440 6 24 1,745 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 1 5 6 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 185 42 1,025 83.4 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 131 40 591 33.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 67 1.8 15 38.9 179 180 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 131 174 11 37 14.9 29.1 175 17 179 1,100.2 164 8 125 492.4 BOTSWANA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 56 96 9 60 1.2 0.0 69 21 111 17.6 107 5 121 389.1 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 5 5 39.1 4.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 3 6 5 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 135 40 407 25.5 BRAZIL 116 123 13 107.5 4.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 130 15 400 34.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 14 4 58 34.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,650 3.8 107 8 16 1,260 8 13 1,200 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 115 37 595 34.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 77 3.3 9 36.0 Sub-Saharan Africa GNI per capita (US$) 7,720 Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2.0 145 6 27 3,045 6 35 3,610 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 96 7 25 5.3 Reform making it more difficult to do business 41 4 15 5.1 73 6 4 0.0 60.7 52 7 8 3 6.0 107 14 30 2.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 50.4 63.4 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 86 28 625 39.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 34 1.7 18 61.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 11,630 198.7 124 6 13 2,215 8 17 2,275 47 34 152 25.4 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 80 5 8 3 5.3 159 9 2,600 68.3 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 121 44 731 16.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 135 4.0 12 19.5 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business BRUNEI DARUSSALAM Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 59 137 15 101 9.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 46 22 95 3.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 29 5 56 35.9 BULGARIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 58 65 4 18 1.0 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 118 18 104 222.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 135 6 130 320.0 East Asia & Pacific High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 116 7 298 0.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 7 4 55.7 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 4 2 8 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 20 27 96 16.1 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) BURKINA FASO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 154 125 3 13 44.5 306.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 60 12 98 329.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 141 4 158 10,956.6 62 7 14 2.9 28 9 4 61.0 0.0 52 10 2 6 6.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 41,703 0.4 39 5 19 705 5 15 770 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 161 47 540 36.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 48 2.5 4 47.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 6,870 7.3 79 4 20 1,375 5 17 1,365 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 79 38 564 23.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 92 3.3 9 32.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 670 16.5 174 10 41 2,455 9 49 4,430 81 13 454 27.7 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 123 4 67 12.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 2.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 160 45 270 43.9 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 108 37 446 81.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 117 4.0 9 26.1 181 182 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business BURUNDI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 140 27 3 5 17.5 0.0 126 15 99 2,262.8 161 5 158 20,509.0 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 52 5 26 3.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 3 1 0.3 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 8 7 4 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) CAMBODIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 137 184 11 104 150.6 27.5 161 21 652 35.7 134 4 168 2,636.1 118 7 56 4.4 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 8 4 0.0 21.1 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) CAMEROON Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 168 132 5 15 36.2 171.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 127 13 139 1,020.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 62 4 64 1,831.8 80 5 10 1 5.3 240 9.8 175 9 32 2,905 10 46 4,420 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 177 44 832 38.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 164 5.0 30 7.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 880 14.9 114 8 22 795 9 24 930 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 162 44 483 103.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 163 6.0 28 8.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,170 21.7 159 11 23 1,379 11 25 2,167 65 40 173 21.4 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 159 5 86 19.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 6 2 8.9 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 6 1 6 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 180 44 630 48.8 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 143 25 274 51.6 East Asia & Pacific Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 175 42 800 46.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 151 2.8 34 15.4 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business CANADA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 19 2 1 5 0.4 0.0 116 13 249 61.0 145 7 142 131.8 OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) CAPE VERDE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 121 66 7 10 13.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 135 17 117 416.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 151 7 88 888.0 CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 188 177 8 22 162.0 411.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 156 18 203 179.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 177 7 102 11,674.9 Reform making it more difficult to do business 55 6 16.5 3.4 28 7 6 0.0 100.0 4 8 9 9 8.7 50,970 34.9 45 3 8 1,680 3 10 1,680 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 58 36 570 22.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 9 0.8 7 87.3 8 8 131 24.3 Sub-Saharan Africa GNI per capita (US$) 3,810 Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 0.5 95 7 19 1,125 7 18 925 64 6 22 3.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 17.3 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 1 5 6 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 80 30 186 37.2 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Sub-Saharan Africa GNI per capita (US$) Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 141 5 75 11.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 6 2 3.1 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 6 1 5 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 188 56 483 87.6 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 35 37 425 19.8 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 490 4.5 185 9 46 5,490 17 55 5,555 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 180 43 660 82.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 189 4.8 76 0.0 183 184 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business CHAD Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 189 183 9 62 186.3 251.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 139 13 154 4,438.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 149 6 67 9,580.1 CHILE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 34 22 7 5.5 0.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 101 15 155 69.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 43 6 30 63.9 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 146 6 44 15.4 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 0.8 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 189 54 732 73.8 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 55 6 28.5 1.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 6 5 40.5 5.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) CHINA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 96 158 13 33 2.0 78.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 185 25 270 344.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 119 5 145 499.2 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 34 8 6 5 6.3 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 740 12.4 183 8 73 6,615 11 98 9,025 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 171 41 743 45.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 189 4.0 60 0.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 14,280 17.5 40 5 15 980 5 12 930 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 64 36 480 28.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 102 3.2 15 29.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,740 1,350.7 74 8 21 620 5 24 615 38 7 291 27.7 48 4 29 3.6 73 5 5 30.2 0.0 98 10 1 4 5.0 120 7 318 63.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 19 37 406 11.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 78 1.7 22 36.0 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business COLOMBIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 43 79 9 15 7.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 24 8 54 295.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 101 5 105 541.6 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) COMOROS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 158 163 8 15 119.2 237.0 44 13 109 67.4 109 3 120 2,224.9 CONGO, DEM. REP. Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 183 185 11 31 200.1 909.1 90 11 117 1,366.9 142 6 58 23,025.1 73 5 5 0.0 83.8 6 9 8 8 8.3 79 4 30 10.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 6 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 6 1 5 4.0 133 7 49 6.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 6 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 6,990 47.7 94 4 14 2,355 6 13 2,470 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 155 34 1,288 47.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 25 1.7 6 70.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 840 0.7 146 9 31 1,295 10 26 1,295 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 159 43 506 89.4 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 123 33 100 217.9 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 104 10 203 76.0 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 53 7 13 2.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business 176 32 348 118.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 220 65.7 171 8 44 3,155 9 63 3,890 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 177 43 610 147.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 167 5.2 29 4.5 185 186 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business CONGO, REP. Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 185 182 11 101 52.1 78.5 142 14 161 878.5 175 6 135 4,657.6 COSTA RICA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 102 102 9 24 9.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 82 14 123 137.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 47 5 62 226.9 CÔTE D’IVOIRE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 167 115 5 8 44.4 164.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 162 16 364 134.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 153 8 55 3,366.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 164 6 55 21.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 6 2 9.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 183 49 602 63.8 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 46 5 19 3.4 86 3 6 25.4 100.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 2 5 2 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 136 22 226 55.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 127 6 42 10.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 3.2 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 173 62 270 46.4 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,550 4.3 180 11 50 3,795 10 54 7,590 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 164 44 560 53.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 142 3.3 25 17.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 8,740 4.8 44 5 13 1,015 5 14 1,070 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 130 40 852 24.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 124 3.0 15 24.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,220 19.8 165 9 25 1,990 10 34 2,710 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 88 32 585 41.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 95 2.2 18 31.8 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business CROATIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 89 80 6 8 9.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 152 12 317 646.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 60 5 70 319.8 CYPRUS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 39 44 6 8 12.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 86 9 677 57.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 108 5 247 96.6 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 106 5 102.5 5.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 7 5 0.0 100.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 1 5 4 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 34 19 196 19.8 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 9 2 0.0 6.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 8 4 7 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) CZECH REPUBLIC Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 75 146 9 19.5 8.2 29.5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 86 33 120 10.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 146 6 279 179.0 103 6 28 10.3 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 13,290 4.3 99 7 18 1,335 7 15 1,185 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 49 38 572 13.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 98 3.1 15 30.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 26,000 1.1 27 5 7 865 7 5 1,010 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 110 43 735 16.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 24 1.5 15 70.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 18,130 10.5 68 4 17 1,215 6 17 1,190 33 30 147 22.5 37 3 24 4.0 55 6 5 6.4 76.0 98 2 5 8 5.0 122 8 413 48.1 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 75 27 611 33.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 29 2.1 17 65.0 187 188 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business DENMARK Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 5 40 4 5.5 0.2 23.9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 8 8 67 87.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 18 4 38 118.4 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 7 3 4 0.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 28 9 4 0.0 7.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 7 5 7 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) DJIBOUTI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 160 127 9 17 184.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 157 15 167 1,949.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 144 4 180 7,487.0 DOMINICA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 77 51 5 12 16.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 22 9 171 8.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 64 5 61 649.7 133 6 39 12.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 2 1 0.3 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 182 5 2 0 2.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 66 35 82 37.8 119 5 42 13.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 59,770 5.6 8 4 6 795 3 5 745 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 32 35 410 23.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 10 1.0 4 87.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,523 0.9 60 5 20 885 5 18 910 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 163 40 1,225 34.0 12 10 130 27.0 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 75 37 117 37.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 147 5.0 18 16.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 6,460 0.1 88 6 13 990 8 14 1,600 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 172 46 681 36.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 105 4.0 10 28.3 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 117 144 7 18.5 17.3 46.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 121 14 216 67.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 127 7 82 300.9 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 115 7 60 3.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 3 6 59.7 59.8 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ECUADOR Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 135 176 13 55.5 25.3 3.7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 64 16 115 55.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 138 7 74 677.7 EGYPT, ARAB REP. Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 128 50 7 8 9.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 149 21 179 108.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 105 7 54 337.4 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 98 5 4 6 5.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,470 10.3 33 5 8 1,040 6 10 1,145 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 81 34 460 40.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 159 3.5 38 8.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,190 15.5 122 7 20 1,535 6 25 1,520 106 9 324 43.5 91 8 39 2.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 3 6 0.0 70.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 1 5 6 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 91 8 654 33.9 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 105 8 63 0.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 3 6 5.3 19.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 5 3 3 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 148 29 392 42.6 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 99 39 588 27.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 143 5.3 18 17.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,000 80.7 83 8 12 625 10 15 790 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 156 42 1,010 26.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 146 4.2 22 16.9 189 190 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business EL SALVADOR Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 118 148 8 16.5 45.5 2.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 144 24 144 157.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 154 8 88 563.1 EQUATORIAL GUINEA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 166 185 18 135 98.6 13.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 125 15 166 134.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 99 5 106 509.8 ERITREA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 184 188 13 84 50.5 196.1 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 95 5 59 3,352.1 Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 59 5 31 3.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 5 6 27.3 83.3 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 3 0 6 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 165 53 320 38.1 Sub-Saharan Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 109 6 23 12.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 6 2 4.7 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 177 46 492 44.1 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 184 11 78 9.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 186 2 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 4 5 5 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 150 30 216 84.5 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,580 6.3 64 7 13 980 7 10 970 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 68 34 786 19.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 90 3.5 12 32.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 13,560 0.7 137 7 29 1,390 6 44 1,600 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 50 40 475 18.5 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 450 6.1 170 10 50 1,460 12 59 1,600 67 39 490 22.6 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business ESTONIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 22 61 5 6.5 1.5 20.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 38 13 148 15.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 56 4 111 188.0 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 15 3 17.5 0.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 7 5 0.0 33.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ETHIOPIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 125 166 9 15 100.1 184.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 55 9 128 203.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 91 4 95 1,879.5 FIJI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 62 141 11 59 23.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 74 16 142 44.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 81 4 81 1,835.3 68 8 3 6 5.7 113 10 41 2.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 4 4 0.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 3 4 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 109 30 306 33.4 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 15,830 1.3 7 3 6 765 4 5 795 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 26 35 425 21.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 66 3.0 9 38.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 410 91.7 166 7 44 2,180 10 44 2,760 32 7 81 49.4 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 63 4 69 2.0 55 7 4 0.0 72.9 52 3 8 7 6.0 88 38 185 31.2 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 44 38 530 15.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 75 1.8 15 36.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,200 0.9 111 9 18 790 10 22 760 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 63 34 397 38.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 50 1.8 10 45.6 191 192 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business FINLAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 12 55 3 14 1.1 7.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 36 16 66 43.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 22 5 42 29.6 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) FRANCE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 38 41 5 6.5 0.9 0.0 92 9 184 244.4 42 5 79 43.3 GABON 163 153 7 50 12.5 19.3 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 71 12 178 68.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 138 6 141 306.7 42 8 4 0.0 19.5 68 6 4 7 5.7 149 8 49 6.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 7 4 43.6 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 10 1 5 5.3 46,940 5.4 9 4 9 615 5 7 625 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 8 33 375 13.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 3 0.9 4 90.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 41,750 65.7 36 2 10 1,335 2 11 1,445 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 7 29 395 17.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 46 1.9 9 48.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 10,070 1.6 135 6 20 2,045 8 22 2,175 52 7 132 64.7 Sub-Saharan Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 166 6 103 10.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 6 2 51.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 152 26 488 43.5 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 21 8 93 39.8 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 26 3 14 4.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 157 38 1,070 34.3 153 5.0 15 15.2 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business GAMBIA, THE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 150 130 8 27 174.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 104 14 143 142.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 120 5 78 4,526.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 117 5 66 7.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 165 5 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 178 2 1 5 2.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GEORGIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 8 8 2 2 3.5 0.0 2 9 73.5 14.9 54 4 71 515.0 Europe & Central Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GERMANY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 21 111 9 14.5 4.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 12 9 97 46.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 3 3 17 46.9 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 510 1.8 99 6 23 1,190 7 21 895 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 60 33 407 37.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 108 2.0 15 27.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,280 4.5 43 4 9 1,355 4 10 1,595 184 50 376 283.2 1 1 2 0.0 3 9 6 0.0 46.1 16 9 6 6 7.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 33 33 285 29.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 88 2.0 10 33.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 44,010 81.9 14 4 9 905 4 7 940 29 5 280 16.4 81 5 40 5.7 28 7 6 0.0 100.0 98 5 5 5 5.0 89 9 218 49.4 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 5 30 394 14.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 13 1.2 8 82.9 193 194 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business GHANA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 67 128 8 14 15.7 3.7 159 15 246.5 259.6 85 4 79 2,295.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GREECE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 72 36 5 14 4.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 66 19 105 27.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 61 6 62 66.7 GRENADA 107 72 6 15 19.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 9 8 123 18.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 71 6 49 280.9 28 8 5 0.0 10.4 34 7 5 7 6.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,550 25.4 109 6 19 875 7 42 1,360 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 43 36 495 23.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 116 1.9 22 26.2 68 32 224 22.9 OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 161 11 20 11.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 4 5 0.0 84.4 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 11.3 52 4 16 1,040 6 15 1,135 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 98 39 1,300 14.4 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 49 5 34 1.2 Reform making it more difficult to do business 80 7 4 5 5.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 23,260 87 3.5 9 34.0 53 8 193 44.0 Latin America & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 7,110 Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 157 8 47 7.4 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 0.1 61 4 9 1,300 6 9 2,235 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 90 30 140 45.3 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 166 46 688 32.6 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business GUATEMALA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 79 145 6 19.5 46.4 19.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 61 11 107 414.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 34 4 39 548.8 GUINEA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 175 146 5 16 81.0 313.8 155 29 170 91.6 91 4 69 8,082.0 GUINEA-BISSAU Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 180 159 9 9 45.5 364.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 119 12 152 845.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 188 7 455 1,871.3 Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 23 4 23 0.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 8 6 19.1 8.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 3 2 5 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 85 7 326 40.9 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 140 6 59 9.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 6 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 178 6 1 1 2.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 186 57 440 91.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 170 8 51 10.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 1.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 6 1 5 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 153 46 208 45.9 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,120 15.1 116 8 17 1,435 7 17 1,500 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 97 31 1,402 26.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 109 3.0 15 27.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 460 11.5 136 7 36 915 9 31 1,390 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 134 49 276 45.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 145 3.8 8 17.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 550 1.7 125 6 25 1,448 6 22 2,006 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 148 40 1,715 25.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 195 196 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business GUYANA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 115 94 8 20 12.4 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 33 8 195 16.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 155 8 109 479.5 Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 111 6 75 4.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 5 5 6 5.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) HAITI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 177 187 12 97 264.8 19.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 141 9 1,129 627.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 67 4 60 3,800.1 HONDURAS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 127 162 13 14 45.3 15.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 83 13 109 350.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 125 8 33 968.5 138 5 312 7.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 165 3 2 1.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 2 3 4 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 132 47 184 40.4 94 7 23 5.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 8 6 21.1 31.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 0 5 4 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 144 47 224 39.2 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,410 0.8 71 6 19 730 7 22 720 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 73 36 581 25.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 141 3.0 29 18.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 760 10.2 151 8 33 1,200 10 31 1,555 110 35 256 32.5 Latin America & Caribbean Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 96 35 530 42.6 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 2,070 7.9 84 5 12 1,345 7 16 1,500 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 182 47 920 35.