Nicely timed, following the recent opening of Rosemont's new office in Singapore, the World Bank has published its 2014 ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Ranking for all the 189 nations of the world according to the ease with which business can be established and operate in those countries. The ten criteria by which countries are judged include the ease, or difficulty, of starting a business, obtaining electricity, paying taxes and enforcing contracts.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in a separate survey has also ranked Singapore as number one out of 82 countries for its "efficient [and] open economy".
The top ranked nation in the World Bank Ranking, for the ninth year, is Singapore, closely followed by New Zealand and Hong Kong in second and third places respectively. The United States remains in seventh while the UK moves up to eighth position. Overall the leading twenty nations have improved their competitive business regime over their ratings in previous years.
The research found that in Singapore to incorporate a new business took 2.5 days, involved only three procedures at a cost well below that of the average of OECD nations and the East Asia and Pacific average.
The payment of tax was rated with reference to the ease of payment, the administrative burden, as well as the level of tax paid by both businesses and their employees. In Singapore with ease of filing through an efficient online system and only five taxes to be paid, the time spent by business of 82 hours a year was well below the OECD average of 175 hours and Singapore’s regional neighbours at 204 hours. More importantly for business, the total tax rate, as a percentage of profit, and including employer paid social security contributions, is a low 18.4% which compares favourably to the regional average of 34.4% and is well below the OECD average of 41.3%.
Administrative procedures to obtain electricity and credit were also advantageous to business with the cheapest electricity (calculated as a percentage of per capita income) in East Asia and the Pacific and ease of obtaining credit. The ability to enforce contracts and ease of cross border trade was rated as number one in this global survey.
The time and procedures to obtain planning approval was also highly competitive with approval or refusal of the application taking only 26 days against an OECD average of 150 days and the registration of title to property in the jurisdiction is similarly efficient.
When all these factors are taken together it is easy to understand why Singapore with its qualified and dedicated workforce and business orientated government continues to be the world leader in providing an environment in which to do business.
Read more about Rosemont in Singapore at http://www.rosemont-int.com/news/24-10-2014-singapore-rosemont-extends-services-in-asia/