Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Comparing Business Regulations for domestic firms in 189 Ec onomies A World bank Group Flagship Report 12th edition 2014 International Bank for reconstruction and development/The World bank 1818 H Street NW, WASHINGTON DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000; Internet: www. worldbank. org Some rights reserved 1 2 3 4 17 16 15 14 This work is a product of the staff of The World bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World bank, its Board of Executive directors, or the governments they represent. The World bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. 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Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency COMPARING BUSINESS REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FIRMS IN 189 ECONOMIES A World bank Group Flagship Report 12th EDITION Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Resources on the Doing Business website Current features News on the Doing Business project http://www. doingbusiness. org Rankings How economies rank from 1 to 189 http://www. doingbusiness. org/rankings Data All the data for 189 economies topic rankings, indicator values, lists of regulatory procedures and details underlying indicators http://www. doingbusiness. org/data Reports Access to Doing Business reports as well as subnational and regional reports, reform case studies and customized economy and regional profiles http://www. doingbusiness. org/reports Methodology The methodologies and research papers underlying Doing Business http://www. doingbusiness. org/methodology Research Abstracts of papers on Doing Business topics and related policy issues http://www. doingbusiness. org/research Doing Business reforms Short summaries of DB2015 business regulation reforms, lists of reforms since DB2008 and a ranking simulation tool http://www. doingbusiness. org/reforms Historical data Customized data sets since DB2004 http://www. doingbusiness. org/custom-query Law library Online collection of business laws and regulations relating to business http://www. doingbusiness. org/law -library Contributors More than 10, 700 specialists in 189 economies who participate in Doing Business http://www. doingbusiness. org/contributors/doing-business Entrepreneurship data Data on business density (number of newly registered companies per 1, 000 working-age people) for 139 economies http://www. doingbusiness. org/data/exploretopics/entrepreneurship Distance to frontier Data benchmarking 189 economies to the frontier in regulatory practice http://www. doingbusiness. org/data/distance-to-frontier Information on good practices Showing where the many good practices identified by Doing Business have been adopted http://www. doingbusiness. org /data/good-practice Doing Business iphone app Doing Business at a Glance presenting the full report, rankings and highlights for each topic for the iphone, ipad and ipod touch http://www. doingbusiness. org/special-features/iphone Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency v Foreword 1 Overview 15 About Doing Business 24 What is changing in Doing Business? 33 Reforming the business environment in 2013/14 Case studies 47 Starting a business The growing efficiency of company registries 53 Zoning and urban planning Understanding the benefits 60 Registering property Measuring the quality of land administration systems 67 Getting credit The importance of registries 76 Protecting minority investors Going beyond related-party transactions 83 Paying taxes Trends before and after the financial crisis 90 Enforcing contracts How judicial efficiency supports freedom of contract 96 Resolving insolvency Measuring the strength of insolvency laws 102 Highlights from the Doing Business research conference 109 References 1 14 Data notes 146 Distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking 152 Summaries of Doing Business reforms in 2013/14 167 Country tables 231 Labor market regulation data 252 Acknowledgments Contents Doing Business 2015 is the 12th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 189 economies from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe and over time. Doing Business measures regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business. Ten of these areas are included in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is included not in this year's ranking. Data in Doing Business 2015 are current as of June 1, 2014. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms of business regulation have worked, where and why. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Foreword How to use Doing Business indicators and how not to The public discourse on economic policy is focused overwhelmingly on fiscal measures, monetary interventions, welfare programs and other such highly visible instruments of government action. Thus when an economy does poorly, a disproportionate amount of our debate centers on whether or not it needs a fiscal stimulus, whether there should be liquidity easing or tightening, whether its welfare programs have been too profligate or too paltry and so on. What gets much less attention but is equally and, in some situations, even more important for an economy's success or failure is the nuts and bolts that hold the economy together and the plumbing that underlies the economy. The laws that determine how easily a business can be started and closed the efficiency with which contracts are enforced, the rules of administration pertaining to a variety of activities such as getting permits for electricity and doing the paperwork for exports and imports are all examples of the nuts and bolts that are rarely visible and in the limelight but play a critical role. Their malfunctioning can thwart an economy's progress and render the more visible policy instruments, such as good fiscal and monetary policies, less effective. Just as the Space shuttle Challenger broke apart on takeoff from Cape canaveral, Florida, on January 28, 1986, not because (as was realized later) something major had gone wrong but because a joint held together by a circular nut called the O-ring had failed, an economy can be brought down or held back by the failure of its nuts and bolts. The World bank Group's Doing Business report is an annual statement of the state of the nuts and bolts of economies around the world and, as such, is one of the most important compendiums of information and analysis of the basis of an economy's effective day-to-day functioning and development. Creating an efficient and inclusive ethos for enterprise and business is in the interest of all societies. An economy with an efficient bureaucracy and rules of governance that facilitates entrepreneurship and creativity among individuals and provides an enabling atmosphere for people to realize their full potential, can enhance living standards and promote growth and shared prosperity. It can also help in creating an environment in which standard macroeconomic policies are more effective and course through the economy more easily. After decades of debate there is now some convergence in economics about the roles of the market and the state. To leave everything to the free market can lead to major economic malfunction and elevated levels of poverty, and have us be silent witnesses to, for instance, discrimination against certain groups. Moreover there is a logical mistake that underlies the market fundamentalist philosophy. To argue that individuals and private businesses should have all the freedom to pursue what they vi DOING BUSINESS 2015 wish and that government should not intervene overlooks the fact that government is nothing but the outcome of individual actions. Hence the edict is internally inconsistent. Fortunately, market fundamentalism has, for the most part, been relegated to the margins of serious policy discourse. Turning to the other extreme, it is recognized now widely that to have the state try to do it all is a recipe for economic stagnation and cronyism. In any national economy there are too many decisions to be made and too great a variety of skills and talents scattered through society, for any single authority to take effective charge. It is true that government should intervene in the market to help the disadvantaged, to keep inequality within bounds, to provide public goods and to create correctives for market failures such as those stemming from externalities, information asymmetries and systemic human irrationalities. 1 But over and above these, government also has the critical responsibility to provide a nimble regulatory setup that enables ordinary people to put their skills and talents to the best possible use and facilitates the smooth and efficient functioning of businesses and markets. 2 It is this critical role of providing an enabling and facilitating ethos for individual talent and enterprise to flourish which includes an awareness of where not to intervene and interfere that the Doing Business report tries to measure. There is no unique way of doing this, and there are plenty of open conceptual questions one has to contend with. In brief, by its very nature Doing Business has all the ingredients of being both important and controversial, and it has lived up to both qualities in ample measure. SWITCHING SIDES As an independent researcher and, later, as Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian government, I used, criticized, valued and debated the Doing Business report, unaware that I would be at the World bank one day and hence be shifted from the side of the consumer to that of the manufacturer of this product. This shift has given me a 360-degree view of Doing Business and, along with that, an awareness of its strengths and weaknesses, which others, luckier than I, may not have. Its greatest strength is its transparency and adherence to clearly stated criteria. Doing Business takes the same set of hypothetical questions to 189 economies and collects answers to these. Thus, for instance, when checking on an economy's efficacy in enforcing contracts, it measures the time, cost and procedures involved in resolving a hypothetical commercial lawsuit between 2 domestic firms through a local court. The dispute involves the breach of a sales contract worth twice the size of the income per capita of the economy or $5, 000, whichever is greater. This meticulous insistence on using the same standard everywhere gives Doing Business a remarkable comparability across economies. However, this same strength is inevitably a source of some weaknesses. It means that, contrary to what some people believe, Doing Business is not based on sample surveys of firms. It is not feasible at least not at this stage, to conduct such surveys in 189 economies. A lot of the Doing Business data are based on careful collection of de jure information on what an economy's laws and regulations require. Further, even when, based on a study of one economy or a cluster of economies, some measure is found to be an important determinant of the ease of doing business, it may not be possible to put this measure to use unless a way is found to collect information on it from all 189 economies. Nor does the fact that the same measures are collected for all economies automatically mean that they are the right measures. The same measure may be more apt for one economy and less so for another. As Ken Arrow once pointed out, the medieval English law under which no one was allowed to sleep on park benches applied to both paupers and aristocrats, but since the latter typically did not consider the use of park benches for napping, it was amply clear that this horizontally anonymous law was meant actually for only one class of people, namely the poor. 3 Another problem arises from the fact that the overall ease of doing business ranking is an aggregation of 10 component indicators measuring how easy it is (in the economy concerned) to start a business, deal with construction permits, get electricity, register property, get credit, pay taxes, trade across borders, enforce contracts and resolve insolvency and how strong the protections for minority investors are. Further, each of these 10 component indicators is itself an amalgam of several even more basic measures. The way all this is aggregated is by giving each basic measure the same weight to get to each component indicator, and then giving an equal weight to each of the 10 component indicators to get to the final score. Questions may indeed be asked about whether it is right to give the same weight to different indicators. 4 Is an economy's speed at 1. There is evidence that human beings are not just frequently irrational but have certain systematic propensities to this, which can be and has been used to exploit individuals (Akerlof and Shiller 2009; Johnson 2009. By this same logic, these irrationalities can be used to promote development and growth. The next World Development Report (World bank, forthcoming), to be published in December 2014, is devoted to this theme. 2. This convergent view can increasingly be found in microeconomics books, such as Bowles (2006); Basu (2010; and Ferguson (2013). 3. Arrow 1963.4. There is a lot of research on the choice of weights when aggregating and on the algebra of ranking; see, for example, Sen (1977; Basu (1983; and Foster, Mcgillivray and Seth (2012. FOREWORD vii giving an electricity connection to a new enterprise as important as its ability to enforce contracts efficiently? Further, the measures count both the time taken to get certain permits and clearances and also the number and intricacy of procedures. These also entail weights. There is a way of doing away with weights, an approach that involves declaring one economy to be ranked above another only if it dominates the other in all 10 indicators. This is referred to as the criterion of vectordominance, and its properties have been studied and are understood well. The trouble with this criterion is that it leads to incompleteness in rankings. For many pairs of economies it will not be possible to treat either as ranked above the other; nor can we, in such cases, declare the 2 to be equally good in terms of the ease of doing business. This is illustrated in the figure, which ranks a small cluster of economies by using vector-dominance in terms of the 10 indicators. A downward line between 2 economies represents dominance, and 2 economies that cannot be connected by a downward line cannot be compared with each other. Hence Singapore is ranked unequivocally above Ireland, which is ranked above Cyprus and so on. Singapore is ranked also above Latvia. Similarly, New zealand is ranked above Latvia which is above Morocco and Benin, and so on. Singapore and New zealand, which are this year's winner and runner-up in our ordinal ranking, cannot, however, be ranked in terms of vector-dominance; nor can we rank New zealand and Ireland. 5 It is true that the figure shows only a small segment of the quasi-order over the 189 economies; but even if we showed the full set, the picture would be populated with pairs of economies that cannot be ranked. That is indeed the disadvantage of vector-dominance. When it pronounces judgment, it does so with great authority, but it achieves this at the cost of total reticence over large domains. What I suspected when I was a user of Doing Business, and now know, is that a significant number of the top 30 economies in the ease of doing business ranking come from a tradition where government has had quite a prominent presence in the economy, including through the laying out of rules to regulate different dimensions of the activities of the private sector. However, all these economies have an excellent performance on the Doing Business indicators and in other international data sets capturing various dimensions of competitiveness. The top-performing economies in the ease of doing business ranking are therefore not those with no regulation but those in which governments have managed to create rules that facilitate interactions in the marketplace without needlessly hindering the development of the private sector. 6 Ultimately, Doing Business is about smart regulations that only a well-functioning state can provide. The secret of success is to have the essential rules and regulations in place but more importantly to have a good system of clearing decisions quickly and predictably, so that small and ordinary businesses do not feel harassed. To get to an evaluation of this, one has to make choices, such as what to include and what to exclude and what weights to use. This has been done in creating the Doing Business measures, and effort is being made to improve on these. Excessive taxation, for instance, can dampen incentives and adversely affect an economy's functioning. But this does not mean that the lower the tax rates and collections, the better. There are economies where the tax revenue to GDP ratio is so low that it hampers the government's ability to regulate efficiently invest in infrastructure and provide basic health and education services to the poor. With that in mind, the Doing Business team changed the indicator that used to treat a lower tax rate as better. Three years ago a threshold was set such that economies with tax rates below this threshold are rewarded not. This has reduced the bias in favor of economies that choose not to levy even a reasonable tax on private companies. Our attention has been drawn to many critiques by the Independent Panel on Doing Business, chaired by Trevor Manuel, which submitted its report in 2013.7 Following this report a decision was made to set a 2-year target to improve the methodology of Doing Business without damaging the overall integrity of this valuable publication. The Doing Business team is in the midst Ranking by vector-dominance Singapore Ireland Cyprus Senegal New zealand Latvia Morocco Benin 5. This example of vector-dominance is based only on the top 2 economies in this year's ease of doing business ranking. The figure was constructed as follows: First, all economies were sorted by their ranking, and the first economy for which all 10 indicator rankings are lower than those of Singapore was identified: Ireland. The process was repeated then for Ireland, and so on for all 189 economies. Second, the analysis was replicated, this time starting with New zealand. Third, all pairs of economies in the figure were compared (for example, the horizontal line between Singapore and Latvia means that Singapore vector-dominates Latvia and all economies connected with a vertical line under Latvia). 6. See Besley and Burgess (2004). 7. The report by the Independent Panel on Doing Business is available on its website at http://www. dbrpanel. org/./viii DOING BUSINESS 2015 of such an exercise, and it is hoped that independent researchers, wherever in the world they happen to be, will join in the task of refining and improving this important document. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES While the 2-year task of improving the methodology continues, it is worth being clear that there is no such thing as the best, all-encompassing indicator. As a consequence, responsibility rests as much with the users of the ease of doing business ranking as with its producers to make sure that it is a valuable instrument of policy. Controversy has arisen often from reading more into the ranking or indicator than what it actually captures. It has been pointed out critically, that there are economies that do poorly on the Doing Business indicators but that nevertheless get a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI) from global corporations. These examples are usually nothing more than a reminder that an economy has many more aspects than the features that are tracked and measured by the Doing Business report. The flow of FDI into an economy is facilitated by having a better doing business ethos, true, but FDI flows can be thwarted by other policy weaknesses; and, conversely, an economy with poor performance on the Doing Business indicators may make up for it in other ways so as to attract large FDI inflows. The fact that there are examples of economies that do not do well on the Doing Business indicators but continue to receive flows of FDI shows that private corporations do not make this mistake; they will decide on the basis of a range of factors. Another common criticism is implicit in the question, If economy x is growing fast, why does it not rank high on the ease of doing business? First, if the ease of doing business ranking were constructed in such a way that it had a very high correlation with GDP or GDP growth, there would be little reason to have a new ranking. We would be able to get our result from looking at GDP or GDP growth tables. Second, this question is rooted often in the common mistake, already noted, of treating the ease of doing business ranking as an all-encompassing measure of an economy's goodness. It is not. An economy can do poorly on Doing Business indicators but do well in macroeconomic policy or social welfare interventions. In the end Doing Business measures a slender segment of the complex organism that any modern economy is. It attempts to capture a segment that is representative of other general features of the economy (and effort will be made to improve on this), but the fact remains that an economy can undo the goodness or badness of its performance on Doing Business indicators through other policies. Moreover, economic efficiency is not the only measure by which we evaluate an economy's performance. 8 Most of us value greater equality among people; the ease of doing business ranking is meant not to measure success on that scale. We value better health, better education, literature and culture; the ease of doing business ranking is meant not to capture these either. It is a mistake to treat this as a criticism of the ease of doing business ranking; it is simply a reminder that life is a many-splendored thing, and the Doing Business report tries to capture one aspect of the good life. The need is to resurrect that once-popular expression, ceteris paribus. Other things remaining the same, an economy should try to improve its score underlying the ease of doing business ranking. In putting the ease of doing business ranking to use in crafting policy, it is important to keep in mind these caveats, strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the Doing Business indicators are meant to simply hold up a mirror to economies. A poor score should alert a government that it ought to examine its regulatory structure. On the basis of this it may decide to change some regulatory features and policies in ways that may not even directly affect its ease of doing business ranking but nevertheless improve the economy's performance. If this happens, and there is some evidence that it does, the Doing Business report would be serving its purpose. There are governments that attract a lot of talent into their bureaucracy but nevertheless do not have an efficient administration because the bureaucrats get trapped in their arcane rules of engagement. This is a report that can be of great value to such governments. And it is gratifying that a large number of governments have put it precisely to such use. Promoting a well-functioning competitive private sector is a major undertaking for any government, especially for one with limited resources and technical capabilities. It requires long-term comprehensive policies targeting macroeconomic stability; investment in infrastructure, education and health; and the building of technological and entrepreneurial capacity. A well-functioning political system one in which the government is perceived to be working in the public interest while managing scarce resources in a reasonably transparent way plays a central role. Removing administrative barriers and strengthening laws that promote entrepreneurship and creativity both of which are within the power of governments to do can set an economy on the path to greater prosperity and development. There is compelling evidence that excessively burdensome regulations can lead to large informal and less-productive sectors, less entrepreneurship and lower rates of employment and growth. 