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 136 3.8 15 19.5 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business HONG KONG SAR, CHINA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 2 5 3 2.5 0.8 0.0 1 6 71 15.4 5 4 38 1.5 East Asia & Pacific High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 89 5 35.5 7.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 3 10 5 0.0 93.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) HUNGARY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 54 59 4 5 8.6 9.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 47 24 79 9.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 112 5 252 116.4 ICELAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 13 52 5 4.5 2.7 10.5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 41 18 77 25.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 1 4 22 14.3 3 9 8 10 9.0 45 4 16.5 5.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 7 4 0.0 73.2 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 2 4 7 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 124 12 277 49.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 36,560 7.2 2 3 6 590 3 5 565 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 9 27 360 21.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 19 1.1 9 81.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 12,390 9.9 70 6 17 885 6 19 845 4 3 78 22.9 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 12 3 3.5 2.4 42 7 5 0.0 100.0 52 7 5 6 6.0 37 26 140 29.9 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 15 35 395 15.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 70 2.0 15 38.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 38,710 0.3 50 4 10 1,530 4 9 1,620 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 3 27 417 9.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 11 1.0 4 84.5 197 198 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business INDIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 134 179 12 27 47.3 124.4 182 35 168 2,640.4 111 7 67 230.7 South Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) INDONESIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 120 175 10 48 20.5 38.5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 88 13 158 87.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 121 6 101 370.6 IRAN, ISLAMIC REP. 152 107 8 16 3.1 0.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 169 16 319.5 224.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 169 7 140 694.9 28 8 5 0.0 19.8 34 7 4 8 6.3 101 6 22 10.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 5 4 41.2 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 52 10 5 3 6.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 1,530 1,236.7 132 9 16 1,170 11 20 1,250 186 46 1,420 39.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 121 4.3 9 25.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,420 246.9 54 4 17 615 8 23 660 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 147 40 498 139.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 144 4.5 18 17.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 7,211 76.4 153 7 25 1,470 10 37 2,100 137 52 259 32.2 Middle East & North Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 168 9 36 10.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 4 5 41.6 33.3 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 7 4 0 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 139 20 344 44.1 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 158 33 243 62.8 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 92 5 44 7.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 51 40 505 17.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 129 4.5 9 22.4 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business IRAQ Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 151 169 10 29 39.3 13.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 20 10 139 17.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 39 5 47 238.1 IRELAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 15 12 4 10 0.3 0.0 115 12 156 446.3 100 5 205 89.4 Middle East & North Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 108 5 51 8.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 3 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 4 5 4 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 63 13 312 27.8 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ISRAEL Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 35 35 5 14 4.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 140 17 210 86.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 103 6 132 13.8 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 57 5 37 2.6 13 9 5 0.0 100.0 6 10 6 9 8.3 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,870 32.6 179 10 80 3,550 10 82 3,650 142 51 520 28.1 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 38,970 4.6 20 2 8 1,160 2 10 1,121 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 62 21 650 26.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 8 0.4 9 87.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 28,930 7.9 10 4 10 620 4 10 565 6 9 80 25.7 151 6 81 7.3 13 9 5 0.0 100.0 6 7 9 9 8.3 93 33 235 29.9 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 93 35 890 25.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 35 2.0 23 60.6 199 200 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business ITALY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 65 90 6 6 14.2 9.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 112 11 233.5 186.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 89 5 124 215.9 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) JAMAICA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 94 23 5 6 6.4 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 52 8 135 207.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 132 6 96 540.6 JAPAN 27 120 8 22 7.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 91 14 193 28.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 26 3 105 0.0 109 3 5 25.6 100.0 52 7 4 7 6.0 114 6 36 9.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 8 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 4 8 4 5.3 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 33,840 60.9 56 3 19 1,195 3 18 1,145 103 37 1,185 23.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 33 1.8 22 62.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,140 2.7 118 6 20 1,530 7 17 2,130 138 15 269 65.8 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 34 4 16 4.4 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 131 35 655 45.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 31 1.1 18 64.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 47,870 127.6 23 3 11 890 5 11 970 168 36 368 44.3 66 6 13 5.8 28 7 6 0.0 100.0 16 7 6 8 7.0 140 14 330 49.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 36 31 360 32.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 1 0.6 4 92.8 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business JORDAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 119 117 7 12 22.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 111 17 70 499.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 41 5 47 276.3 KAZAKHSTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 50 30 6 12 0.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 145 29 157 87.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 87 6 88 65.3 Middle East & North Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 104 7 21 7.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 2 2 2.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 4 4 1 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 35 25 151 28.9 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) KENYA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 129 134 10 32 38.2 0.0 47 9 125 191.3 166 6 158 1,090.7 18 4 23 0.1 86 4 5 0.0 45.6 22 7 6 7 6.7 163 9 73 4.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 10 4 0.0 4.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 98 3 2 10 5.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,720 6.3 57 5 13 825 7 15 1,235 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 133 38 689 31.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 113 3.0 20 27.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,730 16.8 186 10 81 4,885 12 69 4,865 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 27 37 370 22.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 54 1.5 15 43.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 840 43.2 156 8 26 2,255 9 26 2,350 18 7 188 28.6 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business 166 41 308 44.2 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 151 44 465 47.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 123 4.5 22 24.7 201 202 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business KIRIBATI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 122 156 7 31 22.7 21.7 133 16 170 167.9 159 6 97 5,296.4 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 73 5 513 0.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 165 5 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 52 6 5 7 6.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) KOREA, REP. Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 7 34 5 5.5 14.6 0.0 18 11 29 123.9 2 4 18 17.7 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) KOSOVO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 86 100 6 30 22.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 136 15 151 514.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 121 7 48 881.1 Europe & Central Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 2,260 0.1 77 6 20 870 6 21 870 74 32 660 25.8 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 10 7 120 31.8 75 7 9 5.1 13 8 6 100.0 100.0 52 7 4 7 6.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 22,670 50.0 3 3 8 670 3 7 695 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 2 33 230 10.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 15 1.5 4 82.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,640 1.8 121 8 15 1,775 7 15 1,810 25 10 187 27.9 58 7 28 0.3 28 8 5 22.1 0.0 98 6 6 3 5.0 43 33 162 15.4 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 138 53 420 33.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 83 2.0 15 35.3 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business KUWAIT Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 104 152 12 32 1.1 77.9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 133 24 130 99.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 59 7 42 44.7 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) KYRGYZ REPUBLIC Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 68 12 2 8 2.7 0.0 66 12 142 128.7 180 7 159 2,256.4 LAO PDR 159 85 6 92 6.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 96 23 108 45.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 140 5 134 1,913.0 45,824 3.3 112 7 16 1,085 10 19 1,250 119 50 566 18.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 94 4.2 10 32.0 Europe & Central Asia GNI per capita (US$) 990 Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 130 3 4 0.0 29.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 90 8 47 0.5 Reform making it more difficult to do business 80 4 9 3 5.3 11 12 98 12.4 9 4 6 0.3 13 10 4 0.0 32.1 22 7 5 8 6.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 70 38 260 37.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 132 4.0 15 21.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,260 6.6 161 10 23 1,950 10 26 1,910 127 51 210 33.4 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 76 5 98 1.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 4 2 2.4 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 187 2 1 2 1.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 119 34 362 26.8 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 5.6 182 9 63 4,360 11 75 5,150 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 104 42 443 31.6 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 203 204 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business LATVIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 24 57 4 12.5 1.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 79 18 152 15.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 83 5 108 326.1 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) LEBANON Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 111 120 5 9 76.5 34.7 179 20 246 352.5 51 5 75 98.0 LESOTHO Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 136 89 7 29 11.4 0.0 145 11 330 832.6 136 5 125 1,991.8 3 10 5 73.6 0.0 68 5 4 8 5.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 14,180 2.0 17 5 10 600 5 11 801 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 21 27 469 23.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 43 1.5 10 48.4 49 7 264 35.9 Middle East & North Africa GNI per capita (US$) 9,190 Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 112 8 25 5.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 19.2 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4.4 97 4 22 1,080 7 30 1,365 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 33 5 18 2.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business 98 9 1 5 5.0 88 4 43 8.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 6 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 98 3 4 8 5.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 126 37 721 30.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 93 3.0 15 32.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,380 2.1 144 7 31 1,695 7 33 1,945 39 19 180 30.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 101 33 324 16.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 144 41 615 31.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 104 2.6 20 28.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business LIBERIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 144 31 4 4.5 19.1 0.0 129 23 75 363.0 142 4 465 2,288.5 LIBYA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 187 171 10 35 19.1 31.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 189 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 68 4 118 378.3 LITHUANIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 17 11 4 6.5 0.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 39 16 105 18.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 75 5 148 48.1 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 181 10 44 12.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 7 2 1.4 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 4 1 6 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 42 33 151 26.6 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 370 4.2 142 10 15 1,220 12 28 1,320 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 165 40 1,280 35.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Middle East & North Africa GNI per capita (US$) Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 186 1 1 0.5 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 187 1 1 3 1.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 116 19 889 31.6 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 6 3 2.5 0.8 28 7 6 28.3 89.4 68 7 4 6 5.7 56 11 175 43.1 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 161 3.0 43 8.5 12,778 6.2 143 7 23 1,140 9 37 2,255 150 43 690 27.0 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 13,850 3.0 15 4 10 750 5 9 800 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 17 32 300 23.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 44 1.9 7 48.4 205 206 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business LUXEMBOURG Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 60 103 6 18.5 1.9 20.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 37 12 157 19.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 66 5 120 57.7 MACEDONIA, FYR Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 25 7 2 2 1.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 63 12 90 512.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 76 5 107 258.6 MADAGASCAR Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 148 29 2 8 12.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 157 16 160 1,105.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 187 6 450 9,050.2 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 124 7 26.5 10.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 6 4 3 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 15 23 55 20.7 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 84 7 31 3.3 3 9 6 34.8 77.1 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 16 9 8 4 7.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 26 29 119 8.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 155 6 74 10.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 2 1 0.2 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 68 5 6 6 5.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 61 23 183 35.8 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 76,960 0.5 41 5 8 1,425 4 7 1,420 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 1 26 321 9.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 53 2.0 15 43.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,690 2.1 89 6 12 1,376 8 11 1,380 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 95 37 604 28.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 52 1.8 10 43.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 430 22.3 115 5 22 1,195 9 21 1,555 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 160 38 871 42.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 157 2.0 30 11.7 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business MALAWI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 171 149 10 40 120.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 173 16 183 1,755.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 183 6 222 7,468.4 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 85 6 69 2.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 4 7 5 5.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MALAYSIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 6 16 3 6 7.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 43 15 130 14.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 21 5 32 49.1 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MALDIVES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 95 71 5 9 6.2 2.3 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 18 8 174 8.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 131 6 108 398.0 35 5 14 3.3 1 10 6 52.9 77.2 4 10 9 7 8.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 4 4 17.5 0.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 320 15.9 176 10 34 2,175 11 43 2,870 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 145 42 432 94.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 150 2.6 25 15.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,800 29.2 5 4 11 450 4 8 485 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 30 29 425 27.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42 1.5 10 48.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,750 0.3 138 7 21 1,625 9 22 1,610 36 13 133 36.3 161 6 57 16.2 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 81 35 175 34.9 South Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Reform making it more difficult to do business 80 0 8 8 5.3 115 30 413 28.9 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 90 41 665 16.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 40 1.5 4 50.4 207 208 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business MALI Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 155 136 5 11 76.7 295.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 113 11 179 372.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 118 4 120 3,771.9 MALTA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 103 161 11 39.5 10.8 1.5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 163 18 224 150.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 115 5 136 463.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 99 5 29 12.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 3.7 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 157 35 270 49.5 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 77 7 15 5.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 3 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 68 3 6 8 5.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MARSHALL ISLANDS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 114 56 5 17 12.8 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 32 12 76 124.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 77 5 67 729.5 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 660 14.9 160 6 26 2,440 10 32 4,405 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 140 36 620 52.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 131 3.6 18 22.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 19,760 0.4 34 5 11 855 7 9 970 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 122 40 505 35.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 64 3.0 10 39.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,140 0.1 62 5 23 695 5 25 720 27 7 139 41.0 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 2 0 8 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 96 21 128 64.8 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 61 36 476 27.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 138 2.0 38 18.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business MAURITANIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 173 173 9 19 46.1 314.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 123 16 82 2,681.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 124 5 75 7,404.2 MAURITIUS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 20 19 5 6 3.6 0.0 123 16 248 27.4 48 4 84 281.1 Sub-Saharan Africa GNI per capita (US$) 1,110 Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 67 4 49 4.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 3 1 1.4 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3.8 152 8 31 1,640 8 38 1,523 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 181 37 696 68.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 65 4 15 10.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 6 6 69.2 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MEXICO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 53 48 6 6 19.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 40 11 82 353.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 133 7 85 369.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 12 6 8 9 7.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 75 46 370 23.2 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 8,570 1.3 12 4 10 675 5 10 710 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 54 35 529 25.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 61 1.7 15 41.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,740 120.8 59 4 11 1,450 4 11 1,740 13 8 152 28.2 150 7 74 5.3 42 6 6 0.0 100.0 68 8 5 4 5.7 118 6 334 53.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 71 38 400 31.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 26 1.8 18 67.6 209 210 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business MICRONESIA, FED. STS. Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 156 106 7 16 144.4 0.0 54 15 114 28.7 106 3 470 374.7 MOLDOVA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 78 81 6 7 5.4 8.1 174 26 291 65.0 165 7 140 542.1 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 178 0 0 8 2.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 94 21 128 59.9 Europe & Central Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 19 5 6 0.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 0.0 4.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 7 3 6 5.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MONGOLIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 76 25 5 11 1.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 107 20 186 7.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 162 8 104 742.7 27 5 10.5 2.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 6 5 58.3 0.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,310 0.1 103 5 30 1,045 6 31 1,045 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 152 34 885 66.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 168 5.3 38 3.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,070 3.6 150 7 32 1,545 8 35 1,870 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 23 31 337 28.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 91 2.8 9 32.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,160 2.8 181 11 49 2,745 13 50 2,950 95 31 181 40.4 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Reform making it more difficult to do business 22 5 8 7 6.7 74 41 192 24.6 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 30 32 314 30.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 133 4.0 8 21.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business MONTENEGRO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 44 69 6 10 1.5 0.0 106 9 158 1,159.3 69 5 71 487.6 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) MOROCCO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 87 39 5 11 9.5 0.0 83 15 97 218.2 97 5 62 2,476.3 MOZAMBIQUE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 139 95 9 13 18.7 0.0 77 12 130 257.6 171 7 107 2,857.7 98 6 70 3.1 3 10 5 25.2 0.0 34 5 8 6 6.3 156 8 60 5.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 0.0 19.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 6 2 6 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 78 6 232 49.6 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 152 8 39 7.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 3 4 4.3 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 52 5 4 9 6.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 6,940 0.6 53 6 14 985 5 14 985 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 136 49 545 25.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 45 1.4 8 48.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,940 32.5 37 5 11 595 7 16 970 86 29 320 20.9 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business 129 37 230 37.5 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 83 40 510 25.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 69 1.8 18 38.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 510 25.2 131 7 21 1,100 9 25 1,600 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 145 30 950 119.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 148 5.0 9 16.6 211 212 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business MYANMAR Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 182 189 11 72 176.7 7,016.0 150 16 159 566.9 126 5 91 3,175.5 NAMIBIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 98 132 10 66 14.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 31 12 123 30.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 72 6 37 395.9 East Asia & Pacific Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 154 6 113 7.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 182 3 0 4 2.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 107 31 155 48.9 NEPAL Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 105 97 7 17 34.6 0.0 105 13 115 512.7 98 5 70 1,380.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 835 52.8 113 9 25 670 9 27 660 188 45 1,160 51.5 155 5.0 18 14.7 Sub-Saharan Africa GNI per capita (US$) 5,670 Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 178 8 54 13.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 7 4 0.0 66.2 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2.3 141 8 25 1,750 7 20 1,905 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Reform making it more difficult to do business 80 5 5 6 5.3 24 3 5 4.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 8 3 0.0 0.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 6 1 9 5.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 69 33 460 35.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 85 2.5 15 34.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 700 27.5 177 11 42 2,295 11 39 2,400 114 37 314 21.8 South Asia Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 126 34 326 31.5 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 139 39 910 26.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 125 5.0 9 24.5 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business NETHERLANDS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 28 14 4 4 5.2 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 97 14 157 79.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 70 5 143 35.8 NEW ZEALAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 3 1 1 0.5 0.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 12 11 94 28.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 45 5 69 97.0 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 5 5 0.0 79.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 4 4 6 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 28 9 123 39.3 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) NICARAGUA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 124 123 7 36 77.0 0.0 152 16 208 249.4 114 6 55 1,082.5 47 5 2.5 6.1 2 2 1 0.1 3 10 5 0.0 100.0 1 10 9 10 9.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 48,250 16.8 13 4 7 925 4 6 975 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 29 26 514 23.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 5 1.1 4 89.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 38,222 4.4 21 4 10 870 6 9 825 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 18 30 216 27.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 12 1.3 4 83.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,650 6.0 82 5 21 1,140 5 20 1,245 23 8 152 34.6 Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 135 8 49 5.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 3 5 16.0 32.3 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 1 5 6 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 163 42 207 64.9 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 47 37 409 26.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 84 2.2 15 34.9 213 214 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business NIGER Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 176 159 6 17 80.1 527.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 164 12 326 1,486.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 123 4 115 6,936.4 NIGERIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 147 122 8 28 58.3 0.0 151 18 116 3,504.8 185 8 260 960.5 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 80 4 35 9.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 1.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 6 1 3 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 162 41 270 48.0 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 0.1 4.9 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 68 5 7 5 5.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) NORWAY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 9 53 5 7 1.6 5.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 28 10 136 28.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 17 4 66 12.1 185 13 77 20.8 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 370 17.2 178 8 57 4,475 10 62 4,500 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 143 39 545 59.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 154 5.0 18 14.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,430 168.8 158 9 22 1,380 13 33 1,695 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 136 40 447 92.