Four Arab countries are among the 10 best in reforms

by **claud39** Sat Oct 26, 2019 9:23 pm

As four Arab countries rank among the top 10 countries in the world for business improvement, Simon Dyankov, director of research and founder of Doing Business, said: “Obviously something unprecedented is happening in the Gulf. "The region understands that it is better to diversify the economy in some direction ... and I think that's really the reason for the reforms that are happening now."

MENA economies have implemented most of the registered reforms to facilitate doing business for local SMEs, including four of the world's most reformed countries, according to the World Bank Group Doing Business 2020 report.

The economies of the region have implemented 57 business reforms in twelve months, compared with 43 in the previous 12 months. Thirteen of the region's 20 economies have reformed and the average score for ease of doing business in the region has improved by 1.8.

The GCC economies were particularly active, with 35 measures to improve the business climate in the past year. “This year, the region comprises four of the top 10 countries implementing improvements in the world: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait,” said a World Bank press release yesterday. The UAE is the region's strongest performer, ranking 16th (out of 190 economies) on the Ease of Doing Business Index. ”

“It is a year of record for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economies, and we are committed to continuing to support all countries in the region,” said Farid Belhadj, vice president for Middle East and North Africa. Fairness, governance and good governance to make the MENA region open to business and attract the investments necessary to create jobs for young people and women. ”
Jordan
For the first time, Jordan has joined the key countries in implementing reforms, implementing three reforms, enhancing access to credit by implementing a new secured transactions law, amending the insolvency law, and launching a modern, standardized notice-based guarantee register.

the two seas
With nine reforms, Bahrain has been at the forefront of both the region and the world in terms of the number of reforms. It recently passed a new bankruptcy law, strengthened minority shareholders' equity, and reactivated the process of issuing building permits through a new online platform. It also facilitated the enforcement of contracts through the establishment of a specialized commercial court, the setting of time standards for the hearings of the main courts and the online service for the publication of the case.

Kuwait Kuwait
was for the first time among the top 10 countries in implementing reforms, implementing seven reforms. Building licensing procedures have been simplified by integrating additional authorities into the electronic licensing platform and enhancing inter-agency communication. It has also increased the ease of cross-border trade by strengthening the customs risk management system and introducing a new e-clearance system.

Morocco has implemented six reforms, including: strengthening the protection of minority shareholders, lowering the corporate income tax rate, and introducing electronic port payment.

The UAE, Egypt and Oman have implemented four reforms each. Each of the three countries promoted minority shareholders' rights, simplified business registration procedures, and made it easier for companies to import and export goods. Overall, the region's economies have focused their reforms on access to electricity and the protection of minority shareholders, with 40% of countries in the region undertaking reforms (eight in each).

Best performance for the region

The region recorded its best performance in the areas of: paying taxes, obtaining electricity, and issuing building permits. Building permits now take an average of 124 days, 28 days less than the average in high-income OECD economies. Similarly, entrepreneurs in the region need to pay 16.5 times on average to comply with tax requirements against 23 times globally. Bahrain is the best performing worldwide in the time required for tax compliance, with the submission of the tax return and the payment of the tax only 22.5 hours per year.

However, the World Bank said that some economies in the region are still lagging behind. “Libya has not implemented any reforms since the start of Doing Business reports, while the status of Iraq has improved on only four indicators. Lebanon has undertaken one reform to improve the business climate in the past five years and seven reforms since the start of Doing Business reports in 2003. It ranks 143 globally and performs particularly poorly in business start-ups and building permits.

Access to credit in the region remains harder than anywhere else in the world, partly because insufficient protections for lenders and borrowers are in collateral and bankruptcy laws. The region also performed poorly in cross-border trade and insolvency settlement. “The cost of complying with export requirements is an average of $ 442, and it takes 53 hours, three and four times the average in high-income countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In bankruptcies, the region's average debt recovery is 27 cents per dollar on average, compared with 70 cents in high-income OECD economies. ”

The report points to widespread barriers to women's employment in the region, with 13 of the region's economies imposing additional measures on women entrepreneurs when starting a business.

http://www.uabonline.org/en/news/arabicnews/41583160816041593158515761610157715901605160615751/69077/1