8. See Stiglitz, Sen and Fitoussi (2009; World bank (2014a; and World bank and IMF (2014. FOREWORD ix CARDINALITY, ORDINALITY, RANKINGS AND RATINGS One feature of the report that has received a lot of attention is its use of rankings. Ultimately, what the report does is to provide a table with a simple ordinal ranking of all 189 economies. After a lot of debate and discussion a decision was made to stay with the overall ranking, even though other, cardinal features of the exercise are at the same time being strengthened, as will be explained shortly. It was in 2005 that the World bank Group management decided to start ranking economies on the ease of doing business because it recognized the value of benchmarking exercises in generating interest among policy makers in reform. 9 In an area that had received little attention from policy makers before the publication of the first Doing Business report, the rankings proved to be an important catalyst in raising the profile of regulation as a central element of a good investment climate. The rankings also proved effective in moving issues of performance and progress in business regulation to the center of policy discussions in a large number of economies. By capturing complex, multidimensional realities in a simple quantified framework, the rankings also helped to facilitate communication between different stakeholders and made possible meaningful international comparisons of the regulatory performance of economies, contributing, along the way, to increasing the accountability of political actors. Members of the business community, for instance, could point to the existence of less complex and costly procedures or better-functioning institutions in other economies in the region in their dealings with governments, which, by and large, had been slow to see their own Doing Business data in an international perspective. The overall ranking has value in addition to the topic-level indicators. The overall ranking combines a wealth of information that serves as a summary measure and allows governments to benchmark their economy's performance against that of other economies. Notwithstanding the important benefits of rankings the disaggregated data are also a clear strength of the project. Policy makers frequently become aware of the measurements through the ranking but then use the disaggregated data to shape reform programs. The data identify best practices globally and identify where each economy's practices hold inefficiencies or inadequate legal protections. For example, governments find it useful to compare their own procedures lists for firm start-up with those of other economies that pursue the same goals with less procedural complexity and at lower cost. Having noted these advantages, we would be remiss if we did not point to some of the disadvantages of ordinal ranking. When an economy is given a rank there is no sense of how far it is from its closest contenders. Consider an economy that is ranked at 95, with no other economy at that rank. We know that its closest contenders are at 94 and 96 and this would be unchanged no matter how far or how near those other economies are. This means that when economies are packed very densely, a small improvement can lead to a vast jump in ranking and a small worsening can lead to a large drop in ranking. To see this, consider an extreme case where 50 economies have exactly the same scores on the indicators underlying the ease of doing business ranking and so each of them has the same ranking, say 95. If one economy does slightly worse, with no change in the performance of all the other economies, it will drop not to 96 in the ranking but to 145. On an ordinal ranking scale this will show up as a seemingly alarming drop, but nothing alarming has happened actually. Similarly, if an economy is far behind the economy ahead of it, it can make a large improvement and yet show no gain in the ordinal rank measure. In response to this, there are 2 comments in defense of the methods used. First, the Doing Business team worked over the past 3 years to deepen the indices by adding a distance to frontier measure. This measure has certain cardinal qualities because it tries to capture the actual distance each economy has to go to reach the frontier of best performance. This puts on display how each economy performs not only vis-à-vis other economies but also in absolute terms. Further, the distance to frontier score can shed light on the progress made by individual economies over time in comparison with their own regulatory practices of previous years. This makes it transparent that an economy can make actual progress and still lose ground in the ranking when rankneighboring economies do even better. Recent Doing Business reports have given increasing attention to long-term trends in the data with an emphasis on economies'performance with respect to their past performance to balance the short-term perspective that the ranking provides Further, for reasons of transparency Doing Business makes the disaggregated data available on its website. This allows users to construct alternative rankings with any set of weights they may wish to attach to individual indicators. Second, the ranking issue crops up for both the final aggregate score and the basic indicators that go into the 9. See World bank (2006). x DOING BUSINESS 2015 creation of this final score. Here, the use of ordinal ranks is more problematic because they get absorbed in the final measure and economies making small improvements or regressions in densely packed areas can have a disproportionate gain or loss in ranking. This information being buried in the basic indicators makes it harder to discern. For this reason from this year we decided to switch from using the ordinal ranks of basic indicators to using absolute or cardinal measures before they are aggregated in the final ranking. There are also other options. One is to switch from rankings to ratings which would have economies appear in clusters that are ranked then. But this method too comes with its own share of strengths and weaknesses. CONCLUSION The economy is a complex machine, beyond the full comprehension of any person. Over the years meticulous research, collection of increasingly sophisticated data and the advance of economic theory and innovative modeling have given us a better understanding of this machine. Nevertheless, one has to approach economic policy making with a certain humility, keeping an eye on the fact that what we, all this time, took to be established an feature of economics may be open to question. In brief the discipline is evolving and we must be willing participants in the process. The World bank Group's Doing Business initiative is no exception to this. It tries to track and measure one of the most important features of an economy the ease with which it is possible to do business, trade and exchange. It provides governments, administrators and researchers with valuable data and analysis to promote a better regulatory framework for development, job creation and growth. There are economies that have benefited greatly from this and it is hoped that Doing Business will continue to provide this service. At the same time as this foreword has argued, we are aware that we still have some distance to go in our understanding of an economy. For that reason we welcome research and criticism and hope that this will lead to a better Doing Business report. This year's report is a small, first step in that direction. Kaushik Basu Senior vice president and Chief Economist The World bank WASHINGTON DC Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Overview Great ideas for new business ventures happen every day and everywhere. Some go far, while others never take off. Great ideas are at the heart of development; they allow economies to grow, and they improve people's lives. So it is important to understand why some great ideas never come to fruition even as others thrive. What do need entrepreneurs to pursue a great idea? First of all, they need the ability to give legal form to the idea that is, to start a business simply, quickly and inexpensively and with the certainty of limited liability. They also need the certainty of a well-designed insolvency system, in case the idea fails to work out. In addition, they will need to hire people to help realize the idea, will need probably to obtain financing (both equity and credit) and, in today's increasingly interdependent global economy, may in many cases need a simple way to import and export. And they will need a straightforward way to pay their taxes. Sound business regulations are fundamental to all this. The right business regulations enable good ideas to take root leading to the creation of jobs and to better lives. But where business regulations make it difficult to start and operate a business, good ideas may never see the light of day and important opportunities may be missed. Budding entrepreneurs, daunted by burdensome regulations, may opt out of doing business altogether or, if they have the resources, take their ideas elsewhere. Doing Business looks at how business regulations determine whether good ideas can get started and thrive or will falter and wither away. Many other dimensions of the business environment also matter but are outside the scope of Doing Business. For example Doing Business does not capture such aspects as security, market size, macroeconomic stability and the prevalence of bribery and corruption. Nevertheless, improving in the areas measured by Doing Business is an important step toward a better business environment for all. WHAT DOES DOING BUSINESS MEASURE AND HOW IS IT CHANGING? This year's Doing Business report launches a 2-year process of introducing important improvements in 8 of the 10 sets of Doing Business indicators. These improvements provide a new conceptual framework in which the emphasis on the efficiency of regulation is complemented by an increased emphasis on its quality. In the area of dealing with construction permits, for example, Doing Business will measure the quality of building regulations and the qualifications of the people reviewing the building plans in addition to the efficiency of the process for completing all the formalities to build a warehouse. With a few exceptions the original Doing Business indicators focused mainly on measuring efficiency, such as This year's Doing Business report launches a 2-year process of introducing improvements in 8 of the 10 Doing Business indicator sets to complement the emphasis on the efficiency of regulation with a greater emphasis on its quality. New data show that efficiency and quality go hand in hand. Insolvency cases are resolved more quickly, and with better outcomes, where insolvency laws are designed well. Property transfers are faster and less costly in economies with good land administration systems. And commercial disputes are resolved more efficiently by courts using internationally recognized good practices. For the first time this year Doing Business collected data for 2 cities in large economies. The data show few differences between cities within economies in indicators measuring the strength of legal institutions, which typically apply nationwide. Differences are more common in indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes, where local jurisdictions play a larger role. Sub-saharan africa accounts for 5 of the 10 top improvers in 2013/14. The region also accounts for the largest number of regulatory reforms making it easier to do business in the past year 75 of the 230 worldwide. More than 70%of its economies carried out at least one such reform. Business regulations such as those measured by Doing Business are important for new business creation and for the performance of small firms. 2 DOING BUSINESS 2015 by recording the procedures, time and cost to start a business or to transfer property. These are very important aspects to measure. But as the project's importance grew, it became clear that there was a need to expand what was being measured to include more aspects of regulatory quality. Many of the improvements in methodology were inspired and informed by the report of the Independent Panel on Doing Business as well as by input from policy makers and data users. 1 They also benefited from discussions at the Doing Business research conference held in Washington, DC, in February 2014. For more details on the changes in methodology, see the chapter on what is changing in Doing Business. Doing Business continues to focus on regulations that affect domestic small and medium-size enterprises, operating in the largest business city of an economy, across 10 areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation, which is included not in any of the aggregate measures. The indicator sets for 3 of the 10 topics are being expanded in this year's report; those for 5 others will be expanded in next year's report (figure 1. 1). In another change starting in this year's report, Doing Business has extended its coverage to include the second largest business city in economies with a population of more than 100 million. These economies are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United states. In addition, while Doing Business continues to publish the ease of doing business ranking, this year's report introduces a change in the basis for the ranking, from the percentile rank to the distance to frontier score. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to a measure of regulatory best practice showing the gap between each economy's performance and the best performance on each indicator. 2 This measure captures more information than the simple rankings previously used as the basis for the ease of doing business ranking because it shows not only how economies are ordered on their performance on the indicators but also how far apart they are. The distance to frontier score also provides an important complement to the ease of doing business ranking in analyzing changes in an economy's business regulatory environment. An example at the global level suggests why: the time series of the distance to frontier scores overwhelmingly shows improvements in business regulations around the world, while in the ease of doing business ranking, for every economy that goes up another must go down. For more details on the differences between the 2 measures, see the chapter on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking.)While the changes being implemented this year are substantive, there is a strong correlation at the aggregate level between this year's data under the old methodology and the same data under the new one (figure 1. 2). This is not surprising, since changes are being introduced for only 3 of the 10 topics this year. But even with a high correlation there can still be relatively large shifts in ranking in some cases. This is particularly likely for economies in the middle of the distribution, in part because they are bunched more closely and small shifts in their distance to frontier scores will therefore tend to have a greater impact on their positions relative to other economies. Another reason is that these are the economies that historically have made more intense efforts to reform business regulation. The Doing Business website presents comparable data for this year and last, making it possible to assess the extent to which there has been an improvement in business regulation in any economy as tracked by the distance to frontier measure. Moreover, because most of the changes in methodology involve adding new indicators rather than revising existing ones, data for more than 90%of the previously existing indicators remain comparable over time. The full series are available on the website. FIGURE 1. 1 What Doing Business continues to cover and what it is adding What Doing Business continues to cover What this year's report adds What next year's report will add OVERVIEW 3 WHERE ARE REGULATIONS MORE BUSINESS-FRIENDLY? Singapore continues to be the economy with the most business-friendly regulations (table 1. 1) . And while there was some reordering of economies within the top 20 in the ease of doing business ranking, the list remains very similar to last year's: 17 economies stayed on the list, while 3 entered this year Estonia, Germany and Switzerland. Economies in the top 20 continued to improve their business regulatory environment in the past year. For example, Switzerland made starting a business easier by introducing online procedures and strengthened minority investor protections by increasing the level of transparency required from listed companies. And Sweden made registering property easier through a new online system that became fully operational in the past year. The system provides comprehensive coverage, allowing users to conduct searches and file registrations from anywhere in the country. The 20 economies at the top of the ease of doing business ranking perform well not only on the Doing Business indicators but also in other international data sets capturing dimensions of competitiveness. The economies performing best in the Doing Business rankings therefore are not those with no regulation but those whose governments have managed to create rules that facilitate interactions in the marketplace without needlessly hindering the development of the private sector. Moreover, even outside the top 20 economies there is an association between performance in the ease of doing business ranking and performance on measures of quality of government and governance. For example, in a sample of 78 mostly low-and lower-middleincome economies the distance to frontier score is correlated strongly with the International development association (IDA) Resource Allocation Index which measures the quality of a country's policies and institutional arrangements. 3 The distance to frontier scores underlying the ease of doing business rankings reveal some regional patterns. OECD high-income economies have the highest distance to frontier scores on average, indicating that this regional group has the most business-friendly regulations overall (figure 1. 3) . But best practices in business regulation can be FIGURE 1. 2 Distance to frontier scores remain similar under the new methodology 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 3030 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Distance to frontier score under new methodology (0 100) Distance to frontier score under old methodology (0 100) Note: The figure compares distance to frontier scores based on this year's data computed using the old (Doing Business 2014) methodology with scores based on the same data computed using the new methodology. The differences between the 2 series are in protecting minority investors, resolving insolvency, the depth of credit information index in getting credit and the distance to frontier calculation for the total tax rate in paying taxes. It is not possible to isolate the changes in the strength of legal rights index in getting credit. The 45-degree line shows where the scores under the old and new methodologies are equal. The correlation between the 2 scores is 0. 99. For analysis of the effect of the change in ranking calculation see figure 3. 1 in the chapter on what is changing in Doing Business. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 1. 3 Big gaps between the highest and lowest distance to frontier scores in some regions 0 20 40 60 80 100 Sub-saharan africa South Asia Middle east & North africa Latin america & Caribbean East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income 74.81 Worst score Best score Average score 66.70 76.47 86.91 48.57 66.67 79.46 43.55 63.19 88.27 41.41 60.66 72.29 33.35 59.23 76.81 41.16 54.56 61.36 33.16 51.87 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. 4 DOING BUSINESS 2015 TABLE 1. 1 Ease of doing business ranking Rank Economy DTF score Rank Economy DTF score Rank Economy DTF score 1 Singapore 88.27 64 Cyprus 66.55 127 Mozambique 56.92 2 New zealand 86.91 65 Croatia 66.53 128 Lesotho 56.64 3 Hong kong SAR, China 84.97 66 Oman 66.39 128 Pakistan 56.64 4 Denmark 84.20 67 Samoa 66.17 130 Iran , Islamic Rep. 56.51 5 Korea, Rep. 83.40 68 Albania 66.06 131 Tanzania 56.38 6 Norway 82.40 69 Tonga 65.72 132 Ethiopia 56.31 7 United states 81.98 70 Ghana 65.24 133 Papua new guinea 55.78 8 United kingdom 80 96 71 Morocco 65.06 134 Kiribati 55.48 9 Finland 80.83 72 Mongolia 65.02 135 Cambodia 55.33 10 Australia 80.66 73 Guatemala 64.88 136 Kenya 54.98 11 Sweden 80.60 74 Botswana 64.87 137 Yemen, Rep. 54.84 12 Iceland 80.27 75 Kosovo 64.76 138 Gambia, The 54.81 13 Ireland 80.07 76 Vanuatu 64.60 139 Marshall islands 54.72 14 Germany 79.73 77 Kazakhstan 64.59 140 Sierra leone 54.58 15 Georgia 79.46 78 Vietnam 64.42 141 Uzbekistan 54.26 16 Canada 79.09 79 Trinidad and tobago 64.24 142 India 53.97 17 Estonia 78.84 80 Azerbaijan 64.08 143 West bank and Gaza 53 62 18 Malaysia 78.83 81 Fiji 63.90 144 Gabon 53.43 19 Taiwan, China 78.73 82 Uruguay 63.89 145 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 53.07 20 Switzerland 77.78 83 Costa rica 63.67 146 Mali 52.59 21 Austria 77.42 84 Dominican republic 63.43 147 Côte d'ivoire 52.26 22 United arab emirates 76.81 85 Seychelles 63.16 148 Lao PDR 51.45 23 Latvia 76.73 86 Kuwait 63.11 149 Togo 51.29 24 Lithuania 76.31 87 Solomon islands 63.08 150 Uganda 51.11 25 Portugal 76.03 88 Namibia 62.81 151 Benin 51.10 26 Thailand 75.27 89 Antigua and barbuda 62.64 152 Burundi 51.07 27 Netherlands 75 01 90 China 62.58 153 São tomé and Príncipe 50.75 28 Mauritius 74.81 91 Serbia 62.57 154 Algeria 50.69 29 Japan 74.80 92 Paraguay 62.50 155 Djibouti 50.48 30 Macedonia, FYR 74.11 93 San marino 62.44 156 Iraq 50.36 31 France 73.88 94 Malta 62.11 157 Bolivia 49.95 32 Poland 73.56 95 Philippines 62.08 158 Cameroon 49.85 33 Spain 73.17 96 Ukraine 61.52 159 Comoros 49.56 34 Colombia 72.29 97 Bahamas, The 61.37 160 Sudan 49.55 35 Peru 72.11 97 Dominica 61.37 161 Senegal 49.37 36 Montenegro 72.02 99 Sri lanka 61.36 162 Suriname 49.29 37 Slovak Republic 71.83 100 St lucia 61.35 163 Madagascar 49.25 38 Bulgaria 71.80 101 Brunei Darussalam 61.26 164 Malawi 49.20 39 Mexico 71.53 102 Kyrgyz Republic 60.74 165 Equatorial guinea 49.01 40 Israel 71.25 103 St vincent and the Grenadines 60.66 166 Tajikistan 48.57 41 Chile 71.24 104 Honduras 60.61 167 Burkina faso 48.36 42 Belgium 71.11 104 Lebanon 60.61 168 Niger 47.63 43 South africa 71.08 106 Barbados 60.57 169 Guinea 47.42 44 Czech republic 70.95 107 Bosnia and herzegovina 60.55 170 Nigeria 47.33 45 Armenia 70.60 108 Nepal 60.33 171 Zimbabwe 46.95 46 Rwanda 70.47 109 El salvador 59.93 172 Timor-Leste 46.89 47 Puerto rico (U s.)70.35 110 Swaziland 59.77 173 Bangladesh 46.84 48 Romania 70.22 111 Zambia 59.65 174 Liberia 46.61 49 Saudi arabia 69.99 112 Egypt, Arab Rep. 59.54 175 Syrian Arab Republic 46.51 50 Qatar 69.96 113 Palau 59.50 176 Mauritania 44.21 51 Slovenia 69.87 114 Indonesia 59.15 177 Myanmar 43.55 52 Panama 69.22 115 Ecuador 58.88 178 Congo, Rep. 43.29 53 Bahrain 69.00 116 Maldives 58.73 179 Guinea-bissau 43.21 54 Hungary 68.80 117 Jordan 58.40 180 Haiti 42.18 55 Turkey 68.66 118 Belize 58.14 181 Angola 41.85 56 Italy 68.48 119 Nicaragua 58.09 182 Venezuela, RB 41.41 57 Belarus 68.26 120 Brazil 58.01 183 Afghanistan 41.1 6 58 Jamaica 67.79 121 St kitts and nevis 58.00 184 Congo, Dem. Rep. 40.60 59 Luxembourg 67.60 122 Cabo Verde 57.94 185 Chad 37.25 60 Tunisia 67.35 123 Guyana 57.83 186 South Sudan 35.72 61 Greece 66.70 124 Argentina 57.48 187 Central african republic 34.47 62 Russian Federation 66.66 125 Bhutan 57.47 188 Libya 33.35 63 Moldova 66.60 126 Grenada 57.35 189 Eritrea 33.16 Note: The rankings are benchmarked to June 2014 and based on the average of each economy's distance to frontier (DTF) scores for the 10 topics included in this year's aggregate ranking. For the economies for which the data cover 2 cities, scores are weighted a population average for the 2 cities. An arrow indicates an improvement in the score between 2013 and 2014 (and therefore an improvement in the overall business environment as measured by Doing Business), while the absence of one indicates either no improvement or a deterioration in the score. The score for both years is based on the new methodology. Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW 5 found in almost all regions. In 6 of the 7 regions the highest distance to frontier score is above 70. The difference between the best and worst scores in a region can be substantial, however, especially in East asia and the Pacific, the Middle east and North africa and Sub-saharan africa. WHO IMPROVED THE MOST IN 2013/14? Since 2004 the Doing Business report has captured more than 2, 400 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business. In the year from June 1, 2013, to June 1, 2014,123 economies implemented at least one reform in the areas measured by Doing Business 230 in total. More than 63%of these reforms reduced the complexity and cost of regulatory processes, while the others strengthened legal institutions. Twenty-one economies, including 6 in Sub-saharan africa and 6 in the OECD high-income group, implemented 3 or more reforms reducing burdensome bureaucracy or improving legal and regulatory frameworks. 4 Globally, more than 80%of the economies covered by Doing Business had an improvement in their distance to frontier score it is now easier to do business in most parts of the world. Sub-saharan africa, the region with the largest number of economies, accounted for the largest number of regulatory reforms in 2013/14, with 39 reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes and 36 strengthening legal institutions. As in previous years, however, Europe and Central asia had the largest share of economies implementing at least one regulatory reform, with some 85%doing so (figure 1. 4). Sub-saharan africa had the second largest share of economies implementing at least one reform and the second largest average improvement in distance to frontier scores. Latin America and the Caribbean and South Asia remain the 2 regions with the smallest share of economies implementing regulatory reforms as captured by Doing Business. Among the 21 economies with the most reforms making it easier to do business in 2013/14, 10 stand out as having improved the most in performance on the Doing Business indicators: Tajikistan, Benin, Togo, Côte d'ivoire, Senegal, Trinidad and tobago, the Democratic Republic of congo, Azerbaijan, Ireland and the United arab emirates (table 1. 2). Together, these 10 top improvers implemented 40 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business. Among these 10, only Côte d'ivoire featured among the 10 top improvers in last year's report. And only 4 place among the top 100 in the overall ease of doing business ranking; Ireland has the highest ranking, at 13. being recognized as top improvers does not mean that these economies have exemplary business regulations; instead, it shows that thanks to serious efforts in regulatory reform in the past year, they made the biggest advances toward the frontier in regulatory practice (figure 1. 5). Many of the 10 top improvers still face many challenges on their way to international best practices in business regulation, including high bureaucratic obstacles, political instability and weak financial institutions. Among the 10 top improvers, Tajikistan made the biggest advance toward the regulatory frontier in the past year, thanks to improvements in several areas. For example, starting a business in Tajikistan is now easier as a result of the implementation of new software at the one-stop shop and the elimination of one of the business registration procedures. A reduction of fees made FIGURE 1. 4 Europe and Central asia had both the largest share of economies making it easier to do business in 2013/14...0 20 40 60 80 100 0 0. 5 1. 0 1. 5 2. 0 South Asia Latin america & Caribbean Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific OECD high income Sub-saharan africa Europe & Central asia South Asia Latin america & Caribbean Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific OECD high income Sub-saharan africa Europe & Central asia Share of economies with at least one reform making it easier to do business(%)Average change in distance to frontier score between 2013 and 2014...and the biggest average improvement in distance to frontier scores 85 74 65 60 55 50 50 1. 56 1. 11 0. 77 0 . 74 0. 52 0. 39 0. 31 Source: Doing Business database. 6 DOING BUSINESS 2015 TABLE 1. 2 The 10 economies improving the most across 3 or more areas measured by Doing Business in 2013/14 Reforms making it easier to do business Ease of doing business rank Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Getting electricity Registering property Getting credit Protecting minority investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency Tajikistan 166 v v v v Benin 151 v v v v Togo 149 v v v v Côte d'ivoire 147 v v v v v Senegal 161 v v v v v v Trinidad and tobago 79 v v v Congo, Dem. Rep. 184 v v v v v Azerbaijan 80 v v v Ireland 13 v v v United arab emirates 22 v v v Note: Economies are selected on the basis of the number of their reforms and ranked on how much their distance to frontier score improved. First, Doing Business selects the economies that implemented reforms making it easier to do business in 3 or more of the 10 topics included in this year's aggregate distance to frontier score. Regulatory changes making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the number of those making it easier. Second, Doing Business ranks these economies on the improvement in their distance to frontier score from the previous year. The improvement in their score is calculated not by using the data published in 2013 but by using comparable data that capture data revisions and methodology changes. The choice of the most improved economies is determined by the largest improvements in the distance to frontier score among those with at least 3 reforms. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 1. 5 How far have moved economies toward the frontier in regulatory practice since 2013? Note: The distance to frontier score shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2005 or the third year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. The vertical bars show the change in the distance to frontier score from 2013 to 2014; for more details, see the note to table 1. 1. The 30 economies improving the most are highlighted in red. Source: Doing Business database. Distance to frontier score 0 25 50 75 100 Singapore New zealand Hong kong SAR, China Denmark Korea, Rep. Norway United states United kingdom Finland Australia Sweden Iceland Ireland Germany Georgia Canada Estonia Malaysia Taiwan, China Switzerland Austria United arab emirates Latvia Lithuania Portugal Thailand Netherlands Mauritius Japan Macedonia, FYR France Poland Spain Colombia Peru Montenegro Slovak Republic Bulgaria Mexico Israel Chile Belgium South africa Czech republic Armenia Rwanda Puerto rico (U s.)Romania Saudi arabia Qatar Slovenia Panama Bahrain Hungary Turkey Italy Belarus Jamaica Luxembourg Tunisia Greece Russian Federation Moldova Cyprus Croatia Oman Samoa Albania Tonga Ghana Morocco Mongolia Guatemala Botswana Kosovo Vanuatu Kazakhstan Vietnam Trinidad and tobago Azerbaijan Fiji Uruguay Costa rica Dominican republic Seychelles Kuwait Solomon islands Namibia Antigua and Barbuda China Serbia Paraguay San marino Regulatory frontier 2014 2013 OVERVIEW 7 dealing with construction permits less costly, and the introduction of an electronic system for filing and paying the corporate income tax, value added tax and labor taxes made paying taxes easier. Finally, the Credit Information Bureau of Tajikistan improved access to credit information by starting to provide credit scores in June 2013. Eight of the 10 top improvers carried out reforms making it easier to start a business, while 7 implemented reforms making it easier to get credit. Some of these changes were inspired by transnational initiatives. One such initiative was the revision by the Council of ministers of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA) of the Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest groups. The revised act authorizes each member state to adopt national legislation reducing its paid-in minimum capital requirement the amount of capital that entrepreneurs need to deposit in a bank account or with a notary before or within 3 months of incorporation. Benin, Côte d'ivoire, Senegal and Togo were all among the OHADA member economies that did so in 2013/14. Côte d'ivoire and Senegal also took measures within the framework of the West african Economic and Monetary Union. Both adopted the Uniform Law on the Regulation of Credit Information Bureaus ahead of other member states providing a legal framework to establish credit information bureaus. Reforms making it easier to get credit were undertaken also at the national level. In the United arab emirates the credit bureau Emcredit and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) began exchanging credit information in October 2013. As a result, the credit bureau can now identify customers with unpaid DEWA accounts beyond 90 days and the utility has access to the bureau's bounced check repository. Ireland improved its credit information system by passing a new act that provides for the establishment and operation of a credit registry. And in Trinidad and tobago a new insolvency law strengthened protections of secured creditors'rights in insolvency proceedings giving greater flexibility in enforcement actions. Six of the 10 top improvers reformed their property registration processes and 6 strengthened the rights of minority shareholders, with Côte d'ivoire, Senegal, Togo and the United Arab South Sudan Central african republic Libya Eritrea Malta Philippines Ukraine Bahamas, The Sri lanka St lucia Brunei Darussalam Kyrgyz Republic St vincent and the Grenadines Honduras Lebanon Barbados Bosnia and herzegovina Nepal El salvador Swaziland Zambia Egypt, Arab Rep. Palau Indonesia Ecuador Maldives Jordan Belize Nicaragua Brazil St kitts and nevis Cabo Verde Guyana Argentina Bhutan Grenada Mozambique Pakistan Lesotho Iran Islamic Rep. Tanzania Ethiopia Papua new guinea Kiribati Cambodia Kenya Yemen, Rep. Gambia, The Marshall islands Sierra leone Uzbekistan India West bank and Gaza Gabon Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Mali Côte d'ivoire Lao PDR Togo Uganda Benin Burundi São tomé and Príncipe Algeria Djibouti Iraq Bolivia Cameroon Comoros Sudan Senegal Suriname Madagascar Malawi Equatorial guinea Tajikistan Burkina faso Niger Guinea Nigeria Zimbabwe Timor-Leste Bangladesh Liberia Syrian Arab Republic Mauritania Myanmar Congo, Rep. Guinea-bissau Haiti Angola Venezuela, RB Afghanistan Congo, Dem. Rep. Chad Dominica. 8 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Emirates reforming in both these areas. These 4 economies strengthened minority investor protections by making it possible for shareholders to inspect documents pertaining to related-party transactions as well as to appoint auditors to conduct inspections Moreover, the United arab emirates introduced additional approval requirements for related-party transactions, greater requirements for disclosure of such transactions to the stock exchange and a requirement that interested directors be held liable if a related-party transaction is unfair or constitutes a conflict of interest. The United arab emirates also made it possible for shareholders to request the rescission of unfair relatedparty transactions. Highlights of reforms making it easier to register property include Azerbaijan's introduction of an online procedure for obtaining nonencumbrance certificates for property transfers. Senegal made property transfers easier by eliminating the requirement for authorization by the tax authority. Now applicants for a property transfer need only notify the tax authority before proceeding with the property transaction at the land registry Two of the 10 top improvers implemented reforms making it easier to trade across borders. Benin reduced the number of documents needed for customs clearance of imports. The technical standard or health certificate is required now no longer except for food imports. Côte d'ivoire simplified the process for producing the inspection report for imported cargo and lowered port and terminal handling charges at the port of Abidjan by introducing new customs and port management. Among the areas with the fewest reforms by the 10 top improvers are enforcing contracts, with 2, and resolving insolvency, with 1. Benin made enforcing contracts easier by creating a commercial section within its court of first instance. Trinidad and tobago made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a statutory mechanism for rehabilitation of insolvent companies as an alternative to previously available voluntary and court-ordered winding-up proceedings. For more detail on the reform patterns in the past year, see the chapter on reforming the business environment. WHAT DO THE NEW DATA SHOW ABOUT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CITIES? Subnational Doing Business reports have covered more than 300 cities in 55 economies in the nearly 10 years that they have been published. For the first time this year, the global Doing Business report also extends its coverage beyond the largest business city in each economy. For the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million, Doing Business now covers the second largest business city as well as the largest one. The data provide new insights into the variability of business regulation within economies. The sets of indicators showing limited variability across cities in the same economy tend to be those measuring the strength of legal institutions getting credit protecting minority investors, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency, which mainly draw from national laws with general applicability (figure 1. 6). Variability is more common for the sets of indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. But this variability is more likely to be in time and cost than in the number of procedures, suggesting that in most cases the law is the same across cities though its implementation may vary. In all 11 economies the data for getting credit both on the strength of legal rights and on the depth of credit information are the same for the 2 cities covered. This is easy to explain Credit information systems tend to operate at the national level, not at the city or state level. Collateral laws also tend to be national, and even in the United states, where these laws are under state jurisdiction, there is enough legal harmonization so that the 2 cities in the sample have the same score on the strength of legal rights index. In the area of protecting minority investors all 11 economies again show no difference between the 2 cities in the aggregate score. In the United states, however, there are differences in some of the data embedded in the indicators for Los angeles and New york city because company law is under state jurisdiction and there are measurable differences between the California and New york company law. In the area of resolving insolvency only 4 of the 11 economies have a difference between the 2 cities in the recovery rate and none have a difference in the strength of insolvency framework index. The pattern is different in the area of enforcing contracts. Only 4 of the 11 economies have a difference in the number of procedures to resolve a commercial dispute. In all 4 of these economies one of the pair of cities has specialized a commercial court (Rio de janeiro, Monterrey, Lagos and New york city) while the other does not (São paulo, Mexico city, Kano and Los angeles. But the time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute differ between the 2 cities in 7 of the 11 economies and the differences in time can be significant. In Nigeria, for example, resolving a commercial dispute takes 720 days in Kano but 447 days in Lagos. There is also more variation at the city level in the other indicators. For OVERVIEW 9 example, only 4 economies have the same tax system in both the 2 major business cities Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Nigeria. In all the other large economies the total tax rate differs between the 2 cities. In the area of starting a business the paid-in minimum capital requirement is the same in the 2 cities in all 11 economies and the number of procedures differs in only 4 economies. But the time and cost to start a business differ between the 2 cities in 8 economies. Only in Bangladesh and Pakistan is the process the same in the 2 cities. Similarly, the procedures to transfer a property between 2 firms differ in only 4 economies but the cost to do so differs in 9 economies. Only in Japan and Russia is the process the same in the 2 cities. In dealing with construction permits and getting electricity 10 economies show some degree of difference between the 2 cities, and in trading across borders all 11 economies do so. These are the areas of regulation measured by Doing Business where location matters the most. Building permits are issued commonly by municipalities. Similarly, electricity connections are provided often by local utilities. And the distance to the nearest port is an important factor in determining the time and cost to export and import, leading to differences even within the same economy. Labor market regulation can also vary across cities within an economy. In 6 of the 11 economies Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan and Russia the 2 cities in the sample have different minimum wage levels. This is mainly to account for differences in the cost of living. In all these cases except Brazil and India the largest business city has a higher minimum wage than the second largest one. In addition, in India the largest business city (Mumbai) has paid longer annual leave, with 21 days, than the second largest one (Delhi), with 15. Does city size matter for having business-friendly regulations? At first glance the data suggest that it does not. In 6 of the 11 economies the largest business city performs better on the Doing Business indicators overall than the second largest one, while in the other 5 the second largest business city has the higher score. And in the economies where the second largest business city has a substantially smaller population (at most 30%of the largest business city's population), the second city has more business-friendly regulations overall. This is the case for Kano, Monterrey and Surabaya. Among the 11 economies, the United states has the highest number of differences between the largest and second largest business cities: Los angeles and New york city differ in 9 of the 10 topics (while the 2 cities have the same overall score on the strength of minority investor protections, they have differences in the underlying indicators). Japan has the fewest: Osaka and Tokyo differ in only 4 topics starting a business, getting electricity, paying taxes and trading across borders. Overall, the differences between cities within the same economy are very small, as shown in figure 3. 2 in the chapter on what is changing in Doing Business. WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EFFICIENCY AND QUALITY? One of the big innovations in this year's report is the expansion of the data on the quality of regulation. Measuring aspects of the quality of regulation is not new for Doing Business; some indicator sets, such as getting credit and protecting minority investors, already included a focus on regulatory quality. But starting this year a systematic effort is being made to include measures of quality in most of the indicator sets. This year's report introduces a new measure of quality in the resolving insolvency indicator set and expands the measures of quality in the getting FIGURE 1. 6 Indicators measuring the strength of legal institutions show less difference between cities within economies than those measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes Note: The figure shows data for the 11 large economies for which Doing Business covers both the largest and the second largest business city. Source: Doing Business database. Distance to frontier score differs between largest and second largest business cities Distance to frontier score is the same for largest and second largest business cities Average difference in distance to frontier score (absolute value) Starting a business Dealing with construction permits Getting electricity Registering property Getting credit Protecting minority investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency 2. 99 6. 96 7. 53 4. 84 0. 00 0. 00 0. 34 4. 18 3 . 06 0. 55 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 9 10 10 9 7 8 4 11 10 DOING BUSINESS 2015 credit and protecting minority investors indicator sets. Next year's report will add measures of regulatory quality to the indicator sets for dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and enforcing contracts. The results so far suggest that efficiency and quality go hand in hand. For resolving insolvency the data show that there is a positive correlation between the recovery rate for creditors and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency (figure 1. 7). The recovery rate measures the cents on the dollar recouped by secured creditors through insolvency proceedings and is a measure of efficiency because time and cost are 2 important components. The strength of insolvency framework index measures how well insolvency laws accord with internationally recognized good practices and is therefore a proxy for quality. Very few economies have an insolvency system with both high efficiency a recovery rate of more than 50 cents on the dollar) and low quality (a score on the strength of insolvency framework index of less than 8 of the possible 16 points. But many economies have an insolvency system with low efficiency and high quality. These are economies that have designed well laws but face challenges in implementing them effectively. These results suggest that welldesigned laws are necessary but not sufficient to achieve efficiency in an insolvency system. The Federated States of Micronesia, for example, has a score of 11.5 on the strength of insolvency framework index, yet creditors in that country should expect to recover only 3. 3 cents for every dollar they have loaned to a firm that becomes insolvent. So an insolvency law of aboveaverage quality does not necessarily mean above-average recovery rates for creditors. On average though, economies with better-designed laws tend to have higher recovery rates. Preliminary data for a new indicator being developed to measure regulatory quality in registering property reinforce the idea that efficiency and quality go hand in hand: economies that offer a simple, fast and inexpensive process for transferring property are also likely to have a land administration system providing reliable land records (figure 1. 8). The new indicator under development measures the reliability, transparency and geographic coverage of land administration systems as well as elements of land dispute resolution. The indicator focuses on such aspects as whether the land registry and mapping system (cadastre) have adequate infrastructure to guarantee high standards of quality for the information recorded, whether information is easily accessible to the public and whether the land registry and cadastre cover the entire territory of the economy. Preliminary data show that virtually all economies that score well on the overall quality of land administration (with a distance to frontier score above 50 for the indicator) also score well on efficiency in transferring property (with an average distance to frontier score above 50 for the procedures, time and cost. But many economies have a property transfer process that is efficient yet lacks quality. Thus while these economies make the transfer of property simple, fast and inexpensive, the lack of quality in the land administration system is likely to undermine the value of the property title. In the Republic of Yemen, for example, a transfer of property between 2 firms takes 6 procedures and only 19 days and costs 1. 