Vietnam Climbs 14 Places in Ease of Doing Business

To day, an entrepreneur in HoChiMinh City spends 22 days and 6.5% of income per capita registering a new company, compared to 61 days and 31.9% in 2003.

This information was heard at the Doing Business 2018 Report of the World Bank Group, the 15th annual edition.

Vietnam jumped 14 places to 68th among 190 economies in terms of the ease of doing business this year with a score of 67.93 on the 100-point scale. In the Doing Business 2017 Report, Vietnam ranked 82nd on 190 economies with a score of 63.83, moving up nine notches from 2016.

According to the World Bank, two economies in the East Asia and Pacific region rank among the top 10 economies globally in the Doing Business rankings. The top-ranked economies are Singapore (2) and Hong Kong SAR- China (5). Two of the 10 most improved countries are Brunei Darussalam (the second consecutive year with eight reforms) and Thailand (eight reforms, a new record for a single year of this country).

Starting a business has been the most common area of reform, with 74 of the 371 reforms of the past 15 years aimed at making it easier for entrepreneurs to register a new business. As a result, the average cost to start a business in the East Asia and Pacific region has dropped to 19 percent of income per capita, from 59 percent in 2003.

The region has implemented 17 reforms in the area of resolving insolvency over the past 15 years. Thanks to these reforms the average recovery rate has increased from 28.8 percent in 2003 to 37.3 today.

However, important challenges remain in areas such as enforcing contracts, where there is wide variation between economies in the region.

The ranking is based on 10 indicator sets, namely 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.

(Source: Anh Mai/VCCI)