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 107 2.0 22 27.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 98,860 5.0 26 4 8 1,225 5 7 1,100 170 47 956 33.8 10 1 3 2.5 73 6 4 0.0 100.0 22 7 6 7 6.7 17 4 83 40.7 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 4 34 280 9.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 2 0.9 1 91.3 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business OMAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 47 77 5 8 2.4 209.8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 69 13 174 35.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 58 6 62 49.7 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) PAKISTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 110 105 10 21 10.4 0.0 109 11 222 190.4 175 6 206 1,600.9 PALAU Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 100 129 8 28 3.8 10.1 45 22 93 5.6 78 5 125 99.5 86 4 5 21.0 0.0 98 8 5 2 5.0 125 6 50 7.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 6 4 8.0 2.1 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 6 6 7 6.3 24,765 3.3 47 7 10 745 8 9 680 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 107 51 598 13.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 72 4.0 4 37.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,260 179.2 91 8 21 660 8 18 725 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 158 46 976 23.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 71 2.8 4 37.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,860 0.0 96 5 26 720 9 31 680 166 47 577 34.7 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 20 5 14 0.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 178 0 0 8 2.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 84 11 142 75.2 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9 14 68 22.0 South Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 21 2 16 3.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 141 37 810 35.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 96 2.0 23 31.0 215 216 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business PANAMA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 55 25 5 6 7.2 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 62 16 99.5 66.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 16 5 35 10.3 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 74 7 29.5 2.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 5 6 0.0 60.8 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) PAPUA NEW GUINEA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 113 101 6 53 13.0 0.0 165 21 219 110.0 24 4 66 57.5 PARAGUAY 109 113 7 35 44.2 0.0 87 4 72 5.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 5 4 0.0 2.8 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 68 4 5 8 5.7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 71 12 137 195.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 50 5 67 202.6 Latin America & Caribbean Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 9,910 3.8 11 3 10 625 3 9 965 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 127 32 686 50.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 112 2.5 25 27.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,790 7.2 134 7 23 1,149 9 32 1,250 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 168 42 591 110.3 175 52 417 40.5 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 80 4 4 8 5.3 Reform making it more difficult to do business Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 128 3.0 23 23.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,290 6.7 154 7 29 1,850 9 30 2,275 116 32 207 42.1 71 6 46 1.9 86 3 6 20.9 46.5 68 6 5 6 5.7 125 28 384 35.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 102 38 591 30.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 152 3.9 9 15.2 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business PERU Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 42 63 5 25 10.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 117 14 173 109.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 79 5 100 353.7 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) PHILIPPINES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 108 170 15 35 18.7 4.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 99 25 77 79.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 33 5 42 118.2 POLAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 45 116 4 30 14.3 12.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 88 18 161 10.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 137 6 161 205.2 22 4 6.5 3.3 28 7 6 31.7 41.5 16 9 6 6 7.0 121 8 39 4.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 86 4 5 0.0 9.3 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 2 3 8 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 131 36 193 44.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,880 30.0 55 5 12 890 7 17 1,010 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 105 41 426 35.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 110 3.1 7 27.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,470 96.7 42 6 15 585 7 14 660 73 9 293 36.4 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 54 6 35 0.4 3 9 6 0.0 82.8 52 7 2 9 6.0 113 18 286 41.6 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 114 37 842 26.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 100 2.7 22 29.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 12,670 38.5 49 5 17 1,050 4 14 1,025 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 55 33 685 19.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37 3.0 15 54.8 217 218 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business PORTUGAL Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 31 32 3 2.5 2.4 0.0 76 13 99 374.9 36 5 64 53.6 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) PUERTO RICO (U.S.) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 40 18 6 6 0.9 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 172 18 189 354.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 38 5 32 376.7 QATAR 48 112 8 8.5 5.1 62.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 23 17 62.5 1.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 27 4 90 4.0 109 3 5 100.0 23.2 52 6 5 7 6.0 131 8 193.5 0.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 0.0 100.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 16 7 6 8 7.0 20,580 10.5 25 4 15 780 4 13 925 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 24 34 547 13.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 23 2.0 9 71.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 18,000 3.7 87 5 15 1,300 8 15 1,350 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 101 39 620 25.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 21 2.5 8 73.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 78,720 2.1 67 5 17 885 7 17 1,033 110 16 218 50.7 43 7 13 0.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 3 4 22.7 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 5 6 2 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 2 4 41 11.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 81 8 275 42.3 Latin America & Caribbean High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 30 1 1 7.3 Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 93 43 570 21.6 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 36 2.8 22 55.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business ROMANIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 73 60 5 8.5 2.4 0.7 136 15 287 71.2 174 7 223 534.0 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) RUSSIAN FEDERATION Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 92 88 7 15 1.3 1.2 178 36 297 89.0 117 5 162 293.8 RWANDA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 32 9 2 2 4.4 0.0 85 13 104 375.7 53 4 30 4,018.7 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 70 8 20 1.6 13 9 5 11.8 46.9 52 9 5 4 6.0 17 4 22 0.1 109 3 5 0.0 59.2 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 6 2 6 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 56 7 177 50.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 8,420 21.3 76 5 13 1,485 6 13 1,495 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 53 32 512 28.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 99 3.3 11 30.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 12,700 143.5 157 9 22 2,615 10 21 2,810 134 39 200 42.9 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 8 3 12 0.2 13 8 6 2.1 13.0 22 7 9 4 6.7 22 17 113 29.9 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 10 36 270 13.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 55 2.0 9 42.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 560 11.5 162 7 26 3,245 9 30 4,990 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 40 23 230 78.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 137 2.5 29 19.0 219 220 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business SAMOA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 61 33 4 9 9.6 0.0 73 21 87 58.6 37 4 34 783.6 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 39 5 15 3.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 5 6 8 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SAN MARINO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 81 155 8 40 8.7 28.5 120 14 145.5 255.9 10 3 45 57.1 SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 169 98 4 5 18.7 281.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 103 13 118 381.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 73 4 89 1,049.9 158 9 42.5 6.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 186 2 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 52 3 7 8 6.0 3,220 0.2 58 5 22 490 6 28 575 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 77 44 455 19.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 139 2.0 38 18.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 59,366 0.0 75 4 15 1,900 4 13 1,890 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 34 34 575 13.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 49 2.3 5 46.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,320 0.2 102 8 26 690 7 28 577 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 183 43 1,065 50.5 40 19 52 42.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 165 7 62 9.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 186 2 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 3 1 6 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 156 42 424 32.5 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 86 37 224 18.9 Europe & Central Asia High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 166 6.2 22 5.4 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business SAUDI ARABIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 26 84 9 20.5 5.0 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 17 12 102 24.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 15 4 61 31.1 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SENEGAL Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 178 110 4 6 64.3 192.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 165 14 245 531.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 182 8 113 5,918.2 SERBIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 93 45 6 11.5 7.2 0.0 182 18 269 1,433.5 85 4 131 505.6 14 5 8 0.0 55 5 6 0.0 44.3 22 8 8 4 6.7 174 6 122 15.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 1.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 6 1 2 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 182 59 644 48.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 18,030 28.3 69 5 13 1,055 7 17 1,229 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 127 40 635 27.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 106 2.8 22 28.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,040 13.7 80 6 12 1,225 5 14 1,740 3 3 72 14.5 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Reform making it more difficult to do business 44 6 11 2.8 42 7 5 0.0 100.0 80 7 6 3 5.3 161 66 279 36.8 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 167 43 770 36.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 122 3.0 20 25.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,280 7.2 98 6 12 1,455 7 15 1,760 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 116 36 635 34.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 103 2.0 20 29.0 221 222 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business SEYCHELLES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 80 118 10 39 11.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 68 17 125 22.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 147 6 137 489.3 Sub-Saharan Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 69 4 33 7.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 68 4 8 5 5.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SIERRA LEONE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 142 75 6 12 44.1 0.0 176 19 258 182.4 179 8 113 4,958.1 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) SINGAPORE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 1 3 3 2.5 0.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 3 11 26 15.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 6 4 36 27.5 170 7 67 10.9 86 7 2 0.9 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 22 6 8 6 6.7 East Asia & Pacific High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 11,640 0.1 29 5 16 705 5 17 675 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 82 37 915 15.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 65 2.0 11 38.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 580 6.0 140 7 25 1,185 9 30 1,575 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 149 39 515 149.5 19 27 76 25.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 158 2.3 42 10.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 47,210 5.3 1 3 6 460 3 4 440 128 33 353 32.4 28 5 5.5 2.9 3 10 5 0.0 60.3 2 10 9 9 9.3 5 5 82 27.1 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 12 21 150 25.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 4 0.8 3 89.4 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business SLOVAK REPUBLIC Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 49 108 7 18.5 1.5 19.3 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 53 11 286 6.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 65 5 158 10.5 SLOVENIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 33 38 2 6 0.0 44.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 59 10 182 66.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 32 5 38 120.3 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 11 3 16.5 0.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 8 4 2.7 61.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 3 4 7 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 102 20 207 47.2 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 83 5 109.5 2.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 4 4 3.3 100.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SOLOMON ISLANDS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 97 82 7 9 47.5 0.0 81 15 92 246.0 130 4 160 2,113.7 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 14 5 9 8 7.3 172 10 86.5 4.8 86 9 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 52 3 7 8 6.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 17,170 5.4 108 7 17 1,500 6 16 1,480 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 65 32 545 30.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38 4.0 18 54.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 22,710 2.1 48 5 16 745 7 14 830 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 52 32 1,270 12.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 41 2.0 4 50.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,130 0.5 78 7 22 840 5 20 785 54 11 260 32.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business 30 34 80 24.9 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 109 37 455 78.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 127 1.0 38 24.3 223 224 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business SOUTH AFRICA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 41 64 5 19 0.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 26 16 78 9.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 150 5 226 1,432.1 Sub-Saharan Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SOUTH SUDAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 186 140 13 17 372.1 0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 171 24 124 1,427.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 184 6 468 4,976.7 SPAIN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 52 142 10 23 4.7 13.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 98 9 230 172.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 62 5 85 234.4 99 7 23 6.1 28 7 6 0.0 55.6 10 8 8 8 8.0 183 9 50 16.2 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 3 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 182 2 1 4 2.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 92 36 218 28.7 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 60 5 12.5 7.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 6 5 51.9 15.6 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 7,610 51.2 106 5 16 1,705 6 21 1,980 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 80 29 600 33.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 82 2.0 18 35.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 650 10.8 187 10 55 5,335 12 130 9,285 24 7 200 30.1 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Reform making it more difficult to do business 98 5 6 4 5.0 67 8 167 58.6 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 87 48 228 30.0 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 30,110 46.2 32 4 10 1,310 4 9 1,350 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 59 40 510 18.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 22 1.5 11 72.3 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business SRI LANKA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 85 54 6 8 20.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 108 17 186 18.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 91 4 110 1,076.6 South Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 145 8 52 5.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 5 5 0.0 39.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) ST. KITTS AND NEVIS Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 101 73 7 18.5 8.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 15 11 139 5.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 19 4 18 290.6 ST. LUCIA 64 57 5 15 18.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 11 7 110 37.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 31 5 26 211.9 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,920 20.3 51 5 20 595 7 17 775 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 135 40 1,318 22.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Latin America & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 169 6 82 13.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 129 9 17 7.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 13,330 0.1 66 4 13 805 7 12 2,615 112 46 578 20.5 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 145 36 203 51.9 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 59 1.7 10 41.9 171 58 210 55.1 High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 52 6 5 7 6.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business 45 32 97 34.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 6,530 0.2 104 7 14 935 8 13 2,260 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 170 46 635 37.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 56 2.0 9 42.5 225 226 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 82 68 7 10 17.2 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 6 8 112 9.4 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 25 3 52 241.0 Latin America & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 6,380 Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 153 7 38 11.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 0.1 38 5 12 585 6 13 1,425 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 34 4 8 7 6.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SUDAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 149 131 10 36 20.7 0.0 167 16 270 248.8 113 5 70 3,435.1 SURINAME Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 161 181 13 208 107.7 0.4 49 11 239 10.7 40 4 58 530.9 Reform making it more difficult to do business Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 90 44 394 30.3 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 72 36 108 38.7 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 41 6 9 2.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 0 6 4 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 108 42 180 36.1 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 173 6 107 13.7 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 4 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 186 1 0 5 2.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 50 29 199 27.9 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,450 37.2 155 7 32 2,050 7 46 2,900 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 154 53 810 19.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 89 2.0 20 33.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 8,480 0.5 105 8 22 1,000 6 19 1,165 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 184 44 1,715 37.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 160 5.0 30 8.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business SWAZILAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 123 172 12 38 27.7 0.4 51 13 95 109.1 163 6 137 1,232.7 SWEDEN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 14 61 3 16 0.5 13.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 24 7 116 76.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 9 3 52 36.6 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 130 9 21 7.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 6 5 0.0 41.6 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 2 5 6 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 59 33 110 36.5 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) SWITZERLAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 29 104 6 18 2.0 25.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 58 13 154 38.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 8 3 39 59.5 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 38 1 28 4.3 42 8 4 0.0 100.0 34 8 4 7 6.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,860 1.2 127 7 17 1,880 6 23 2,145 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 176 40 956 56.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 68 2.0 15 38.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 56,210 9.5 6 3 9 725 3 6 735 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 25 30 314 31.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 20 2.0 9 75.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 82,730 8.0 35 3 8 1,635 4 8 1,440 41 4 122 52.0 16 4 16 0.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 28 8 5 0.0 26.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 170 0 5 4 3.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 16 19 63 29.1 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 20 32 390 24.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 47 3.0 4 47.6 227 228 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 165 135 7 13 12.5 221.6 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 82 5 71 652.8 TAIWAN, CHINA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 16 17 3 10 2.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 7 10 94 15.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 7 4 24 49.4 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 82 4 19 27.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 180 1 2 7.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 7 5 2 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 120 19 336 39.7 East Asia & Pacific High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) TAJIKISTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 143 87 5 33 25.6 0.0 184 24 228 604.5 186 9 185 1,077.4 31 3 4 6.2 73 5 5 0.0 94.1 34 9 5 5 6.3 78 6 37 4.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 159 2 4 0.0 2.1 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 22 8 6 6 6.7 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 2,803 22.4 147 8 20 1,740 9 26 2,075 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 179 55 872 29.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 120 4.1 9 25.7 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 20,910 23.3 18 5 10 655 6 10 720 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 84 45 510 17.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 16 1.9 4 81.8 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 860 8.0 188 12 71 8,650 12 72 10,250 58 12 221 35.0 Europe & Central Asia Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Reform making it more difficult to do business 178 69 224 86.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 39 35 430 25.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 81 1.7 9 35.8 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business TANZANIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 145 119 9 26 27.7 0.0 177 19 206 490.9 102 4 109 1,690.6 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 146 8 68 4.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 7 0 0.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 98 3 4 8 5.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) THAILAND Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 18 91 4 27.5 6.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 14 8 157 8.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 12 4 35 67.3 TIMOR-LESTE Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 172 154 8 94 3.1 136.2 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 29 2 2 6.3 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 73 5 5 0.0 49.2 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 19 238 15.0 44 3 63 638.0 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 570 47.8 139 7 18 1,090 11 31 1,615 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 42 38 515 14.3 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 134 3.0 22 21.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 5,210 66.8 24 5 14 595 5 13 760 141 48 176 44.9 12 10 7 6 7.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 22 36 440 15.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 58 2.7 36 42.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,670 1.2 92 6 28 750 7 26 755 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 189 51 1,285 163.2 70 22 264 29.8 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 165 2 3 5.4 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 5 4 5 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 55 18 276 11.0 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 229 230 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business TOGO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 157 168 7 19 121.4 388.5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 114 12 155 458.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 96 4 74 5,800.4 TONGA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 57 42 4 16 7.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 35 13 69 96.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 30 5 42 94.4 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 66 67 7 37.5 0.8 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 77 14 265 5.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 10 4 61 7.0 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 159 5 295 11.4 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 6 1 3.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 147 6 1 4 3.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 172 50 270 49.4 East Asia & Pacific Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 146 4 112 15.1 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 9 2 0.0 6.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 3 3 8 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 51 30 182 29.6 Latin America & Caribbean High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 178 9 77.5 7.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 28 9 4 0.0 63.2 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 22 4 9 7 6.7 97 39 210 29.1 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 500 6.6 110 6 24 1,015 7 29 1,190 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 153 40 588 47.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 111 3.0 15 27.6 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,240 0.1 63 6 22 505 6 25 490 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 48 37 350 30.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 118 2.7 22 26.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 14,400 1.3 73 5 11 843 10 14 1,260 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 174 42 1,340 33.5 114 2.5 25 26.9 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business TUNISIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 51 70 10 11 4.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 122 19 94 255.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 55 4 65 811.9 Middle East & North Africa Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) TURKEY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 69 93 6 6 12.7 13.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 148 20 164 142.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 49 4 70 475.3 Europe & Central Asia Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) UGANDA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 132 151 15 32 78.3 0.0 143 16 146 742.9 178 6 132 13,456.7 72 4 39 6.1 109 3 5 28.8 0.0 52 5 7 6 6.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 4,150 10.8 31 4 13 775 6 17 860 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 78 39 565 21.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39 1.3 7 52.0 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 10,830 74.0 86 7 13 990 8 14 1,235 60 8 144 62.4 50 6 6 4.0 86 4 5 27.0 71.7 34 9 5 5 6.3 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 38 36 420 24.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 130 3.3 15 22.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 440 36.3 164 7 30 2,800 10 33 3,375 71 11 226 40.2 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 126 11 47 2.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 7 5 0.0 4.1 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 115 3 5 6 4.7 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 98 31 209 36.6 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 117 38 490 44.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 79 2.2 30 36.0 231 232 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business UKRAINE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 112 47 6 21 1.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 41 10 73 607.1 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 172 10 277 178.0 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 23 37 6 8 6.4 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 5 12 44 12.