8%of the property value. But the land administration system keeps most of the land records on paper and does not assign a unique, searchable number to land parcels, making it difficult to provide reliable information. Efforts are ongoing for other Doing Business topics as well. Preliminary data for a new measure of judicial quality and court infrastructure show a clear positive link between efficiency and quality in the area of enforcing contracts. FIGURE 1. 7 Better insolvency laws, higher recovery rate Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Canada Cyprus 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 16 14 12 1086420 Venezuela, RB High quality , low efficiency Low quality, low efficiency High quality, high efficiency Low quality, high efficiency Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Note: The correlation between the strength of insolvency framework index and the recovery rate is 0. 59. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database. OVERVIEW 11 Economies that make resolving a commercial dispute simpler, faster and less expensive also tend to have a judicial system that follows well-established good practices such as having a specialized commercial court or division, having a small claims court, offering arbitration and voluntary mediation and making judgments in commercial cases available to the general public. Unlike for resolving insolvency and registering property, however, for enforcing contracts the economies are more evenly spread across the 4 quadrants of quality and efficiency (figure 1. 9). Singapore is among those that combine high efficiency and high quality. In that country resolving the standard commercial dispute in the Doing Business case study takes only 21 procedures and 150 days and costs 25.8%of the value of the claim. And not surprisingly, the judicial system follows several internationally recognized good practices, such as having a separate commercial court, providing arbitration, making judgments available to the public, using case management and allowing plaintiffs to file their initial complaint electronically. On the other hand, the judicial system in Mongolia, with no specialized commercial court or small claims court, can resolve the standard commercial dispute through 32 procedures in 374 days and at a cost of 30.6%of the claim value. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MORE BUSINESSFRIENDLY REGULATIONS? As earlier Doing Business reports have discussed, the benefits of businessfriendly regulations are established well in the economic literature. To name just a few: Reforms simplifying business registration lead to more firm creation. 5 Increasing trade openness has greater effects on growth where labor markets are more flexible. 6 FIGURE 1. 8 Better land administration system, faster property transfers 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Distance to frontier score for overall quality of land administration Distance to frontier score for registering property High quality, low efficiency Low quality, low efficiency Low quality, high efficiency Belgium Sweden Yemen, Rep. Afghanistan High quality, high efficiency Note: The figure compares the distance to frontier score for the existing registering property indicators with the distance to frontier score for the new indicator on the quality of land administration (to be published for the first time in Doing Business 2016. The data for the new indicator are obtained through a set of questions on reliability, transparency, coverage and dispute resolution. For example, an economy receives 1 point if it has a functional electronic database for encumbrances, 1 point if it makes the documents and fee schedules for property registration publicly available (online or on public boards), 1 point if it compiles statistics on land transactions and makes them publicly available, and so on. The correlation between the 2 distance to frontier scores is 0. 56. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 1. 9 Better courts, faster courts 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 Distance to frontier score for judicial quality index Distance to frontier score for enforcing contracts Singapore Belize Mongolia Angola High quality, low efficiency Low quality, low efficiency High quality, high efficiency Low quality, high efficiency Note: The figure compares the distance to frontier score for the existing enforcing contracts indicators with the distance to frontier score for the new index on judicial quality (to be published for the first time in Doing Business 2016. The index measures such aspects as whether the judicial system has specialized a commercial court or division, has a small claims court, offers voluntary mediation and arbitration and makes judgments in commercial cases available to the general public. The correlation between the 2 distance to frontier scores is 0. 41. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database. 12 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Cumbersome, poorly functioning business regulation undermines entrepreneurship and economic performance. 7 Introducing collateral registries and debt recovery tribunals leads to better-performing credit markets. 8 Reforms improving access to credit and the efficiency of property registration are correlated with product and process innovation by young firms. 9 In addition, with the time series of Doing Business data now available, it is possible to study how changes in regulations within an economy over time lead to changes in development outcomes in that economy. One study shows, for example, that an improvement of 10 points in the overall distance to frontier score is linked to an increase in new firm density (the number of new firms created in a year per 1, 000 adults) of around 0. 5 (figure 1. 10. And while small changes in the overall distance to frontier score may have a negligible link with growth, moving from the lowest quartile of improvement in business regulations to the highest quartile is associated with a significant increase in the annual per capita growth rate of around 0. 8 percentage points. 10 These results apply for different types of indicators but their intensity varies. For example, an increase of 10 points in the average distance to frontier score for the indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes is associated with an increase in new firm density of about 0. 2. The equivalent result for the indicators measuring the strength of legal institutions that support business regulation, such as commercial courts and credit bureaus, is 0. 4. These results suggest that combining good regulations across different areas is important for business entry and that piecemeal regulatory reforms may be less effective than a broad reform program. These results encourage further research to better understand the mechanisms behind the link between business regulations and firm creation and potentially economic growth. Firm-level data can provide some insights into these mechanisms. The analysis combined data from World bank Enterprise Surveys for more than 40,000 observations (across firms and years) with Doing Business data to test how business regulations affect the performance of firms of different size classes. The analysis used distance to frontier scores to measure business regulations in the areas covered by Doing Business and growth in sales and employment to measure firm performance. The results show that improvements in the distance to frontier score have greater effects on sales and employment growth for small firms than for large ones. 11 These results indicate that sound business regulations in the areas measured by Doing Business benefit small firms more than large ones. This is in line with earlier research findings. One study found that a heavy regulatory burden measured by the share of management time spent dealing with regulations or inspections can stunt the growth of small firms. 12 Another found that in general there is a significant relationship between entrepreneurial activity and indicators of the quality of the legal and regulatory environment and governance. 13 The finding that good business regulations in areas such as those measured by Doing Business benefit small firms more than large ones is an important one since small firms account for the largest shares of job creation and the highest growth in sales and employment in developing economies. 14 HOW HAVE CHANGED BUSINESS REGULATIONS OVER THE PAST DECADE? Among the more encouraging trends shown by Doing Business data over the past decade is the gradual improvement in economies'performance in the areas tracked by the indicators. Moreover, economies with the weakest regulatory institutions and the most complex and costly regulatory processes tend to focus on the areas where their regulatory performance is worse, slowly but steadily beginning to adopt some of the better practices seen among the best performers. FIGURE 1. 10 Combined regulatory reforms are likely to have greater effects on new business registration than isolated ones 0 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. 5 Overall distance to frontier score Distance to frontier score for indicators measuring the strength of legal institutions Distance to frontier score for indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes Increase in new firm density associated with 10-point increase in distance to frontier score Note: New firm density is defined as the number of newly registered limited liability companies per 1, 000 working-age people (ages 15 64. Indicators measuring the strength of legal institutions are those on getting credit, protecting minority investors, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes are those on starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes and trading across borders. The analysis uses data from 2003 13 for all economies covered by Doing Business. Source: Divanbeigi and Ramalho 2014. OVERVIEW 13 FIGURE 1. 11 Strong convergence across economies since 2005 Averages by group Cost to start a business(%of income per capita) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Cost to register property(%of property value) 02468 10 12 14 16 18 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to import (days) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to export (days) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to register property (days) 0 50 100 150 200 250 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to deal with construction permits (days) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to pay taxes (hours per year) 0 200 400 600 800 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Time to start a business (days) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Worst quartile Worst quartile Worst quartile Best 3 quartiles Best 3 quartiles Worst quartile Worst quartile Best 3 quartiles Best 3 quartiles Worst quartile Best 3 quartiles Worst quartile Best 3 quartiles Worst quartile Best 3 quartiles Best 3 quartiles Note: Economies are ranked in quartiles by performance in 2005 on the indicator shown. The data refer to the 174 economies included in Doing Business 2006 (2005. Fifteen economies were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. 14 DOING BUSINESS 2015 This process is leading to a convergence toward best practices. Here is an example: In 2005 the time to transfer property averaged 235 days among the economies ranking in the worst quartile on this indicator. Among the best 3 quartiles it averaged 42 days. Today that gap is substantially narrower. While the difference is still substantial at 62 days, it is considerably smaller than the 193 days in 2005 (figure 1. 11). Similar trends can be seen in other indicators measuring the complexity and cost of regulatory processes. WHAT IS IN THIS YEAR'S REPORT? This year's report presents several case studies focusing on legal and regulatory features covered by new or expanded indicators being introduced this year or next year. One case study, on protecting minority investors, discusses the importance of corporate governance rules that are now being measured. Another discusses the importance of a strong legal framework for insolvency, also among the features being measured by new indicators while a third examines the new components of the getting credit indicators. A fourth case study analyzes good practices in land administration systems that will be measured in Doing Business 2016. These case studies provide new insights from the newly collected data. The case study on resolving insolvency shows for example, that OECD high-income economies have the highest average score on the strength of insolvency framework index. And economies that have reformed their insolvency laws in the past several years score substantially higher on this index than economies with outdated insolvency provisions. This is important, because economies with better insolvency laws as measured by Doing Business tend to have more credit available to the private sector. Other case studies in this year's report focus on good practices in the areas of business regulation covered. A case study on starting a business analyzes good practices in operating a company registry and the benefits of those practices. This case study discusses how company registries empower businesses to operate in the formal economy allowing them to reap the benefits that come with formalization, and how online platforms for company incorporation make the process faster and cheaper. A case study on zoning regulations looks at good practices that can increase efficiency in construction permitting. Another case study analyzes the time series of data on paying taxes with an emphasis on patterns before, during and after the global financial crisis. This case study shows that over the 9-year period ending in 2012, the global average total tax rate as measured by Doing Business fell by 9. 1 percentage points, with the fastest rate of decline occurring in the years immediately following the crisis. The reduction was accompanied by a tangible improvement in the quality of tax administration in many economies thanks to their adoption of the latest technologies to facilitate online filing and payment. The report also presents a case study on enforcing contracts that analyzes new data on freedom of contract. These new data will not be included in the enforcing contracts indicators; they were collected solely for research, with the aim of better understanding the link between contract enforcement and freedom of contract. Finally, this year's report presents a summary of some of the research presented at the Doing Business research conference that took place in February 2014. This research used Doing Business data or studied areas relevant to the Doing Business indicators. Doing Business will continue to monitor progress in business regulation in economies around the world with the aim of keeping governments informed about good practices and enabling researchers to further our knowledge of how laws and regulations affect development. NOTES 1. For information on the Independent Panel on Doing Business see its website at http://www. dbrpanel. org/./2. The distance to frontier score shows how far on average an economy is at a point in time from the best performance achieved by any economy on each Doing Business indicator since 2005 or the third year in which data for the indicator were collected. The measure is normalized to range between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the frontier. 3. The correlation between the distance to frontier score and the IDA Resource Allocation Index is 0. 73. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. 4. Regulatory changes making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the number of those making it easier. 5. Branstetter and others 2013; Bruhn 2011; Kaplan, Piedra and Seira 2011; Monteiro and Assunção 2012.6. Chang, Kaltani and Loayza 2009.7. Dreher and Gassebner 2013.8. Love, Martínez Pería and Singh 2013.9. Dutz 2014.10. Divanbeigi and Ramalho 2014.11. These results take into account differences in performance due to country-level timeinvariant characteristics and firms'sector, age and export status. The regression method used counts every firm equally even if the number of firms varies across countries. 12. Aterido, Hallward-Driemeier and Pages 2009.13. Klapper and others 2010.14. Ayyagari, Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic 2014. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency About Doing Business Economic activity requires sensible rules that encourage firm start-up and growth and avoid creating distortions in the marketplace. Doing Business measures the rules and regulations that can help the private sector thrive because without a dynamic private sector, no economy can provide a good, and sustainable, standard of living for people. Doing Business promotes rules that establish and clarify property rights, minimize the cost of resolving disputes, increase the predictability of economic interactions and provide contractual partners with core protections against abuse. The Doing Business data highlight the important role of the government and government policies in the day-to-day life of domestic small and medium-size firms. The objective is to encourage regulations that are designed to be efficient, accessible to all who use them and simple in their implementation. Where regulation is burdensome and competition limited success tends to depend on whom one knows. But where regulation is efficient, transparent and implemented in a simple way, it becomes easier for aspiring entrepreneurs to compete on an equal footing and to innovate and expand. In this sense Doing Business values good rules as a key to social inclusion. Enabling growth and ensuring that all people, regardless of income level, can participate in its benefits requires an environment where new entrants with drive and good ideas can get started in business and where good firms can invest and grow, thereby creating more jobs. Doing Business was designed with 2 main types of users in mind: policy makers and researchers. 1 Doing Business is a tool that governments can use to design sound policies for the creation of firms and jobs. But this tool should not be used in isolation. Doing Business provides a rich opportunity for benchmarking by capturing key dimensions of regulatory regimes. Nevertheless, the Doing Business data are limited in scope and should be complemented with other sources of information. Doing Business is also an important source of information for researchers. It provides a unique data set that enables analysis aimed at better understanding the role of business regulation in economic development. This year's report discusses the results of some of this work in the chapter on highlights from the Doing Business research conference. Doing Business 2014 presented a detailed summary of recent research on the effects of business regulation in the areas measured by Doing Business. WHAT DOES DOING BUSINESS MEASURE? Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative measures of regulations for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, Doing Business measures business regulations that affect domestic small and medium-size firms in 11 areas across 189 economies. Ten of these areas starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency are included in the distance to frontier score and ease of doing business ranking. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation which is included not in these 2 measures. Doing Business does not capture other aspects of the business environment, such as security, market size, macroeconomic stability and the prevalence of bribery and corruption. The Doing Business methodology is standardized based on case scenarios in the largest business city of each economy. In addition, for 11 economies a second city has been added this year. Doing Business relies on 4 main sources of information: the relevant laws and regulations, Doing Business respondents, the governments of the economies covered and the World bank Group regional staff. Governments use Doing Business as a source of objective data providing unique insights into good practices worldwide. Many Doing Business indicators are actionable though depending on the context, they may not always be action-worthy. 16 DOING BUSINESS 2015 getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures labor market regulation. This year's report does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. It does present the data for these indicators. Doing Business provides 2 main types of indicators: those that broadly measure the complexity and cost of regulatory processes and those that measure the strength of legal institutions (table 2. 1). Indicators of the first type promote efficiency in transactions handled by the government, such as in the process to register a transfer of property. A simpler and less costly process results in better performance on the indicators and, if all else is constant, a more favorable ranking on the ease of doing business. These indicators are being expanded to also include components on the quality of regulation. Indicators of the second type reflect better institutions for private sector development such as well-functioning courts and credit information systems. Accordingly, some of these indicators give a higher score for better and more developed regulation, as the protecting minority investors indicators do for stricter disclosure requirements for related-party transactions. Three sets of these indicators getting credit, protecting minority investors and resolving insolvency have been expanded for this year's report to further focus on the strength of legal institutions (for details on the expansion of the scope of indicator sets, see the chapter on what is changing in Doing Business). How the indicators are selected The choice of the 11 sets of Doing Business indicators has been guided by economic research and firm-level data, particularly data from the World bank Enterprise Surveys. 2 These surveys provide data highlighting the main obstacles to business activity as reported by entrepreneurs in more than 120 economies. For example, among the factors that the surveys have identified as important to businesses have been access to finance and access to electricity inspiring the design of the Doing Business indicators on getting credit and getting electricity. The design of the Doing Business indicators has also been informed by theoretical insights gleaned from extensive research and the literature on the role of institutions in enabling economic development. In addition the background papers developing the methodology for each of the Doing Business indicator sets have established the importance of the rules and regulations that Doing Business measures for such economic outcomes as trade volumes, foreign direct investment, market capitalization in stock exchanges and private credit as a percentage of GDP. 3 Two aggregate measures Doing Business presents data both for individual indicators and for 2 aggregate measures the distance to frontier score and the ease of doing business ranking to provide different perspectives on the data. The distance to frontier score aids in assessing the absolute level of regulatory performance and how it improves over time. This measure shows the distance of each economy to the frontier which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005 or the third year in which data for the indicator were collected. This allows users both to see the gap between a particular economy's performance and the best performance at any point in time and to assess the absolute change in the economy's regulatory environment over time as measured by Doing Business. This year, for the first time, the ease of doing business ranking is based on the distance to frontier score. The ranking complements the distance to frontier score by providing information about an economy's performance in business TABLE 2. 