LONDON: A World Bank report has ranked the UK in the top 10 economies around the globe that are the most business friendly in terms of regulations.
This is according to the World Bank Group’s report Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency. Joining the UK in the top ten were New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Denmark, South Korea, Norway, the US, Finland and Australia. Topping the list was Singapore.
According to the report, strong legal protection and regulatory efficiency is key to helping entrepreneurs thrive. This would apply to limited companies, sole traders and those thinking of setting up a business. The report says that countries who improve regulatory frameworks and strengthen legal institutions to support enterprise are better able to support growth and development.
Senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank Kaushik Basu said: “An economy’s success or failure depends on many variables; among these, often overlooked, are the nuts and bolts that facilitate enterprise and business.
“By this I mean the regulations that determine how easy it is to start a business, the speed and efficiency with which contracts are enforced, the paperwork needed for trade, and so on. Making improvements in these regulations is virtually costless, but it can play a transformative role in promoting growth and development.”
Rankings for ease of doing business in the World Bank Group report are calculated based on a distance to frontier score, which demonstrates how close economies are to global best practices in business regulation. The higher the score, the more efficient the business environment and the stronger the legal institutions affecting business.
The UK itself is continuing to make efforts to improve the regulatory landscape for businesses. For example, Parliament is currently debating the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, which aims to tackle such areas as late payment. Business and government representatives are also working together to strengthen the Prompt Payment Code, which is designed to give businesses a set of principles to work on when dealing with suppliers.