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 4 3 35 21.9 Europe & Central Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 0.0 28.3 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 5 2 6 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 164 28 390 54.9 Middle East & North Africa High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) UNITED KINGDOM Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 10 28 6 12 0.3 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 27 12 88 66.0 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 74 5 126 91.9 97 8 45 1.9 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. 4 2 6 0.4 86 4 5 5.8 27.0 98 6 7 2 5.0 Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,500 45.6 148 6 29 1,930 8 28 2,505 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 45 30 378 43.8 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 162 2.9 42 8.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 36,040 9.2 4 3 7 655 5 7 615 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 100 49 524 19.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 101 3.2 20 29.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 38,250 63.2 16 4 8 1,005 4 6 1,050 1 4 12 14.9 68 6 21.5 4.7 1 10 6 0.0 100.0 10 10 7 7 8.0 14 8 110 34.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 56 28 437 39.9 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 7 1.0 6 88.6 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business UNITED STATES Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 4 20 6 5 1.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 34 16 91 16.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 13 4 60 15.6 OECD high income High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) URUGUAY Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 88 43 5 6.5 22.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 154 22 256 46.7 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 23 5 48 16.5 Latin America & Caribbean High income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) UZBEKISTAN Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 146 21 4 8.5 3.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 159 25 243 49.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 173 9 108 1,159.6 25 4 12 3.4 3 9 6 0.0 100.0 6 7 9 9 8.3 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 50,120 313.9 22 3 6 1,090 5 5 1,315 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 11 32 370 18.4 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17 1.5 7 81.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 13,510 3.4 90 6 16 1,125 7 16 1,440 64 11 175 46.3 167 8 66 7.1 73 4 6 80.2 100.0 98 3 4 8 5.0 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 105 41 725 19.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 51 1.8 7 45.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,720 29.8 189 12 79 4,785 14 95 5,235 146 33 310 41.9 Europe & Central Asia Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 136 14 77 0.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 2 5 0.0 16.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 4 1 7 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 168 41 205 99.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 40 41 195 22.2 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 63 2.0 10 39.9 233 234 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business VANUATU Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 74 126 8 35 46.2 0.0 50 12 54 422.5 129 5 122 1,230.1 VENEZUELA, RB Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 181 157 17 144 35.6 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 110 10 381 96.8 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 167 6 158 1,133.7 VIETNAM Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 99 109 10 34 7.7 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 29 11 114 56.3 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 156 6 115 1,726.4 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 110 4 118 7.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 55 9 2 0.0 5.5 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 5 6 5 5.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 30 31 120 8.4 Latin America & Caribbean Upper middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 95 8 38 2.5 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 130 2 5 0.0 16.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 182 3 2 2 2.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 187 71 792 61.7 East Asia & Pacific Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 51 4 57 0.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 42 8 4 39.1 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 157 7 1 2 3.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 149 32 872 35.2 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 3,080 0.2 119 6 21 1,490 7 24 1,440 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 72 30 430 56.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 57 2.6 38 42.2 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 12,470 30.0 173 8 56 3,490 9 82 3,695 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 92 30 610 43.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 165 4.0 38 6.5 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,400 88.8 65 5 21 610 8 21 600 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 46 36 400 29.0 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 149 5.0 15 16.2 COUNTRY TABLES Reform making it easier to do business WEST BANK AND GAZA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 138 143 9 45 85.5 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 131 18 87 1,033.9 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 87 5 63 1,472.2 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 122 8 56 3.0 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 165 1 4 8.8 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 80 6 5 5 5.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) YEMEN, REP. Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 133 114 6 40 66.1 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 101 14 186 48.2 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 116 4 110 3,604.0 ZAMBIA Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 83 45 5 6.5 26.8 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 57 11 124 198.5 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 152 6 117 955.8 61 6 19 3.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 170 2 2 1.0 0.0 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 138 6 4 2 4.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 129 44 248 32.7 Sub-Saharan Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 102 5 45 8.6 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 13 9 5 0.0 12.0 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 1,679 4.0 123 6 23 1,360 6 38 1,390 88 44 540 21.2 189 NO PRACTICE NO PRACTICE 0.0 62 39 170 16.5 Middle East & North Africa Lower middle income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) Reform making it more difficult to do business 80 3 6 7 5.3 68 38 183 15.1 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,377 23.9 128 6 29 995 9 25 1,490 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 85 36 645 26.5 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 126 3.0 8 24.4 GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 1,350 14.1 163 7 44 2,765 8 49 3,560 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 120 35 611 38.7 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 73 2.4 9 37.1 235 236 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Reform making it easier to do business ZIMBABWE Ease of doing business (rank) Starting a business (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) Minimum capital (% of income per capita) 170 150 9 90 141.2 0.0 Dealing with construction permits (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 170 12 496 3,055.6 Getting electricity (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 157 6 106 3,686.8 Sub-Saharan Africa Low income Registering property (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 93 5 36 7.8 Getting credit (rank) Strength of legal rights index (0–10) Depth of credit information index (0–6) Public registry coverage (% of adults) Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 109 7 1 0.0 3.7 Protecting investors (rank) Extent of disclosure index (0–10) Extent of director liability index (0–10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10) Strength of investor protection index (0–10) 128 8 1 4 4.3 Paying taxes (rank) Payments (number per year) Time (hours per year) Total tax rate (% of profit) 142 49 242 35.3 Note: Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in an economy’s largest business city. For more details, see the data notes. Reform making it more difficult to do business GNI per capita (US$) Population (m) Trading across borders (rank) Documents to export (number) Time to export (days) Cost to export (US$ per container) Documents to import (number) Time to import (days) Cost to import (US$ per container) 680 13.7 167 7 53 3,765 8 71 5,660 Enforcing contracts (rank) Procedures (number) Time (days) Cost (% of claim) 118 38 410 113.1 Resolving insolvency (rank) Time (years) Cost (% of estate) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 156 3.3 22 13.1 Employing workers data DOING BUSINESS 2014 238 Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours Difficulty of redundancy No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Redundancy cost Yes 10.1 n.a. 8.3 4.3 4.7 7.2 8.7 2.7 4.3 4.3 2.0 8.7 2.0 3.0 6.0 7.2 3.4 4.3 4.3 n.a. No Yes No No No No Yes No No No Yes No No No No Yes No n.a. 0.0 7.3 5.0 0.0 13.0 13.3 26.7 0.0 10.7 13.0 0.0 8.7 5.0 23.1 12.8 26.7 13.0 10.7 17.3 No Yes Yes Yes No 4.3 No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No 20.0 Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No No 22.0 Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No 22.0 Yes No No No No No No Yes 25 No Yes 12.0 Yes No No Yes No No No 50 0 Yes No 18.0 Yes No No No No No Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 20.0 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes 6.0 25 0 No No 25.0 Yes No No Yes No 20.0 0.40 No 6.0 0 50 No No 25.0 Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 201.0 0.42 Yes 6.0 13 100 No No 17.0 Yes Yes No No No No 211.3 0.19 Yes 6.0 30 100 No No 11.7 Yes Yes No No No 50 144.3 0.37 Yes 6.0 15 100 Yes No 30.0 Yes No No No No 25 573.2 0.51 Yes 7.0 17 150 No No 17.0 Yes No No No 6.0 635.1 0.21 No 5.5 40 0 No No 20.3 Yes No No Yes 92.4 0.28 Yes 6.0 0 50 No No 18.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes n.a. Yes 0.00 2,104.4 0.12 Yes 6.0 50 0 No No 20.0 No No No n.a. Yes 0.0 725.5 0.16 Yes 6.0 0 0 No Yes Yes Yes Yes n.a. No No limit 112.5 0.26 Yes 6.0 0 100 No Yes Yes Yes No No No 693.3 0.00 Yes 7.0 20 100 10.0 24.0 15.0 21.7 No No limit 0.0 0.36 Yes 6.0 4 No No No No No Yes 334.6 0.00 Yes 6.0 No No No No No No limit 0.0 0.22 Yes 50 100 0 0 0 0 0 30 No Yes 167.4 0.30 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 No 12 No limit 1,744.3 Yes Yes No limit No limit Yes No limit No No No limit 60 No 60 Yes No Yes No limit No limit No No limit No No No limit 60 No No limit No No No limit 48 No 24 No Yes 0.68 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 386.2 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes Priority rules for reemployment? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 0.54 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 62.0 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.00 Major restrictions on night work?d 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d n.a. Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d n.a. Maximum working days per week n.a. 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.43 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 132.7 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Boliviag Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours No No No 15.0 26.0 13.3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No Difficulty of redundancy No No No No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Redundancy cost 4.9 6.6 3.0 4.3 4.3 8.7 7.9 7.2 5.0 6.4 4.3 7.2 4.3 4.3 Yes 10.3 13.0 0.0 Yes 4.3 4.3 No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes 14.4 6.5 0.0 23.1 16.7 23.1 23.1 5.8 17.3 23.1 5.0 8.1 11.4 7.2 6.1 3.2 0.0 8.9 16.8 7.2 100 Yes No 20.0 Yes No No Yes No Yes 2.0 0 100 No No 22.0 Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes 6.0 20 50 Yes Yes 21.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes 6.0 0 0 No Yes 19.3 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 0.10 Yes 6.0 3 0 No No 19.0 Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 105.0 0.31 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 10.0 Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 442.0 0.00 Yes 6.0 35 100 No No 22.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No 0.0 0.24 Yes 6.0 30 0 No No 25.3 Yes Yes No No No No 207.5 0.63 Yes 6.0 50 0 No Yes 24.7 Yes Yes No No Yes 68.0 0.07 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 15.0 Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No 18.0 2.7 0.37 Yes 6.0 25 50 No No 6.7 Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No 43.0 0.31 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 15.0 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No 56.7 0.28 Yes 5.0 0 0 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No 20 1,735.6 0.00 Yes 6.0 0 100 No 22.0 13.0 29.0 12.0 No 30 0.0 0.52 Yes 6.0 39 75 Yes No Yes No No 6.0 38.0 0.89 Yes 6.0 35 No No No Yes No Yes 111.7 0.00 Yes 6.0 0 0 50 100 Yes 0.67 0.0 0.37 Yes 0 25 0 0 No 382.3 No limit 242.4 0.35 6.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 No 24 No 24 309.9 Yes No Yes No limit No limit No No No limit 36 No 24 No No 48 No limit No No 60 48 48 Yes Yes No No limit 24 No No limit No No 36 12 24 48 No Yes Yes Yes 0.00 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 0.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes Priority rules for reemployment? No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 1.85 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 65.0 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.26 Major restrictions on night work?d 100.9 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d No Maximum working days per week No 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.45 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 478.0 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa Rica Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? 239 EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA DOING BUSINESS 2014 240 24 287.0 270.3 231.3 0.0 0.0 428.4 0.0 502.1 0.0 0.28 0.42 0.38 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.00 0.30 0.00 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 6.0 38 0 No No 27.4 Yes No No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.0 0 10 0 0 10 0 0 100 100 0 0 100 0 25 0 100 0 25 50 0 0 25 0 25 100 0 4 100 0 8 100 0 50 0 0 0 No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No 20.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 13.3 14.0 12.0 24.0 11.0 22.0 19.0 24.0 18.3 10.0 30.0 30.0 24.0 21.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes No Yes 5.8 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 7.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Redundancy cost Yes No Yes Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No 5.7 8.7 0.0 4.3 5.8 4.0 0.0 10.1 No No 0.0 8.7 8.6 3.1 4.3 No Yes No No No 4.3 10.1 No Yes 10.4 7.2 Yes 26.0 Yes Yes 0.0 4.3 4.6 0.0 5.3 10.5 4.3 12.3 34.3 22.9 26.7 31.8 22.2 9.3 0.0 0.0 11.6 0.0 7.2 No No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? 7.9 Yes No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Difficulty of redundancy 111.1 0.20 Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Rigidity of hours 93.5 0.15 Yes Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No 290.6 0.00 Yes Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes 0.0 0.21 Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d Yes 417.8 0.00 Yes Major restrictions on night work?d 20.0 0.0 0.63 Yes Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d Yes 334.6 0.33 No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d Yes 1,962.9 0.14 Yes Maximum working days per week 35 778.1 0.05 Yes 50-hour workweek allowed?c 10 72.8 0.00 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 6.0 0.0 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b Difficulty of hiring No 36 30 No limit 108 No No limit 24 No No limit No limit Yes No No limit 24 Yes 24 No limit No limit Yes Yes No limit 120 No No limit 48 18 60 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia, The Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours 24.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Difficulty of redundancy No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Yes Redundancy cost No 3.6 10.0 0.0 7.2 0.0 2.1 0.0 10.1 4.3 No 7.2 4.3 10.1 6.2 No 4.3 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 4.3 No No No No No Yes No No No No Yes No No No No No 23.1 8.2 0.0 23.1 57.8 11.4 0.0 7.2 1.4 23.1 0.0 12.3 26.0 5.8 27.0 5.3 15.9 46.2 11.6 4.3 No 15.0 Yes No No Yes Yes No No 0.0 No No 22.3 Yes No No Yes No No Yes No 100 No Yes 13.3 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No 15 0 No No 15.0 Yes Yes No No Yes No No 6.0 0 75 No Yes 30.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes 5.0 25 0 Yes Yes 21.0 Yes No Yes No No No 0.20 Yes 5.0 0 50 No No 12.0 Yes Yes No No No No 1,139.9 0.12 Yes 6.0 0 45 No No 13.0 Yes No No No No No 27.6 0.23 Yes 6.0 20 50 No No 16.7 Yes No No Yes No Yes 666.7 0.40 Yes 6.0 25 100 No No 10.3 Yes No Yes Yes No 24.0 360.5 0.73 Yes 6.0 0 50 Yes No 21.3 Yes Yes Yes No No 345.2 0.00 Yes 7.0 50 100 No No 24.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No 0.0 0.00 Yes 6.0 25 0 No No 15.0 Yes Yes No No No Yes 0 0.0 0.34 Yes 6.0 0 50 No No 12.0 Yes Yes No No No 0 162.9 0.69 Yes 6.0 30 80 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 7.0 72.3 1.49 Yes 5.0 80 0 No 24.0 22.0 20.0 18.0 No Yes 430.1 0.00 No 6.0 0 0 No No No Yes Yes 0.06 No limit 0.0 0.30 Yes 6.0 0 No Yes No No Yes 22.8 No No limit 456.6 0.34 Yes 6.0 40 50 0 50 No No limit Yes No limit 1,655.7 0.15 Yes 23 0 0 14 No No Yes No limit 28.4 0.53 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 Yes 24 Yes 24 232.0 Yes No No No limit 12 No No limit Yes No 24 No limit Yes No 60 24 No No No limit No limit No No limit No Yes No limit 36 No No limit Yes No 4.73 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 4,000.9 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e No Priority rules for reemployment? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 0.11 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 92.3 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.33 Major restrictions on night work?d 1,593.3 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d No Maximum working days per week No 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.29 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 1,140.9 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong SAR, China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Rep. Iraq Ireland Israel Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? 241 EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA DOING BUSINESS 2014 242 Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours No No No 11.7 15.3 18.7 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Difficulty of redundancy No No Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No No No Redundancy cost 4.0 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 13.0 4.3 No 4.3 6.4 1.0 8.7 4.3 4.3 4.3 Yes 4.3 17.3 8.7 No No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No 8.7 4.3 15.9 6.0 21.3 10.7 0.0 8.7 40.7 13.0 15.1 7.2 23.1 0.0 2.1 4.3 0.0 0.0 10.0 0.0 100 No No 18.0 Yes Yes No No No No 7.2 0 35 No No 21.0 Yes Yes No No No No Yes 6.0 25 150 No No 0.0 Yes No No No No Yes Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 17.0 Yes No No Yes Yes Yes 0.35 Yes 6.0 50 0 No No 21.0 Yes No Yes No Yes No 235.4 0.29 Yes 6.0 0 0 Yes No 30.0 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes 1,833.6 0.41 Yes 6.0 0 50 No Yes 20.0 Yes No No No No No 256.9 0.10 Yes 7.0 50 0 No No 15.0 Yes No No Yes Yes No 117.9 0.92 Yes 6.0 30 50 No No 20.0 Yes No No No Yes 117.1 0.00 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 15.0 Yes Yes No 20.3 0.0 0.28 No 6.0 50 150 Yes No 12.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No No 727.8 0.15 Yes 6.0 15 0 No No 16.0 No No No No No Yes 171.6 0.04 Yes 6.0 50 50 Yes No Yes No Yes No No 50 214.3 0.13 Yes 5.5 0 100 No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 15 No limit 16.3 0.44 Yes 6.0 0 50 30.0 20.7 25.0 20.0 No 6.0 No No limit 75.6 0.21 Yes 6.0 0 No No Yes No No Yes No No limit 370.0 0.39 Yes 6.0 No No No Yes No 0.41 No No limit 430.3 0.53 Yes 0 100 0 50 70 50 0 35 No 1,779.0 No No limit 104.1 0.91 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 No 44 No No limit 52.0 Yes No No No limit 24 No No limit No No No limit 60 No 36 Yes Yes No limit 24 No No limit No No 48 60 24 60 No No Yes No 0.20 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 317.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No Retraining or reassignment?f No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 0.23 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 376.0 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Paid annual leave (working days)e No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.26 Major restrictions on night work?d 2,418.7 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d No Maximum working days per week No 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.24 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 132.5 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Rep. Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, FYR Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No limit No limit No No limit No limit 0.0 918.2 13.9 0.0 199.6 22.7 45.4 0.45 0.00 0.39 0.13 0.00 0.17 0.44 0.69 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6.0 30 40 No No 24.0 Yes No No 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 0 0 0 0 50 0 0 0 100 100 7.0 6.0 0 25 50 6.0 0 6.0 0 100 0 50 50 0 0 40 0 100 100 0 0 100 0 6 50 0 0 0 No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes 13.3 30.0 22.0 24.0 0.0 18.0 22.0 12.0 0.0 20.0 16.0 21.0 19.5 24.0 10.0 20.0 18.0 20.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes 3.4 8.9 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Redundancy cost Yes No No No Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No No No Yes No 6.7 5.8 4.3 7.3 0.0 4.3 4.3 0.0 0.0 8.7 4.3 4.3 7.2 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.3 8.7 0.0 22.9 5.3 15.9 33.2 13.5 6.9 4.3 13.9 0.0 22.0 6.3 6.1 0.0 0.0 9.3 0.0 17.2 12.3 No No Yes Priority rules for reemployment? 4.3 No No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes Yes Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Difficulty of redundancy 73.3 0.16 Yes 7.0 6.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Rigidity of hours 164.8 0.10 Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No 128.1 0.78 Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes 355.2 0.42 Yes Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes 101.2 0.25 Yes Paid annual leave (working days)e 18.0 95.4 0.34 Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d No 285.8 0.77 Yes Major restrictions on night work?d No 279.8 1.35 Yes Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d 100 111.6 0.00 Yes Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d 0 0.0 0.00 Yes Maximum working days per week 6.0 0.0 0.77 Yes 50-hour workweek allowed?c 0 75.9 0.17 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 1,029.0 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b Difficulty of hiring No limit 24 Yes No limit Yes No 24 72 48 Yes No limit No limit No No limit No Yes No limit 24 No 24 12 72 Yes 36 36 No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? 243 EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA DOING BUSINESS 2014 244 Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours No Difficulty of redundancy No No No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Redundancy cost 0.0 4.3 4.0 8.7 4.3 4.3 0.0 0.0 3.3 7.5 0.0 10.1 4.3 Yes 4.3 8.7 4.0 7.2 0.0 7.9 No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes No Yes No Yes No 8.7 8.7 0.0 16.0 0.0 15.2 8.7 23.1 11.4 18.6 9.2 18.1 0.0 22.9 0.0 0.0 12.2 5.8 14.9 0.0 Yes Yes No No No Yes No 0.0 30.0 Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes 22.0 Yes No No No No No No No Yes No 6.0 Yes No No No Yes No No Yes 100 No No 21.0 Yes No No Yes No No No 0 0 No Yes 22.0 Yes No Yes No Yes No No 6.0 38 0 Yes No 14.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes 6.0 0 0 No Yes 0.0 Yes No Yes Yes Yes No 0.61 No 6.0 0 100 No No 22.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 135.2 0.85 Yes 6.0 50 100 No Yes 11.0 Yes Yes No No No 20.0 55.4 0.52 Yes 5.0 0 0 Yes No 20.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No 115.7 0.35 Yes 6.0 0 50 No No 13.0 Yes No No No Yes No 4,400.1 0.30 Yes 7.0 0 0 Yes No 5.0 Yes Yes No Yes 0 844.2 0.24 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 22.0 Yes No No No No 0 41.6 0.40 Yes 6.0 30 100 No No 22.0 Yes No No Yes Yes No 7.0 517.2 0.36 Yes 6.0 35 30 No Yes 15.0 No No No No Yes Yes 467.5 0.53 Yes 6.0 10 100 No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No 0.40 133.9 0.48 Yes 6.0 20 50 No 22.0 20.0 Yes Yes Yes 1,933.0 212.7 0.35 Yes 6.0 25 100 No No 22.0 19.3 No No limit 268.8 0.65 Yes 6.0 0 No No No No No No 218.3 0.28 Yes 7.0 100 No No No No limit 410.2 0.30 Yes 25 100 0 20 0 0 0 No No 761.0 0.55 6.0 5.0 6.0 6.0 No 48 No limit 1,246.4 Yes Yes No 48 No limit Yes No 9 No limit Yes No No limit 12 No No limit Yes Yes No limit 60 Yes No limit Yes No No limit 54 No No limit Yes No 60 No limit 60 Yes Yes No 0.00 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 0.0 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 0.23 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 232.2 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.24 Major restrictions on night work?d 352.4 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d Yes Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d No Maximum working days per week No 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.00 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 0.0 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico (U.S.) Qatar Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours No 26.0 26.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Difficulty of redundancy Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes No No Yes Redundancy cost 0.0 4.3 4.3 3.2 0.0 4.3 8.7 11.6 3.0 No 4.0 3.7 8.7 4.3 2.1 4.3 4.0 4.3 5.3 Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes 10.0 9.3 0.0 54.2 15.2 21.7 5.3 10.7 5.3 7.2 0.0 69.6 9.1 7.7 10.5 15.2 26.0 0.0 0.0 No Yes 20.7 Yes No Yes Yes No Yes 5.8 0 No No 24.3 Yes Yes No No No No 35 100 No Yes 20.0 Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 6.0 25 50 No No 21.0 Yes No No No Yes No Yes 6.0 0 0 No No 21.3 Yes Yes No Yes No No 0.26 No 6.0 38 26 No No 10.7 Yes No No Yes No No 1,841.7 0.00 Yes 6.0 26 100 No No 25.0 Yes Yes No Yes No No 0.0 0.00 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No 21.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes No No 0.0 0.45 Yes 6.0 15 100 No Yes 15.0 Yes Yes No No Yes 72.4 0.30 Yes 5.0 0 0 No No 15.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes 10.0 190.5 0.24 Yes 6.0 20 50 No No 23.3 Yes Yes No No 330.8 0.40 Yes 6.0 50 0 Yes No 22.0 Yes No No Yes No No 34.8 0.00 Yes 6.0 0 100 No No Yes No No No No 0 0.0 0.23 Yes 6.0 0 0 Yes 14.0 No No No Yes 0 448.4 0.38 Yes 6.0 0 0 Yes Yes Yes Yes No 6.0 1,045.8 0.67 Yes 6.0 25 No 14.0 21.0 19.3 No Yes 112.8 0.66 Yes 5.5 50 No No No No 0.36 646.4 0.59 Yes 171.7 59.2 0.27 0 No No No Yes No limit 1,009.2 5.5 150 0 0 0 0 0 No No No limit No limit 7.0 6.0 6.0 Yes 18 Yes No limit No limit No No limit Yes Yes No limit 36 No 24 Yes Yes Yes No limit 12 No 24 Yes No No No limit 24 Yes 48 Yes No No No limit 12 No No limit Yes No 0.11 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e 38.6 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e No Priority rules for reemployment? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 0.29 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? 511.6 Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Paid annual leave (working days)e Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 0.00 Major restrictions on night work?d 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d No Maximum working days per week No 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.24 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 191.7 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Príncipe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovak Republic Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? 245 EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA DOING BUSINESS 2014 246 Yes No limit No limit 630.2 151.6 0.0 0.0 107.5 0.0 55.5 0.33 0.26 0.39 0.00 0.00 0.26 0.00 0.25 Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6.0 0 0 No No 23.3 Yes Yes Yes 5.5 5.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 0 0 50 0 0 100 100 100 100 0 5 0 0 0 100 6.0 25 65 0 0 100 100 100 No No No No No Yes No No No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes No 11.0 25.0 20.0 21.7 12.0 23.3 20.0 6.0 12.0 30.0 0.0 10.0 13.0 16.0 21.0 18.0 26.0 28.0 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No 4.3 21.7 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Redundancy cost Yes No No Yes Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No 14.4 5.9 Yes 10.1 No No 8.7 5.3 4.3 8.7 8.7 6.7 4.3 6.4 0.0 4.3 4.3 4.3 4.0 8.7 3.8 No Yes No No No No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No 3.1 0.0 4.3 0.0 23.1 7.8 14.1 0.0 8.8 0.0 31.7 5.3 6.9 18.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.7 8.8 No Yes No Priority rules for reemployment? 0.0 No No No Priority rules for redundancies? No No No Retraining or reassignment?f Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Difficulty of redundancy 38.3 0.53 Yes 200 6.0 6.0 0 0 100 0 20 0 50 0 0 0 0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 6.0 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Rigidity of hours 48.1 0.41 Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes 248.5 0.00 Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes 0.0 0.90 Yes Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes 68.0 0.00 Yes Paid annual leave (working days)e 16.0 0.0 0.00 Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d No 0.0 0.24 Yes Major restrictions on night work?d No 118.9 0.12 Yes Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d 100 167.5 0.03 No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d 0 2.3 0.32 Yes Maximum working days per week 6.0 132.2 0.00 Yes 50-hour workweek allowed?c 0 0.0 0.28 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 1,355.1 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b Difficulty of hiring No limit 48 No No limit No No 24 120 60 Yes No limit 12 Yes 36 48 No limit No limit Yes No limit No No No limit No limit Yes No limit No No No limit 48 No No Yes Yes Yes No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, China Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Difficulty of hiring Rigidity of hours Difficulty of redundancy Redundancy cost 0.0 69.3 46.2 23.1 23.1 24.6 n.a. 23.1 8.7 20.8 0.0 13.0 4.3 4.3 4.3 0.0 n.a. 9.3 8.7 0.0 No No No Yes No No n.a. No No No No No No No No No No No No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes No No No 0.0 21.0 Yes No n.a. Yes Yes Yes No No No 15.0 Yes n.a. No No No Yes No No No No 17.0 n.a. No Yes Yes No Yes No 0 100 Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes n.a. 0 0 100 No 19.3 13.0 12.0 30.0 Yes Yes n.a. 6.0 6.0 50 50 No No Yes No 24.0 Yes n.a. Yes Yes 6.0 75 Yes No Yes No No 22.0 No 0.20 0.21 Yes 6.0 100 50 30 150 30 0 100 No No Yes 1,244.6 363.5 0.19 Yes 6.0 15 100 Yes Yes No limit 40.5 0.73 Yes 6.0 4 100 No No 321.3 0.22 Yes 15 No No limit 356.0 0.44 6.0 6.0 5.5 6.0 No Yes 73.1 Yes 60 No limit No limit 1.55 Yes No 24 72 Yes No No No limit 24 No No limit No No 384.7 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e No Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary)e No Priority rules for reemployment? No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Retraining or reassignment?f 0.46 Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? 