By Kofi AHOVI
The 2009 Doing Business report published by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank has ranked Ghana as the best country to do business in West Africa.
The sixth in an annual series of reports ranked Ghana 87th out of the 181 countries in the world in respect to doing business.
Ghana has however slipped five positions as compared to the 2008 doing business report which ranked the country 82nd out of 178 countries involved in the survey.
“Ghana remains the easiest place to do business in ECOWAS and one of the top ten economies in Africa by overall aggregate for doing business. It is also the best place to register property and the best in protecting investors in ECOWAS,” the report stated.
According to the report the abolishing of requirement to register employment vacancies and obtaining of a company seal which led to the reduction in the number of procedures to start a business, enable Ghana to improve in the area of starting a business
Doing Business ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.
Ghana has over the past three successive years been among the world’s best reformers, from capital adequacy reforms in the banking sector to the institution of major reforms in the country’s public procurement system.
According to the report Africa had a record year for regulatory reforms that make it easier to do business, with 28 countries completing 58 reforms, according to Doing Business 2009.
Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Botswana are among the world’s top 10 reformers of business regulations.
Mauritius moved up to 24 in the global rankings on the regulatory ease of doing business and continues to provide inspiration for reform and good practices to other economies across Africa. The runner-up in these overall rankings is South Africa at 32, followed by Botswana at 38.
Senegal made it easier to start a business, register property, and trade across borders. Burkina Faso introduced a new labor code and reforms for registering property, dealing with construction permits, and paying taxes. Botswana cut the time to start a business, facilitated trade, and strengthened investor protections. Post conflict countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone, along with Rwanda, were among the regions’ most active reformers of business regulations.
Among regions, Eastern Europe and Central Asia led in reforms of business regulation for a fifth consecutive year, with more than 90 percent of its countries making improvements. The top 10 are, in order, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Belarus, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt.
Singapore leads the global rankings on the overall regulatory ease of doing business for a third consecutive year. New Zealand is runner-up and the United States third. Bahrain and Mauritius join the ranks of the top 25 this year.
The 2009 Doing Business report published by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank has ranked Ghana as the best country to do business in West Africa.
The sixth in an annual series of reports ranked Ghana 87th out of the 181 countries in the world in respect to doing business.
Ghana has however slipped five positions as compared to the 2008 doing business report which ranked the country 82nd out of 178 countries involved in the survey.
“Ghana remains the easiest place to do business in ECOWAS and one of the top ten economies in Africa by overall aggregate for doing business. It is also the best place to register property and the best in protecting investors in ECOWAS,” the report stated.
According to the report the abolishing of requirement to register employment vacancies and obtaining of a company seal which led to the reduction in the number of procedures to start a business, enable Ghana to improve in the area of starting a business
Doing Business ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.
Ghana has over the past three successive years been among the world’s best reformers, from capital adequacy reforms in the banking sector to the institution of major reforms in the country’s public procurement system.
According to the report Africa had a record year for regulatory reforms that make it easier to do business, with 28 countries completing 58 reforms, according to Doing Business 2009.
Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Botswana are among the world’s top 10 reformers of business regulations.
Mauritius moved up to 24 in the global rankings on the regulatory ease of doing business and continues to provide inspiration for reform and good practices to other economies across Africa. The runner-up in these overall rankings is South Africa at 32, followed by Botswana at 38.
Senegal made it easier to start a business, register property, and trade across borders. Burkina Faso introduced a new labor code and reforms for registering property, dealing with construction permits, and paying taxes. Botswana cut the time to start a business, facilitated trade, and strengthened investor protections. Post conflict countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone, along with Rwanda, were among the regions’ most active reformers of business regulations.
Among regions, Eastern Europe and Central Asia led in reforms of business regulation for a fifth consecutive year, with more than 90 percent of its countries making improvements. The top 10 are, in order, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Belarus, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt.
Singapore leads the global rankings on the overall regulatory ease of doing business for a third consecutive year. New Zealand is runner-up and the United States third. Bahrain and Mauritius join the ranks of the top 25 this year.
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