By Al Edwards, Financial Editor'DOING BUSINESS in 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth', a report co-sponsored by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group fails to list Jamaica this time around although it placed in the top 10 for 2004
For 2005, the top 20 economies in terms of ease of doing business are New Zealand, United States, Singapore, Hong Kong/China, Australia, Norway, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Lithuania, Slovakia, Botswana and Thailand.
The report, which benchmarks regulatory performance and reforms in 145 nations finds that poor nations, through administrative procedures, still makes it two times harder than rich nations for entrepreneurs to start, operate or close a business, and businesses in poor nations have less than half the property rights protections available to businesses in rich countries, the report says.
In April of this year the World Bank ranked Jamaica among the top ten, least-regulated economies in the world in 2004. Other countries on 2004's shortlist were Australia, Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Jamaica was the only developing country on the list.
BEST PRACTICE REGULATIONS
The 'Doing Business in 2004' World Bank report said that " Among the least regulated economies, Jamaica had aggressively adopted best practice regulations over the last two decades and modernised many aspects of business regulation. Contract enforcement for example, has been improved in line with the latest reforms in the United Kingdom , and bankruptcy law has been revised following the Australian reforms in 1992."
Doing Business in 2005 updates the work of last year's report in five sets of business environment indicators: starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, getting credit, and closing a business; it expands the research to 145 countries and adds two new indicators, registering property and protecting investors. Since last year, 13 governments have asked for their countries to be included in the Doing Business analysis.
The 2005 report surmises that overall, rich countries undertook three times as many investment climate reforms as poor countries last year. European nations were especially active in enacting reforms.
"Poor countries that desperately need new enterprises and jobs risk falling even further behind rich ones who are simplifying regulation and making their investment climates more business friendly," said Michael Klien, World Bank/IFC Vice President for Private Sector Development and IFC Chief Economist.
On average, it takes a business in a rich nation six procedures, 8 per cent of income per capita, and 27 days to get started. In a poor or lower-middle-income economy such as Jamaica, the same process takes 11 procedures, 122 per cent of income per capita and 59 days. In more than a dozen poor countries, registering a new business takes more than 100 days.
FULL ACCESS
The 2005 report went on to say that potential investors in many rich nations enjoy full access to the ownership and financial information of publicly listed companies while investors in most developing countries have hardly any access.
Only last week Minister of Development, in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr. Paul Robertson, speaking at the launch of the World Investment Report 2004, hosted by Jampro at its Kingston headquarters said that last year, overseas interests invested US$720 million in Jamaica. The United Nations sponsored report shows that Jamaica ranked 20th in the world in attracting foreign inflows.
President of Jampro, Mrs. Patricia Francis said: " We are pleased that Jamaica has been featured at number 20 in terms of best business practices. It is a testament to how we have turned things around."
