Pakistan notches up 28 places in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business 2020 ranking

Last year, Pakistan was ranked 136th among the 190 nations surveyed.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – In another positive development that could boost investors’ sentiments towards Pakistan and will allow the debt-ridden state to combat its economic crisis, Pakistan has jumped up 28 places on the World Bank’s  Ease of Doing Business Index  and attained 108th position besides securing a place among top ten global business climate improvers.

Pakistan carried out six reforms in the last one year that helped improving its ranking from 136 to 108, according to the World Bank’s annual flagship report “Ease of Doing Business 2020”, released on Thursday. Last year, Pakistan was ranked 136th among the 190 nations surveyed.

According to the World Bank, the six areas which saw reforms included starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. Pakistan made starting a business easier by expanding procedures available through the online one-stop shop. In addition to improvements in property registration, obtaining a construction permit became easier.

The launching of online portals for new commercial connections made getting electricity easier, and tariff changes are announced in advance. Moreover, tax compliance became easier through online payment modules for value-added tax and corporate income tax. Pakistan made trading across borders easier by enhancing the integration of various agencies into an electronic system and by improving coordination of joint physical inspections at the port.

Since assuming the office, Prime Minister Imran Khan made it amongst his highest priorities to take measures for improving ease of doing business in the country. As a result of the coordinated efforts led by the state’s institutions, Pakistan has been acknowledged by the World Bank among the top global reformers this year.

Pakistan, another top improver, developed an ambitious reform strategy, setting up a national secretariat as well as a prime minister’s reform steering committee to ensure progress, the report acknowledged.

Pakistan’s economy kept up a solid pace of business regulatory reforms and earned the spot among the world’s top ten most improved economies and improved their global ease of doing business scores.

Governments of 115 economies around the world launched 294 reforms over the past year to make doing business easier for their domestic private sector, paving the way for more jobs, expanded commercial activity, and higher incomes for many, according to the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2020 study.

This latest edition of the study documents reforms implemented in 10 areas of business activity in 190 economies over a 12-month period ending on 1 May 2019.

Business-friendly environments are associated with lower levels of poverty, and improved regulatory efficiency can stimulate entrepreneurship, startups, innovation, access to credit, and investment.

The study is the 17th in an annual series that evaluates regulations enhancing or constraining business activity for small and medium-size enterprises.

“Governments can foster market-oriented development and broad-based growth by creating rules that help businesses launch, hire, and expand,” World Bank Group president David Malpass said.

“Removing barriers facing entrepreneurs generates better jobs, more tax revenues, and higher incomes, all of which are necessary to reduce poverty and raise living standards.”

“This rise is significant and made possible by collective and coordinated actions of Federal Government and Provincial Governments of Sindh and Punjab over the past year,” said Illango Patchamuthu, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan.

“The accelerated reform agenda has many noteworthy features to improve quality of regulations, reduce time and streamline processes. This momentum needs to be sustained in the coming years for Pakistan to continue to make progress, said Illango.

It is important to note that Doing Business is not meant to be an investment guide, but rather a measurement of indicators of ease of doing business.

The economies with the most notable improvement in Doing Business 2020 are Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Togo, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Kuwait, China, India and Nigeria, according to the report closely watched by the global investors.

Top performers typically had online business incorporation processes, electronic tax filing platforms, and online procedures for property transfers.

The Ease of Doing Business index is mostly used as a guide by foreign investors to learn more about a country, aiding decisions on pouring money into the economy. The report is based on surveys carried out in Lahore and Karachi. The results are based on the work done from November 2018 to June 2019.

International investors consult the report and the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum before taking decisions on investment plans.