1 What Doing Business measures 11 areas of business regulation Complexity and cost of regulatory processes Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations Trading across borders Documents, time and cost to export and import by seaport Strength of legal institutions Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders'rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Enforcing contracts Procedures, time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the insolvency legal framework Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation, benefits for workers and labor dispute resolution ABOUT DOING BUSINESS 17 regulation relative to the performance of other economies as measured by Doing Business. For each topic covered and for all topics, Doing Business uses a simple averaging approach for weighting component indicators, calculating rankings and determining the distance to frontier score. 4 To test the robustness of this approach, other approaches were explored, including using principal components and unobserved components. 5 These turn out to yield results nearly identical to those of simple averaging. In the absence of a strong theoretical framework that assigns different weights to the topics covered for the 189 economies, the simplest method is used: weighting all topics equally and, within each topic, giving equal weight to each of the topic components. 6 Each topic covered by Doing Business relates to a different aspect of the regulatory environment. The distance to frontier scores and rankings of each economy vary, often substantially, across topics, indicating that strong performance by an economy in one area of regulation can coexist with weak performance in another. A quick way to assess the variability of an economy's regulatory performance is to look at its distance to frontier scores across topics (see the country tables. Croatia, for example, has an overall distance to frontier score of 66.53. Its distance to frontier score is 85.43 for starting a business, 82.92 for paying taxes and 80.05 for getting electricity. At the same time, it has a score of 44.97 for dealing with construction permits, 55.00 for getting credit and 53.92 for resolving insolvency (figure 2. 1) . WHAT DOES DOING BUSINESS NOT MEASURE? Doing Business does not cover many important policy areas, and even within the areas it covers its scope is narrow (table 2. 2). Doing Business does not measure the full range of factors, policies and institutions that affect the quality of an economy's business environment or its national competitiveness. It does not, for example, capture aspects of security, the prevalence of bribery and corruption, market size, macroeconomic stability, the state of the financial system or the level of training and skills of the labor force. Even within the relatively small set of indicators included in Doing Business the focus is deliberately narrow. The trading across borders indicators, for example, capture the documents, time and cost required for the logistical process of exporting and importing FIGURE 2. 1 An economy's regulatory environment may be more business-friendly in some areas than in others Hong kong SAR, China United states Singapore Korea, Rep. Finland Sweden Ireland Georgia Estonia Taiwan, China Austria Latvia Portugal Netherlands Japan France Spain Peru Slovak Republic Mexico Chile South africa Armenia Puerto rico (U s .)Saudi arabia Slovenia Bahrain Turkey Belarus Luxembourg Greece Moldova Croatia Samoa Tonga Morocco Guatemala Kosovo Kazakhstan Trinidad and tobago Fiji Costa rica Seychelles Solomon islands Antigua and barbuda Serbia San marino Philippines Bahamas, The Sri lanka Brunei Darussalam St vincent and the Grenadines Honduras Bosnia and herzegovina El salvador Zambia Palau Ecuador Jordan Nicaragua St kitts and nevis Guyana Bhutan Mozambique Lesotho Tanzania Papua new guinea Cambodia Yemen, Rep. Marshall islands Uzbekistan West bank and Gaza Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Côte d'ivoire Togo Benin São tomé and Príncipe Djibouti Bolivia Comoros Senegal Madagascar Equatorial guinea Burkina faso Guinea Zimbabwe Bangladesh Syrian Arab Republic Myanmar Guinea-bissau Angola Afghanistan Chad Central african republic Eritrea Distance to frontier score 0 20 10 50 70 100 90 80 60 40 30 Average of highest 3 topic scores Average of all topic scores Average of lowest 3 topic scores Note: The distance to frontier scores reflected are those for the 10 Doing Business topics included in this year's aggregate distance to frontier score. Figure is illustrative only; it does not include all 189 economies covered by this year's report. See the country tables for the distance to frontier score for each Doing Business topic for all economies. Source: Doing Business database. TABLE 2. 2 What Doing Business does not cover Examples of areas not covered Security Prevalence of bribery and corruption Market size Macroeconomic stability State of the financial system Level of training and skills of the labor force Examples of aspects not included within the areas covered In getting electricity, the reliability of electricity supply In getting credit, the availability of credit for firms In trading across borders, export or import tariffs and subsidies 18 DOING BUSINESS 2015 containerized goods by seaport, but they do not measure the cost of the sea transport or of tariffs or capture any aspects relating to international trade agreements. Thus through these indicators Doing Business provides a narrow perspective on the infrastructure challenges that firms face particularly in the developing world. It does not address the extent to which inadequate roads, rail, ports and communications may add to firms'costs and undermine competitiveness (except to the extent that the trading across borders indicators indirectly measure the quality of ports and roads). Similarly, the indicators on starting a business or protecting minority investors do not cover all aspects of commercial legislation. And the getting electricity indicators do not currently address the quality of the electricity supply or the rate of electrification. Doing Business does not attempt to measure all costs and benefits of a particular law or regulation to society as a whole. For example, the paying taxes indicators measure the total tax rate, which, in isolation, is a cost to businesses. The indicators do not measure, nor are intended they to measure, the benefits of the social and economic programs funded through tax revenues. Measuring business laws and regulations provides one input into the debate on the regulatory burden associated with achieving regulatory objectives. These objectives can differ across economies. Doing Business provides a starting point for this discussion and should be used in conjunction with other data sources. WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODOLOGY? The Doing Business methodology was designed to be an easily replicable way to benchmark business regulation. It has advantages and limitations that should be understood when using the data (table 2. 3). A key consideration for the Doing Business indicators is that they should ensure comparability of the data across a global set of economies. The indicators are developed therefore around standardized case scenarios with specific assumptions. One such assumption is the location of a notional business the subject of the Doing Business case study in the largest business city of the economy. The reality is that business regulations and their enforcement may differ within a country, particularly in federal states and large economies. But gathering data for every relevant jurisdiction in each of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business would be infeasible. In addition, while variation is inevitable across different locations, the variation is unlikely to deliver significantly different results commensurate with the scale of the effort. Nevertheless, where policy makers are interested in generating data at the local level, beyond the largest business city, Doing Business has complemented its global indicators with subnational studies (box 2. 1). And this year, for the first time, Doing Business has extended its coverage to the second largest business city in economies with a population of more than 100 million. Doing Business recognizes the limitations of the standardized case scenarios and assumptions. But while such assumptions come at the expense of generality, they also help ensure the comparability of data. For this reason it is common to see limiting assumptions of this kind in economic indicators. Inflation statistics, for example, are often based on prices of a set of consumer goods in a few urban areas, since collecting nationally representative price data at high frequencies would be prohibitively costly in many countries. GDP estimates are also subject to a number of limiting assumptions, which have not prevented their widespread use. Some Doing Business topics include complex areas, and so it is important that the standardized cases are defined carefully. For example the standardized case scenario usually involves a limited liability company or its legal equivalent. The considerations TABLE 2. 3 Advantages and limitations of the Doing Business methodology Feature Advantages Limitations Use of standardized case scenarios Makes the data comparable across economies and the methodology transparent Reduces the scope of the data and means that only regulatory reforms in the areas measured can be tracked systematically Focus on largest business citya Makes the data collection manageable (cost-effective) and the data comparable Reduces the representativeness of the data for an economy if there are significant differences across locations Focus on domestic and formal sector Keeps the attention on where regulations are relevant and firms are most productive the formal sector Fails to reflect reality for the informal sector important where that is large or for foreign firms where they face a different set of constraints Reliance on expert respondents Ensures that the data reflect the knowledge of those with the most experience in conducting the types of transactions measured Results in indicators that do not measure the variation in experiences among entrepreneurs Focus on the law Makes the indicators actionable because the law is what policy makers can change Fails to reflect the reality that where systematic compliance with the law is lacking, regulatory changes may not achieve the full desired results a. In economies with a population of more than 100 million, Doing Business covers business regulation in both the largest business city and the second largest one. ABOUT DOING BUSINESS 19 BOX 2. 1 Comparing regulations at the local level: subnational Doing Business studies The subnational Doing Business studies expand the Doing Business analysis beyond the largest business city of an economy. They measure variation in regulations or in the implementation of national laws across locations within an economy (as in Nigeria) or a region (as in Central america. Projects are undertaken at the request of governments. Data collected by subnational reports over the past 2 years show that there can be substantial variation within an economy. In Mexico in 2013, for example, transferring property took as few as 2 days in Colima and as many as 74 in Mexico city. Indeed, within the same economy one can find cities that perform as well as economies ranking in the top 20 on the ease of registering property and cities that perform as poorly as economies ranking in the bottom 40 on that indicator (see figure). Despite these large differences across cities of varied sizes, the differences between the largest and the second largest business cities in an economy tend to be discussed small, as in the overview. Different locations, different regulatory processes, same economy The subnational Doing Business studies create disaggregated data on business regulations. But they go beyond a data collection exercise. They have proved to be strong motivators for regulatory reform at the city level: The data produced are comparable across locations within the economy and internationally, enabling locations to benchmark their results both locally and globally. Comparisons of locations that are within the same economy and therefore share the same legal and regulatory framework can be revealing: local officials find it hard to explain why doing business is more difficult in their jurisdiction than in a neighboring one. Pointing out good practices that exist in some locations but not others within an economy helps policy makers recognize the potential for replicating these good practices. This can prompt discussions of regulatory reform across different levels of government, providing opportunities for local governments and agencies to learn from one another and resulting in local ownership and capacity building. Since 2005 subnational reports have covered 367 cities in 55 economies, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan. This year subnational studies were completed in the Arab republic of egypt Mexico and Nigeria. Ongoing studies include those in Central america and the Dominican republic (covering 22 cities and 10 ports across 7 countries), Poland (18 cities), South africa (9 cities and 4 ports) and Spain (19 cities and 5 ports. Subnational reports are available on the Doing Business website at http://www. doingbusiness. org/subnational. Nigeria, 2014 Colombia, 2012 Egypt, Arab Rep.,2013 Italy, 2012 Mexico, 2013 43.76 48.96 59.94 53.51 35.61 32.95 47.11 41.15 89.60 64.86 53.04 49.89 43.17 29.14 Worst score Best score Average score 90th percentile (88.16) Distance to frontier score for registering property (0 100) 10th percentile (42.27) 57.64 Note: The average score shown for each economy is based on all locations covered by the data: 36 cities in Nigeria, 23 cities in Colombia, 15 locations and governorates in the Arab republic of egypt, 13 cities in Italy and 31 states and Mexico city in Mexico. The worst score shown for each economy is that of the location with the most complex process for transferring property, and the best score that of the location with the most efficient one. The 10th and 90th percentile values are based on economy-level scores for the 189 economies covered by Doing Business. Source: Subnational Doing Business database. 20 DOING BUSINESS 2015 in defining this assumption are twofold. First, private limited liability companies are, empirically, the most prevalent business form for firms with more than one owner in many economies around the world. Second, this choice reflects the focus of Doing Business on expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship: investors are encouraged to venture into business when potential losses are limited to their capital participation. Another assumption underlying the Doing Business indicators is that entrepreneurs have knowledge of and comply with applicable regulations. In practice, entrepreneurs may not know what needs to be done or how to comply and may lose considerable time trying to find out. Alternatively, they may deliberately avoid compliance altogether by not registering for social security, for example. Where regulation is particularly onerous, firms may opt for bribery and other informal arrangements intended to bypass the rules an aspect that helps explain differences between the de jure data provided by Doing Business and the de facto insights offered by World bank Enterprise Surveys. In economies with particularly burdensome regulation, levels of informality tend to be higher. Compared with their formal sector counterparts, firms in the informal sector typically grow more slowly, have poorer access to credit and employ fewer workers and these workers remain outside the protections of labor law. 7 Firms in the informal sector are also less likely to pay taxes. Doing Business measures one set of factors that help explain the occurrence of informality and give policy makers insights into potential areas of regulatory reform. Rules and regulations fall under the direct control of policy makers and they are often where policy makers start when intending to change the set of incentives under which businesses operate. Doing Business not only shows where problems exist in the regulatory framework; it also points to specific regulations or regulatory procedures that may lend themselves to reform. And its quantitative measures of business regulations enable research on how specific regulations affect firm behavior and economic outcomes. HOW ARE COLLECTED THE DATA? The Doing Business data are based on domestic laws and regulations as well as administrative requirements. The data cover 189 economies including small economies and some of the poorest economies, for which little or no data are available in other data sets. The data are collected through several rounds of interaction with expert respondents (both private sector practitioners and government officials) through responses to questionnaires, conference calls, written correspondence and visits by the team. Doing Business relies on 4 main sources of information: the relevant laws and regulations, Doing Business respondents, the governments of the economies covered and the World bank Group regional staff (figure 2. 2). For a detailed explanation of the Doing Business methodology, see the data notes. Relevant laws and regulations Most of the Doing Business indicators are based on laws and regulations. Indeed, more than two-thirds of the data embedded in the Doing Business indicators are based on a reading of the law. Besides filling out written questionnaires, Doing Business respondents provide references to the relevant laws, regulations and fee schedules. The Doing Business team collects the texts of the relevant laws and regulations and checks questionnaire responses for accuracy. For example the team will examine the commercial code to confirm the paid-in minimum capital requirement, look at the legislation to see whether borrowers have the right to access their data at the credit bureau and read the tax code to find applicable tax rates. Doing Business makes these and other types of laws available on the Doing Business law library website.)8 Because of the data checking and quality assurance, having large samples of respondents is not necessary. In principle, the role of the contributors is largely advisory helping the Doing Business team in finding and understanding the FIGURE 2. 2 How Doing Business collects and verifies the data Data sources: The relevant laws and regulations Responses to questionnaires by private sector practitioners and government officials Governments World bank Group regional staff Steps included in the data verification process: Conference calls and videoconferences with private sector practitioners and government officials Travel to selected economies The Doing Business team develops questionnaires for each topic and sends them to private sector practitioners and government officials. The Doing Business team analyzes the relevant laws and regulations along with the information in the questionnaires. Governments and World bank Group regional teams submit information on regulatory changes that could potentially be included in the global count of regulatory reforms. The Doing Business team shares preliminary information on reforms with governments (through the World bank Group's Board of Executive directors) and World bank Group regional teams for their feedback. The Doing Business team analyzes the data and writes the report. Comments on the report and the data are received from across the World bank Group through an internal review process. The report is published and disseminated. ABOUT DOING BUSINESS 21 laws and regulations and there are quickly diminishing returns to an expanded number of contributors. For the rest of the data the team conducts extensive consultations with multiple contributors to minimize measurement error. For some indicators for example, those on dealing with construction permits, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency the time component and part of the cost component (where fee schedules are lacking) are based on actual practice rather than the law on the books. This introduces a degree of judgment. When sources indicate different estimates the time indicators reported in Doing Business represent the median values of several responses given under the assumptions of the standardized case. Doing Business respondents Over the past 12 years more than 30,000 professionals in 189 economies have assisted in providing the data that inform the Doing Business indicators. 9 This year's report draws on the inputs of more than 10,700 professionals. 10 Table 14.2 in the data notes lists the number of respondents for each indicator set. The Doing Business website shows the number of respondents for each economy and each indicator set. Respondents are professionals who routinely administer or advise on the legal and regulatory requirements in the specific areas covered by Doing Business, selected on the basis of their expertise in these areas. Because of the focus on legal and regulatory arrangements, most of the respondents are legal professionals such as lawyers, judges or notaries. In addition, officials of the credit registry or bureau complete the credit information questionnaire. Freight forwarders, accountants, architects, engineers and other professionals answer the questionnaires related to trading across borders, paying taxes and dealing with construction permits. Certain public officials (such as registrars from the company or property registry) also provide information that is incorporated into the indicators. The Doing Business approach has been to work with legal practitioners or professionals who regularly undertake the transactions involved. Following the standard methodological approach for time-and-motion studies Doing Business breaks down each process or transaction, such as starting a business or registering a building, into separate steps to ensure a better estimate of time. The time estimate for each step is given by practitioners with significant and routine experience in the transaction. When time estimates differ, further interactions with respondents are pursued to converge on one estimate or a narrow range that reflects the majority of applicable cases. Doing Business does not survey firms for 2 main reasons. The first relates to the frequency with which firms engage in the transactions captured by the indicators, which is generally low. For example, a firm goes through the start-up process once in its existence, while an incorporation lawyer may carry out 10 such transactions each month. The incorporation lawyers and other experts providing information to Doing Business are therefore better able to assess the process of starting a business than are individual firms. They also have access to the latest regulations and practices, while a firm may have faced a different set of rules when incorporating years before. The second reason is that the Doing Business questionnaires mostly gather legal information, which firms are unlikely to be fully familiar with. For example few firms will know about all the many legal procedures involved in resolving a commercial dispute through the courts, even if some of them have gone through the process themselves. But a litigation lawyer would have no difficulty in providing the requested information on all the procedures. Governments and World bank Group regional staff After receiving the completed questionnaires from the Doing Business respondents, verifying the information against the law and conducting follow-up inquiries to ensure that all relevant information is captured, the Doing Business team shares the preliminary reform descriptions with governments through the Board of Executive directors and regional staff of the World bank Group. Through this process government authorities and local World bank Group staff in the 189 economies covered can alert the team about, for example, regulatory reforms not picked up by the respondents or additional achievements of regulatory reforms already captured in the database. In response to such feedback, the Doing Business team turns to the local private sector experts for further consultation and, as needed, corroboration. In addition, the team responds formally to the comments of governments or regional staff and provides explanations of the scoring decisions. Data adjustments Information on data corrections is provided in the data notes and on the Doing Business website. A transparent complaint procedure allows anyone to challenge the data. From November 2013 to October 2014 the team received and responded to more than 160 queries on the data. If changes in data are confirmed they are reflected immediately on the website. HOW DO GOVERNMENTS USE THE DATA? Over the past decade governments have focused increasingly on reforming business regulation as one way of maintaining competitiveness in an increasingly globalized economy. Doing Business provides one source of actionable, objective data that give useful insights into good practices worldwide. Indeed, since 2003 governments have implemented more 22 DOING BUSINESS 2015 than 600 regulatory reforms that have been informed by Doing Business. 