93.3 Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Paid annual leave (working days)e 0.59 Major restrictions on weekly holiday work?d 131.7 Major restrictions on night work?d EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, RBg Vietnam West Bank and Gaza Yemen, Rep. Zambia Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay)d No Premium for night work (% of hourly pay)d Yes Maximum working days per week Yes 50-hour workweek allowed?c Yes Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 2.43 Minimum wage for a 19-yearold worker or an apprentice (US$/month)b 246.5 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months)a a. Including renewals. b. Economies for which 0.0 is shown have no minimum wage in the private sector. c. For 2 months a year in case of a seasonal increase in production. d. In case of continuous operations. e. Average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure. f. Whether compulsory before redundancy. g. Some answers are not applicable (n.a.) for economies where dismissal due to redundancy is disallowed. Source: Doing Business database. Zimbabwe Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? 247 EMPLOYING WORKERS DATA Acknowledgments Doing Business would not be possible without the expertise and generous input of a network of more than 10,200 local partners, including legal experts, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials and other professionals routinely administering or advising on the relevant legal and regulatory requirements in the 189 economies covered. Contact details for local partners are available on the Doing Business website at http://www.doingbusiness.org. The online service of the Doing Business database is managed by Andres Baquero Franco, Varun Doiphode, Kunal Patel, Mohan Pathapati, Vinod Thottikkatu and Hashim Zia under the direction of Preeti Endlaw. The Doing Business 2014 outreach strategy is executed by a communications team led by Nadine Ghannam and including Hyun Kyong Lee and Sushmitha Malini Narsiah, with support from Nicole Frost and World Bank Group communications colleagues around the world. Data collection and analysis for Doing Business 2014 were conducted through the Global Indicators and Analysis Department under the general direction of Augusto Lopez-Claros. The project was managed by Rita Ramalho with the support of Carolin Geginat, Adrian Gonzalez, Jean Michel Lobet and Hulya Ulku. Other team members included Jean Arlet, Iana Ashchian, Pablo Baquero, Iryna Bilotserkivska, Erica Bosio, Nadine Abi Chakra, Edgar Chavez Sanchez, Rong Chen, Maya Choueiri, Catrice Christ, Santiago Croci Downes, Fernando Dancausa Diaz, Baria Nabil Daye, Marie Lily Delion, Laura Diniz, Raian Divanbeigi, Margherita Fabbri, Caroline Frontigny, Paula García Serna, Dorina Georgieva, Anushavan Hambardzumyan, Michelle-Christine Hanf, Joyce Ibrahim, Nan Jiang, Hervé Kaddoura, Olena Koltko, Magdalini Konidari, Dmitri Lohvinski, Fernanda Maretto de Barros, Betty Mensah, Frédéric Meunier, Robert Murillo, Joanna Nasr, Marie-Jeanne Ndiaye, Nadia Novik, Mikiko Imai Ollison, Jiawen Pan, Nina Paustian, Parvina Rakhimova, Morgann Courtney Ross, Valentina Saltane, Momodou Salifu Sey, Anastasia Shegay, Jayashree Srinivasan, Moussa Traoré, Julien Vilquin, Matthew Williger and Yasmin Zand. The team would especially like to acknowledge the comments and support of Melissa Johns. The team is grateful for valuable comments provided by colleagues across the World Bank Group and for the guidance of World Bank Group Executive Directors. It would especially like to acknowledge the comments and guidance of Aart C. Kraay. Comments were also received from Zoubida Allaoua, Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa, Pedro Antmann, Shahin Bagirov, Carol Balkaran, Arup Banerjee, Karim Ouled Belayachi, Najy Benhassine, Alexander Berg, Charmaine Chua, Laurent Corthay, Pasquale di Benedetta, Makhtar Diop, Sylvie Dossou, Raja Roslan Effendy, Harold Epineuse, Alejandro Espinosa-Wang, Jorge Familiar Calderon, Enrique Fanta, Robert L. Floyd, Viven Foster, Samuel Freije-Rodriguez, William John Gain, Raluca Golumbeanu, Heike Gramckow, Mona Haddad, Caroline Heider, Thea Hilhorst, Giuseppe Iarossi, Moses Misach Kajubi, Clayton Bryant Kerswell, Jeni Klugman, Jonathan Koh Tat Tsen, Arvo Kuddo, Anjali Kumar, Grace Lee, Philippe Le Houérou, Anne-Marie Leroy, Larisa Leshchenko, Andres Martinez, Gerard McLinden, Maria Cristina Mejia, Philippe de Meneval, Trimor Mici, Andrei Mikhnev, Fredesvinda Fatima Montes, Connel Mottley, Thomas Moullier, Brian G. Mtonya, Cyril Muller, Cecile Niang, Alban Pruthi, Sexavet Qarayev, Bikki Randhawa, David Robalino, Jaime ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Saavedra-Chanduvi, Frederico Gil Sander, Shalini Sankaranarayan, Shahrol Anuwar Sarman, Jordan Z. Schwartz, Rick Scobey, Harris Selod, Harjinder Singh-Atwal, Andrew Stone, Mark Sundberg, Roberto Tarallo, Laura Tuck, Hasan A. Tuluy, Mahesh Uttamchandani, Tunc Tahsin Uyanik, Maria Vagliasindi, Michael Thomas Willcock, Hoshin Won and Nikole Catalina Zamudio. The paying taxes project was conducted in collaboration with PwC, led by John Preston. The development of the getting electricity indicators was financed by the Norwegian Trust Fund. Paul Holtz and Alison Strong edited the manuscript. The Word Express, Inc. designed the report and the graphs. Quotations in this report are from Doing Business local partners unless otherwise indicated. The names of those wishing to be acknowledged individually are listed below. The global and regional contributors listed are firms that have completed multiple surveys in their various offices around the world. 249 250 DOING BUSINESS 2014 GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS ADVOCATES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ALLEN & OVERY LLP AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW BAKER & MCKENZIE Tariq Ahmad Sarfaraz MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Shirli Gorenca KALO & ASSOCIATES Alketa Uruçi BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Richard Scarth PROPERTY CONSULTING AFGHANISTAN Mateo Gosnishti ALB BB AUDITING SHPK CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Gerhard Velaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Khalil Sediq AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK Said Mubin Shah AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP DENTONS DLA PIPER ERNST & YOUNG IUS LABORIS, ALLIANCE OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT, BENEFITS AND PENSIONS LAW FIRMS Mohammad Ibrahim Shams AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Emel Haxhillari KALO & ASSOCIATES Blerina Hilaj A&B BUSINESS CONSULTING Shpati Hoxha HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Asiyah Sharifi AFGHANISTAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC Elona Hoxhaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Sharifullah Shirzad DA AFGHANISTAN BANK Xhet Hushi KALO & ASSOCIATES Haris Syed Raza MAERSK & SAFMARINE Evis Jani DRAKOPOULOS LAW FIRM Najibullah Wardak MINISTRY OF FINANCE Evandro Janka BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM SDV INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS Abdul Saleem Waziry WAZIRY GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Ilir Johollari HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA REGIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Mohammadi Khan Yaqoobi DA AFGHANISTAN BANK KPMG LAW SOCIETY OF ENGLAND AND WALES LEX MUNDI, ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT LAW FIRMS MAYER BROWN PANALPINA PWC1 RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL A.P. MOLLER-MAERSK GROUP ASSOCIATION OF CONSUMER CREDIT INFORMATION SUPPLIERS (ACCIS) CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO. ALBANIA ERNST & YOUNG KUEHNE + NAGEL LTD. DFDL GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI MANETCI (MANE TRADING CONSTRUCTION & INVESTMENT) GLOBALINK TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS WORLDWIDE LLP WOLF THEISS GRATA LAW FIRM Eduard Ahmeti BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS Artur Asllani TONUCCI & PARTNERS SORAINEN TALAL ABU-GHAZALEH LEGAL (TAG-LEGAL) TRANSUNION INTERNATIONAL Redjan Basha A&B BUSINESS CONSULTING AFGHANISTAN INDEPENDENT JOINT ANTI-CORRUPTION MONITORING AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE KABUL MUNICIPALITY Mirza Taqi Ud Din Ahmad A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Rashid Ibrahim A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Sanzar Kakar AFGHANISTAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC Mohammed Masood Khwaja DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Mohammad Zarif Alam Stanikzai AFGHAN BAR ASSOCIATION Gaurav Lekh Raj Kukreja AFGHAN CONTAINER TRANSPORT COMPANY Mirwais Alami DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Khalid Mafton MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Raiyt Alamyar DA AFGHANISTAN BANK Khalid Massoudi MASSOUDI LEGAL CONSULTANCY Khwaja Shaheryar Aziz A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Tali Mohammad AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Nadia Bazidwal MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Amanda Galton ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP Sayed Jawid Hashemi MASSOUDI LEGAL CONSULTANCY Saduddin Haziq AFGHAN UNITED BANK Sabina Baboci KALO & ASSOCIATES Ledia Beçi HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Artan Bozo BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Jori Bregasi HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Alban Caushi KALO & ASSOCIATES Ina Curri PWC ALBANIA Ilir Daci OPTIMA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL Sajmir Dautaj TONUCCI & PARTNERS Erinda Duraj BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Sokol Elmazaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Shekeeb Nessar DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Alba Fagu BANK OF ALBANIA Gul Pacha AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Lisjana Fusha ALB BB AUDITING SHPK – CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL QASEM Tamsil Rashid AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK Abdul Rahim Saeedi MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Miranda Kapllani BENIMPEX & CO. 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Raffa Hakim Lakhdar NSC MAGHREB Mohamed Lakroum LANDWELL & ASSOCIÉS Samira Lalig GLOBAL ASSISTANCE Karine Lasne LANDWELL & ASSOCIÉS Vincent Lunel LEFÈVRE PELLETIER & ASSOCIÉS Abdelaziz Mahsas MINISTÈRE DES FINANCES - DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES IMPÔTS Sid-Ahmed Mekerba GHELLAL & MEKERBA Hamid Ould Hocine STUDIO A Mourad Seghir GHELLAL & MEKERBA Benabid Mohammed Tahar CABINET MOHAMMED TAHAR BENABID ANGOLA ANGOLA CUSTOMS NATIONAL DIRECTORATE 1. PwC refers to the network of member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwCIL), or, as the context requires, individual member firms of the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of PwCIL or any other member firm. PwCIL does not provide any services to clients. PwCIL is not responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any of its member firms nor can it control the exercise of their professional judgment or bind them in any way. No member firm is responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any other member firm nor can it control the exercise of another member firm’s professional judgment or bind another member firm or PwCIL in any way. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS BANCO NACIONAL DE ANGOLA ERNST & YOUNG LOURDES CAPOSSO FERNANDES & ASSOCIADOS Sika Awoonor GLOBAL CHOICE ANGOLA, LDA Gilberto Buanga Silva CCBS ADVOGADOS Nelson Couto Cabral CCBS ADVOGADOS Alexandre Caldas Menezes CALDAS MENEZES Pedro Calixto PWC ANGOLA Guilherme Carreira SOARES DA COSTA Vitor Carvalho VITOR CARVALHO & ASSOCIADOS Anacleta Cipriano FBL ADVOGADOS Miguel Coutinho KPMG Patricia Dias AVM ADVOGADOS Luís Ferreira ON CORPORATE Pedro José Filipe Mbandango GUICHÉ ÚNICO DE EMPRESA Fátima Freitas FÁTIMA FREITAS ADVOGADOS Francisco Goes Pinheiro AVM ADVOGADOS Berta Grilo FBL ADVOGADOS Victor Leonel ORDEM DOS ARQUITECTOS Catarina Levy Osório ANGOLA LEGAL CIRCLE Guiomar Lopes FBL ADVOGADOS Teresinha Lopes FBL ADVOGADOS João Machado PWC ANGOLA Arlete Maia CFA FIRMA DE ADVOGADOS Guirec Malfait SDV LOGISTICS Ulanga Gaspar Martins BANCO PRIVADO ATLÂNTICO Carlos Martins Lopes KPMG Arcelio Matias ARCÉLIO INÁCIO DE ALMEIDA MATIAS – ARDJA-PRESTAÇÃO DE SERVIÇOS E CONSULTORIA, LDA Antonio Sanchez EDEL-EP Fernando Aguinaga ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Diego M. Fissore G. BREUER José Miguel Puccinelli ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Beatriz Calcida Soares Catumbela CONSERVATÓRIA DO REGISTRO PREDIAL DE LUANDA (1ª SECÇÃO) Javier Alegria ESTUDIO ALEGRIA BUEY FERNANDEZ FISSORE MONTEMERLO Victoria Funes María Clara Pujol WIENER SOTO CAPARRÓS Cristina Teixeira PWC ANGOLA N’Zinga Teixeira Jasse AG & LP ESCRITÓRIO DE ADVOGADOS Kiluange Tiny CFA FIRMA DE ADVOGADOS Ludmilo Tiny NTA – NORONHA TINY ADVOGADOS Lisandro A. Allende BRONS & SALAS ABOGADOS Marina Altieri DE DIOS & GOYENA ABOGADOS CONSULTORES Ignacio E. Aramburu ESTUDIO MOLTEDO Luis Arana Tagle NEGRI, BUSSO & FARIÑA N’Gunu Tiny CFA FIRMA DE ADVOGADOS Tomás M. Araya M. & M. BOMCHIL Antônio Vicente Marques AVM ADVOGADOS Natalia Artmann ALFARO ABOGADOS ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA Ariadna Artopoulos M. & M. BOMCHIL Ricki Camacho ANTIGUA & BARBUDA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & COMMERCE OFFICE (ABIPCO) Eleanor R. 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Gisele Trindade VELLA PUGLIESE BUOSI GUIDONI Raphael Polito RAYES & FAGUNDES ADVOGADOS Oswaldo Cesar Trunci de Oliveira MACHADO MEYER SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Durval Portela LOESER E PORTELA ADVOGADOS Suslei Tufaniuk AES ELETROPAULO José Ribeiro do Prado Junior MACHADO MEYER SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Luciana Macedo V.G. da Silva SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Aline Prado Silva DE CONTI LAW OFFICE Ana Luísa Valentim Pereira NORONHA ADVOGADOS Daniela Prieto VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Juliana Vasconcelos APEXBRASIL Dario Rabay SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Ronaldo C. Veirano VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Ronaldo Rayes RAYES & FAGUNDES ADVOGADOS Rafael Vitelli Depieri 1º CARTÓRIO DE NOTAS DE SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS Andreza Ribeiro SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Karina Vlahos DE LUCA, DERENUSSON, SCHUTTOFF E AZEVEDO ADVOGADOS Eliane Ribeiro Gago DUARTE GARCIA, CASELLI GUIMARÃES E TERRA ADVOGADOS Laura Ribeiro Vissotto 1º CARTÓRIO DE NOTAS DE SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS Thiago Rodovalho LAWYER Mariana Rodrigues SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Viviane Rodrigues SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Ana Carolina Rua Rodriguez Rochedo NORONHA ADVOGADOS Cezar Roedel HALLEY DO BRASIL Iva Georgieva TSVETKOVA, BEBOV AND PARTNERS Daniela Petkova DOBREV, KINKIN & LYUTSKANOV ERNST & YOUNG Dimitar Gochev DANAILOVA, TODOROV AND PARTNERS Irena Petkova KAMBOUROV & PARTNERS Jonathan Cheok CHEOK ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS LAW FIRM DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL SERVICES Robin Cheok CHEOK ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS Ralitsa Gougleva DJINGOV, GOUGINSKI, KYUTCHUKOV & VELICHKOV Danny Chua BRUNEI TRANSPORTING COMPANY Kristina Gouneva DOBREV, KINKIN & LYUTSKANOV Roaizan Johari AUTORITI MONETARI BRUNEI DARUSSALAM Katerina Gramatikova DOBREV, KINKIN & LYUTSKANOV Zuleana Kassim LEE CORPORATEHOUSE ASSOCIATES Cynthia Kong WIDDOWS KONG & ASSOCIATES Mariya Grigorova DINOVA RUSEV & PARTNERS Stefan Gugushev GUGUSHEV & PARTNERS Kin Chee Lee LEE CORPORATEHOUSE ASSOCIATES Ivan Gyurovski CEZ DISTRIBUTION BULGARIA AD, MEMBER OF CEZ GROUP Lennon Lee PWC SINGAPORE Tatyana Hristova LEGALEX LAW OFFICE Christina Lim CHEOK ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS Velyana Hristova PENKOV, MARKOV & PARTNERS Kelvin Lim RIDZLAN LIM ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS Iliya Iliev PRIMORSKA AUDIT COMPANY - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Colin Ong DR. 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Georgi Tzvetkov DJINGOV, GOUGINSKI, KYUTCHUKOV & VELICHKOV Ilya Komarevski TSVETKOVA, BEBOV AND PARTNERS Tsvetan Krumov SCHOENHERR Stephan Kyutchukov DJINGOV, GOUGINSKI, KYUTCHUKOV & VELICHKOV Rossitsa Valeva PWC BULGARIA Miroslav Varnaliev UNIMASTERS LOGISTICS PLC. Katya Yurukova PENKOV, MARKOV & PARTNERS Dessislava Lukarova ARSOV NATCHEV GANEVA Daniela Zandova ATREND EOOD Jordan Manahilov BULGARIAN NATIONAL BANK BURKINA FASO Iliyana Mavrodieva KALAIDJIEV & GEORGIEV Leticia Wanderley DEMAREST E ALMEIDA ADVOGADOS Maria Danailova DANAILOVA, TODOROV AND PARTNERS LAW FIRM Slavi Mikinski LEGALEX LAW OFFICE Thiago Wscieklica SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Kostadinka Deleva GUGUSHEV & PARTNERS Blagomir Minov TSVETKOVA, BEBOV AND PARTNERS George Dimitrov DIMITROV, PETROV & CO. Tzvetoslav Mitev GEORGIEV, TODOROV & CO. Alexandra Doytchinova SCHOENHERR Vladimir Natchev ARSOV NATCHEV GANEVA Silvia Dulevska BULGARIAN NATIONAL BANK Yordan Naydenov BOYANOV & CO. 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Johnny Momoh SHERMAN & SHERMAN Indriķis Liepa ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Nada ElSayed PWC LEBANON Manandi Hoohlo HIGH COURT Linda Matisane STATE LABOUR INSPECTORATE Abdallah Hayek HAYEK GROUP Sean Johnson LAND ADMINISTRATION AUTHORITY Barnabas Norris CENTER FOR NATIONAL DOCUMENTS & RECORDS (NATIONAL ARCHIVES) Alexey Melsitov MTA MARITIME TRANSPORT & AGENCIES Daniel Hayek HAYEK GROUP Qhalehang Letsika MEI & MEI ATTORNEYS INC. Baiba Orbidane LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Walid Honein BADRI AND SALIM EL MEOUCHI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF INTERLEGES Thakane Makume LESOTHO ELECTRICITY COMPANY (PTY) LTD. Zane Paeglite SORAINEN Fady Jamaleddine MENA CITY LAWYERS Andrew Marumo SHEERAN & ASSOCIATES Kristine Parsonse ECB SIA - CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Mohammad Joumaa PWC LEBANON M.R. 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MALLAT LAW FIRM Nabil Mallat HYAM G. MALLAT LAW FIRM Duduzile Seamatha SHEERAN & ASSOCIATES Tiisetso Sello-Mafatle SELLO-MAFATLE ATTORNEYS Lindiwe Sephomolo L. SEPHOMOLO CHAMBERS Marorisang Thekiso SHEERAN & ASSOCIATES Sylvester Rennie COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Philomena Bloh Sayeh CENTER FOR NATIONAL DOCUMENTS & RECORDS (NATIONAL ARCHIVES) Amos Siebo MINISTRY OF STATE FOR PRESIDENTIAL AFFAIRS Justin Tengbeh NATIONAL CUSTOM BROKERS ASSOCIATION OF LIBERIA Benjamin M. Togbah COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Darcy White PWC GHANA Phillip Williams MINISTRY OF LABOUR & SOCIAL SECURITY Melvin Yates COMPASS INC., CLEARING AND FORWARDING Phoka Thene Sechaba Thibeli TRIANGLE FREIGHT LIBYA Names of contributors for Libya are not being disclosed. The contributors section of the Doing Business website lists the number of Libya experts by topic. Mirvat Mostafa MENA CITY LAWYERS LIBERIA Andre Nader NADER LAW OFFICE Amos P. Andrews ECOBANK Rana Nader NADER LAW OFFICE Gideon Ayi-Owoo PWC GHANA Toufic Nehme LAW OFFICES OF ALBERT LAHAM Khalil Azar BEEVER COMPANY Hala Raphael-Abillama RAPHAËL & ASSOCIÉS Henry Reed Cooper COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Mireille Richa TYAN & ZGHEIB LAW FIRM Frank Musah Dean DEAN & ASSOCIATES Nada Abdelsater-Abusamra RAPHAËL & ASSOCIÉS Jihan Rizk Khattar KHATTAR ASSOCIATES Fonsia Donzo CENTRAL BANK OF LIBERIA Petras Baltusevičius DSV TRANSPORT UAB Wadih Abou Nasr PWC LEBANON Jihad Rizkallah BADRI AND SALIM EL MEOUCHI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF INTERLEGES Uzoma Ebeku COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Donatas Baranauskas VILNIAUS MIESTO 14 - ASIS NOTARU BIURAS Baiba Vevere LATVIJAS BANKA Daiga Zivtina LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI LEBANON ELECTRICITÉ DU LIBAN ERNST & YOUNG Nadim Abboud LAW OFFICE OF A. ABBOUD & ASSOCIATES Alina Achy PWC LEBANON Nadim Arej Saade BAROUDI & ASSOCIATES Karen Baroud PWC LEBANON Jean Baroudi BAROUDI & ASSOCIATES Tarek Baz HYAM G. MALLAT LAW FIRM Rami Bou Raad RAPHAËL & ASSOCIÉS Nayla Chemaly MENA CITY LAWYERS Najib Choucair CENTRAL BANK OF LEBANON Sanaa Daakour MENA CITY LAWYERS Hadi Diab SMAYRA LAW OFFICE Rached Sarkis CONSULTANT Antoine Sfeir BADRI AND SALIM EL MEOUCHI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF INTERLEGES Mona Sfeir HYAM G. MALLAT LAW FIRM Rami Smayra SMAYRA LAW OFFICE George Tannous BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL MOVERS Bassel Tohme MENA CITY LAWYERS Nady Tyan TYAN & ZGHEIB LAW FIRM Rania Yazbeck TYAN & ZGHEIB LAW FIRM Georges Zakhour BADRI AND SALIM EL MEOUCHI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF INTERLEGES Michel Doueihy BADRI AND SALIM EL MEOUCHI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF INTERLEGES LESOTHO Hanadi El Hajj MENA CITY LAWYERS HARLEY & MORRIS ARCHIPLAN STUDIO AEP CONSULTANTS INC. Christine Sonpon Freeman COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Jerry Gwenconde LIBERIA ELECTRICITY CORPORATION Winleta Henries Reeves DEAN & ASSOCIATES Anthony Henry CUTTINGTON UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL Yahaya Jalingo ELTRACOL David A.B. Jallah THE DAVID A.B. 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Jones Abu Kamara MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY Sophie Kayemba Mutebi PWC GHANA LITHUANIA BANK OF LITHUANIA Yvonne Goldammer BNT HEEMANN KLAUBERG KRAUKLIS APB Arturas Gutauskas LAW OFFICE VARUL AND PARTNERS Frank Heemann BNT HEEMANN KLAUBERG KRAUKLIS APB Indrė Jonaitytė-Gricė LAW FIRM LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Ieva Kairytė PWC LITHUANIA Inga Karulaityte-Kvainauskiene PROVENTUSLAW LT UAB Romualdas Kasperavičius STATE ENTERPRISE CENTRE OF REGISTERS Jonas Kiauleikis ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Anatolijus Kisielis JSC CREDITINFO LIETUVA Jurgita Kiškiūnaitė LAW FIRM ZABIELA, ZABIELAITE & PARTNERS Kristina Kriščiūnaitė PWC LITHUANIA Ronaldas Kubilius PWC LITHUANIA Gediminas Kuncevicius INTERMODAL CONTAINER SERVICE Egidijus Kundelis PWC LITHUANIA Žilvinas Kvietkus RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS Lina Lemenožaitė LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Gytis Malinauskas LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE ERNST & YOUNG Linas Margevicius LEGAL BUREAU OF LINAS MARGEVICIUS Lina Aleknaite - Van der Molen EVERSHEDS SALADZIUS Vilius Martišius LAW FIRM OF REDA ZABOLIENE Loreta Andziulyte PROVENTUSLAW LT UAB Rūta Matonienė VILNIUS CITY MUNICIPALITY Pavel Balbatunov Vaidotas Melynavicius AAA BALTIC SERVICE COMPANY LAW FIRM Šarūnas Basijokas GLIMSTEDT Vilius Bernatonis TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Renata Beržanskienė LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Andrius Bogdanovičius JSC CREDITINFO LIETUVA Giedre Cerniauske LAW FIRM LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Giedre Dailidenaite LAW OFFICE VARUL AND PARTNERS Renata Damanskyte TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Giedre Domkute AAA BALTIC SERVICE COMPANY LAW FIRM Samuel T. K. Kortimai COOPER & TOGBAH LAW OFFICE Evaldas Dūdonis LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE George Kwatia PWC GHANA Rimante Gentvilaite LAW OFFICE VARUL AND PARTNERS Tomas Mieliauskas LAW FIRM YVES Bronislovas Mikūta STATE ENTERPRISE CENTRE OF REGISTERS Eugenijus Miliukas LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Jurate Misionyte TARK GRUNTE SUTKIENE Jurgita Nikita LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Žygimantas Pacevičius ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Rytis Paukste LAW FIRM LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Algirdas Pekšys LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Mantas Petkevičius LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Angelija Petrauskienė VILNIUS CITY MUNICIPALITY Aidas Petrosius STATE ENTERPRISE CENTRE OF REGISTERS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Justina Rakauskaitė GLIMSTEDT Alain Grosjean BONN & SCHMITT Elena Dimova CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Irena Mitkovska LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Dragan Trajkovski ELTEK Lina Ramanauskaite Andreas Heinzmann BONN & SCHMITT Ilina Dimovska POLENAK LAW FIRM Jovana Mitrovska LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Toni Trajkovski MUNICIPALITY OF GAZI BABA - SKOPJE Vincent Hieff CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE GRAND-DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG Nikodinovska Elena DEBARLIEV, DAMESKI & KELESOSKA ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Biljana Mladenovska Dimitrova LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Stefan Trost EVN MACEDONIA Véronique Hoffeld LOYENS & LOEFF Boro Gadjovski STUDIO R Martin Monevski MONEVSKI LAW FIRM Natasha Trpenoska Trenchevska LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI François Kremer ARENDT & MEDERNACH Ana Georgievska DIMA FORWARDERS Valerjan Monevski MONEVSKI LAW FIRM Slavce Trspeski AGENCY FOR REAL ESTATE CADASTRE Tom Loesch STUDY LOESCH Dimche Georgievski DIMA FORWARDERS Elena Muceva NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Vladimir Vasilevski BETASPED D.O.O. Nathalie Mangen BONN & SCHMITT Katarina Ginoska GEORGI DIMITROV ATTORNEYS Paul Mousel ARENDT & MEDERNACH Marijana Gjoreska CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Liudas Ramanauskas LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Marius Rindinas LAW FIRM ZABIELA, ZABIELAITE & PARTNERS Laura Ryzgelytė LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Auste Saliamoraite LAW FIRM LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Andrius Šidlauskas ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Justinas Sileika BNT HEEMANN KLAUBERG KRAUKLIS APB Mingailė Šilkūnaitė GLIMSTEDT Rimantas Simaitis RAIDLA LEJINS & NORCOUS Simonas Skukauskas ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Tomas Soltanovičius ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW BORENIUS Alius Stamkauskas UAB ELMONTA Jonas Stamkauskas UAB ELMONTA Simona Stančiukaitė LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Marius Stračkaitis LITHUANIAN NOTARY CHAMBER Vygantas Vaitkus NATIONAL CONTROL COMMISSION FOR PRICES AND ENERGY Vilija Vaitkutė Pavan LAW FIRM LAWIN, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Darius Zabiela LAW FIRM ZABIELA, ZABIELAITE & PARTNERS Agnietė Žukauskaitė LAW FIRM SORAINEN & PARTNERS VILNIUS OFFICE Audrius Žvybas GLIMSTEDT LUXEMBOURG ALLEN & OVERY LUXEMBOURG PWC LUXEMBOURG THIELEN ET ASSOCIÉS Stéphanie Musialski CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE GRAND-DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG Judith Raijmakers LOYENS & LOEFF Roger Schintgen PAUL WURTH S.A. SOCIÉTÉ ANONYME Alex Schmitt BONN & SCHMITT Service de l’Urbanisme POLICE DES BÂTISSES Alessandro Sorcinelli LINKLATERS Frank Thihatmar RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Werner Hengst EVN MACEDONIA Biljana Ickovska LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Aleksandar Ickovski Jasmina Ilieva Jovanovikj DEBARLIEV, DAMESKI & KELESOSKA ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Dimitar Ivanovski IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS MACEDONIA, FYR Maja Jakimovska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES DOM - DIZAJN Dragana Jasevic LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Igor Aleksandrovski APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Ljubinka Andonovska CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Zoran Andonovski POLENAK LAW FIRM Natasha Andreeva NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Biljana Joanidis LAW & PATENT OFFICE JOANIDIS Svetlana Jovanoska MUNICIPALITY OF GAZI BABA - SKOPJE Aneta Jovanoska Trajanovska LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Lenche Karpuzovska EVN MACEDONIA Aleksandar Kcev POLENAK LAW FIRM Zlatko Antevski LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Emilija Kelesoska Sholjakovska DEBARLIEV, DAMESKI & KELESOSKA ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Emilija Apostolska APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Dejan Knezović LAW OFFICE KNEZOVIC & ASSOCIATES Rubin Atanasoski TIMELPROJECT ENGINEERING Zlatko T. Kolevski KOLEVSKI LAW OFFICE Benita Beleshkova IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Vancho Kostadinovski CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA YUSEN LOGISTICS LUXEMBOURG Dragan Blažev TIMELPROJECT ENGINEERING Louis Berns ARENDT & MEDERNACH Vladimir Bocevski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Sabrina Bodson ARENDT & MEDERNACH Slavica Bogoeva MACEDONIAN CREDIT BUREAU AD SKOPJE Eleonora Broman LOYENS & LOEFF Verica Hadzi VasilevaMarkovska AAG - ANALYSIS AND ADVISORY GROUP George Kostov TP GJORGE KOSTOV – SKOPJE Aleksandar Krsteski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Ivana Lekic PWC MACEDONIA Jela Boskovic Ognjanoska IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Natasa Ljubeckji Angjelic MACEDONIAN CONSULTING GROUP Ljupco Cubrinovski ENERGO DIZAJN Katerina Makreska LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Serguei Chevtchenko LOYENS & LOEFF Andrej Dameski PWC MACEDONIA Miroslav Marchev PWC MACEDONIA Ariane Claverie IUS LABORIS LUXEMBOURG, CASTEGNARO Dragan Dameski DEBARLIEV, DAMESKI & KELESOSKA ATTORNEYS AT LAW Antonije Marinoski OHRIDSKA BANKA SG Gérard Eischen CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE GRAND-DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG Aleksandar Dimić POLENAK LAW FIRM Elena Miceva DEBARLIEV, DAMESKI & KELESOSKA ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Bojan Dimitrovski POLENAK LAW FIRM Oliver Mirchevski EVN MACEDONIA Guy Castegnaro IUS LABORIS LUXEMBOURG, CASTEGNARO Vladimir Naumovski CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Svetlana Neceva LAW OFFICE PEPELJUGOSKI Ilija Nedelkoski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Elena Nikodinovska DDK ATTORNEYS AT LAW Marina Nikoloska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Marija Nikolova LAW OFFICE KNEZOVIC & ASSOCIATES Vesna Nikolovska LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Goran Nikolovski LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Martin