Fact Sheet -- East Asia and Pacific
Summary of Doing Business reforms:
In Brunei Darussalam the Authority for Building Construction and Industry (ABCi) made getting electricity easier by establishing a one-stop shop and reducing the time required to obtain an excavation permit.
Areas of business regulation reform: Getting electricity
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 83 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 86
In Cambodia the central bank, the National Bank of Cambodia, strengthened the credit information system through a new regulation, Prakas No. B7-011-145 on Credit Reporting, which allows credit bureaus to collect positive as well as negative credit information and distribute it among banks and microfinance institutions.
Areas of business regulation reform: Getting credit (credit information)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 138 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 138
China
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 91 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 87
Fiji made starting a business more difficult by adding a requirement to obtain a tax identification number when registering a new company.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 77 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 72
Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business easier by introducing online services for company and business registration, including delivery of documents to the Companies Registry, signing with digital signatures or passwords, online payment, and issuance of certificates. The economy also made getting electricity easier, by increasing the efficiency of public agencies and streamlining the utility’s procedures with other government agencies.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Getting electricity
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 2 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 2
Indonesia made starting a business easier by introducing a simplified application process allowing an applicant to simultaneously obtain both a general trading license and a business registration certificate. The country made getting electricity more difficult, however, by increasing connection fees.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Getting electricity (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 129 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 126
Kiribati
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 115 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 111
Lao PDR
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 165 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 163
Malaysia made starting a business easier by merging company, tax, social security, and employment fund registrations at the one-stop shop and providing same-day registration. The country continued to improve the computerization of its courts by introducing a system making it possible to file complaints electronically. And it established dedicated commercial courts to handle foreclosure proceedings. Malaysia made paying taxes costlier for firms by reintroducing the real estate capital gains tax—but also made tax compliance easier by improving electronic systems and the availability of software.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Enforcing contracts, Resolving insolvency, Paying taxes (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 18 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 23
Marshall Islands
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 106 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 102
Micronesia, Fed. Sts.
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 140 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 137
In Mongolia the credit registry improved the credit information system by eliminating the minimum threshold for loans included in the database.
Areas of business regulation reform: Getting credit (credit information)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 86 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 89
Palau
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 116 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 116
Papua New Guinea
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 101 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 97
The Philippines adopted a new insolvency law, the Financial Rehabilitation and Insolvency Act, which provides a legal framework for liquidation and reorganization of financially distressed companies.
Areas of business regulation reform: Resolving insolvency
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 136 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 134
Samoa
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 60 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 55
Singapore
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 1 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 1
The Solomon Islands made starting a business easier by implementing an online registration process. It made registering property faster by separating the land registry from the business and movable property registries. The Solomon Islands strengthened investor protections by enacting the Companies Act 2009, which increased shareholders’ access to corporate information. It also simplified insolvency proceedings, by adopting The Companies (Insolvency and Receivership) Act 2009.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Registering property, Protecting investors, Resolving insolvency
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 74 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 81
Taiwan, China, made starting a business easier by implementing an online one-stop shop for business registration. It also created a one-stop center to deal with construction permits.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 25 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 24
Thailand made starting a business easier by introducing a one-stop shop, the Single Point Service Center. The center processes applications that previously were handled by three different government agencies. The country made transferring property more expensive, however, by increasing the registration fee.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Registering property (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 17 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 16
Timor-Leste made starting a business faster by reorganizing the company registry and streamlining the business registration process. And it improved its credit information system by establishing a public credit registry.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Getting credit (credit information)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 168 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 169
Tonga made starting a business easier by implementing an electronic system at the registry, which reduced the time required for verifying that the company name is unique and for registering the company. The costs for the name search, company registration, and business license increased, however. Tonga strengthened its secured transactions system by passing a new law. The Personal Property Securities Act 33 of 2010 allows a general description of the obligation in the security agreement and gives secured creditors priority outside bankruptcy. In addition, Tonga made getting electricity faster by implementing a time limit for the safety inspection by the Electricity Commission. But it made transferring property more costly through the Stamp (Repeal) Act 2010.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Getting electricity, Getting credit (legal rights), Registering property (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 58 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 62
Vanuatu made starting a business easier by reducing the time required for company registration at the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission and issuing provisional licenses at the Department of Customs. The country also made registering property easier, by computerizing the land registry. It made trading across borders faster by upgrading Port-Vila’s wharf infrastructure, which increased the efficiency of port and terminal handling activities. Vanuatu made dealing with construction permits more difficult, however, by increasing the number of procedures and the cost to obtain a building permit.
Areas of business regulation reform: Starting a business, Registering property, Trading across borders, Dealing with construction permits (making it more difficult)
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 76 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 75
Vietnam strengthened investor protections by requiring higher standards of accountability for company directors.
Areas of business regulation reform: Protecting investors
Rank in Doing Business 2012: 98 Rank in Doing Business 2011: 90
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For more information on Doing Business 2012, please contact:
Nadine Ghannam +1 (202) 473-3011
E-mail: nsghannam@ifc.org
Sushmitha Narsiah +1 (202) 473-0995
E-mail: snarsiah@worldbank.org
Contacts for region-specific queries on Doing Business 2012:
East Asia and the Pacific
Hannfried von Hindenburg +852 2509-8115
E-mail: hvonhindenburg@ifc.org
Carl Hanlon +1(202) 473-8087
E-mail: chanlon@worldbank.org