11 One venue for sharing success stories in business regulation reform is peerto-peer learning events workshops where officials from different governments across a region or even across the globe meet to discuss the challenges of regulatory reform and to share their experiences (figure 2. 3). In addition, reform committees within governments frequently use the Doing Business indicators as one input to inform their programs for improving the business environment. More than 50 economies have formed such committees typically at the interministerial level or reporting directly to the president or the prime minister to ensure the coordination of efforts across agencies. In East and South Asia they include Indonesia, the Republic of korea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri lanka. In the middle East and North africa: Algeria, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi arabia and the United arab emirates. In Europe and Central asia: Azerbaijan, Croatia, the Czech republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, the Kyrgyz Republic, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Ukraine, the United kingdom and Uzbekistan. In Sub-saharan africa: Botswana, Burundi, the Central african republic, the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of congo, the Republic of congo, Côte d'ivoire, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra leone, Togo and Zambia. And in Latin america: Chile, Colombia, Costa rica, the Dominican republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru. One reason behind the use of Doing Business indicators by governments is that many of these indicators can be considered actionable, measuring aspects over which governments have direct control. For example, governments can reduce (or even eliminate) the minimum capital requirement for new firms. They can invest in company and property registries to increase the efficiency of these public agencies. They can improve the efficiency of tax administration by adopting the latest technologies to facilitate the preparation, filing and payment of taxes by businesses. And they can undertake court reforms to shorten delays in the enforcement of contracts. On the other hand some Doing Business indicators capture costs that involve private sector participants, such as lawyers, notaries, architects, electricians or freight forwarders costs over which governments may have little influence in the short run. While many Doing Business indicators are actionable, this does not necessarily mean that they are always action-worthy in a particular context. 12 Business regulation reforms are one element of a strategy aimed at improving competitiveness and establishing a solid foundation for sustainable economic growth. There are many other important goals to pursue such as effective management of public finances, adequate attention to education and training adoption of the latest technologies to boost economic productivity and the quality of public services, and appropriate regard for air and water quality to safeguard people's health. Governments have to decide what set of priorities best fits the needs they face. To say that governments should work toward a sensible set of rules for private sector activity does not suggest that doing so should come at the expense of other worthy economic and social goals. NOTES 1. The focus of the Doing Business indicators remains the regulatory regime faced by domestic firms engaging in economic activity in the largest business city of an economy. Doing Business was designed not initially to inform decisions by foreign investors though investors may in practice find the data useful as a proxy for the quality of the national investment climate. Analysis done in the World bank Group's Global Indicators Group has shown that countries that have sensible rules for domestic economic activity also tend to FIGURE 2. 3 How governments use Doing Business as a policy tool Reform committees use Doing Business indicators to help inform programs to improve the business environment. Successful business regulation reforms improvements as part of broader reform programs. Governments learn from one another about good practices in the areas measured by Doing Business. Governments use Doing Business as a tool to stimulate regulatory ABOUT DOING BUSINESS 23 have good rules for the activities of foreign subsidiaries engaged in the local economy. 2. For more on the World bank Enterprise Surveys, see the website at http://www. enterprisesurveys. org. 3. These papers are available on the Doing Business website at http://www. doingbusiness. org/methodology. 4. For getting credit, indicators are weighted proportionally, according to their contribution to the total score, with a weight of 60%assigned to the strength of legal rights index and 40%to the depth of credit information index. In this way each point included in these indices has the same value independent of the component it belongs to. Indicators for all other topics are assigned equal weights. 5. A technical note on the different aggregation and weighting methods is available on the Doing Business website at http://www. doingbusiness. org/methodology. 6. For more details, see the chapter on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking. 7. Schneider 2005; La Porta and Shleifer 2008.8. http://www. doingbusiness. org/law-library. 9. The annual data collection exercise is an update of the database. The Doing Business team and the contributors examine the extent to which the regulatory framework has changed in ways relevant for the features captured by the indicators. The data collection process should therefore be seen as adding each year to an existing stock of knowledge reflected in the previous year's report, not as creating an entirely new data set. 10. While about 10,700 contributors provided data for this year's report many of them completed a questionnaire for more than one Doing Business indicator set. Indeed, the total number of contributions received for this year's report is more than 13,500, which represents a true measure of the inputs received. The average number of contributions per indicator set and economy is just over 6. For more details, see http://www. doingbusiness. org/contributors/doing-business. 11. These are reforms for which Doing Business is aware that information provided by the Doing Business report was used in shaping the reform agenda. 12. One study using Doing Business indicators illustrates the difficulties in using highly disaggregated indicators to identify reform priorities (Kraay and Tawara 2011. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency What is changing in Doing Business? Good practices in business regulation have evolved since the Doing Business indicators were developed first in 2003. Some changes have come, for example, as new technologies have transformed the ways governments interact with citizens and the business community. The new developments have created a need to expand and update the Doing Business methodology. While the Doing Business report has introduced changes in methodology of varying degrees every year, this year's report and Doing Business 2016 are implementing more substantive improvements. Most were inspired by recommendations of the Independent Panel on Doing Business and by broader consultations that have taken place over the years with World bank Group staff, country governments and the private sector. 1 AN OVERVIEW OF THE CHANGES The improvements are in 3 areas: revision of the calculation of the ease of doing business ranking, expansion of the sample of cities covered in large economies and a broadening of the scope of indicator sets (table 3. 1). Some of the changes imply a break in the data series and will compromise the comparability of data over time. For getting credit, for example, the changes in the strength of legal rights index are substantial enough to prevent comparability over time. But for all Doing Business topics, including getting credit, the data have been backcalculated 1 year to allow for at least 2 comparable years of data. 2 Moreover, since most of the changes in methodology involve adding new indicators rather than revising existing ones, data for more than 90%of the previously existing indicators remain comparable over time. The full data series are available on the Doing Business website. Revising the ranking calculation Doing Business continues to publish the ease of doing business ranking. But beginning in this year's report the ranking is based on the distance to frontier score rather than on the This year's report and Doing Business 2016 are introducing changes in 8 of the 10 Doing Business indicator sets: dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. The improvements have 2 main goals. The first is to expand the focus of indicator sets that primarily measure the efficiency of a transaction or service to also cover aspects of the quality of that service. The second is to expand the focus of indicator sets that already measure some aspects of the quality of regulation to include recent good practices in the areas covered. Starting this year the ease of doing business ranking is based on the distance to frontier score. For the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million a second city has been added to the sample this year. TABLE 3. 1 Timeline of the changes in Doing Business Changes in Doing Business 2015 Revision of the ranking calculation Expansion of the city sample in large economies Broadening of the scope of indicator sets Getting credit Protecting minority investors Resolving insolvency Changes in Doing Business 2016 Broadening of the scope of indicator sets Registering property Dealing with construction permits Getting electricity Paying taxes Enforcing contracts Note: No changes are planned for starting a business or trading across borders. Minor updates in methodology are introduced in this year's report for dealing with construction permits, paying taxes and enforcing contracts, as explained in the data notes. WHAT IS CHANGING IN DOING BUSINESS? 25 percentile rank. The distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to a measure of regulatory best practice showing the gap between each economy's performance and the best performance on each indicator. For indices, such as the strength of legal rights index (which ranges from 0 to 12), the frontier is set at the best theoretical score (in this case 12) even if no economy attains it. For most of the other indicators the frontier is set at the lowest number that occurs in practice for example, 1 for the number of procedures to start a business. The exceptions are the recovery rate in insolvency for which the frontier is set at the highest value, and the total tax rate, for which a threshold has been established. The ranking based on the distance to frontier score is correlated highly with that based on the percentile rank. But the distance to frontier score captures more information than the percentile rank because it shows not only how economies are ordered but also how far apart they are. Economies with greater variance across topics are more likely to have a less favorable position in the distance to frontier ranking than in the percentile ranking. Those with relatively better performance in topics with a compressed distribution such as starting a business, also tend to place lower in the distance to frontier ranking. Two country examples can better illustrate the practical implications of the change in the ranking calculation. In Doing Business 2014 Côte d'ivoire had rankings between 115 and 173 for 8 of the 10 topics, and rankings of 88 and 95 for the other 2. This resulted in a ranking of 167 on the overall ease of doing business. If the ranking had been computed using the distance to frontier score rather than the percentile rank, Côte d ivoire's ranking based on the same data, would have been 153 (figure 3. 1). This higher ranking would have been due mainly to the low variation in Côte d ivoire's performance across topics. For Mongolia the opposite would have happened. In Doing Business 2014 Mongolia's topic rankings ranged between 22 and 181. Mongolia ranked in the top 40 for 4 of the topics, and in the bottom 60 for 3. Its overall ranking based on the percentile rank method was 76. If the ranking had been computed using the distance to frontier method instead, Mongolia's ranking would have been 94. This lower ranking would have been attributable to the high variation in Mongolia's performance across topics. How do the 2 countries fare in this year's ease of doing business ranking? Côte d'ivoire stands at 147 in the ranking, 6 places higher than in last year's ranking when based on the new methodology and Mongolia stands at 72,22 places higher. The changes in ranking are due to other changes in methodology, changes in the data for these 2 countries and changes in the data for other economies. For more details, see the chapter on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking.)Expanding the sample of cities covered Since its inception Doing Business has focused on the largest business city of each economy, taking it as a proxy for the entire national territory. Depending on the indicator and the size of the economy, this focus can be a limitation in extrapolating results to the economy level. As the subnational Doing Business reports have shown, the indicators measuring the procedures, time and cost to complete a transaction (such as the dealing with construction permits indicators) tend to show more variation across cities within an economy than do indicators capturing features of the law applicable nationwide (such as the protecting minority investors or resolving insolvency indicators). Moreover, this limitation is likely to be more important in larger economies where the largest business city is likely to represent a smaller share of the overall economy and in those with greater regional diversity in business practices. To address this issue, this year Doing Business has expanded its sample of FIGURE 3. 1 How much difference is there between the 2 calculations of the ease of doing business ranking? 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 200 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 DB2014 ranking based on distance to frontier scores DB2014 ranking based on percentiles Mongolia Côte d'ivoire Note: The 45-degree line shows where the rankings based on percentiles and the rankings based on distance to frontier scores are equal. The correlation between the 2 rankings is 0. 99. Source: Doing Business database. 26 DOING BUSINESS 2015 cities in large economies, defined as those with a population of more than 100 million. Today there are 11 such economies in the world: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United states. For each of these economies the sample now includes the second largest business city. Population size was used as the criterion for selecting these economies for 2 main reasons: First, economies with a large population, because of their size and diversity, are more likely to have differences in performance on indicators. Second, the larger the population in an economy, the larger the number of people who can benefit from improvements in business regulation. Within each economy the second city was selected also on the basis of population size. Another criterion was that the second city must be in a different metropolitan area than the largest business city. 3 Other criteria were considered also, such as contribution to total GDP or level of city dynamism, but these were used not in the end because of the lack of comparable data across the economies. What do the data for the new cities in the sample show about the differences within economies? Overall, the differences are small. In 7 of the 11 economies the difference in the distance to frontier score between the 2 cities is less than 1 point (figure 3. 2). Broadening the scope of indicator sets Eight of the 10 sets of Doing Business indicators are being improved over a 2-year period. The improvements are aimed at addressing 2 main concerns. First, in indicator sets that primarily measure the efficiency of a transaction or service provided by a government agency (such as registering property), the focus is being expanded to also cover aspects of the quality of that service. And second in indicator sets that already measure some aspects of the quality of regulation (such as protecting minority investors), the focus is being expanded to include additional good practices in the areas covered. INTRODUCING NEW MEASURES OF QUALITY Efficiency in regulatory transactions is important. Many research papers have highlighted the positive effect of improvements in areas measured by Doing Business on such economic outcomes as firm or job creation. 4 But increasing efficiency may have little impact if the service provided is of poor quality. For example, the ability to complete property transfers quickly and inexpensively is important, but if the land records are unreliable or other features of the property rights regime are flawed, the property title will have little value. There is a well-established literature linking regulatory quality with economic outcomes at the macro level. An important part of this literature stems from the Worldwide Governance Indicators, which measure regulatory quality as 1 of 6 pillars of governance. This literature has produced important findings: Better governance (including better regulatory quality) leads to higher income per capita. 5 Better governance is linked to faster economic growth. 6 And a heavier regulatory burden reduces economic growth and increases macroeconomic volatility. 7 While this research uses data far from the areas into which Doing Business indicators are expanding, these findings are encouraging and they suggest a need to better understand what aspects of regulatory quality drive these results. Measures of the quality of business regulation at the micro level are lacking. By expanding its focus on regulatory quality, Doing Business will open a new area for research. The aim is to help develop greater understanding of the importance of the quality of business regulation and its link to regulatory efficiency and economic outcomes. Six indicator sets are being expanded to measure regulatory quality: dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and FIGURE 3. 2 Small differences in the distance to frontier score between cities in the same economy 40 40 60 60 80 80 100 100 90 70 50 50 70 90 Distance to frontier score of largest business city (0 100) Distance to frontier score of second largest business city (0 100) United states Japan Russian Federation Indonesia China Pakistan Brazil Nigeria India Bangladesh Mexico Note: The 45-degree line shows where the scores for the 2 cities are equal. Source: Doing Business database. WHAT IS CHANGING IN DOING BUSINESS? 27 resolving insolvency. The new indicators being introduced emphasize the importance of having the right type of regulations. In general, economies with less regulation or none at all will have a lower score on the new indicators. Changes in Doing Business 2015 Resolving insolvency The resolving insolvency indicators measure the time, cost and outcome of an insolvency process for a case study firm and the recovery rate for its secured creditors. The indicators have focused mainly on the efficiency of the bankruptcy court system. But by measuring the outcome of the process that is, whether the firm continues to operate or not the indicators were already assessing some dimensions of the quality of insolvency regulation. In this year's report the indicators go further, by explicitly measuring the strength of the legal framework for insolvency. A new indicator, the strength of insolvency framework index, measures good practices in accordance with the World bank's Principles for Effective Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes and the United nations Commission on International Trade Law's (UNCITRAL) Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law. 8 The index measures 4 aspects. First, it records whether debtors and creditors have the right to commence liquidation proceedings, reorganization proceedings or both and what standard is used to determine whether a debtor is insolvent. Second, it tests what happens to the contracts of a debtor during insolvency proceedings whether postcommencement financing is permitted and what level of priority is granted to post-commencement creditors. Third, it tests the approval process for a reorganization plan as well as certain substantive requirements for the plan. Finally, it tests the extent to which creditors can participate in insolvency proceedings as a group as well as the rights of individual creditors to litigate and appeal decisions that affect their rights. Under the old methodology the distance to frontier score for resolving insolvency was based only on the recovery rate, which measures the cents on the dollar recouped by secured creditors through insolvency proceedings. Under the new methodology the score is based on both the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. A comparison of the 2 scores shows that many economies have insolvency laws that follow some good practices even if they may face challenges in implementing those laws (figure 3. 3). For example, Brazil receives a score of 13 (of 16 possible points) on the strength of insolvency framework index while its recovery rate is only 25.8%of the estate value. Economies not performing well on the new indicator are those that use foreclosure to resolve the insolvency in the Doing Business standardized case. Foreclosure is normally a relatively fast process, typically resulting in a higher recovery rate but it ignores unsecured creditors, something that would not be true of a well-designed insolvency framework. In Maldives, for example, secured creditors should expect to recover 49.9%of the estate value, but the country receives a score of only 2 on the strength of insolvency framework index. For more details on the new index and its scoring methodology, see the data notes. For a complete discussion of the new indicator and an analysis of the data, see the case study on resolving insolvency. Changes in Doing Business 2016 Registering property The registering property indicator set has measured the procedures time and cost to transfer a property from one company to another since 2004. Starting in Doing Business 2016, the indicator set will be expanded to cover the reliability, transparency and geographic coverage of land administration systems as well as dispute resolution for land issues. Ensuring the reliability of information on property titles is a crucial function of land administration systems. To FIGURE 3. 