Odzaklieski MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS Vasil Pavloski MINISTRY OF ECONOMY Kristijan Polenak POLENAK LAW FIRM Nenad Radjenovic STUDIO R Radovan Radjenovic STUDIO R Jasmina Rafajlovska RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D.O.O. Goran Rafajlovski RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D.O.O. Viktor Ristovski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Ljubica Ruben MENS LEGIS LAW FIRM Lidija Sarafimova Danevska NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Metodija Velkov POLENAK LAW FIRM Tome Velkovski MINISTRY OF ECONOMY Jane Vojceski LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Marija Zekmanovska RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D.O.O. MADAGASCAR BANQUE CENTRALE DE MADAGASCAR CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO. Serge Andretseheno CABINET AS ARCHITECTE Eric Robson Andriamihaja ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD OF MADAGASCAR Tsiry Andriamisamanana MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Andriamanalina Andrianjaka OFFICE NOTARIAL DE TAMATAVE Yves Duchateau SDV LOGISTICS Raphaël Jakoba MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Hanna Keyserlingk CABINET HK JURIFISC Ravelojaona Marie Albert JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Pascaline R. Rasamoeliarisoa DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Sahondra Rabenarivo MADAGASCAR LAW OFFICES Pierrette Rajaonarisoa SDV LOGISTICS Serge Lucien Rajoelina JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Heritiana Rakotosalama LEGISLINK CONSULTING Milica Shutova CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Mamisoa Rakotosalama LEGISLINK CONSULTING Silvana Simic TUTUNSKA BANKA Lanto Tiana Ralison PWC MADAGASCAR Alexander Sipek EVN MACEDONIA Gérard Ramarijaona PRIME LEX Tatjana Siskovska POLENAK LAW FIRM Roland Ramarijaona DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Vasko Sotkaroski POLENAK LAW FIRM Laingo Ramarimbahoaka MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Dime Spasov AGENCY FOR REAL ESTATE CADASTRE Heritiana Rambeloson JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Biljana Stepanuleska TUTUNSKA BANKA Tsiry Ramiadanarivelo GROWIN’ MADAGASCAR Ivan Stojanov RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D.O.O. William Randrianarivelo PWC MADAGASCAR Blagoj Stojevski EVN MACEDONIA Sahondra Rasoarisoa DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Suzana Stojkoska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Michael Ratrimo MADAGASCAR INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES LTD. Dragica Tasevska NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Mahery Ratsimandresy PRIME LEX 279 280 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Théodore Raveloarison JARY - BUREAU D’ÉTUDES ARCHITECTURE INGÉNIERIE Andriamisa Ravelomanana PWC MADAGASCAR Jean Marcel Razafimahenina DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Louis Sagot CABINET D’AVOCAT LOUIS SAGOT Ida Soamiliarimana MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL MALAWI MALAWI REVENUE AUTHORITY MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. Dino Amritlal Raval WILSON & MORGAN William Chagona PWC MALAWI Richard Chakana Vincent Chikaonda SAVJANI & CO. Brian Chikho CITY BUILDING CONTRACTORS Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Marina Nathan COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Mohammad Rohaimy Abdul Rahim MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY Oy Moon Ng CTOS DATA SYSTEMS SDN BHD Sonia Abraham AZMAN, DAVIDSON & CO. Abdul Rasheed Ibrahim CUSTOMS SERVICE Shamsuddin Bardan MALAYSIAN EMPLOYERS FEDERATION Lizawati Basri MALAYSIA DEPARTMENT OF INSOLVENCY Datuk Arpah Binti Abdul Razak MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Hong Yun Chang TAY & PARTNERS Tze Keong Chung CTOS DATA SYSTEMS SDN BHD Nadesh Ganabaskaran ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Raphael Mhone RACANE ASSOCIATES Vyamala Aggriel Moyo PWC MALAWI Arthur Alick Msowoya WILSON & MORGAN Hutch Mthinda STRUCTURAL CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD. Charles Mvula DUMA ELECTRICS - CONTROL SYSTEMS AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT Nanariwa Nanguwo BLANTYRE CITY COUNCIL Sakaya Johns Rani PWC MALAYSIA Sugumar Saminathan MALAYSIA PRODUCTIVITY CORPORATION Shaleni Sangaran SKRINE, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Tan Lai Seng MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Andy Seo Fiona Sequerah CHRISTOPHER LEE & CO. Prasanta Misra PWC MALDIVES Ahmed Murad MAZLAN & MURAD LAW ASSOCIATES Ibrahim Muthalib ASSOCIATION OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY Hung Hoong SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. CABINET JURI-PARTNER Mohamed Zanyuin Ismail COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Rishwant Singh ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Symphorien Agbessadji BCEAO CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO. ETUDE DE MAÎTRE AHMADOU TOURE David Soong RASLAN - LOONG Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo BCEAO Kumar Kanagasingam LEE HISHAMMUDDIN ALLEN & GELDHILL Adeline Thor Sue Lyn RUSSELL BEDFORD LC & COMPANY - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Maître Abdourhamane B. Maiga CABINET D’AVOCATS SEYDOU IBRAHIM MAIGA Kesavan Karuppiah MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCES Nor Fajariah Sulaiman KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Azemi Kasim DEPARTMENT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF LAND & MINES Kenneth Tiong THE ASSOCIATED CHINESE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF MALAYSIA (ACCCIM) Krishna Savjani SAVJANI & CO. Suresh Kumar NORTH PORT (MALAYSIA) BHD. Duncan Singano SAVJANI & CO. Christopher Lee CHRISTOPHER LEE & CO. MALAYSIA Koon Huan Lim SKRINE, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI ERNST & YOUNG San Peen Lim PWC MALAYSIA INTEGRATED LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS SDN BHD Ir. Bashir Ahamed Maideen NADI CONSULT ERA SDN BHD PORT KLANG AUTHORITIES Alias Marjoh KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Zuhaidi Mohd Shahari AZMI & ASSOCIATES Chew Yin Mok BDO Oumar Bane JURIFIS CONSULT Nadia Biouele-Camara O&B CONSULTING Amadou Camara SCP CAMARA TRAORÉ Sugumaran Vairavappillai TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD Céline Camara Sib ETUDE ME CELINE CAMARA SIB Heng Choon Wan PWC MALAYSIA Mahamane I. Cisse CABINET LEXIS CONSEILS Chee Lin Wong SKRINE, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Boubacar Coulibaly MATRANS Clifford Eng Hong Yap PWC MALAYSIA Elvis Danon PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Muhammad Azizul Bin Zahidin WESTPORTS MALAYSIA SDN BHD Sekou Dembele ETUDE MAÎTRE SEKOU DEMBELE Norina Zainol Abidin MALAYSIA DEPARTMENT OF INSOLVENCY Abou Diallo API MALI MALDIVES Djibril Guindo JURIFIS CONSULT AIMA CONSTRUCTION COMPANY PVT LTD. Mansour Haidara API MALI ERNST & YOUNG Gaoussou Haîdara ETUDE GAOUSSOU HAIDARA Mohamed Shahdy Anwar SUOOD ANWAR & CO - ATTORNEYSAT-LAW Jatindra Bhattray PWC MALDIVES Djibril Semega CABINET SEAG CONSEIL Antoine Traore BCEAO Jagdev Singh PWC MALAYSIA Jeremy Koo WESTPORTS MALAYSIA SDN BHD Alassane T. Sangaré NOTARY Shuaib M. Shah SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS MALI Mohd. Fauzi Abdul Kayum EDARAN IT SERVICES SDN BHD Bérenger Y. Meuke JURIFIS CONSULT Lasseni Touré ETUDE GAOUSSOU HAIDARA Hadiman Bin Simin MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Norhaiza Jemon COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Adeline Messou PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Hussein Nazeer OTIUM GROUP Ramli Hazra Izadi LKMD ARCHITECTURE Rohani Ismail SELANGOR MEDIATION CENTRE Amadou Maiga MAIRIE DE LA COMMUNE, DIRECTION NATIONALE DE L’URBANISME Dominique Taty PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Fathimath Sodhaf MALDIVES CUSTOMS SERVICE Tiew Hai San MINISTRY OF FEDERAL TERRITORIES AND URBAN WELLBEING Jean-Guy Kouvahe DAMCO Ismail Nashid MALDIVES CUSTOMS SERVICE Chan Kum Siew MALAYSIA PRODUCTIVITY CORPORATION Grant Nyirongo ELEMECH DESIGNS Halimi Abd Manaf MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Himahlini Ramalingam LEE HISHAMMUDDIN ALLEN & GELDHILL Laila Manik ATTORNEY Su Sieng Mee TOP GLOVE SDN. BHD. Remmie Ng’omba WILSON & MORGAN Shamsuddin Ab Rahman ESB MTO INTEGRATED SDN BHD Nirmala Ramadass COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Mizna Shareef SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS LOH Kok Leong RUSSELL BEDFORD LC & COMPANY - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA Bamary Kone CABINET D’AVOCATS SEYDOU IBRAHIM MAIGA Aminah BT Abd. Rahman MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Frank Edgar Kapanda HIGH COURT OF MALAWI James Masumbu TEMBENU, MASUMBU & CO. Mohamed Hameed ANTRAC PVT. LTD. Anita Balakrishnan SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. Mohd Naim Daruwish COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Joseph Malingamoyo QUANT CONSULT ASSOCIATES Abdoul Karim Kone CABINET BERTH - KONE - AVOCATS ASSOCIÉS Dheena Hussain SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Gautoni D. Kainja KAINJA & DZONZI Alfred Majamanda MBENDERA & NKHONO ASSOCIATES Aishath Haifa SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Hock An Ong KPMG Walter Culas AIR FREIGHT FORWARDERS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA (AFAM) Shabir Latif SACRANIE, GOW & CO. Allison Ong AZMAN, DAVIDSON & CO. Gaoussou A. G. Konaté CABINET D’ARCHITECTURE - ETUDES TECHNIQUES Wilfred Abraham ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Alan Chinula WILLIAM FAULKNER Enoch Kasambara KAS FREIGHT LIMITED Swee Kee Ng SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. Asma Chan-Rahim SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Seydou Ibrahim Maiga CABINET D’AVOCATS SEYDOU IBRAHIM MAIGA Awa Kane MATRANS Alassane Traoré ICON SARL Fousséni Traoré PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Emmanuel Yehouessi BCEAO MALTA MALTA FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (MFSA) Christabelle Agius CSB ADVOCATES Matthew Attard GANADO ADVOCATES Richard Bernard CSB ADVOCATES Leonard Bonello GANADO ADVOCATES Paul Bonello MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS Kris Borg DR KRIS BORG & ASSOCIATES ADVOCATES Mario Raymond Borg INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT Nicolai Borg Sant PWC MALTA Mario Brincat MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS Ann M. Bugeja CSB ADVOCATES Johann Buttigieg MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (MEPA) Jeanelle Cachia SCERRI & BONELLO ADVOCATES Simon Camilleri CREDITINFO Perit Vincent Cassar MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (MEPA) Fazleena Fakir MALDIVES MONETARY AUTHORITY David Felice ARCHITECTURE PROJECT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Stephen Ferrito MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (MEPA) Bori Ysawa MAJURO MARINE Sandy Chuong GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Geetanjali Seewoosurrun CEB Guillermo Escamilla NOTARY PUBLIC 243 MEXICO CITY Neville Gatt PWC MALTA MAURITANIA Roland Constantin ETUDE CONSTANTIN Gilbert Seeyave DCDM FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD. Luis Esparza GONZALEZ CALVILLO, S.C. Sid’Ahmed Abeidna SOGECO MAURITANIA Zulfi J. Currimjee ZAC ASSOCIATES LTD. Sentokee CITY COUNCIL OF PORT LOUIS Miguel Espitia BUFETE INTERNACIONAL Esteit Mohamedou Amane ETUDES RECHERCHES ET MAINTENANCE Marc Daruty de Grandpre DARUTY DE GRANDPRE & PARTNERS (ARCHITECTS) LTD Deviantee Sobarun MINISTRY OF FINANCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Samira Esquiliano CREEL, GARCÍA-CUÉLLAR, AIZA Y ENRIQUEZ, S.C. Martine de Fleuriot de la Colinière DE COMARMOND & KOENIG Oudesh Suddul KROSS BORDER TRUST SERVICES LTD. - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Lucía Fernández GONZALEZ CALVILLO, S.C. Christabelle Gauci CSB ADVOCATES Keith German LAND REGISTRY Joseph Ghio FENECH & FENECH ADVOCATES Steve Gingell PWC MALTA Karl Grech Orr GANADO ADVOCATES Peter Grima ENEMALTA CORPORATION Kurt Hyzler CSB ADVOCATES Kevin Loughborough COBRA INSTALLATIONS Doran Magri Demajo CSB ADVOCATES Nicola Mallia FENECH & FENECH ADVOCATES Allan Micallef ENEMALTA CORPORATION Henri Mizzi CAMILLERI PREZIOSI John Paris CREDITINFO Joseph Scicluna SCICLUNA & ASSOCIATES Noel Vella DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS Simone Vella Lenicker ARCHITECTURE PROJECT Mark Wirth PWC MALTA Quentin Zahra EUROFREIGHT Moussa Aw BSD & ASSOCIÉS Tidiane Bal BSD & ASSOCIÉS Mohamed Cheikh Abdallahi AFACOR - AUDIT FINANCE ASSISTANCE COMPTABLE ORGANISATION SARL Shalinee Dreepaul-Halkhoree JURISTAX LTD. Cheikany Jules CHEIKHANY JULES LAW OFFICE Sapna Dwarka BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Mohamed Lemine Salem Ould Béchir EXACO Yannick Fok GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Abdou M’Bodj COMMUNAUTÉ URBAINE DE NOUAKCHOTT Wedou Mohamed MAURIHANDLING Mine Ould Abdoullah CABINET D’AVOCAT OULD ABDOULLAH Ahmed Salem Ould Bouhoubeyni CABINET BOUHOUBEYNI Abdellahi Ould Charrouck ATELIER ARCHITECTURE ET DESIGN Brahim Ould Ebety LAWYER Abdallahi Ould Gah ETUDE GAH Ahmed Ould Radhi BANQUE CENTRALE DE MAURITANIE Andrew J. Zammit CSB ADVOCATES MARSHALL ISLANDS Aliou Sall ASSURIM CONSULTING MARSHALLS ENERGY COMPANY Kenneth Barden ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Wilfredo Candilas TOBOLAR COPRA PROCESSING AUTHORITY Tatyana E. Cerullo MARSHALL ISLANDS LAWYERS Raquel De Leon MARSHALL ISLANDS SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Aicha Coura Samake BSD & ASSOCIÉS Aissetou Sy BSD & ASSOCIÉS MAURITIUS Kursline Bégué CEB Mohamed Iqbal Belath BANK OF MAURITIUS Rishi Bhoyroo GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Donna Lacuesta ROBERT REIMERS ENTERPRISES, INC. Latasha Bissessur Jugroo BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Philip A. Okney LAW OFFICE OF PHILIP A. OKNEY Vanesha Babooa Bissonauth DE COMARMOND & KOENIG Steve Philip CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Jean-François Boisvenu BLC CHAMBERS Michael Slinger CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Urmila Boolell BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Scott H. Stege LAW OFFICES OF SCOTT STEGE Jagwantsing Chetlall GAMMA David M. Strauss CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Jaimie Chiniah BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Itibo Tofinga MARSHALL ISLANDS TAX AUTHORITY D.P. Chinien REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES AND BUSINESSES, OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES Anthony Tomlinson BECA INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS LTD. Sufyaan Dosemahamed PWC MAURITIUS Hamoud Ismail SMPN Abdel Fettah Ould Sidi Mohamed SOCIÉTÉ MAURITANIENNE D’ELECTRICITÉ (SOMELEC) MARSHALL ISLANDS REGISTRY Catherine de Rosnay LEGIS & PARTNERS Poonam Geemul BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Gavin Glover GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN J. Gilbert Gnany THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED Darmalingum Goorriah ETUDE ME DARMALINGUM GOORRIAH Arvin Halkhoree NS MANAGEMENT LTD. Marc Hein JURISTAX LTD. Feroz Hematally PWC MAURITIUS Elodie Hermelin LEGIS & PARTNERS Reshma Hurday KROSS BORDER TRUST SERVICES LTD. - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Nitish Hurnaum GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Poornima Kisto PWC MAURITIUS Thierry Koenig DE COMARMOND & KOENIG Anthony Leung Shing PWC MAURITIUS Avinash Teeluck LEGIS & PARTNERS Parikshat Teeluck DAMCO LOGISTICS (MAURITIUS) Vikash Thakoor BANK OF MAURITIUS Shiam Krisht Thannoo CEB Natasha Towokul-Jiagoo JURISTAX LTD. Muhammad R.C. Uteem UTEEM CHAMBERS MEXICO Gustavo I. Alarcón Caballero BAKER & MCKENZIE Jaime Alejandro Gutiérrez Vidal INSTITUTO FEDERAL DE ESPECIALISTAS DE CONCURSOS MERCANTILES Juan Antonio Araujo Garrido GONZALEZ CALVILLO, S.C. Carlos Cano PWC MEXICO Pedro Carreon PWC MEXICO María Casas López BAKER & MCKENZIE Ana Casasús Trejo Lerdo RITCH MUELLER, S.C. Hermilo Ceja COMISIÓN FEDERAL DE ELECTRICIDAD Carlos Chávez GALICIA ABOGADOS, S.C. Ernesto Chávez INTERCONTINENTAL NETWORK SERVICES Rodrigo Conesa RITCH MUELLER, S.C. Julio Flores Luna GOODRICH, RIQUELME Y ASOCIADOS Manuel Galicia GALICIA ABOGADOS, S.C. Mauricio Gamboa TRANSUNION DE MEXICO SA SIC Mauricio Garza Bulnes J.A. TREVIÑO ABOGADOS S.A. DE C.V. Hans Goebel NADER, HAYAUX & GOEBEL Ismael Gonzalez PWC MEXICO Patricia Gonzalez PWC MEXICO Eugenia González GOODRICH, RIQUELME Y ASOCIADOS Luis Enrique Graham CHADBOURNE & PARKE LLP Mario Alberto Gutiérrez PWC MEXICO Yves Hayaux-du-Tilly NADER, HAYAUX & GOEBEL Roberto Hernandez Garcia COMAD, S.C. Angélica Huacuja CHADBOURNE & PARKE LLP Mauricio Hurtado PWC MEXICO María Concepción Isoard Viesca RITCH MUELLER, S.C. Jorge Jimenez LOPEZ VELARDE, HEFTYE Y SORIA, S.C. Jorge Jiménez RUSSELL BEDFORD MÉXICO - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Josue Lee INAKI ECHEVERRIA ARQUITECTOS Diego López Vargas PWC MEXICO Jayram Luximon CEB Jose Covarrubias-Azuela SOLORZANO, CARVAJAL, GONZALEZ Y PEREZ-CORREA, S.C. Fabián López Xochipa COMAD, S.C. Sindhia M.Potayya DE COMARMOND & KOENIG Julio César Cristiani MIRANDA & ESTAVILLO, S.C. Julio Luna Castillo COLEGIO DE INGENIEROS MECÁNICOS Y ELECTRICISTAS (CIME) Ally Meeajun GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Miguel de la Fuente NADER, HAYAUX & GOEBEL Malcolm Moller APPLEBY Fernando De la Garza BRYAN, GONZÁLEZ BAZ Ramdas Mootanah ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN LTD. Oscar de La Vega LITTLER DE LA VEGA Y CONDE, S.C. 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Purna Man Napit NIC BANK Anjan Neupane NEUPANE LAW ASSOCIATES Balkrishna Neupane NEUPANE LAW ASSOCIATES Ross Crotty LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS John Cuthbertson PWC NEW ZEALAND Ben Upton SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Matthew Wentz BELL GULLY Nelson Wu LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Hans Londonck Sluijk HOUTHOFF BURUMA Joanne Dickson SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI NICARAGUA Mahesh Kumar Thapa SINHA VERMA LAW CONCERN Michiel Stoové BOSSELAAR & STRENGERS ADVOCATEN Igor Drinkovic MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Hariraj Wagle WAGLE ELECTRIC FIRM Natusia Szeliga BAKER & MCKENZIE AMSTERDAM N.V. Vince Duffin VECTOR ELECTRICITY NETHERLANDS Fedor Tanke BAKER & MCKENZIE AMSTERDAM N.V. Joseph Harrop MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Maarten Tinnemans DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK David Harte INSOLVENCY AND TRUSTEE SERVICES Jaap Jan Trommel NAUTADUTILH ATTORNEYS Richard Hellaby SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI DAMCO NETHERLANDS Joost Achterberg KENNEDY VAN DER LAAN Tulasi Bhatta UNITY LAW FIRM & CONSULTANCY Susan Tov PWC NEW ZEALAND Kerr Dewe LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS MUNICIPALITY OF AMSTERDAM SOUTH DISTRICT OFFICE Narayan Bajaj NARAYAN BAJAJ & ASSOCIATES Shelley Cave SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Mike Whale LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Anil Chandra Adhikari CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAU LTD. NEPAL Lalit Aryal LA & ASSOCIATES CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Ben Thomson SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Daniel De Vries VEDA ADVANTAGE NEPAL Sulakshan Adhikari SHANGRI-LA FREIGHT PVT. LTD. Justin Cameron LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Jan Biemans DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Karin W.M. Bodewes BAKER & MCKENZIE AMSTERDAM N.V. Jurrien Boon ALLARD ARCHITECTURE Sytso Boonstra PWC NETHERLANDS Roland Brandsma PWC NETHERLANDS Martin Brink VAN BENTHEM & KEULEN NV Joey Clark STIBBE Margriet de Boer DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Taco de Lange LEXENCE Petra de Rooy DLA PIPER NEDERLAND N.V. Robert de Vries BOSSELAAR & STRENGERS ADVOCATEN J.C. Dekkers HOUTHOFF BURUMA Wilfrank Driesprong STICHTING BUREAU KREDIET REGISTRATIE Andy Furr DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Ingrid Greveling NAUTADUTILH ATTORNEYS Ruud Hermans DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Bas Jongtien BOSSELAAR & STRENGERS ADVOCATEN Marcel Kettenis PWC NETHERLANDS Matrika Niraula NIRAULA LAW CHAMBER & CO. Edwin M.A.J. Kleefstra KAB WEST - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Rajan Niraula NIRAULA LAW CHAMBER & CO. Christian Koedam PWC NETHERLANDS Arun Pant DESIGN CELL LTD Andrej Kwitowski AKADIS BV Sewa Pathak SEWA PATHAK & ASSOCIATES Stefan Leening PWC NETHERLANDS Annet van Balen BOSSELAAR & STRENGERS ADVOCATEN Liane van de Vrugt VÉDÉVÉ LEGAL BV Leonard Van den Ende BAKER & MCKENZIE AMSTERDAM N.V. Jos van der Schans DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Gert-Jan van Gijs VAT LOGISTICS (OCEAN FREIGHT) BV Sjaak van Leeuwen STICHTING BUREAU KREDIET REGISTRATIE Petra van Raad PWC NETHERLANDS IJsbrand Van Straten STIBBE Franck van Uden BAKER & MCKENZIE AMSTERDAM N.V. Rodolfo Van Vlooten KENNEDY VAN DER LAAN Janine Verweij OFFICE OF ENERGY REGULATION Reinout Vriesendorp DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Frank Werger PWC NETHERLANDS Stephan Westera LEXENCE Berto Winters DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK Marleen Zandbergen NAUTADUTILH ATTORNEYS Christiaan Zijderveld SIMMONS & SIMMONS LLP NEW ZEALAND DLA PHILLIPS FOX INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT Connor Archbold BELL GULLY Rowena Boereboom LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS James Caird SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Matt Kersey RUSSELL MCVEAGH Kate Lane MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Helen Langley INSOLVENCY AND TRUSTEE SERVICES John Lawrence AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL Lina Lim SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Mark Lowndes LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Mandy McDonald MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION & EMPLOYMENT Andrew Minturn QUALTECH INTERNATIONAL LTD. Robert Muir LAND INFORMATION NEW ZEALAND Catherine Otten NEW ZEALAND COMPANIES OFFICE Ian Page BRANZ EXPORTADORA ATLANTIC S.A. Elias Alvarez PWC NICARAGUA Minerva Adriana Bellorín Rodríguez ACZALAW María José Bendaña Guerrero BENDAÑA & BENDAÑA Carlos Alberto Bonilla López SUPERINTENDENCIA DE BANCOS Blanca Buitrago GARCÍA & BODÁN Orlando Cardoza BUFETE JURIDICO OBREGON Y ASOCIADOS Thelma Carrion AGUILAR CASTILLO LOVE Francisco Castro PWC NICARAGUA Dorisabel Conrado CONSORTIUM TABOADA Y ASOCIADOS Sergio David Corrales Montenegro GARCÍA & BODÁN Erick Coto MODULAR ARQUITECTURA Y CONSTRUCCIÓN S.A. Eugenia Cruz CETREX Brenda Darce CETREX Gloria Maria de Alvarado ALVARADO Y ASOCIADOS, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Maricarmen Espinosa de Molina MOLINA & ASOCIADOS CENTRAL LAW Mihai Pascariu MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Luz Marina Espinoza ALVARADO Y ASOCIADOS, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI John Powell RUSSELL MCVEAGH Luis Fuentes Balladares ARQUITECTURA FUENTES David Quigg QUIGG PARTNERS Terencio Garcia Montenegro GARCÍA & BODÁN Nils Reardon RUSSELL MCVEAGH Engelsberth Gómez PRO NICARAGUA Silvana Schenone MINTER ELLISON RUDD WATTS Denis González Torres G.E. ELECTROMECÁNICA & CIA LTDA. Ravin Sena INSOLVENCY AND TRUSTEE SERVICES Claudia Guevara AGUILAR CASTILLO LOVE Maxim Sherstobitov EASY FREIGHT Maryeling Guevara ARIAS & MUÑOZ Kelvin Sue SIMPSON GRIERSON, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Federico Gurdian GARCÍA & BODÁN Mike Tames PWC NEW ZEALAND Howard Thomas LOWNDES ASSOCIATES - CORPORATE AND COMMERCIAL LAW SPECIALISTS Eduardo Gutierrez ACZALAW Marianela Gutierrez AGUILAR CASTILLO LOVE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mauricio Herdocia GARCÍA & BODÁN Gerardo Hernandez CONSORTIUM TABOADA Y ASOCIADOS Rodrigo Ibarra Rodney ARIAS & MUÑOZ Eduardo Lacayo TRANSUNION Brenda Martinez CONSORTIUM TABOADA Y ASOCIADOS Fabiola Martinez VENTANILLA UNICA DE INVERSIONES José Mejía GARCÍA & BODÁN Alvaro Molina MOLINA & ASOCIADOS CENTRAL LAW Jorge Molina Lacayo CETREX Moussa Dantia CENTRE DES FORMALITES DES ENTREPRISES Abdou Djando EMTEF Boureïma Fodi CABINET D’AVOCATS SOUNACOULIBALY Jean Claude Gnamien PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Ibrahim Baoua Gogé MINISTÈRE DE L’ECONOMIE ET DES FINANCES DU NIGER Sani Halilou Alkali DAMCO NIGER S.A., A.P. MOLLER MAERSK GROUP’S REPRESENTATIVE Moussa Gros Ibrahim MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT Abdoulaye Idé Kentuadei Adefe KENTUADEI ADEFE, LEGAL PRACTITIONERS, MEDIATORS AND ARBITRATORS Kunle Adegbite CANAAN SOLICITORS Steve Adehi STEVE ADEHI AND CO Olufunke Adekoya AELEX, LEGAL PRACTITIONERS & ARBITRATORS Hakeem Adeniji LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Tolulope Aderemi PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Taiwo Adeshina JACKSON, ETTI & EDU Yetunde Adewale AKINWUNMI & BUSARI LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Roberto Montes-Doña ARIAS & MUÑOZ Ali Idrissa Sounna TOUTELEC NIGER SA Soraya Montoya Herrera MOLINA & ASOCIADOS CENTRAL LAW Seybou Issifi VILLE DE NIAMEY Norma Elena Morales Barquero ARIAS & MUÑOZ Armel Kpodo Sidoine Shola Afolabi F.O. AKINRELE & CO. Ari Malla MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT Daniel Agbor UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Issaka Manzo EGTC Aslar Agbowaje DELOITTE-NIGERIA André Monso PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Kunle Ajagbe PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Amadou Moussa MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT Olaoluwa Ajala GBENGA BIOBAKU & CO Moukaïla Nouhou Hamani COUR SUPRÊME Konyin Ajayi OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Sahabi Oumarou THEMIS INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS Mayowa Ajibade WTS ADEBIYI & ASSOCIATES Linda Rakotonavalona CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO. Ben Akabueze LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Róger Pérez ARIAS & MUÑOZ Naissa Sabiou Mamane COUR SUPRÊME Udo Akalezi KPMG Alonso Porras ACZALAW Ousmane Sidibé AUDIT & CONSEIL SIDIBÉ & CONSEIL (A.C.S.A.) Manuel Akinshola JACOBS & BIGAELS Jeanethe Morales Núñez SUPERINTENDENCIA DE BANCOS Amilcar Navarro Amador GARCÍA & BODÁN Michael Navas PRO NICARAGUA Jacinto Obregon Sanchez BUFETE JURIDICO OBREGON Y ASOCIADOS José Aníbal Olivas Cajina ALVARADO Y ASOCIADOS, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Andrea Paniagua PWC DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Jessica Porras GARCÍA & BODÁN Mazziel Rivera ACZALAW Erwin Rodriguez PWC NICARAGUA Carlos Taboada Rodríguez CONSORTIUM LEGAL Dominique Taty PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Idrissa Tchernaka ETUDE D’AVOCATS MARC LE BIHAN & COLLABORATEURS Antoine Traore BCEAO Olusola Adun NOUVEAU ASSOCIATES Tolulola Akintimehin NOUVEAU ASSOCIATES Dayo Akintoye LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Dafe Akpeneye PWC NIGERIA Folake Alabi OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Fousséni Traoré PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Belema Alagun OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Alfonso José Sandino Granera CONSORTIUM TABOADA Y ASOCIADOS Père Venance LOGISTIQUE COMMERCIALE D’AFRIQUE (LCA) Jonathan Aluju OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Rodrigo Taboada CONSORTIUM TABOADA Y ASOCIADOS Emmanuel Yehouessi BCEAO Gabriel Sánchez G. PRO NICARAGUA Carlos Téllez GARCÍA & BODÁN NIGERIA Segun Aluko ALUKO & OYEBODE Francis Amadi CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION Oluchi Aniaka ALLIANCE LAW FIRM Diogenes Velasquez ACZALAW ERNST & YOUNG NIGER TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION Owolabi Animashaun GLOBALEX CLASSIC LIMITED Kassoum Abari VILLE DE NIAMEY Ijeoma Abalogu GBENGA BIOBAKU & CO Sola Arifayan IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Symphorien Agbessadji BCEAO Mohammed K. Abdulsalam GITRAS LTD. Temitayo Arikenbi CRC CREDIT BUREAU LIMITED Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo BCEAO Innocent Abidoye NNENNA EJEKAM ASSOCIATES Ige Asemudara PUNUKA ATTORNEYS & SOLICITORS Takoubakoye Aminata MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT Oluseyi Abiodun Akinwunmi AKINWUNMI & BUSARI LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Patrick Ayanbanji Ojo NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Patrick Abuka ABUKA & PARTNERS Francis Ayodel FOLIZIT NIG LTD. Chetanna Achara OKONJO, ODIAWA & EBIE Olusola Ayodele MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA Mamoudou Aoula MINISTÈRE DE L’URBANISME, DE L’HABITAT ET DU CADASTRE Moussa Coulibaly CABINET D’AVOCATS SOUNACOULIBALY STERLING PARTNERSHIP Ayobayo Babade PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Ifedayo Iroche PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Damilola Babalola OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Okorie Kalu PUNUKA ATTORNEYS & SOLICITORS Masud Balogun OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Atiku Lawal NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Ngozi Chianakwalam LEGAL STANDARD CONSULTING Aleruchi Chisor-Wabali F.O. AKINRELE & CO. Chinwe Chiwete PUNUKA ATTORNEYS & SOLICITORS Ukata Christian AFRIGLOBE SHIPPING LINES LTD. Nnamd Dimbga OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Rebecca Dokun ALUKO & OYEBODE Weyinmi Edodo IPDC LIMITED Judith Egbeadumah PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Colin Egemonye COLIN EGEMONYE & ASSOCIATES Emmanuel Egwuagu OBLA & CO. Oyindamola Ehiwere ALSEC NOMINEES LIMITED Nnenna Ejekam NNENNA EJEKAM ASSOCIATES Mary Ekemezie UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Nelson Ekere 1ST ATTORNEYS Nkem Ekwere ALLIANCE LAW FIRM Harrison Emmanuel ABDULAI, TAIWO & CO. Ikeakonwu Emmanuel DELOITTE-NIGERIA Wolemi Esan OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Samuel Etuk 1ST ATTORNEYS Marcellina Eya Abang NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION (NERC) Chris Eze NNENNA EJEKAM ASSOCIATES Adanma Ezegbulam WTS ADEBIYI & ASSOCIATES Anse Agu Ezetah CHIEF LAW AGU EZETAH & CO. Babatunde Fagbohunlu ALUKO & OYEBODE Omowum Fajemiroye OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Olubunmi Fayokun ALUKO & OYEBODE Fatai Folarin DELOITTE-NIGERIA Niyi Folayan FOLIZIT NIG LTD. Bimbola Fowler-Ekar JACKSON, ETTI & EDU Adejoke A. Gbenro ADEBANKE ADEOLA &CO. Justice Idehen-Nathaniel PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Chimezie Ihekweazu CHIKWEM CHAMBERS Nduka Ikeyi IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Femi David Ikotun ZIONGATE CHAMERS Olufemi D. Lijadu AJUMOGOBIA & OKEKE Ishaya Livinus Etsu NIGERIAN ELECTRICITY REGULATORY COMMISSION (NERC) Hakeem Muri-Okunola LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Haliru Musia CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION Ugochi Ndebbio KPMG Pauline Nwafor WTS ADEBIYI & ASSOCIATES Kenechi Nwizu IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Tochi Nwogu PUNUKA ATTORNEYS & SOLICITORS Afolake Obawunmi OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Wole Obayomi KPMG V. Uche Obi ALLIANCE LAW FIRM Yetunde Obitayo CRC CREDIT BUREAU LIMITED Godwin Obla OBLA & CO. Damilola Odetola OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Abimbola Odeyemi FORTIS LP Olufunlola Odunlami LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Oluwakemi Oduntan JADE & STONE SOLICITORS J.O. Odupitan LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT Nelson Ogbuanya NOCS CONSULTS Godson Ogheneochuko UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Ozofu Ogiemudia UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Kunle Ogunbamowo DELOITTE-NIGERIA Abimbola Ogunbanjo CHRIS OGUNBANJO & CO. Alayo Ogunbiyi ABDULAI, TAIWO & CO. Ayokunle Ogundipe PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Niyi Ogunwole BASE4 INVESTMENT (NIG.) LTD. Olaniyi Ogunwole BASE4 INVESTMENT (NIG.) LTD. Chudi Ojukwu INFRASTRUCTURE CONSULTING PARTNERSHIP Patrick Okonjo OKONJO, ODIAWA & EBIE Dozie Okwuosah CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA Stephen Ola Jagun JAGUN ASSOCIATES Tumininu Oladipo NNENNA EJEKAM ASSOCIATES Olaseni Oladipupo NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 285 286 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Adefunke Oladosu AKINWUNMI & BUSARI LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Moshood Olajide PWC NIGERIA Adebayo Ologe PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Ayotunde Ologe SYNERGY LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AND CONSULTANTS Ajibola Olomola KPMG Oladipo Olukuewu OLADIPO OLUKUEWU & COMPANY Sina Olumide IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Adeshina Oluwaji BASE4 INVESTMENT (NIG.) LTD. Kemi Oluwaji BASE4 INVESTMENT (NIG.) LTD. Lekan Oluwaji BASE4 INVESTMENT (NIG.) LTD. Abijo Oluwasegun FMA ARCHITECTS LTD. Jennifer Omozuwa PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Ekundayo Onajobi UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Ngozi Onianwa PUNUKA ATTORNEYS & SOLICITORS Gabriel Onojason ALLIANCE LAW FIRM Fred Onuobia G. ELIAS & CO. SOLICITORS AND ADVOCATES Chiago Orakwusi KPMG Donald Orji JACKSON, ETTI & EDU Samuel Orji IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Tunde Osasona WHITESTONE WORLDWIDE LTD. Olufemi Ososanya HLB Z.O. OSOSANYA & CO. Taiwo Oyedele PWC NIGERIA Femi Oyetosho BIOS 2 LIMITED Tunde Popoola CRC CREDIT BUREAU LIMITED Radhika Roy PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Akinwunmi Salau CHRIS OGUNBANJO & CO. Ovie E. Ukiri AJUMOGOBIA & OKEKE Knut Martinsen ADVOKATFIRMAET THOMMESSEN AS Ahmed Choudhry SNR DENTON & CO. Aniekan Ukpanah UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Ole Kristian Olsby HOMBLE OLSBY ADVOKATFIRMA AS Johnny Drysdale SNR DENTON & CO. Maxwell Ukpebor WTS ADEBIYI & ASSOCIATES Ståle Skutle Arneson ADVOKATFIRMA SIMONSEN VOGT WIIG Francis D’Souza BDO JAWAD HABIB Adamu M. Usman F.O. AKINRELE & CO. Marthe Stømner Smestad ADVOKATFIRMAET SCHJØDT AS Jamie Gibson TROWERS & HAMLINS Ebere Uzum UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Svein Sulland ADVOKATFIRMAET SELMER DA Justine Harding SNR DENTON & CO. Oghogho Violet Eguasa PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Sigurd Tuntland ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Christine Holland TROWERS & HAMLINS Lande Wright AKINWUNMI & BUSARI LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Kai Sølve Urke WIKBORG, REIN & CO. Hussein MUSCAT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Remi Yussuf ADOL ENGINEERING SERVICES NORWAY ADVOKATFIRMAET HJORT DA, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Erik Aasland ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Sverre Ardø EXPERIAN NORWAY Jan L. Backer WIKBORG, REIN & CO. Guro Bakke Haga PWC NORWAY Rannveig Bakke Tvedten HOMBLE OLSBY ADVOKATFIRMA AS Stig Berge ADVOKATFIRMAET THOMMESSEN AS Jacob S. Bjønnes-Jacobsen GRETTE LAW FIRM DA Tron Dalheim ARNTZEN DE BESCHE ADVOKATFIRMA AS Magnar Danielsen MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT Lars Davidsen HAFSLUND Elisabeth Ege ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Knut Ekern PWC NORWAY Lars Eliassen THE BRONNOYSUND REGISTER CENTER Turid Ellingsen STATENS KARTVERK Nikka Feldskou GAC NORWAY AS Christian Friestad PWC NORWAY Yewande Senbore OLANIWUN AJAYI LP Erlend Haaskjold ARNTZEN DE BESCHE ADVOKATFIRMA AS Taofeek Shittu IKEYI & ARIFAYAN Hilde Høksnes ADVOKATFIRMAET SELMER DA Christine Sijuwade UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Heidi Holmelin ADVOKATFIRMAET SELMER DA Olugbenga Sokan PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Odd Hylland PWC NORWAY Adeola Sunmola UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE Knut-Aleksander Hymer ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Olufemi Sunmonu FEMI SUNMONU & ASSOCIATES-QAIS CONRAD LAUREATE SOLICITORS & NOTARY PUBLIC Hanne Karlsen ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Rafiu Sunmonu DELMORE ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED Olubukola Thomas PERCHSTONE & GRAEYS Evans Tomety DELOITTE-NIGERIA Bjørn H. Kise ADVOKATFIRMA SIMONSEN VOGT WIIG Trond Larsen EXPERIAN NORWAY Carl Longva GAC NORWAY AS Per Einar Lunde PWC NORWAY Anders Utne ADVOKATFIRMA RÆDER DA Oyvind Vagan THE BRONNOYSUND REGISTER CENTER Ida Winters HOMBLE OLSBY ADVOKATFIRMA AS OMAN ERNST & YOUNG Jehanzeb Afridi AL BUSAIDY MANSOOR JAMAL & CO. Hamad Al Abri MUSCAT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Zahir Abdulla Al Abri MUSCAT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Z|ubaida Fakir Mohammed Al Balushi CENTRAL BANK OF OMAN (CBO) Mohammed Taki Al Jamalani CAPITAL MARKET AUTHORITY OF OMAN Najeeb Al Mahrooqi MUSCAT ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY O. A. Kuraishy HASAN JUMA BACKER TRADING & CONTRACTING S. Madhu Jose Madukakuzhy KHIMJI RAMDAS Khwaja Shaheryar Aziz A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Akeel Bilgrami NAJMI BILGRAMI COLLABORATIVE (PVT) LTD. Waheed Chaudhary LEGIS INN ATTORNEYS & CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Faisal Daudpota KHALID DAUDPOTA & CO. Junaid Daudpota KHALID DAUDPOTA & CO. Harish Dhamania PYRAMID PAKISTAN Zaki Ejaz ZAKI & ZAKI ADVOCATES AND SOLICITORS Salman Faisal HASEEB LAW ASSOCIATES Pushpa Malani PWC OMAN Kausar Fecto KAUSAR FECTO & CO. CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Mansoor Jamal Malik AL BUSAIDY MANSOOR JAMAL & CO. Tabish Gauhar KESC Saman Malik AL BUSAIDY MANSOOR JAMAL & CO. Asim Hameed Khan BROTHERS TRADING CORPORATION PAKISTAN PVT. LTD. Krishnadas Mathilakath BANK MUSCAT Yashpal Mehta Subha Mohan CURTIS MALLET-PREVOST, COLT & MOSLE LLP Ahmed Naveed Farooqui OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY (SAOG) Bruce Palmer CURTIS MALLET-PREVOST, COLT & MOSLE LLP Raghavendra Pangala SEMAC & PARTNERS LLC Asma Hameed Khan SURRIDGE & BEECHENO Rashid Ibrahim A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Fiza Islam LEGIS INN ATTORNEYS & CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Muzaffar Islam LEGIS INN ATTORNEYS & CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Hanaan Al Marhuby PWC OMAN Sulaiman Salmi AL BUSAIDY MANSOOR JAMAL & CO. Saila Jamshaid SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN Fatma Al Rashdi SNR DENTON & CO. George Sandars SNR DENTON & CO. Tariq Nasim Jan DATACHECK PVT. LTD. Amer Al Rawas OMANTEL Madhu Sathyaseelan JIHAD AL-TAIE & ASSOCIATES Rubina Javed TEXPERTS INTERNATIONAL Zuhaira Al Sulaimani CURTIS MALLET-PREVOST, COLT & MOSLE LLP Charles Schofield ADDLESHAW GODDARD LLP M Javed Hassan TEXPERTS INTERNATIONAL Roy Thomas OMAN CABLES INDUSTRY (SAOG) Aftab Ahmed Khan SURRIDGE & BEECHENO PAKISTAN Guffran Atta Khan KESC Ali Jafar Abidi STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN Farah Malik HASEEB LAW ASSOCIATES Mirza Taqi Ud Din Ahmad A.F. FERGUSON & CO., CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Mavra Mann ZAFAR & ASSOCIATES LLP Majid Al Toky TROWERS & HAMLINS Ibrahim Al-Abri MUSCAT MUNICIPALITY Jalila Al-Akhzami CAPITAL MARKET AUTHORITY OF OMAN Khalid Khamis Al-Hashmi MUSCAT MUNICIPALITY Zaid Al-Khattab TALAL ABU GHAZALEH LEGAL (TAGLEGAL) Leyan Al-Mawali TROWERS & HAMLINS Mohamed Alrashdi MUSCAT MUNICIPALITY Mohammed Alshahri MOHAMMED ALSHAHRI & ASSOCIATES Jihad Al-Taie JIHAD AL-TAIE & ASSOCIATES Mona Taha Amer QAIS AL-QASMI AND MONA AMER LAWYERS Hasan Juma Backer HASAN JUMA BACKER TRADING & CONTRACTING Sadaf Buchanan SNR DENTON & CO. Nadeem Ahmad ORR, DIGNAM & CO., ADVOCATES Rashid Rahman Mir RAHMAN SARFARAZ RAHIM IQBAL RAFIQ - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Waheed Ahmad MAXIM INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM Moazzam Mughal BOXING WINNER Jawad Ahmed MUHAMMAD FAROOQ & CO. CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Faiza Muzaffar LEGIS INN ATTORNEYS & CORPORATE CONSULTANTS Naima Ahmed EBRAHIM HOSAIN, ADVOCATES AND CORPORATE COUNSEL Maham Nabeel ZAFAR & ASSOCIATES LLP Nasir Mehmood Ahmed BUNKER LOGISTICS Syed Akhter Ahmed PYRAMID PAKISTAN Rizwan Pir Muhammad MAERSK LINE Manzar Naeem Qureshi HAGLER BAILLEY PAKISTAN (PVT) LTD. Syed Asif Ali PYRAMID PAKISTAN Zaki Rahman EBRAHIM HOSAIN, ADVOCATES AND CORPORATE COUNSEL Zarina Aslam ABRAHAM & SARWANA Ameeruddin Rana ABRAHAM & SARWANA ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Khalid Rehman SURRIDGE & BEECHENO - KARACHI Eduardo Achurra PARDINI & ASOCIADOS Malory Olmos PWC PANAMA Chey Scovell MANUFACTURES COUNCIL Rocío Penayo MORENO RUFFINELLI & ASOCIADOS Jawad A. 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Lucien Ruterana EWSA Etienne Ruzibiza 291 292 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Sandrali Sebakara BUREAU D’ETUDES CAEDEC Debora Cenni STUDIO LEGALE E NOTARILE Nelly Umugwaneza ADVOCARE RWANDA Alberto Chezzi STUDIO CHEZZI Florence Umurungi FREIGHT LOGISTIC SERVICES LTD. Marco Ciacci BANCA AGRICOLA Lilian Uwanziga Mupende ONE STOP CENTER Alessandro de Mattia AZIENDA AUTONOMA DI STATO PER I SERVIZI PUBBLICI Ravi Vadgama CRB HOLDINGS LIMITED SAMOA LEAVAI LAW MINISTRY OF WORKS, TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE Mike Betham TRANSAM LTD. Lawrie Burich QUANTUM CONTRAX LTD. Shelly Burich QUANTUM CONTRAX LTD. Murray Drake DRAKE & CO. Ruby Drake DRAKE & CO. Fiona Ey CLARKE EY LAWYERS Gilberto Felici TRIBUNALE UNICO DELLA REPUBBLICA DI SAN MARINO Simone Gatti WORLD LINE Mario Giannini BANCA CENTRALE Giovanni Guerra TELECOM ITALIA SAN MARINO S.P.A. 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BUSINESS ADVISORS GROUP Peter Stansfield AL-JADAAN & PARTNERS LAW FIRM Abdul Aziz Zaibag ALZAIBAG CONSULTANTS Soudki Zawaydeh PWC SAUDI ARABIA SENEGAL BOLLORÉ AFRICA LOGISTICS SOCIÉTÉ CIVILE PROFESSIONNELLE D’AVOCATS FRANÇOIS SARR & ASSOCIÉS Khaled Abou El Houda CABINET KANJO KOITA Symphorien Agbessadji BCEAO Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo BCEAO Magatte Dabo TRANSFRET DAKAR Cheikhou Dia RMA SÉNÉGAL Ibrahima Diagne GAINDE 2000 Amadou Diouldé Diallo MINISTÈRE DE L’URBANISME ET DE L’ASSAINISSEMENT Maciré Diallo SCP NDIAYE & DIAGNE, NOTAIRES Fidèle Dieme SENELEC Abdoul Aziz Dieng CENTRE DE GESTION AGRÉÉ DE DAKAR Issa Dione SENELEC Abdou Birahim Diop DIRECTION DU DEVELOPPEMENT URBAIN Amadou Diop GAINDE 2000 Angelique Pouye Diop AGENCE CHARGÉE DE LA PROMOTION DE L’INVESTISSEMENT ET DES GRANDS TRAVAUX Saad Al-Owain UNIFIED REGISTRY- MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY Fodé Diop ART INGEGIERIE AFRIQUE Mohammed Al-Soaib AL-SOAIB LAW FIRM Papa Bathie Gueye RMA SÉNÉGAL Abdul Shakoor GLOBE MARINE SERVICES CO. 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INTEREUROPA, BELGRADE Dimitris Katsaros IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT PUBLIC UTILITIES CORPORATION Gerry Adam MAHE SHIPPING CO. LTD. Andre D. Ciseau SEYCHELLES PORTS AUTHORITY Alex Ellenberger LOCUS ARCHITECTURE PTY. LTD. Gerard Esparon MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Conrad Lablache PARDIWALLA TWOMEY LABLACHE Malcolm Moller APPLEBY Dimitrije Nikolić CARGO T. WEISS D.O.O. 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William Chua MINISTRY OF TRADE & INDUSTRY SLOVAK REPUBLIC Srećko Vujaković MORAVČEVIĆ, VOJNOVIĆ & ZDRAVKOVIĆ U SARADNJI SA SCHONHERR Momoh Dumbuya NATIONAL POWER AUTHORITY Tanja Vukotić Marinković SERBIAN BUSINESS REGISTERS AGENCY Joseph Fofanah OFFICE OF THE ADMINISTRATOR AND REGISTRAR GENERAL (OARG) Kit Min Chye TAN PENG CHIN LLC You Ying Karen Hsu WONG TAN & MOLLY LIM LLC Eric Heah Kian Heng PWC SINGAPORE Peck Wong SUBORDINATE COURTS Siew Kwong Wong ENERGY MARKET AUTHORITY Jennifer Yeo YEO-LEONG & PEH LLC ALLEN & OVERY BRATISLAVA, S.R.O. Katarína Bartal CLS ČAVOJSKÝ & PARTNERS, S.R.O. Martina Behuliaková GEODESY, CARTOGRAPHY AND CADASTRE AUTHORITY OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC 293 294 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Silvia Belovičová WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Christiana Serugova PWC SLOVAKIA Jernej Jeraj CMS REICH-ROHRWIG HAINZ Tilen Terlep ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI Edward Brooks ACTIVATE ARCHITECTURE (PTY) LTD. 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Jan Dvorecky GREEN INTEGRATED LOGISTICS (SLOVAKIA) S.R.O. Sona Farkasova MONAREX AUDIT CONSULTING Matej Firicky WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Simona Haláková ČECHOVÁ & PARTNERS, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI AND WSG Peter Hodál WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Veronika Hrušovská PRK PARTNERS S.R.O. Lucia Huntatová JNC LEGAL S.R.O. Vladimir Ivanco WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Miroslav Jalec ZAPADOSLOVENSKA ENERGETIKA, A.S. Tomáš Kamenec DEDÁK & PARTNERS Sebastian Klokner ČECHOVÁ & PARTNERS, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI AND WSG Roman Konrad PROFINAM, S.R.O. Miroslav Kopac NATIONAL BANK OF SLOVAKIA Petra Krchova BLAHA, ERBEN & PARTNERI Jaroslav Krupec PETERKA & PARTNERS Sonja Lozo BLAHA, ERBEN & PARTNERI Maria Malovcova PWC SLOVAKIA Jozef Malý DETVAI LUDIK MALÝ UDVAROS Přemysl Marek PETERKA & PARTNERS Otakar Weis PWC SLOVAKIA Petra Zabuďková WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Dagmar Zukalová ZUKALOVÁ - ADVOKÁTSKA KANCELÁRIA S.R.O. SLOVENIA Marjan Babič AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR PUBLIC LEGAL RECORDS AND RELATED SERVICES Ana Berce ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI Damjana Bogataj Demšar AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR PUBLIC LEGAL RECORDS AND RELATED SERVICES Jana Bozic LAW FIRM MIRO SENICA AND ATTORNEYS, D.O.O Erika Braniselj NOTARY OFFICE BRANISELJ Črtomir Brvar ENERGY AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Akos Burjan PWC SLOVENIA Franc Cmok FILIPOV O.P.D.O.O. IN COOPERATION WITH SCHOENHERR RECHTSANWALTE GMBH Nada Drobnic KPMG Ana Filipov FILIPOV O.P.D.O.O. IN COOPERATION WITH SCHOENHERR RECHTSANWALTE GMBH Alenka Gorenčič DELOITTE LLP Lovro Kleindienst TRANSOCEAN SHIPPING Miro Košak NOTARY OFFICE KOŠAK Alojz Zupančič CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Brigita Kraljič CMS REICH-ROHRWIG HAINZ Tina Žvanut Mioč LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Marko Kranjc CMS REICH-ROHRWIG HAINZ SOLOMON ISLANDS Nina Kristarič LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Don Boykin PACIFIC ARCHITECTS LTD. Tjaša Lahovnik ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI Michael Ipo WHITLAM K TOGAMAE LAWYERS Borut Leskovec LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. – O.P. Nathan Kama SOLOMON ISLANDS CUSTOMS Tanja Magister DELOITTE LLP John Katahanas SOL - LAW Jera Majzelj ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI John Keniapisia LAWYER Matjaž Miklavčič SODO D.O.O. Melanie Khalegedi WHITLAM K TOGAMAE LAWYERS Mateja Mikloška ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI Nancy Kwalea SOLOMON ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Evelina Novak PWC SLOVENIA Nejc Novak LAW FIRM MIRO SENICA AND ATTORNEYS, D.O.O Ela Omersa CMS REICH-ROHRWIG HAINZ Pavle Pensa LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Nataša Pipan Nahtigal ODVETNIKI ŠELIH & PARTNERJI Petra Plevnik LAW FIRM MIRO SENICA AND ATTORNEYS, D.O.O Bojan Podgoršek NOTARIAT Anthony Frazier Dennis McGuire SOL - LAW Norman Nicholls SOLOMON ISLANDS ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY Katarína Nováková MONAREX AUDIT CONSULTING Hermina Govekar Vičič KREDITNI BIRO SISBON, D.O.O. Peter Ondrejka MINISTRY OF ECONOMY Jaka Simončič LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Barbara Guzina DELOITTE LLP Veronika Pázmányová WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Samo Heric HERIC ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Ladislav Pompura MONAREX AUDIT CONSULTING Damjana Iglič BANK OF SLOVENIA Simona Rapavá WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Dunja Jandl CMS REICH-ROHRWIG HAINZ Marek Samoš WHITE & CASE S.R.O. Andrej Jarkovič LAW FIRM JANEŽIČ & JARKOVIČ LTD. Andreja Škofič DELOITTE LLP Branka Španič LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Jeff Epstein BIDVEST PANALPINA LOGISTICS Elise Gibson GROSSKOPFF LOMBART HUYBERECHTS & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS Tim Gordon-Grant BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Kim Goss BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Roelof Grové ADAMS & ADAMS Richard Hadebe CITY OF JOHANNESBURG Jenna Hamilton WHITE & CASE LLP Christopher Holfeld WEBBER WENTZEL Tobie Jordaan CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Lisa Koenig TRANSUNION Paul Lategan SHEPSTONE & WYLIE Gregory Joseph Sojnocki MORRIS & SOJNOCKI CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Pamela Wilde MINISTRY FOR JUSTICE AND LEGAL AFFAIRS Jaroslav Niznansky Steve Donninger RAWLINS WALES & PARTNERS Martin B. Sam SOLOMON ISLANDS ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY Marijana Ristevski PWC SLOVENIA Bostjan Sedmak ATTORNEY OFFICE KOSMAC D.O.O. Gretchen de Smit ENS Leza Marie Kotzé SHEPSTONE & WYLIE Whitlam K. Togamae WHITLAM K TOGAMAE LAWYERS Eva Gostisa LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Henk De Klerk DN FREIGHT Livingston Saepio HONIARA CITY COUNCIL Kostanca Rettinger KREDITNI BIRO SISBON, D.O.O. Patricija Rot LAW OFFICE JADEK & PENSA D.N.O. - O.P. Veronica De Freitas ENS Christa Koklow CIPC (COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION) Gerald Stenzel TRADCO SHIPPING Ines Rostohar LAW FIRM MIRO SENICA AND ATTORNEYS, D.O.O Haydn Davies WEBBER WENTZEL Haelo Pelu MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND LEGAL AFFAIRS Marija Remic AGENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA FOR PUBLIC LEGAL RECORDS AND RELATED SERVICES Mira Goršič PWC SLOVENIA Thomas Mehes PANALPINA SLOVAKIA, S.R.O. Nina Žefran DELOITTE LLP Beric Croome ENS John Sullivan SOL - LAW SOUTH AFRICA Q & N WEST EXPORT TRADING HOUSE Gerome Mogamat Abrahams ABRAHAM AND MULLIGAN FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS Nicolaos Akritidis PARADIGM ARCHITECTS Ross Alcock ENS Claire Barclay CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Lauren Barnett WERKSMANS INC. Jožef Strmšek BANK OF SLOVENIA Kobus Blignaut ATTORNEY Gregor Strojin SUPREME COURT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA Kerri Brockway WEBBER WENTZEL Johnathan Leibbrandt WEBBER WENTZEL Eric Levenstein WERKSMANS INC. Amanda Lotheringen CIPC (COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION) Thomas Makamo RIVONINGO ENGINEERS Kyle Mandy PWC SOUTH AFRICA Joey Mathekga CIPC (COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION) Duncan McMeekin BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Burton Meyer CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Gabriel Meyer NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT SOUTH AFRICA Katlego Mmuoe Glory Moumakwe CIPC (COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMISSION) Sizwe Msimang BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Abraham Mulligan ABRAHAM AND MULLIGAN FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS Graeme Palmer GARLICKE & BOUSFIELD INC. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Joshua Parbhu WHITE & CASE LLP Monyluak Alor Kuol LIBERTY ADVOCATES LLP Janine Pt Ian Alsworth-Elvey SOUTHERN SUDAN BEVERAGES LIMITED (SSBL) Kwanele Radebe THE STANDARD BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED Vivek Ramsaroop BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Hansuya Reddy NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT SOUTH AFRICA Jenny Retief BIDVEST PANALPINA LOGISTICS Lucinde Rhoodie CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Lauren Richards BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Mark Ross PWC SOUTH AFRICA Andres Sepp OFFICE OF THE CHIEF REGISTRAR OF DEEDS Richard Shein BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Alex Short RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL David Short FAIRBRIDGES ATTORNEYS Themba Sikhosana CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Archana Sinha RCS PVT. LTD. BUSINESS ADVISORS GROUP Arvind Sinha RCS PVT. LTD. BUSINESS ADVISORS GROUP Rajat Ratan Sinha RCS PVT. LTD. BUSINESS ADVISORS GROUP Ana Armijo ASHURST LLP Premal Bataviya INFOTECH GROUP Antonio Bautista CLEANERGETIC SEERS SOLUTIONS, S.L.U. Gabriel Muorwel Buoc CENTRAL BANK OF SOUTH SUDAN Hoth Giw Chan SOUTHERN SUDAN BEVERAGES LIMITED (SSBL) Francis Yousif Christopher CENTRAL BANK OF SOUTH SUDAN Canon Undo Elisa Mukasi MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRY & INVESTMENT Kersten Jauer MINISTRY OF FINANCE Jesús Camy REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD GRANADA 6 Godfrey Khayo SPEDAG INTERFREIGHT Alexander Kitain DELOITTE ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE PROJECT IN SOUTH SUDAN (EGPSS) Biju Kumar MS BOLLORÉ AFRICA LOGISTICS Kur Paul Kuol CENTRAL BANK OF SOUTH SUDAN Josepho Lokuku JOPHCO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION Robert Lwoki SOUTH SUDAN LAND COMMISSION Nicholas Malesi UAP INSURANCE SUDAN LIMITED Pete Williams FEDEX Merwyn Wolder REDLOW SOLAR POWER Andrew Wood GROSSKOPFF LOMBART HUYBERECHTS & ASSOCIATES ARCHITECTS SOUTH SUDAN Richard Marisin UAP INSURANCE SUDAN LIMITED Ramadhan A.M. Mogga RAMADHAN & LAW ASSOCIATES Mulla MULLA ADVOCATES Peter Atem Ngor RHINO STAR Hannington O. Ouko EQUITY BANK SOUTH SUDAN LTD. Marya Ajith MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Abrahim Akoi MINISTRY OF FINANCE Gabriel Aliga EQUITY BANK SOUTH SUDAN LTD. Ignacio Castrillón Jorge IBERDROLA S.A. Lorenzo Clemente Naranjo GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Jaume Cornudella i Marquès PWC SPAIN Juan Jose Corral Moreno CUATRECASAS, GONÇALVES PEREIRA Carlos Gonzalez GutierrezBarquin ASOCIACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE LA INDUSTRIA ELÉCTRICA Wenceslao Gracia Zubiri GRACIA CARABANTES ABOGADOS Noemi Rodriguez Alonso SAGARDOY ABOGADOS, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Vicente Guilarte Gutiérrez COLEGIO DE REGISTRADORES DE LA PROPIEDAD Y MERCANTILES DE ESPAÑA Jorge Hernandez EQUIFAX IBERICA Carlos Hernández METROPOLITANA DE ADUANAS Y TRANSPORTES & ICONTAINERS.COM Alejandro Huertas León GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Jaime Llopis CUATRECASAS, GONÇALVES PEREIRA Marina Lorente GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Alberto Lorenzo BANCO DE ESPAÑA Diego Luis Luque Hurtado CAZORLA ABOGADOS, SLP Joaquin Macias ASHURST LLP Alberto Manzanares ASHURST LLP Daniel Marín GÓMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS Ignacio Martín Martín Fernández CAZORLA ABOGADOS, SLP Pelayo de Salvador GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Jorge Martín-Fernández CLIFFORD CHANCE Agustín Del Río Galeote GÓMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS Iván Delgado González PÉREZ - LLORCA Rossanna D’Onza BAKER & MCKENZIE Iván Escribano GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Antonio Fernández GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS José Manuel Mateo GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Guillermo Garcia Mayoral CLEANERGETIC SEERS SOLUTIONS, S.L.U. Valentin Merino Lopez VALENTIN MERINO ARQUITECTOS, SL. Alberto Monreal Lasheras PWC SPAIN Eva Mur Mestre PWC SPAIN Ignacio García Errandonea GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Daniel Parejo Ballesteros J&A GARRIGUES, S.L.P. Monica Garcia Prieto ARQUITECTA MONICA GARCIA PRIETO Óscar Parra GIMÉNEZ TORRES & YÚFERA ABOGADOS Basilio Aguirre REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD DE ESPAÑA Luis Giménez Godosar GIMÉNEZ TORRES & YÚFERA ABOGADOS Orson Alcocer DLA PIPER SPAIN S.L. Juan Ignacio Gomeza Villa NOTARIO DE BILBAO Eduardo Santamaría Moral J&A GARRIGUES, S.L.P. Ramón Santillán BANCO DE ESPAÑA Pablo Santos GÓMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS Cristina Soler GÓMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS Raimon Tagliavini URÍA MENÉNDEZ Francisco Téllez de Gregorio GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Adrián Thery GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Ivan Tintore Subirana METROPOLITANA DE ADUANAS Y TRANSPORTES & ICONTAINERS.COM Roberto Tojo Thomas de Carranza CLIFFORD CHANCE Victoriano Travieso STEPINLAW S.L.P. Alejandro Valls BAKER & MCKENZIE SRI LANKA Eugene Torero TRADE MARK EAST AFRICA RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS Jaime Salvador RUSSELL BEDFORD ESPAÑA AUDITORES Y CONSULTORES, S.L. - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Fernando Vives Ruiz J&A GARRIGUES, S.L.P. Carlos Pardo Sanz GIMÉNEZ TORRES & YÚFERA ABOGADOS Pedro Garrido Chamorro NOTARÍA PERALES-FARRÉS Iñigo Sagardoy de Simón SAGARDOY ABOGADOS, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Juan Oñate LINKLATERS Jorge Garcia Carrique DLA PIPER SPAIN S.L. ALLEN & OVERY Álvaro Ryan Murua IBERDROLA S.A. Juan Verdugo GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Alfred Sokiri Lokujo SOUTH SUDAN INVESTMENT AUTHORITY SPAIN Javier Ruz Cerezo LIGHTSOURCE Álvaro Felipe Ochoa Pinzón GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Sofia Ferreira Enriquez RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS Borja García-Alamán GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Javier Romeu TIBA INTERNACIONAL, S.A. Ricardo Veloso VMP - VELOSO, MENDES, PATO E ASSOCIADOS, SOCIEDADE DE ADVOGADOS RL Lomoro Robert Bullen LOMORO & CO. ADVOCATES Samuel T. Youziel MINISTRY OF ELECTRICITY AND DAMS Eduardo Rodríguez-Rovira URÍA & MENÉNDEZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Nicolás Nogueroles Peiró COLEGIO DE REGISTRADORES DE LA PROPIEDAD Y MERCANTILES DE ESPAÑA Luis Fernandez Del Pozo COLEGIO DE REGISTRADORES DE LA PROPIEDAD Y MERCANTILES DE ESPAÑA Paul Ukuni SOUTH SUDAN BUSINESS FORUM Jaime Ruiz Rocamora CUATRECASAS, GONÇALVES PEREIRA Guillermo Rodrigo García CLIFFORD CHANCE Miguel Cruz Amorós PWC SPAIN Almudena del Río Galán COLEGIO DE REGISTRADORES DE LA PROPIEDAD Y MERCANTILES DE ESPAÑA Álvaro Rifá URÍA MENÉNDEZ Esther González Pérez URÍA & MENÉNDEZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Daniel Kech Puoch CENTRAL BANK OF SOUTH SUDAN THE JUDICIARY OF SOUTH SUDAN Santino Tito Tipo Adibo NILE PHARMACY Agustín Bou JAUSAS Laura Camarero BAKER & MCKENZIE Bright Tibane BOWMAN GILFILLAN INC. Anastasia Vatalidis WERKSMANS INC. Vicente Bootello GARRIGUES ABOGADOS Y ASESORES TRIBUTARIOS Peter Gatkouth Kor MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Petro Maduk Deng QATAR NATIONAL BANK SOUTH SUDAN Colin Van Rooyen TRANSUNION Andrés Berral CLIFFORD CHANCE Héctor Bouzo Cortejosa SOLCAISUR S.L. Anton Theron TONKIN CLACEY Naomi Van der Merwe BDO SPENCER STEWARD SOUTHERN AFRICAN CO-ORDINATION (PTY) LIMITED Denise Bejarano PÉREZ - LLORCA Michael Fend SOUTH SUDAN ELECTRICITY COMPANY Hakim-D Mabior Nyueny MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Dawid Van der Berg BDO SPENCER STEWARD SOUTHERN AFRICAN CO-ORDINATION (PTY) LIMITED Joana Andrade Correia RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS Gabriel Isaac Awow MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Jane Strydom TRANSUNION Lerato Tshabalala CLIFFE DEKKER HOFMEYR INC. Angel Alonso Hernández URÍA & MENÉNDEZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Maria Jose Perez Martin COLEGIO DE REGISTRADORES DE LA PROPIEDAD Y MERCANTILES DE ESPAÑA Carolina Posse GÓMEZ-ACEBO & POMBO ABOGADOS Nelson Raposo Bernardo RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS Maria Redondo BAKER & MCKENZIE Melissa Abeyasinghe TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Asanka Abeysekera TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Sanath Dasanayake CEYLON ELECTRICITY BOARD Gerard David SJMS ASSOCIATES Savantha De Saram D.L. & F. DE SARAM Chamari de Silva F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Chamindi Ekanayake NITHYA PARTNERS 295 296 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Manjula Ellepola F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Amila Fernando JULIUS & CREASY Anjali Fernando F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Bimal Fernando BIMAL & PARTNERS Lasantha Garusinghe TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Jivan Goonetilleke D.L. & F. DE SARAM Naomal Goonewardena NITHYA PARTNERS P. Mervyn Gunasekera LAN MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT SERVICE Lalanga Gunawardane SJMS ASSOCIATES Thilanka Namalie Haputhanthrie JULIUS & CREASY Janath Silva SA ENGINEERS Leonora Walwyn WALWYNLAW Shane Silva JULIUS & CREASY ST. LUCIA Kumar Subramaniam SJMS ASSOCIATES A.H. Sumathipala MURUGESU & NEELAKANDAN J.M. Swaminathan JULIUS & CREASY Tamara Gibson-Marks HIGH COURT REGISTRAR Charmalie Weerasekera LAWYER Desma F. Charles REGISTRY OF COMPANIES AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Stanley John ELIZABETH LAW CHAMBERS John Wilson JOHN WILSON PARTNERS Shannon Chitolie GORDON & GORDON CO. ST. KITTS AND NEVIS Sean Compton MELON|DESIGN:ARCHITECTURE Niral Kadawatharatchie FREIGHT LINKS INTERNATIONAL (PTE) LTD. Yudhishtran Kanagasabai PWC SRI LANKA Charana Kanankegamage F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Neelakandan Kandiah MURUGESU & NEELAKANDAN Uma Kitulgoda F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Janaka Lakmal CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAU LTD. Ishara Madarasinghe F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Idris Fidela Clarke FINANCIAL SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION Neil Coates PWC ANTIGUA Nadrine Daniel CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Tamara Daniel HENDERSON LEGAL CHAMBERS Jan Dash LIBURD AND DASH Rodney Harris CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Marsha T. Henderson HENDERSON LEGAL CHAMBERS Dahlia Joseph DANIEL BRANTLEY & ASSOCIATES Damian E. S. Kelsick KELSICK, WILKIN AND FERDINAND Adeola Moore INLAND REVENUE AUTHORITY Mahailia Pencheon PWC ANTIGUA Ramani Muttettuwegama TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Sandrine Powell-Huggins HENDERSON LEGAL CHAMBERS Laila Nasry TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Nervin Rawlins INLAND REVENUE AUTHORITY Michael Paiva TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Larkland M. Richards LARKLAND M. RICHARDS & ASSOCIATES Nirosha Peiris TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES Reginald Richards R & R ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AIR CONDITIONING & REFRIGERATION SERVICES LTD. Mahinda Perera VARNERS LANKA OFFICE Tharika Pussewela SJMS ASSOCIATES Lilangi Randeni F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sanjeewanie Rathnayake CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAU LTD. Hiranthi Ratnayake PWC SRI LANKA Paul Ratnayeke PAUL RATNAYEKE ASSOCIATES Rozani Rodrigo SUDATH PERERA ASSOCIATES Corey Rodney CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Tony Scatliffe II R & T DESIGN-BUILD CONSULTANTS GROUP LTD Heidi Lynn Sutton LAW OFFICES OF T.A.C.T. LIBURD & H.D. SUTTON Warren Thompson CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTING AGENCY INC. (CMCAI) Larry Vaughn CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Kurt Elibox BLUEPRINT