Cut business approval time: World Bank
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THE WORLD BANK has urged Thailand to shorten its approval time for starting a business, lessen the number of tax payments and seriously enforce the bankruptcy law if it wants to move up further in the global ranking of ease in doing business. According t
Asean rankings
Asean economies’ rankings vary. While Singapore tops the global chart, Myanmar is towards the bottom at 177th among 189 economies.
Asean rankings
Country 2015 2014
Singapore 1 1
Malaysia 18 20
Thailand 26 28
Vietnam 78 72
Philippines 95 86
Brunei 101 98
Indonesia 114 117
Cambodia 135 134
Laos 148 155
Myanmar 177 178
Source: Doing Business 2015
Singapore continues to be the economy with the most business-friendly regulations with a score of 88.27, followed by New Zealand 86.91 and Hong Kong 84.97
Constantine Chikosi, a manager at World Bank, said that if Thailand wants to improve its ranking, it had to focus more on four reforms – time to start a business, number of tax payments, the bankruptcy law and credit requests.
The report compares business regulations for domestic firms in 189 economies, tracking and measuring one of the most important features of an economy – the ease with which it is possible to do business, trade and exchange.
Chikosi said that starting a business in Thailand took 27.5 days on average, while in New Zealand it was half a day. If Thailand could shorten that, the time and cost of business registration would be reduced.
If Thailand could cut the number of tax payments, the efficiency of tax payments will increase. Thai firms make 22 tax payments each year and spend about 260 hours on these transactions, while firms in some countries make only four to five tax payments each year.
The country may have to take seriously legal enforcement of its bankruptcy law, given its low mark at 58.73.
A state credit bureau should be set up, besides a privately owned credit bureau, he added.
Kirida Bhaopichitr, a senior economist at the World Bank’s Bangkok office, said that among Southeast Asian countries, Thailand was ranked fourth after only Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Taking 10 indicators into consideration, Thailand earned no high scores in two to three categories like paying tax. If the Internet or IT is employed to help lessen the number of tax payments or time preparing them, Thai firms may not have to contact several tax agencies and that could help upgrade the ranking in next year’s report, she said.
Thailand was included in the 30 countries at the top for ease of doing business in five indicators – dealing with construction permits (sixth, 88.77 score), getting electricity (12th, 91.71), protecting minority investors (25th, 65.83), enforcing contracts (25th, 70.05) and registering property (28th, 83.04).
Ulrich Zachau, the World Bank’s country director for Southeast Asia, based in Bangkok, said Thailand was a case study for modern technology that improved the business environment.
Employing an electronics system for seven years helped facilitate Thailand’s exports and imports after its use of paper was cut to less than a half of the level in 2007.
