Taiwan ranks 15th in World Bank Doing Business report

2017/11/03

Taiwan ranked 15th among 190 economies in the Doing Business 2018 report released Oct. 31 by Washington-based World Bank.

 While its score improved by 0.41 points to 80.07 out of 100, Taiwan slipped four places from the previous edition. New Zealand topped the global rankings, followed by Singapore and Denmark in that order.
 
 Among the 10 categories used to assess an economy’s business environment, Taiwan fared best in getting electricity, ranking third in the world with a score of 99.45. It also finished fourth in dealing with construction permits.
 
 Taiwan, which placed fourth in Asia behind Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong in that order, recorded impressive improvements in other categories. It jumped from 14th to 10th in enforcing contracts, 68th to 55th in trading across borders and 19th to 16th in starting a business.
 
 The survey praised Taiwan’s efforts over the past year, stating that it had made exporting easier by permitting different organizations to electronically issue certificates of origin. Similarly, the introduction of an electronic filing system strengthened its performance in enforcing contracts, it added.
 
 In response, the Cabinet-level National Development Council said Nov. 1 that progress in these categories underscores the government’s commitment to pursuing reforms aimed at enhancing Taiwan’s business environment. Attributing the country’s drop in the overall rankings to its 90th and 56th positions in getting credit and paying taxes, respectively, the council said that it will work with relevant ministries and agencies on identifying and addressing issues in these areas.
 
 First released in 2003, the annual World Bank survey evaluates economies across the categories of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The report measures how regulations affect domestic small and medium enterprises based on standardized case scenarios located in the largest business city of each economy.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=6&post=124234)