CONSTRUCTION LTD. Peter I. Foster PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Peterson D. Francis PETERSON D. FRANCIS WORLDWIDE SHIPPING & CUSTOMS SERVICES LTD. Garth George ST. LUCIA ELECTRICITY SERVICES LTD. Michael B.G. Gordon GORDON & GORDON CO. Claire Greene-Malaykhan PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Claude Guillaume INTERISLAND ARCHITECTS AND PLANNERS Errol E. Layne ERROL E. LAYNE CHAMBERS Marcel K. Eyndhoven N.V. ENERGIEBEDRIJVEN SURINAME Beth-ann Roth ESG GLOBAL IMPACT Kenneth Foe A Man SURIPRINT Martin Sheel COMMERCE & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE (CIPO) Dirk Heave MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY Anya Trim PWC ST. LUCIA Andrea Young-Lewis COMMERCE & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE (CIPO) SUDAN Omer Abdel Ati OMER ABDEL ATI SOLICITORS Ali Abdelrahman Khalil SHAMI, KHALIL & SIDDIG ADVOCATES Wael Abdin SUDANESE COMMERCIAL LAW OFFICE Abdalla Abuzeid ABDALLA A. ABUZEID & ASSOCIATES Al Fadel Ahmed Al Mahdi AL MAHDI LAW OFFICE Clare Mallaychan PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Heba EL Sayed Abdu MAHMOUD ELSHEIKH OMER & ASSOCIATES ADVOCATES Michael Sewordor MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS, WORKS, TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC UTILITIES Renee St. Rose PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Shellone Surage PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Diana Thomas PETER I. FOSTER & ASSOCIATES Leandra Gabrielle Verneuil CHAMBERS OF JENNIFER REMY & ASSOCIATES Andie A. Wilkie GORDON & GORDON CO. Brenda M. Williams BDO ST. LUCIA Anoeschka Debipersad A.E. DEBIPERSAD & ASSOCIATES Richard Peterkin PWC ST. LUCIA Louisa Lewis-Ward PWC BARBADOS Catherine Sealys PROCUREMENT SERVICES INTERNATIONAL Anneke Chin A Lin JADNANANSINGH NOTARY Moulton Mayers MOULTON MAYERS ARCHITECTS Anderson Lake BANK OF SAINT LUCIA LIMITED Candace Polius NICHOLAS JOHN & CO. Dennis Chandansingh DCA ACCOUNTANTS & CONSULTANTS Helen Doelwijt VERENIGING SURINAAMS BEDRIJFSLEVEN, SURINAME TRADE & INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION Mohamed Ibrahim Adam DR. ADAM & ASSOCIATES Stephen Mcnamara MCNAMARA & CO. KPMG Kathleen Juanita Brandon ADVOCATENKANTOOR KRAAG G. Clide Cambridge PARAMARIBO CUSTOM BROKER & PACKER Gerard Bergasse TROPICAL SHIPPING Raquel Du Boulay-Chastanet DU BOULAY, ANTHONY & CO. HANDELS-, KREDIET- EN INDUSTRIE BANK (HAKRINBANK) N.V. Stanley DeFreitas DEFREITAS & ASSOCIATES Shehara Varia F.J. & G. DE SARAM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Nicholas Brisbane BRISBANE O’GARRO ALVARANGA AURORA ARCHITECTS Sieglien Burleson COMPETITIVENESS UNIT SURINAME Bernadine Dublin LABOUR DEPARTMENT Swithin Donelly MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, ECONOMIC PLANNING & NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT SURINAME Allan P. Burke PERRY’S CUSTOMS AND SHIPPING AGENCY, LTD. Thaddeus M. Antoine FRANCIS & ANTOINE Michella Adrien THE LAW OFFICES OF MICHELLA ADRIEN Mahes Jeyadevan PWC SRI LANKA Aurin Bennett AURIN BENNETT ARCHITECTS Bandula S. Tilakasena CEYLON ELECTRICITY BOARD Dharshika Herath Gunaratne SUDATH PERERA ASSOCIATES Sanjaya Jayawardene PROGRESSIVE DESIGN ASSOCIATES Michelle Anthony-Desir DU BOULAY, ANTHONY & CO. Mrs. Kay R.A. Bacchus-Browne KAY BACCHUS-BROWNE CHAMBERS Thilini Thilakaratne TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES ST. KITTS ELECTRICITY DEPARTMENT Shamalie Jayatunge TIRUCHELVAM ASSOCIATES LUCELEC ST. VINCENT ELECTRICITY SERVICES LTD. Clive Antoine MINISTRY OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, ENERGY, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Mahinda Haradasa VARNERS LANKA OFFICE Sonali Jayasuriya D.L. & F. DE SARAM CHARLES MANGAL AND PAUL ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Susilkumar Gyandath Rudrepersad Khoen Khoen ACHARYA ADVOCATEN Henk Naarendorp CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY B.M. Oemraw N.V. GLOBAL EXPEDITION Joanne Pancham CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY Marcel Persad BDO ABRAHAMS RAIJMANN & PARTNERS Frank E. M. Raijmann BDO ABRAHAMS RAIJMANN & PARTNERS Adiel Sakoer N.V. GLOBAL EXPEDITION Albert D. Soedamah LAWFIRM SOEDAMAH & ASSOCIATES Radjen A. Soerdjbalie NOTARIAAT R.A. SOERDJBALIE Silvano Tjong-Ahin MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE GLIS Ahmed M. Elhillali AMERICAN SUDANESE CONSULTING INC. Carol-Ann Tjon-Pian-Gi LAWYER & SWORN TRANSLATOR Mohamed Ibrahim SOMARAIN ORIENTAL CO Cindy Uden BDO ABRAHAMS RAIJMANN & PARTNERS Ahmed Mahdi MAHMOUD ELSHEIKH OMER & ASSOCIATES ADVOCATES Amin Mekki Medani EL KARIB & MEDANI ADVOCATES Tarig Monim Tariq Mubarak EL KARIB & MEDANI ADVOCATES Nafisa Omer OMER ABDEL ATI SOLICITORS Rayan Omer OMER ABDEL ATI SOLICITORS Mohamed Alaa Eldin Osman DARKA FOR TRADING & SERVICES CO. LTD. Amel M. Sharif MAHMOUD ELSHEIKH OMER & ASSOCIATES ADVOCATES Marwa Taha SHAMI, KHALIL & SIDDIG ADVOCATES Milton van Brussel BDO ABRAHAMS RAIJMANN & PARTNERS Jennifer van Dijk-Silos LAW FIRM VAN DIJK-SILOS Dayenne Wielingen-Verwey VERENIGING SURINAAMS BEDRIJFSLEVEN, SURINAME TRADE & INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION Andy Wong N.V. ENERGIEBEDRIJVEN SURINAME Anthony Wong GENERAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF SURINAME SWAZILAND OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR SWAZILAND SWAZILAND ELECTRICITY COMPANY TRANSUNION ITC ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Musa Dlamini M.L. DLAMINI ATTORNEYS Erik Hygrell WISTRAND ADVOKATBYRÅ Massimo Calderan ALTENBURGER LTD. LEGAL AND TAX Meinrad Vetter ECONOMIESUISSE Victor Chang LCS & PARTNERS Veli Dlamini INTERFREIGHT PTY. LTD. Magnus Johnsson PWC SWEDEN Andrea Cesare Canonica SWISS CUSTOMS Flurin von Planta PLANTA & PLANTA Christine Chen WINKLER PARTNERS Ncamsile Hlanze DHL Niklas Körling WISTRAND ADVOKATBYRÅ Sonia de la Fuente ABELS AVOCATS Phumlile Tina Khoza SWAZILAND BUILDING SOCIETY Caroline Lagergréen ELMZELL ADVOKATBYRÅ AB, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Stefan Eberhard ABELS AVOCATS Patrick Weber EKZ ELEKTRIZITÄTSWERKE DES KANTONS ZÜRICH Edgar Y. Chen TSAR & TSAI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Stefan Zangger BELSPED GLOBAL LOGISTICS Hui-ling Chen WINKLER PARTNERS SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Nicholas V. Chen PAMIR LAW GROUP Wadih Abou Nasr PWC LEBANON Patrick Chen LEXCEL PARTNERS Jana Essebier VISCHER AG Alina Achy PWC LEBANON Yo-Yi Chen FORMOSA TRANSNATIONAL Benjamin Fehr PWC SWITZERLAND Boulos Al Ashhab AUDITING CONSULTING ACCOUNTING CENTER Chun-Yih Cheng FORMOSA TRANSNATIONAL Mbuso Kingsley LANG MITCHELL ASSOCIATES Andrew Linsey PWC SWAZILAND Dommy Lukhele DHL Mangaliso Magagula MAGAGULA & HLOPHE Nhlanhla Maphanga LANG MITCHELL ASSOCIATES Sabelo Masuku MAPHANGA HOWE MASUKU NSIBANDE Bongani Mtshali FEDERATION OF SWAZILAND EMPLOYERS AND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE George Mzungu M&E CONSULTING ENGINEERS Jerome Ndzimandze FJ BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Kobla Quashie KOBLA QUASHIE AND ASSOCIATES John Resting BICON CONSULTING ENGINEERS José Rodrigues RODRIGUES & ASSOCIATES Bongani Simelane MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF MBABANE Manene Thwala THWALA ATTORNEYS Bradford Mark Walker BRAD WALKER ARCHITECTS SWEDEN Magnus Andersson GÄRDE WESSLAU ADVOKATBYRÅ Mats Berter MAQS LAW FIRM Stefan Bessman BAKER & MCKENZIE Karl Björlin ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Teodor Brissman PWC SWEDEN Alexander Broch ÖRESUNDS REDOVISNING AB Yves Chantereau SWEDISH FEDERATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS AND ARCHITECTS Ake Dahlqvist UC Jenny Dangré ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sebastian Fichtel ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Ylva Forsberg ROSCHIER SWEDEN Magnus Graner ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Peder Hammarskiöld HAMMARSKIÖLD & CO. Lars Hartzell ELMZELL ADVOKATBYRÅ AB, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Emil Hedberg ROSCHIER SWEDEN Jasmine Lawson PWC SWEDEN Ari Leinnonen SCHEIWILLER SVENSSON ARKITEKTKONTOR AB Rikard Lindahl ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Johan Lindberg ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Inger Lindhe LANTMÄTERIET Jens Malmqvist ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Christoffer Monell MANNHEIMER SWARTLING ADVOKATBYRÅ Johan Nylander CMA SCANDINAVIA AB Suzanne Eckert WENGER PLATTNER Brigitte Ernst COMMERCIAL REGISTER OF THE CANTON ZURICH Amiel Feldman BAKER & MCKENZIE Robert Furter PESTALOZZI, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Gaudenz Geiger STAIGER, SCHWALD & PARTNER LTD. Riccardo Geiser ALTENBURGER LTD. LEGAL AND TAX Debora Ghilardotti MOLINO ADAMI GALANTE Michael Nyman ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Michael Gwelessiani COMMERCIAL REGISTER OF THE CANTON ZURICH Eric Ödling ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Nicolas Herzog NIEDERMANN RECHTSANWÄLTE Karl-Arne Olsson GÄRDE WESSLAU ADVOKATBYRÅ Kjell Olsson ADVOKATFIRMAN LINDAHL Ola Lo Olsson ELMZELL ADVOKATBYRÅ AB, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Mattias Ömulf HÖKERBERG & SÖDERQVIST ADVOKATBYRÅ KB Jesper Schönbeck ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Patrick Hünerwadel LENZ & STAEHELIN David Jenny VISCHER AG Mattias Johnson FRORIEP RENGGLI Cyril Kaiser LENZ & STAEHELIN Ludmila Koroleva AUDICONSULT SA - MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Mohammad Khaled Darwicheh TALAL ABU GHAZALEH LEGAL (TAGLEGAL) Tony Hsu PAMIR LAW GROUP Jack J.T. Huang JONES DAY Margaret Huang LCS & PARTNERS Nicole Huang LCS & PARTNERS Amgad Husein DENTONS Chih-Shan Lee WINKLER PARTNERS Mohammad Joumaa PWC LEBANON Michael D. Lee PAMIR LAW GROUP Azzam Kaddour INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BUREAU Yu Lee TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT Mazen N. Khaddour INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BUREAU Justin Liang BAKER & MCKENZIE Daniela Reinhardt PWC SWITZERLAND Loubna Khoury AUDITING CONSULTING ACCOUNTING CENTER Frank Lin REXMED INDUSTRIES CO., LTD. Guy-Philippe Rubeli PESTALOZZI, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Randa Moftah CENTRAL BANK OF SYRIA Lilian Lin FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY COMMISSION, BANKING BUREAU Marc Schenk PWC SWITZERLAND Gabriel Oussi OUSSI LAW FIRM Lisa Lin YANGMING PARTNERS Daniel Schmitz PWC SWITZERLAND Housam Safadi SAFADI BUREAU Ming-Yen Lin DEEP & FAR, ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Roland Stadler MIGROS-GENOSSENSCHAFTS-BUND Fadi Sarkis SARKIS & ASSOCIATES Rich Lin LCS & PARTNERS Andreas Staubli PWC SWITZERLAND TAIWAN, CHINA Kang-Shen Liu LEXCEL PARTNERS Fredrik Wahlberg HAMMARSKIÖLD & CO. Andreas Müller ANDREAS MÜLLER ARCHITEKTEN Albert Wållgren ADVOKATFIRMAN VINGE KB, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Roland Niklaus NCMB NOTAIRES ASSOCIÉS Martin Burkhardt LENZ & STAEHELIN Diaa Dannan TALAL ABU GHAZALEH LEGAL (TAGLEGAL) Robert Hsu SDV LOGISTICS Howard Kuo PWC TAIWAN Andrea Molino MOLINO ADAMI GALANTE Lucas Bühlmann PWC SWITZERLAND Karen Baroud PWC LEBANON Barbara Hsu SDV LOGISTICS Yazan Hosari CENTRAL BANK OF SYRIA Astrid Trolle Adams MILLER ROSENFALCK LLP Myriam Büchi-Bänteli PWC SWITZERLAND John Balouziyeh DENTONS Sophia Hsieh TSAR & TSAI LAW FIRM, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Gladys Kao WINKLER PARTNERS Barbara Meyer VISCHER AG Sébastien Bettschart ABELS AVOCATS Ghada Armali SARKIS & ASSOCIATES Mark Harty LCS & PARTNERS Hudda Hasree ARAB INTERNATIONAL UNIVERISTY Bo Thomaeus GÄRDE WESSLAU ADVOKATBYRÅ Marc Bernheim STAIGER, SCHWALD & PARTNER LTD. Jamil Ammar SYRIAN STRATEGIC THINK TANK RESEARCH CENTER Philip T. C. Fei FEI & CHENG ASSOCIATES Charlotte J. Lin LCS & PARTNERS Armin Marti PWC SWITZERLAND Beat M. Barthold FRORIEP RENGGLI H. Altass DAMASCUS UNIVERSITY Peter Dernbach WINKLER PARTNERS Anas Ghazi MEETHAK - LAWYERS & CONSULTANTS Gustav Ståhl BAKER & MCKENZIE HANDELSREGISTERAMT DES KANTONS Bisher Al-Houssami AL-ISRAA INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDER Dennis Chou VIA JUSTICE LAW OFFICES Charles Hwang YANGMING PARTNERS Deborah Maravic LENZ & STAEHELIN ERNST & YOUNG Rawaa Al Midani MINISTRY OF ECONOMY & TRADE Yu-Chung Chiu MINISTRY OF INTERIOR Nada ElSayed PWC LEBANON Michael Kramer PESTALOZZI, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sara Sjöholm FOYEN ADVOKATFIRMA AB SWITZERLAND Mouazza Al Ashhab AUDITING CONSULTING ACCOUNTING CENTER Gema Olivar Pascual PWC SWITZERLAND Daniel Steudler SWISSTOPO, DIRECTORATE FOR CADASTRAL SURVEYING Thomas Strassner ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP CHEN, SHYUU & PUN GIBSIN ELECTRICAL CONSULTANCY Mark Brown WINKLER PARTNERS Stacy Lo LEXCEL PARTNERS Christopher Neumeyer ASIA LAW 297 298 DOING BUSINESS 2014 Joseph Ni GOOD EARTH CPA Tatyana Savinykh PWC KAZAKHSTAN Shamiza Ratansi ADEPT CHAMBERS Mark Ohlson YANGMING PARTNERS Marina Shamilova LEGAL CONSULTING GROUP Frederick Ringo ADEPT CHAMBERS Patrick Pai-ChiangChu LEE AND LI Sherzod Sodatkadamov NAZRISHO & MIRZOEV LAW FIRM, LLC Charles R.B. Rwechungura CRB AFRICA LEGAL Bee Leay Teo BAKER & MCKENZIE Maltuba Ujdjabaeva NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUSINESS Nabihah Seif EAST AFRICAN LAW CHAMBERS Sean Tung LCS & PARTNERS TANZANIA Evarist Sekaboyi FROSTEE ATTORNEYS Chao-Yu Wang YANGMING PARTNERS Zukra Ally PWC TANZANIA Robi Simon FROSTEE ATTORNEYS Fran Wang YANGMING PARTNERS Said Athuman TANZANIA REVENUE AUTHORITY Eve Hawa Sinare REX ATTORNEYS Yi-Fan Wang YANGMING PARTNERS Moses Dancan GAPCS Aisha Ally Sinda MKONO & CO ADVOCATES Richard Watanabe PWC TAIWAN Beatus Idama PKF ACCOUNTANTS & BUSINESS ADVISOR TANZANIA Richard Sisa GAPCS Ja Lin Wu COUNCIL FOR ECONOMIC PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT Pei-Yu Wu BAKER & MCKENZIE Protase R. G. Ishengoma ISHENGOMA, KARUME, MASHA & MAGAI ADVOCATES John R. Kahyoza Alex Yeh LCS & PARTNERS Kamanga W. Kapinga MKONO & CO ADVOCATES TAJIKISTAN Wilbert B. Kapinga MKONO & CO ADVOCATES BARKI TOJIK BDO TAJIKISTAN CIBT - CREDIT INFORMATION BUREAU IN TAJIKISTAN Timur Abdulaev LEGAL CONSULTING GROUP Bakhtiyor Abdulhamidov AKHMEDOV, AZIZOV & ABDULHAMIDOV ATTORNEYS Bakhtiyor Abdulloev ABM TRANS SERVICE LLC Zarrina Adham HUMO AND PARTNERS Zulfiya Akchurina GRATA LAW FIRM Antonia Kilama REX ATTORNEYS Shani Kinswaga PWC TANZANIA Adam Lovett NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT Amalia Lui FB ATTORNEYS Christine M.S. Shekidele TANZANIA REVENUE AUTHORITY David Tarimo PWC TANZANIA Reginald Tarimo BANK OF TANZANIA Sarah Thomas Massamu ADEPT CHAMBERS Regis Tissier BOLLORÉ AFRICA LOGISTICS THAILAND Robert Makaramba HIGH COURT OF TANZANIA COMMERCIAL DIVISION Stefan Chapman CHANDLER & THONG-EK Wachakorn Chiramongkolkul PWC THAILAND Lydia Massawe NMM ATTORNEYS Sirijitt Choosak SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Hellen Masumba PWC TANZANIA Ramin Chuayriang METROPOLITAN ELECTRICITY AUTHORITY Denis Bagrov COLIBRI LAW FIRM Sophia Mgonja TANESCO LTD. Jienshoh Bukhoriev USAID BEI BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT (BY PRAGMA CORPORATION) Nimrod Mkono MKONO & CO ADVOCATES Paul Connelly INTERNATIONAL LEGAL COUNSELLORS THAILAND LIMITED (ILCT) Firuz Bulbulov THE COLLEGIUM OF AUDITORS OF TAJIKISTAN Ayoub Mtafya NEXLAW ADVOCATES Ashraf Sharifovich Ikromov SAMAD SOZ LLC Amirhonov Ilhom ABM TRANS SERVICE LLC Elena Kaeva PWC KAZAKHSTAN Maningo Nassoro PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE Stella Ndikimi EAST AFRICAN LAW CHAMBERS Laksamon Dhamminch ANTARES CONSULTING LTD Alexandre Dupont ORBIS LEGAL ADVISORY LTD. Frederic Favre VOVAN & ASSOCIES Seetha Gopalakrishnan PWC THAILAND Amélie Guardiola VOVAN & ASSOCIES Sitra Horshinchai SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Pimvimol Vipamaneerut TILLEKE & GIBBINS Athicha Vuttiviroj MAYER BROWN JSM Auradee Wongsaroj CHANDLER & THONG-EK Ahmet Yesilkaya TILLEKE & GIBBINS Alexander Polgar ANTARES CONSULTING LTD TIMOR-LESTE Ratana Poonsombudlert CHANDLER & THONG-EK Cynthia M. Pornavalai TILLEKE & GIBBINS Supan Poshyananda SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Chitchai Punsan TILLEKE & GIBBINS Chinnavit Putanapibul SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Maythawee Sarathai MAYER BROWN JSM Somchai Sathiramongkolkul PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LEGAL & TAX CONSULTANTS LIMITED Charunun Sathitsuksomboon TILLEKE & GIBBINS Salisa K. Skinner CHANDLER & THONG-EK Theerapat Sombatsatapornkul TILLEKE & GIBBINS Kowit Somwaiya LAWPLUS LTD. Nuttakom Sorakum ORBIS LEGAL ADVISORY LTD. Rachamarn Suchitchon SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Picharn Sukparangsee SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Kesara Summacarava MAYER BROWN JSM BANCO CENTRAL DE TIMOR-LESTE (BCTL) DLA PIPER Henrique Araujo Sobreira MIRANDA CORREIA AMENDOEIRA & ASSOCIADOS Jose Pedro Camoes ASSOCIACAO DOS ADVOGADOS TIMOR LESTE Miguel Carreira Martins NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF TIMOR-LESTE (UNTL) Joana Custoias MIRANDA CORREIA AMENDOEIRA & ASSOCIADOS Anthony Frazier Renato Guerra de Almeida MIRANDA CORREIA AMENDOEIRA & ASSOCIADOS Eusebio Guterres UNIDO BUSINESS REGULATORY CONSULTANT Jackson Lay PALM SPRING ESTATE Naomi Leong DELOITTE LLP Vega Ramadhan PWC INDONESIA Fernando Torrão Alves CAIXA GERAL DE DEPOSITOS (CGD) Tim Robert Watson PWC INDONESIA Christian Yo PWC INDONESIA TOGO AGENCE EPAUC NOUVELLE DIRECTION DES SERVICES TECHNIQUE DE LA MAIRIE Luxsiri Supakijjanusorn SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Edzodzi Délato Adonsou DIRECTION DE L’HABITAT ET DU PATRIMOINE IMMOBILIER Siripong Supakijjanusorn PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LEGAL & TAX CONSULTANTS LIMITED Koudzo Mawuéna Agbemaple AUTORITÉ DE RÉGLEMENTATION DU SECTEUR DE L’ELECTRICITÉ Naddaporn Suwanvajukkasikij LAWPLUS LTD. Symphorien Agbessadji BCEAO Hunt Talmage CHANDLER & THONG-EK Kokou Gadémon Agbessi CABINET LUCREATIF Supanon Triumnuk TILLEKE & GIBBINS Franck Akakpo MAERSK LINE Paisan Tulapornpipat BLUE OCEAN LOGISTICS CO., LTD. Martial Akakpo SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Pleotian Uttarachai SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Nicolas Kossi Akidjetan ORDRE NATIONAL DES ARCHITECTES DU TOGO (ONAT) Assel Khamzina PWC KAZAKHSTAN Burure Ngocho ISHENGOMA, KARUME, MASHA & MAGAI ADVOCATES Rahmon Muratov KN IBRAKOM FZCO. Alex Thomas Nguluma REX ATTORNEYS Muncharee Ittipalin APL Rustam Nazrisho NAZRISHO & MIRZOEV LAW FIRM, LLC Neema Nyiti CRB AFRICA LEGAL Pattaraporn Kaiboriboon LAWPLUS LTD. Firdavs S. Mirzoev NAZRISHO & MIRZOEV LAW FIRM, LLC Cyril Pesha CRB AFRICA LEGAL Saran Kleesuwan TILLEKE & GIBBINS Sutharm Valaisathien INTERNATIONAL LEGAL COUNSELLORS THAILAND LIMITED (ILCT) Emin Sanginov MINISTRY OF LABOR & SOCIAL PROTECTION Abdul Qaubid Abdallah CRB AFRICA LEGAL Siri Lerdsirisopon VOVAN & ASSOCIES Pattara Vasinwatanapong VICKERY & WORACHAI LTD. Yothin Intaraprasong CHANDLER & THONG-EK Patcharaporn Vinitnuntarat SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Somchai Yungkarn CHANDLER & THONG-EK Arnon Rungthanakarn SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Chanakarn Boonyasith SIAM CITY LAW OFFICES LTD. Harold K. Vickery Jr. VICKERY & WORACHAI LTD. Thunsamorn Pochjanapanichakul VICKERY & WORACHAI LTD. Aungsurus Areekul THAI CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION UNDER H.M. THE KING’S PATRONAGE Victoria Makani VELMA LAW CHAMBERS Gerald Nangi FB ATTORNEYS Thawatchai Pittayasophon SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Thavorn Rujivanarom PWC THAILAND Chalee Chantanayingyong SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION George Mpeli Kilindu REX ATTORNEYS Thidarat Patjaisomboon APL Janist Aphornratana PWC THAILAND Siri A. Malai MALAI FREIGHT FORWARDERS LTD. Amirbek Azizov MINISTRY OF LABOR & SOCIAL PROTECTION Tanadee Pantumkomol CHANDLER & THONG-EK Rangsima Rattana LEGAL EXECUTION DEPARTMENT Hyacintha Benedict Makileo NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION COUNCIL Khujanazar Aslamshoev COLIBRI LAW FIRM Surapol Opasatien NATIONAL CREDIT BUREAU CO. LTD. DLA PIPER Chinnavat Chinsangaram WEERAWONG, CHINNAVAT & PEANGPANOR LTD. Shavkat Akhmedov AKHMEDOV, AZIZOV & ABDULHAMIDOV ATTORNEYS Sakchai Limsiripothong WEERAWONG, CHINNAVAT & PEANGPANOR LTD. Richard Kowovi A. AkpotoKougblenou STUDIO ALPHA A.I.C. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo BCEAO Prosper Gato Amegnido GROUPE GATO Coffi Alexis Aquereburu AQUEREBURU AND PARTNERS CABINET D’AVOCATS Cécile Assogbavi ETUDE NOTARIALE ASSOGBAVI Sylvanus Dodzi Awutey CABINET LUCREATIF Koli-Yidaou Bako COMPAGNIE ENERGIE ELECTRIQUE DU TOGO (CEET) TONGA Inoke Afu PACIFIC FINANCE & INVESTMENT LTD. Lord Dalgety ELECTRICITY COMMISSION Delores Elliott DATA BUREAU (TONGA) LIMITED Kolotia Fotu MINISTRY OF LABOUR, COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES Peni Lavakeiaho Makoni MINISTRY OF WORKS Rachel Maria Jaggernauth LEX CARIBBEAN Hend Ben Achour ADLY BELLAGHA & ASSOCIATES Mohamed Taieb Mrabet BANQUE CENTRALE DE TUNISIE Aisha Kujifi EMPLOYERS’ CONSULTATIVE ASSOCIATION OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Leila Ben Mbarek LEGALYS Atf Nasri FERCHIOU & ASSOCIÉS Saif Allah Ben Mefteh ABDELLY & ASSOCIES Imen Nouira CONSERVATION FONCIÈRE TUNISIA Amel Ben Rahal BANQUE CENTRALE DE TUNISIE Olfa Othmane BANQUE CENTRALE DE TUNISIE Miriam Ben Rejeb CAF JURIDIQUE ET FISCAL SARL Habiba Raouadi CHAFTER RAOUADI LAW FIRM Abdelfetah Benahji FERCHIOU & ASSOCIÉS Hédi Rezgui SOCIÉTÉ TUNISIENNE DE L’ELECRICITÉ ET DU GAZ (STEG) Ann-Marie Mahabir M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI David Montgomery D. MONTGOMERY & CO. CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL James Lutui CROWN LAW Nicole Moonan REGISTRAR GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Salesi Mataele OCEANTRANZ TONGA LTD. Dean Nieves TRANSUNION Salaheddine Caid Essebsi CAID ESSEBSI AND PARTNERS LAW FIRM Sione Tomasi Naite Fakahua FAKAHUA-FA’OTUSIA & ASSOCIATES Marjorie Nunez LEX CARIBBEAN Salma Chaari ABDELLY & ASSOCIES Laki M. Niu LAKI NIU OFFICES Kevin Nurse JOHNSON, CAMACHO & SINGH Elyes Chafter CHAFTER RAOUADI LAW FIRM Alani Schaumkel DATELINE TRANS-AM SHIPPING Steven M. Paul J.D. SELLIER & CO. Zine el Abidine Chafter CHAFTER RAOUADI LAW FIRM Ralph Stephenson STEPHENSON ASSOCIATES Sonji Pierre Chase JOHNSON, CAMACHO & SINGH Hiva Tatila TONGA DEVELOPMENT BANK Brandon Primus LEX CARIBBEAN Afef Challouf SOCIÉTÉ TUNISIENNE DE L’ELECRICITÉ ET DU GAZ (STEG) Bleounou Komlan AVOCAT À LA COUR Fine Tohi DATELINE TRANS-AM SHIPPING Hokaméto Kpenou AUTORITÉ DE RÉGLEMENTATION DU SECTEUR DE L’ELECTRICITÉ Lesina Tonga LESINA TONGA LAW FIRM Fanta Punch M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sockna Diaby PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Koffi Joseph Dogbevi CABINET LUCREATIF Simon Dogbo MAERSK LINE Amatékoé Kangni SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Vitalice Kangni SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Komivi Kassegne COMPAGNIE ENERGIE ELECTRIQUE DU TOGO (CEET) Sibivi Elina Lawson-Atutu SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Distquaine P. Tu’ihalamaka MINISTRY OF LABOUR, COMMERCE AND INDUSTRIES Emmanuel Mamlan SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Kisione Tupou JKCA Adeline Messou PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Christine Uta’atu UTA’ATU & ASSOCIATES Yawovi Negbegble AUTORITÉ DE RÉGLEMENTATION DU SECTEUR DE L’ELECTRICITÉ Fataimoemanu Lafaele Vaihu F.L. VAIHU LAW FIRM Comlan Eli-Eli N’soukpoé SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Olivier Pedanou CABINET LUCREATIF Jone Vuli WESTPAC BANK OF TONGA TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO REGULATED INDUSTRIES COMMISSION Oesimbola Randriamampianina CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO. Christopher Alexander PHOENIX LOGISTICS (TRINIDAD) LTD. Nourou Sama COMPAGNIE ENERGIE ELECTRIQUE DU TOGO (CEET) Elena Araujo ARAUJO LAW Diagne Souadou BCEAO Dominique Taty PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Mouhamed Tchassona Traore ETUDE ME MOUHAMED TCHASSONA TRAORE Inès Mazalo Tekpa CABINET LUCREATIF Antoine Traore BCEAO Fousséni Traoré PWC CÔTE D’IVOIRE Père Venance LOGISTIQUE COMMERCIALE D’AFRIQUE (LCA) Rene Austin TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ELECTRICITY COMMISSION Abdelmalek Dahmani DAHMANI TRANSIT INTERNATIONAL Mohamed Derbel BDO Koubaa Rym CRK Rachid Tmar CAF JURIDIQUE ET FISCAL SARL Anis Wahabi AWT AUDIT & CONSEIL TURKEY ARMADA LTD. STI. ERNST & YOUNG SOMAY HUKUK BÜROSU UNDERSECRETARIAT OF TREASURY UNION OF CHAMBERS AND COMMODITY EXCHANGES OF TURKEY Erol Acun ÖZAK TEKSTIL Mark Ramkerrysingh FITZWILLIAM STONE FURNESS-SMITH & MORGAN Mohamed Lotfi El Ajeri EL AJERI LAWYERS, PARTENAIRE DE DS AVOCATS Ramlogan TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING DIVISION Myriam Escheikh LEGALYS Emre Akarkarasu PWC TURKEY Wafa Essayeh PWC TUNISIA Cuneyt Akcal 3E DANIŞMANLIK LTD. ŞTI. Noureddine Ferchiou FERCHIOU & ASSOCIÉS Besim Berk Akcan PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS Slim Gargouri CPA Basak Akin AYDAŞ LIMAN KURMAN ATTORNEYSAT-LAW Kelvin Ramsook TRINIDAD & TOBAGO ELECTRICITY COMMISSION Myrna Robinson-Walters M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Anne Rocke REGISTRAR GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Andre Rudder J.D. SELLIER & CO. Alice Salandy GSAL DESIGNS LTD. Gregory Salandy GSAL DESIGNS LTD. Samah Ghrab CAF JURIDIQUE ET FISCAL SARL Imene Hanafi LEGALYS Anis Jabnoun GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Atf Jebali Nasri LEGALYS Umut Akabay MINISTRY OF CUSTOMS AND TRADE Serdar Akinci MINISTRY OF ECONOMY Susen Aklan SERAP ZUVIN LAW OFFICES Deniz Akman BENER LAW OFFICE, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Sezin Akoğlu PEKIN & PEKIN Nicholas Sinanan JOHNSON, CAMACHO & SINGH Badis Jedidi GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Karen Bridgewater-Taylor REGISTRAR GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Jonathan Walker M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sami Kallel KALLEL & ASSOCIATES Inci Alaloglu TABOGLU & DEMIRHAN Tiffanny Castillo M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Allyson West PWC Faycal Karoui SOCIÉTÉ TUNISIENNE DE L’ELECRICITÉ ET DU GAZ (STEG) Zeynep Alemdaroğlu SARIIBRAHIMOĞLU LAW OFFICE Grantley Wilshire M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Larbi Khedira CHAFTER RAOUADI LAW FIRM Donielle K. Charles FITZWILLIAM STONE FURNESS-SMITH & MORGAN Stacy Lee Daniell M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI TUNISIA Luis Dini HSMDT LTD. Ilhem Abderrahim SOCIÉTÉ TUNISIENNE DE L’ELECRICITÉ ET DU GAZ (STEG) Samir Abdelly ABDELLY & ASSOCIES Prince Zacharie Adjé WilsonAdjete CABINET DE MAÎTRE GALOLO SOEDJEDE Carol Dos Santos WATER AND SEWAGE AUTHORITY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Emmanuel Yehouessi BCEAO Sheryl Anne Haynes TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING DIVISION Mohamed Ammar SOCIÉTÉ TUNISIENNE DE L’ELECRICITÉ ET DU GAZ (STEG) Nadia Henriques M. HAMEL-SMITH & CO., MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Mohamed Moncef Barouni ACR Edem Amétéfé Zotchi SCP MARTIAL AKAKPO & ASSOCIÉS Peter Bismuth TUNISIE ELECTRO TECHNIQUE Melissa Inglefield M. 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Dudhia MUSA DUDHIA & COMPANY Robin Durairajah CHIBESAKUNDA & COMPANY, MEMBER OF DLA PIPER GROUP Charles Haanyika UTILINK LIMITED Mubanga Kangwa CHIBESAKUNDA & COMPANY, MEMBER OF DLA PIPER GROUP Mutale Kasonde CHIBESAKUNDA & COMPANY, MEMBER OF DLA PIPER GROUP Perine N. Kasonde ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA Obert Chaurura Gutu GUTU & CHIKOWERO Selby Hwacha DUBE, MANIKAI AND HWACHA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS - DMH COMMERCIAL LAW CHAMBERS Edwin Isaac Manikai DUBE, MANIKAI AND HWACHA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS - DMH COMMERCIAL LAW CHAMBERS R.T. Katsande ZIMBABWE ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Manuel Lopes PWC ZIMBABWE Miriam Sabi ZRA - TAXPAYER SERVICES Valerie Sesia CUSTOMIZED CLEARING AND FORWARDING LTD. 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Saunders BDO ZAMBIA AUDIT SERVICES Chipampe Chansa-Kalonga PATENTS AND COMPANIES REGISTRATION AGENCY (PACRA) Canaan Farirai Dube DUBE, MANIKAI AND HWACHA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS - DMH COMMERCIAL LAW CHAMBERS Abraham Kudzai Maguchu DUBE, MANIKAI AND HWACHA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS - DMH COMMERCIAL LAW CHAMBERS Saeed Sohbi SAEED HASSAN SOHBI ZAMBIA Maysa Sirhan PALESTINIAN MONETARY AUTHORITY Ata Al Biary Haytham L. Al-Zubi AL-ZUBI LAW OFFICE Abdulkader Al-Hebshi ADVOCACY AND LEGAL CONSULTATIONS OFFICE (ALCO) Samer Odeh LAND REGISTRATION Nguyen Anh Tuan DP CONSULTING LTD. HANI ABDEL JALDEH Mohamed Taha Hamood AlHashimi MOHAMED TAHA HAMOOD & CO. Khaled Hassan Zaid YEMEN CHAMBER OF SHIPPING Nam Hoa Truong INDOCHINE COUNSEL Dzung Vu LVN & ASSOCIATES Khaled Al-Buraihi KHALED AL-BURAIHI FOR ADVOCACY & LEGAL SERVICES Absal Nusseibeh HUSSEINI & HUSSEINI Husein Sholi JUSTICE SECTOR ASSISTANCE PROJECT - JSAPII Anh Thu Vu MAYER BROWN LLP Yaser Al-Adimi ABDUL GABAR A. AL-ADIMI FOR CONSTRUCTION & TRADE Sharon K. Sichilongo ZAMBIA DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Mildred Stephenson CREDIT REFERENCE BUREAU AFRICA LTD. Dumisani Tembo DUMISANI TEMBO & COMPANY Marcus Tnzonzo SIKAULU LUNGU MUPESO LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Lungisani Zulu UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE Mark Badenhorst PWC SOUTH AFRICA Richard Beattie THE STONE/BEATTIE STUDIO Tim Boulton Manica Africa Pty. Ltd. Peter Cawood PWC ZIMBABWE Antony Chagonda SAWYER & MKUSHI Pauline Chamunorwa GUTU & CHIKOWERO Benjamin Chikowero GUTU & CHIKOWERO Grant Davies MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. Paul De Chalain PWC SOUTH AFRICA Beloved Dhlakama DHLAKAMA B. ATTORNEYS Memory Mafo SCANLEN & HOLDERNESS Rita Makarau HIGH COURT ZIMBABWE Zanudeen Makorie COGHLAN, WELSH & GUEST David Masaya PWC ZIMBABWE Gloria Mawarire MAWERE & SIBANDA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Thembiwe Mazingi COGHLAN, WELSH & GUEST Lloyd Mhishi MHISHI LEGAL PRACTICE H.P. Mkushi SAWYER & MKUSHI Evans Moyo SCANLEN & HOLDERNESS Sternford Moyo SCANLEN & HOLDERNESS Alec Muchadehama MBIDZO MUCHADEHAMA & MAKONI Benjamin Mukandi FREIGHT WORLD (PVT) LTD. T. Muringani SPEARTEC Eldard Mutasa HIGH COURT ZIMBABWE Alec Tafadzwa Muza MAWERE & SIBANDA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Namatirai Muzarakuza GUTU & CHIKOWERO Phathisile Paula Ncube MAWERE & SIBANDA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Duduzile Ndawana GILL, GODLONTON & GERRANS Maxwell Ngorima BDO TAX & ADVISORY SERVICES (PVT) LTD. Edwell Ngwenya FREIGHT WORLD (PVT) LTD. 305 306 DOING BUSINESS 2014 John Ridgewell BCHOD AND PARTNERS Unity Sakhe KANTOR & IMMERMAN Oleen Singizi EXPERT DECISION SYSTEMS ZIMBABWE Tinashe Zindi SCANLEN & HOLDERNESS Ruvimbo Zhewe EXPERT DECISION SYSTEMS ZIMBABWE THE WORLD BANK WWW.DOINGBUSINESS.ORG CO AR MP ING REG UL ATI ON IN 175 ECO NO MIE g Jo bs C re a S t in 2012 DOING BUSINESS 2013 Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises 2011 2007 2004 2008 2006 2010 COMPARING REGULATION IN 183 ECONOMIES Doing business in a more transparent world 2013 COMPARING BUSINESS REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FIRMS IN 185 ECONOMIES 10TH EDITION C O M PA R I N G R E G U L AT I O N F O R D O M E S T I C F I R M S I N 1 8 3 E C O N O M I E S ISBN 978-0-8213-9984-2 SKU 19984