3 Comparing distance to frontier scores for resolving insolvency under the old and new methodologies 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Distance to frontier score for resolving insolvency under old methodology Distance to frontier score for resolving insolvency under new methodology Maldives Brazil Note: Under the new methodology the distance to frontier score for resolving insolvency includes both the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index; under the old one it includes only the recovery rate. Both scores are based on this year's data. The 45-degree line shows where the scores under the old and new methodologies are equal. The correlation between the 2 scores is 0. 90. Source: Doing Business database. 28 DOING BUSINESS 2015 assess how well these systems are performing this function, a new indicator will record the practices used for collecting, recording, storing and processing information on land parcels and property titles. Specific attention will be given to practices that support data reliability, such as unifying, standardizing and synchronizing records across different sources and putting in place the necessary infrastructure to reduce the risk of errors. The indicator will also provide information allowing comparison of transparency standards for land administration systems around the world. New data will record what land-related information is made publicly available whether procedures and property transactions are transparent and whether information on fees for public services is easily accessible. In addition, the indicator will measure the coverage levels attained by land registration and mapping systems. A land administration system that does not cover the economy's entire territory is unable to guarantee the protection of property rights in areas that lack institutionalized information on land. The result is a dual system, with both formal and informal land markets. To be enforceable, all transactions need to be verified publicly and authenticated at the registry. Finally, the indicator will allow comparative analysis of land dispute resolution across economies. It will measure the accessibility of conflict resolution mechanisms and the extent of liability for the entities or agents recording land transactions. For a complete discussion of the new indicator and a preliminary data analysis, see the case study on registering property. Dealing with construction permits The existing indicator set on dealing with construction permits measures the procedures, time and cost to comply with the formalities to build a warehouse including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections. The indicator set will be expanded in Doing Business 2016 to measure good practices in construction regulation (see figure 3. 4 for some of the new aspects that will be added to the indicator set. The changes will address important issues facing the building community. One is need the for clarity in the rules, to ensure that regulation of construction can fulfill the vital function of helping to protect the public from faulty building practices. Besides being clear, building rules also need to be adaptable, so that they can keep up with economic and technological change. To assess these characteristics, a new indicator on regulatory quality will examine how clearly the building code or building regulations specify the requirements for obtaining a building permit and how easily accessible the regulations are. Beyond measuring the clarity and accessibility of regulations the indicator will assess the effectiveness of inspection systems. Good inspection systems are critical to ensuring public safety. They can ensure that buildings comply with proper safety standards, reducing the chances of structural faults. And requirements that technical experts review the proposed plans before construction even begins can reduce the risk of structural failures later on. The new indicator will cover quality control at 3 stages: before, during and after construction. Measures of quality control before construction will look at 2 points: which entity is required to verify that the architectural plans and drawings comply with the building regulations and who makes up the team or committee that reviews and approves building permit applications at the permit-issuing agency. Measures of quality control during construction will examine 3 points: what types of mandatory inspections (if any) are required by law during construction; which agency is responsible for conducting these inspections; and whether inspections required by law are carried actually out (or, if not required by law, commonly occur in practice). Measures of quality control after construction will also examine 3 points: whether a final inspection is required by law to FIGURE 3. 4 What will be added to dealing with construction permits Does the building code follow good practices? Is it easily accessible? Who approves the designs? How are carried inspections out before, during and after construction? What qualifications are required for the professionals reviewing plans or conducting inspections? What are the rules on liability and insurance? WHAT IS CHANGING IN DOING BUSINESS? 29 verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved plans and the building regulations; which agency is responsible for conducting the final inspection; and whether the final inspection required by law is carried actually out (or, if not required by law, commonly occurs in practice). The professionals who conduct the inspections play a vital part in ensuring that buildings meet safety standards. So it is important that these professionals be certified and that they have the necessary technical qualifications. And if safety violations or construction flaws occur despite their efforts, it is important to have a well-defined liability and insurance structure to cover losses resulting from any structural faults. The new indicator will cover several points relating to these issues: what the qualification requirements are for the professionals responsible for verifying the architectural plans and for those authorized to supervise the construction; which parties are held legally liable for construction flaws or problems affecting the structural safety of the building once occupied; which parties are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible flaws or problems affecting the structural safety of the building once occupied; and what the consequences are for the construction company and the professionals authorized to supervise construction if construction flaws or problems are found or if building regulations were complied not with. Getting electricity The existing data set on getting electricity measures the efficiency of the process for obtaining an electricity connection for a standard warehouse as reflected in the procedures, time and cost required. While the efficiency of the connection process has proved to be a useful proxy for the overall efficiency of the electricity sector, these measures cover only a small part of the sector's performance. Beyond the complexity and high cost of getting an electricity connection inadequate or unreliable power supply is perceived also as an important constraint on business activity, particularly in the developing world. To offer a more complete view of the electricity sector, Doing Business will broaden the scope of the getting electricity indicators to include the reliability of the power supply (figure 3. 5). The expanded data set will be published in Doing Business 2016. A new indicator will assess the reliability of electricity supply by measuring both the duration and the frequency of power outages. The indicator will use the system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and the system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI. SAIDI is the average total duration of outages over the course of a year for each customer served, while SAIFI is the average number of service interruptions experienced by a customer in a year. Collecting these data can be challenging. The SAIDI and SAIFI measures are recorded often by utility companies, and the availability and quality of the data depend on the utilities'ability to collect the information. To provide an understanding of the quality of monitoring, the indicator will also record the methods used by electricity distribution companies to measure power outages. Paying taxes The paying taxes indicators measure the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay in a given year as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions. The indicators now measure only the administrative burden associated with preparing, filing and paying 3 major tax categories (profit taxes, consumption taxes and labor taxes). But the postfiling process involving tax audits, tax refunds and tax appeals can also impose a substantial administrative burden on firms. Starting in Doing Business 2016, the paying taxes indicator set will therefore be expanded to include measures of the postfiling process. In addition, this year's report includes an important change in the methodology for the paying taxes indicators. The distance to frontier score for the total tax rate now enters the distance to frontier score for paying taxes in a nonlinear fashion. As a result of this change, an increase in the total tax rate has a smaller impact on the distance to frontier score for paying taxes than previously for economies with a below-average total tax rate and a larger impact for economies with a very high total tax rate relative to the average (see figure 15.2 and the related discussion in the chapter on the distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking). FIGURE 3. 5 What will be added to getting electricity Reliability of electricity supply 30 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Enforcing contracts The enforcing contracts indicators measure the procedures, time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute between 2 firms. The indicators have focused on the efficiency of the commercial court system without directly addressing the quality of the judiciary or the judicial infrastructure. In Doing Business 2016 the indicator set will be expanded to cover aspects of judicial quality and court infrastructure, focusing on well-established good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the commercial court system (figure 3. 6). To assess the quality of the judiciary and judicial infrastructure, a new indicator will record whether there is a specialized commercial court or division; whether there is a small claims court; whether voluntary mediation is available; whether arbitration is available; whether pretrial attachment of assets is available; whether it is common practice for the parties in a commercial case to request adjournments and whether the law sets a limit on the total number allowed; and whether judgments in commercial cases are made available to the general public. Another new indicator will measure court efficiency. This indicator will record whether the initial complaint can be filed electronically; whether case management is available; whether electronic case management is available; whether there is a pretrial conference as part of the case management system; and whether process can be served electronically. Once these new data are collected and presented in Doing Business 2016, the indicator on the number of procedures to enforce a contract will be dropped. EXPANDING THE EXISTING MEASURES OF QUALITY Two sets of Doing Business indicators getting credit and protecting minority investors already measure aspects of regulatory quality. These indicator sets have been expanded in this year's report to incorporate more recent knowledge on good practices. These changes are reflected in this year's ranking on the ease of doing business. Getting credit The getting credit indicators assess the legal rights of borrowers and lenders in secured transactions and the sharing of credit Information measures compiled in the strength of legal rights index focus on whether collateral and bankruptcy laws include certain features that facilitate lending. Those combined in the depth of credit information index focus on the coverage, scope and accessibility of credit information available through credit bureaus and registries. Both sets of measures have been expanded this year to cover more good practices (figure 3. 7). The strength of legal rights index has been expanded from 10 points to 12, with the new aspects selected in accordance with UNCITRAL's Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions. 9 One of the new points is awarded for having an integrated secured transactions system. Modern secured transactions systems are aimed at ensuring that a prospective creditor can easily determine not only whether an asset has already been pledged as collateral but also whether there is some other type of right over that asset. Such rights might be established by legal instruments that are functional equivalents to security interests. In an integrated secured transactions system these instruments are regulated under the same law as traditional security interests. This approach provides the greatest transparency and predictability because all rights in collateral, whether traditional security interests or their functional equivalents, are registered at the same registry, and the law will contemplate how priority rules apply across the different types of contracts. FIGURE 3. 6 What will be added to enforcing contracts Quality of the judiciary Electronic filing of complaints Case management Electronic case management Pretrial conference Electronic service of process Specialized commercial court Small claims court Voluntary mediation Arbitration Pretrial attachment Adjournments Publication of judgments Court efficiency WHAT IS CHANGING IN DOING BUSINESS? 31 Other new points are awarded for having a well-functioning collateral registry, defined by several characteristics. One is that the registry must cover any type of secured transaction, regardless of the type of debtor, creditor or assets. 10 Another is that the registry must be based a notice registry. This type of registry has much lower administrative and archival costs than a document registry, which must register voluminous documentation and have specialists review the documents provided and the assets used as collateral. Finally, the registry must offer modern features. Secured creditors (or their representatives) should be able to register search, amend and cancel security interests online. Information in the database should be updated immediately or no more than 24 hours after registration documents are submitted. And the registry should have a digital database for storing the information. These types of online solutions enhance the efficiency of a registry and the reliability of the information it records. Establishing and maintaining such systems can be costly, however, and these systems need to be backed by adequate legislation, such as privacy laws and regulations on electronic signatures. The depth of credit information index has been expanded from 6 points to 8. In addition because of the importance of coverage in assessing the effectiveness of a credit information system, only credit bureaus or registries that cover at least 5%of the adult population are being scored. One of the new points is awarded to economies where credit information can be accessed through an online platform or through a system-to-system connection between financial institutions and the credit information system. Online access can improve data quality and security increase efficiency and transparency and ensure a high standard of service for users and thus might increase the number of reporting institutions that share credit information. Another new point is awarded to economies where credit scores are available. Credit scores considered more effective in predicting risk than credit histories alone, may improve market efficiency and provide borrowers with more opportunities to obtain credit. Their availability enables lenders that would otherwise not be capable of analyzing the raw credit data to extend credit to underserved markets at lower cost. For more details on the expanded indicators and their scoring methodology, see the data notes. For a complete discussion of the indicators and an analysis of the data, see the case study on getting credit. Protecting minority investors The name of the protecting investors indicator set has been changed this year to protecting minority investors to better reflect its scope and the scope of the indicator set has been expanded. The indicators have measured traditionally the strength of minority shareholder protections against directors'misuse of corporate assets for personal gain. This year a new indicator has been added to measure shareholders'rights in corporate governance beyond related-party transactions, following internationally accepted good practices such as those proposed by the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. 11 The new indicator, the extent of shareholder governance index, encompasses a range of issues and data: Shareholders'rights and role in major corporate decisions the extent to which shareholders can influence important corporate decisions, such as appointing and removing board members, issuing new shares and amending the company's bylaws and articles of association. Governance structure the extent to which the law mandates separation between corporate constituencies to minimize potential agency conflicts. The issues covered include whether the chief executive officer (CEO) can also be chair of the board of directors, whether a board must include a minimum number of independent directors and whether there are rules relating to cross-shareholding and subsidiary ownership. Transparency the extent to which companies are required to disclose information about their finances about the remuneration of their managers and directors and about other directorships they hold. Transparency has been found to improve governance and lower the cost of investment in capital markets. Allocation of legal expenses the extent to which the expenses associated with lawsuits brought by shareholders can be recovered from the company or the payment of the expenses can be made contingent on a successful outcome. The data provide information on whether FIGURE 3. 7 What has been added to getting credit 32 DOING BUSINESS 2015 filing a shareholder action is prohibitively expensive and therefore impracticable even if allowed by law. By expanding the scope of the indicators Doing Business has raised the bar making it more difficult to reach the frontier. The highest distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors observed under the new methodology is lower than the highest one under the old methodology (figure 3. 8). The average score across all economies covered by Doing Business is also lower under the new methodology than under the old one. This is true even though the possible range of the overall measure, the strength of minority investor protection index, continues to be 0 10. Yet some economies score higher on the overall index under the new methodology. One of them is Switzerland. While it performs relatively poorly in protecting minority investors in related-party transactions it does considerably better on general corporate governance rules. For others, such as Paraguay, the opposite is true. For more details on the methodology for the protecting minority investors indicators, see the data notes. For a complete discussion of the new indicator and an analysis of the data, see the case study on protecting minority investors. NOTES 1. For more information on the Independent Panel on Doing Business and its work, see its website at http://www. dbrpanel. org. 2. See the data notes for more details. 3. Where the second and third largest cities were very close in population size, the GDP of the city or relevant state was used to determine which city was the second largest business city. 4. For more details, see the chapter in Doing Business 2014 on research on the effects of business regulations. 5. Kaufmann and Kraay 2002.6. Cuzman, Dima and Dima 2010.7. Loayza, Oviedo and Servén 2010.8. World bank 2011b; UNCITRAL 2004.9. UNCITRAL 2007.10. Excluding exemptions such as planes, boats and the like, which are covered traditionally by different registries. 11. OECD 2004. FIGURE 3. 8 Comparing distance to frontier scores for protecting minority investors under the old and new methodologies 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors under old methodology Distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors under new methodology Paraguay Switzerland Note: Under the new methodology the distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors includes 6 areas of corporate governance; under the old one it includes 3 of the 6 areas. Both scores are based on this year's data. The 45-degree line shows where the scores under the old and new methodologies are equal. The correlation between the 2 scores is 0. 87. Source: Doing Business database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Reforming the business environment in 2013/14 As many studies have shown, the business environment can have an important influence on the development of the private sector and economic growth and thus on the creation of jobs and better livelihoods. Where well designed and properly implemented, regulatory reforms can promote private sector growth by eliminating bureaucratic obstacles, reducing cost and time constraints to doing business and improving the efficiency of legal institutions. They can also have an important impact on perceptions of an economy's business environment. One important area of regulatory reform is the process for starting a business. Research provides strong evidence that reforms making it easier to start a business are associated with more firm creation, 1 which in turn is associated strongly with job creation and economic growth. Using a sample of OECD countries, researchers found that, on average, halving the number of procedures required to start a business is associated with a 14%increase in the number of new business registrations. A similar reduction in the days required is linked to a 19%increase, while an equivalent cut in the cost is associated with a 30%increase. These findings are borne out by evidence at the country level. After a reform in Mexico that reduced the number of procedures to start a business by about 60%the country saw a 5%increase in the total number of firms. 2 Portugal experienced similar effects after it reduced the time and cost to start a business by 50%.%New start-ups increased by about 17%,with most of the growth among less productive firms, those that would have been deterred most by burdensome regulations, such as small firms in low-tech sectors. 3 Comparable evidence exists on a regional level for Italy: provinces with a longer process for starting a business have lower rates of firm creation than those with a more streamlined process. 4 Regulatory reforms can have important positive spillover effects. In trade logistics, evidence shows that improving port efficiency not only reduces shipping times but also ultimately cuts shipping costs. According to analysis of data for the Doing Business indicators on trading across borders, increasing port efficiency from the 25th to the 75th percentile can reduce shipping costs by 12%.5 These spillover effects on shipping costs decrease with an economy's income level: high-income economies showed greater effects than low-and middle-income ones. Moreover, better regulation is correlated strongly with better perceptions of the quality of the business environment in an economy. 6 And there is strong evidence that regulatory reforms in the areas measured by Doing Business indicators improve perceptions of quality. But the research is inconclusive about which reforms have a greater effect those affecting the indicators that measure the complexity and cost of regulatory processes or those Doing Business has captured more than 2, 400 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. In the year ending June 1 2014,123 economies implemented at least one such reform in areas measured by Doing Business 230 in total. Among reforms to reduce the complexity and cost of regulatory processes in 2013/14, those in the area of starting a business were the most common, followed by reforms in the areas of paying taxes and registering property. Among reforms to strengthen legal institutions in 2013/14, the largest numbers were recorded in the areas of getting credit and protecting minority investors, and the smallest in the area of resolving insolvency. Eight of the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million implemented at least one reform making it easier to do business in the past year. China Mexico and the Russian Federation each implemented 2, while India and Indonesia each implemented 3. Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain all among the economies most adversely affected by the global financial crisis have maintained a steady pace of regulatory reform. 34 DOING BUSINESS 2015 affecting the indicators that measure the strength of legal institutions. Overall, there appears to be no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups of indicators. Using its indicators to track changes in business regulations, Doing Business has captured more than 2, 400 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. In the year ending June 1 2014,123 economies implemented at least one such reform in areas measured by Doing Business 230 in total. From year to year Doing Business has recorded many more reforms reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes than reforms strengthening legal institutions. It is no different for 2013/14, with a count of 145 reforms reducing regulatory complexity and cost and 85 strengthening legal institutions (table 4. 1). This pattern is no surprise. It happens in small economies and in large ones (box 4. 1). Reforms aimed at cutting red tape and improving regulatory efficiency are generally easier to implement, because they rarely involve large institutional players and they yield relatively quick results. By contrast, reforms aimed at improving legal institutions are typically complex. Most entail substantial changes to legal frameworks, are costly to implement and can take years to yield positive results. HIGHLIGHTS OF REFORMS REDUCING REGULATORY COMPLEXITY AND COST Among reforms to reduce the complexity and cost of regulatory processes in 2013/14, those in the area of starting a business were the most common, followed by reforms in paying taxes. The area with the third largest number of reforms was registering property, though in previous years it tended to be trading across borders. Easing bureaucratic barriers to start-up Start-up formalities while they still vary around the world, are converging toward good practices. In 2013/14, as in earlier years, many of the reforms making it easier to start a business focused on introducing a one-stop shop or eliminating the minimum capital requirement (see table 4a. 1 at the end of the chapter). Timor-Leste, the economy that improved the ease of starting a business the most, did so by creating a one-stop shop. Now entrepreneurs can complete several formalities in one place reserving a company name, submitting company documents, applying for registration and publishing company statutes. By streamlining start-up formalities and centralizing services, the new one-stop shop reduced the time required to start a business from 94 days to just 10. São tomé and Príncipe eliminated the minimum capital requirement for business entities with no need to obtain a commercial license. Moldova abolished the minimum capital requirement for all limited liability companies. The Russian Federation through amendments to its civil code and federal law, eliminated the requirement for a company's founders to deposit the charter capital before incorporation. Russia also abolished the requirement for companies to notify the tax authorities of the opening of bank accounts. Cutting red tape in construction permitting Doing Business recorded 16 reforms making it easier to deal with construction permits in 2013/14. Most were in Europe and Central asia and Sub-saharan africa. Djibouti and Ghana both streamlined their permitting process. Madagascar and Senegal reduced the time required to obtain a building permit. Mali reduced the time needed to obtain a geotechnical study. And Rwanda eliminated the fee to obtain a freehold title and streamlined the process for obtaining an occupancy permit. TABLE 4. 1 Reforms making it easier to do business in 2013/14 and in the past 5 years Area of reform Number of reforms in 2013/14 Average annual number of reforms in past 5 years Economy improving the most in area in 2013/14 Complexity and cost of regulatory processes Starting a business 45 45 Timor-Leste Dealing with construction permits 16 19 Croatia Getting electricity 12 12a Solomon islands Registering property 21 22 Greece Paying taxes 31 34 Romania Trading across borders 20 23 Myanmar Strength of legal institutions Getting credit legal rights 9 10 Colombia Getting credit credit information 22 20 Jamaica Protecting minority investors 30 14 United arab emirates Enforcing contracts 15 13 Kosovo Resolving insolvency 10 17 Mozambique Note: Because Jamaica implemented changes in the past year in both the strength of legal rights and depth of credit information components of getting credit, the table shows a total of 231 reforms for 2013/14, though only 230 are counted as separate reforms. a. Refers to the average for the past 4 years. Source: Doing Business database. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 35 Croatia made the biggest improvement in the ease of dealing with construction permits (figure 4. 1). New regulations in the Building Act and Physical Planning Act that took effect on January 1, 2014, made it possible to obtain a building permit before paying contribution fees for utilities, speeding up the permitting process. The fees for building permits were reduced also. In addition, registration of the new building with the land registry is done now automatically, with no action required by the builder: the municipality sends documentation to the cadastre for registration, and the cadastre sends documentation on to the land registry. And the final inspection is now done with greater timeliness, dramatically reducing the time required for the issuance of the occupancy permit. As a result of all these changes, the number of procedures required to comply with the formalities to build a warehouse in Croatia fell from 22 to 21, the time from 379 days to 188 and the cost by 0. 3%of the warehouse value. Making it easier to get electricity Doing Business recorded only 12 reforms making it easier to get electricity in BOX 4. 1 Most economies with a population of more than 100 million implemented at least one regulatory reform in 2013/14 Some people might assume that reforming business regulation is easier in small economies because their government structures tend to be less complex. The Doing Business data do not suggest that this is so. Eight of the 11 economies with a population of more than 100 million reformed in at least one of the areas measured by Doing Business in 2013/14, while only 18 of the 34 economies with a population of less than 1 million did so. Among the 11 large economies, China, Mexico and the Russian Federation each implemented 2 reforms making it easier to do business while India and Indonesia each implemented 3 (see table. What did these economies do? India made starting a business easier by considerably reducing the registration fees though it also added a requirement to file a declaration before commencing business operations. It made obtaining a new electricity connection in Mumbai less costly by reducing the security deposit. And it strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure by board members, increasing the remedies available in case of prejudicial related-party transactions and introducing additional safeguards for shareholders of privately held companies. Indonesia made starting a business easier by making it possible to issue the approval letter for the deed of establishment electronically. It made getting electricity in Jakarta easier by eliminating the need for multiple certificates guaranteeing the safety of internal installations. And it lowered labor taxes. China also made starting a business easier, by eliminating the minimum capital requirement and thus the need for a capital verification report from an auditing firm. In addition, it reduced employers'social security contribution rate in Shanghai and enhanced the electronic system for filing and paying taxes. Mexico improved access to credit by amending its insolvency proceedings law and establishing clear grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during reorganization proceedings. And it made resolving insolvency easier by shortening the time extensions during reorganization proceedings and facilitating electronic submission of documents. Russia made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to deposit the charter capital before company registration as well as the requirement to notify tax authorities of the opening of bank accounts. And it made transferring property easier by eliminating the need for notarization and reducing the time required for property registration. In 2013/14 the 11 large economies were more likely to implement reforms reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes than reforms strengthening legal institutions a pattern also evident in smaller economies. Among the 15 reforms captured by Doing Business in these large economies, most were at the national level and affect both cities measured. One of the exceptions was in the United states, where the reform making it easier to start a business applies to New york city but not to Los angeles. Reforms making it easier to do business in the 11 large economies in 2013/14 Economy Reforms reducing regulatory complexity and cost Reforms strengthening legal institutions Bangladesh 1 0 Brazil 0 0 China 2 0 India 2 1 Indonesia 3 0 Japan 0 0 Mexico 0 2 Nigeria 0 0 Pakistan 1 0 Russian Federation 2 0 United states 1 0 Note: The table shows data for the 11 large economies for which Doing Business covers both the largest and the second largest business city. Source: Doing Business database. 36 DOING BUSINESS 2015 2013/14. Revision of the costs for new connections was the most common feature of the reforms. In Rwanda, where increasing the electrification rate is a government priority, the distribution utility waived all fees for completing a new connection, including the security deposit. The big reduction in cost provides a strong incentive to seek an official connection to the network and encourages new business ventures. In Poland the utility in Warsaw revised the fee structure for new connections in ways that reduced the cost for new customers. In India the electricity utility in Mumbai changed its method for calculating the security deposit. The utility now calculates it as a fixed charge per kilowatt rather than basing it on a customer's estimated monthly consumption, increasing the transparency of the related costs. Another common feature of electricity reforms was improvement in the efficiency of distribution utilities'internal processes. The utility in the Democratic Republic of congo, Société Nationale d'Electricité, reduced the time required to get electricity by improving its administrative management of new connection requests. Starting in 2014 the utility began tracking how much time each of its departments takes to deal with connection requests. The utility also streamlined its internal approval process: its staff no longer seeks approval from the head office for each individual connection request but instead submits batches once a month. The utility in Malawi reduced the time required to get electricity by outsourcing external connection works to subcontractors. In many economies shortages in the materials needed for external works such as transformer substations are a source of substantial delays in the connection process. Tackling this issue was a focus of the utility in the Solomon islands. By improving procurement practices, the utility cut the wait time for new connections by two-thirds (figure 4. 2). As a result the Solomon islands made the biggest improvement in the ease of getting electricity in 2013/14. Simplifying property registration In 2013/14, 21 economies made it easier for businesses to register property by reducing the time, cost or number of procedures required. Among the most common improvements were reducing property transfer taxes, combining or eliminating procedures, and introducing computerized procedures. Lowering the property transfer tax can substantially reduce the cost of transferring property and improve compliance with property registration and tax regulations, though this type of change needs to be informed by broader tax policy discussions. FIGURE 4. 2 The Solomon islands reduced the time to obtain an electricity connection by two-thirds 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Procedures 2013 2014 Time to get electricity (days) Await inspection of the internal wiring by SIEA and installation of the meter; electricity starts flowing Await completion of the external connection works by SIEA Await completion of an external inspection by SIEA for purposes of preparing the estimate Submit application for a connection to SIEA and await a cost estimate Time cut from 160 days to 53 Note: SIEA is the Solomon islands Electricity Authority. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 4. 1 Croatia cut more than 6 months from the time required to deal with construction permits 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 500 Procedures One procedure cut, 191 days saved Time to deal with construction permits (days) 2013 2014 Source: Doing Business database. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 37 Greece made the largest improvement in the ease of registering property (figure 4. 3). In December 2013 it established a new property transfer tax of 3%of the property value, substantially lower than the previous one of 10%.%In addition, it simplified property transfers by eliminating the need to submit a tax clearance certificate from the municipality before signing the sale agreement. Sub-saharan africa accounted for the largest number of property registration reforms in 2013/14. For example, Mozambique streamlined registration procedures at the land registry and the municipality. Côte d'ivoire established a single process for tax and property registration and lowered the property registration tax. Senegal replaced the requirement for authorization from the tax authority with a notification requirement and set up a single step for the property transfer at the land registry. Making it easier and less costly to pay taxes Doing Business recorded 31 reforms in 2013/14 making it easier or less costly for firms to pay taxes. Europe and Central asia accounted for the largest number, with 9. Globally, the most common feature of tax reforms in the past year was the introduction or enhancement of electronic systems for filing and paying taxes. Thirteen economies implemented such changes, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Mongolia, Romania, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Electronic tax systems, if implemented well and used by most taxpayers, benefit both tax authorities and firms. For tax authorities, they ease workloads and reduce operational costs. And for firms, they reduce the time required to comply with tax obligations as well as the potential for errors. Romania improved the ease of paying taxes the most in 2013/14 (figure 4. 4). The government has developed an electronic system for filing and paying corporate income tax, value added tax and all 6 mandatory labor contributions measured by Doing Business. 7 The system was launched initially in 2010, though with only the possibility of submitting tax returns online. Over the past 2 years, however, online payment of taxes and contributions became possible with the use of banking cards and was gradually taken up by the business community. By January 2013 the majority of firms were making their tax payments online. Other economies making noteworthy changes in the area of paying taxes in the past year include Belarus, China, the Democratic Republic of congo and Latvia. Belarus improved its system for keeping online records for corporate income tax and value added tax. The FIGURE 4. 3 Greece made registering property both easier and less expensive Time to register property (days) Cost to register property(%of property value) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 25 20 15 1050 14 12 10 86420 2013 Procedures Cost 2014 Procedures Cost One procedure eliminated, and cost reduced by 6. 86%of the property value Procedures Note: In 2014 procedures 3, 4 and 5 occur simultaneously with procedure 2 (although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day). Procedure 6 starts after procedure 2. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 4. 4 Romania has been making compliance with tax obligations easier in recent years 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Payments (number per year) Total tax rate(%of commercial profit) Time (hours per year) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 040 80 120 160 200 240 Payments Total tax rate Time Source: Doing Business database. 38 DOING BUSINESS 2015 system now automatically updates all relevant tax rates, alerts users of potential errors and automatically collects and checks data required for filling out tax returns. Belarus also simplified its rules for deducting expenses for the calculation of corporate income tax. Four other economies merged or eliminated certain taxes the Republic of congo, Hungary, Senegal and Zambia. Eleven economies reduced profit tax rates, the second most common feature of tax reforms in 2013/14. These include 4 high-income economies (Portugal, Spain, St kitts and nevis, and the United kingdom 3 uppermiddle-income economies (Colombia, the Seychelles and Tunisia) and 4 lowermiddle-income economies (the Republic of congo, Guatemala, Swaziland and Vietnam. Reductions in profit tax rates are combined often with efforts to widen the tax base by removing exemptions and with increases in the rates of other taxes, such as value added tax. Facilitating trade Myanmar made the biggest improvement in the ease of trading across borders in 2013/14 (figure 4. 5). Its Ministry of Commerce abolished the export license requirement for 166 types of goods and the import license requirement for 152 reducing the time, cost and number of documents required to export and import general cargo products. As measured by Doing Business, exporting now takes 20%less time than before, and importing 19%less time. Tanzania invested in port infrastructure. New cranes, a conveyor belt and anchorage tankers at the port of Dar es salaam helped reduce berthing and unloading time as well as congestion. The reduction in the time required for port and terminal handling activities benefits not only traders in Tanzania but also those in the landlocked economies of Burundi and Rwanda that use the port. Eighteen other economies also implemented reforms making it easier to trade across borders in 2013/14. Introducing or improving electronic submission and processing of documents was the most common feature of these reforms. Eight economies Bangladesh Croatia, Ecuador, Pakistan, Palau, St lucia, Uganda and Uzbekistan reduced the time to export and import by implementing computerized systems that allow web-based submission of documents. Croatia switched to an electronic customs system as part of reforms in preparation for accession to the European union. Improving customs administration remained an important item on reform agendas. Benin, Côte d'ivoire, the Dominican republic, Morocco, Myanmar, St lucia and Uzbekistan all did so by reducing the number of documents required by customs or streamlining the process to obtain and submit certain documents. Five economies Algeria, Ghana, Jordan Kazakhstan and Tanzania strengthened transport or port infrastructure. Kazakhstan opened a new border station and railway link that reduced congestion at the border with China. Poland improved port procedures by launching a new terminal operating system at the port of Gdansk. And Uruguay implemented a risk-based inspection system that reduced customs clearance time. HIGHLIGHTS OF REFORMS STRENGTHENING LEGAL INSTITUTIONS Among reforms to strengthen legal institutions in 2013/14, the largest numbers were recorded in the areas of getting credit and protecting minority investors (with 30 in each area), and the smallest in the area of resolving insolvency. Economies in Europe and Central asia implemented the most reforms aimed at strengthening legal institutions followed by economies in Sub-saharan africa. Strengthening legal rights of borrowers and lenders In 2013/14, 9 economies improved access to credit by strengthening the legal FIGURE 4. 5 Myanmar reduced the time to export and import by abolishing license requirements for many types of goods Inland transport and handling Port and terminal handling Customs clearance and inspections Document preparation 05 10 15 20 25 30 2013 2014 05 10 15 20 25 30 2013 2014 Time to export (days) Time to import (days) Source: Doing Business database. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 39 rights of borrowers and lenders either by reforming secured transactions legislation or by enhancing secured creditors'rights in bankruptcy proceedings (see table 4a. 1 at the end of the chapter). Colombia, Hungary and Jamaica all implemented a functional approach to secured transactions. The Czech republic and the Lao People's Democratic Republic both created a modern, notice-based collateral registry. Hungary and Panama expanded the range of movable assets that can be used as collateral. Mexico, Rwanda, and Trinidad and tobago strengthened the rights of secured creditors during reorganization proceedings. Globally, Colombia strengthened the legal rights of borrowers and lenders the most, by implementing a new legal framework for secured transactions (table 4. 2). The country launched a collateral registry with modern features in May 2014, following approval of a new law on movable property guarantees. The new law permits all types of movable assets, present or future, to be used as collateral to secure a loan. The law also regulates legal instruments that are the functional equivalents of traditional security interests, such as assignments of receivables and sales with retention of title. In addition, it provides priority rules for creditors'claims within bankruptcy and establishes the rights of secured creditors during reorganization proceedings. Finally, the law allows out-of-court enforcement of collateral. Jamaica also made noteworthy improvements in the area of legal rights in the past year. It adopted a new law on secured transactions that broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral allows a general description of assets granted as collateral and establishes a modern, unified, noticebased collateral registry. Panama implemented similar changes and also introduced the possibility of out-ofcourt enforcement of collateral. The Czech republic, through an amendment to its civil code, made it possible to register receivables at the pledge registry. It also introduced the possibility for the parties to a security agreement to agree to out-of-court enforcement of the collateral. The government of Lao PDR established a centralized, online, notice-based registry where financial institutions can register any security interest held over movable property including functional equivalents to more traditional security interests, such as financial lease agreements, assignments of receivables, fiduciary transfers of title and sales with retention of title. Improving credit information systems Jamaica made the biggest improvement in credit reporting in 2013/14. Two new credit bureaus, Creditinfo Jamaica and CRIF-NM Credit Assure Limited, having received business licenses in 2012, began operations in 2013. Twenty-one other economies also improved credit reporting, with the largest number of them in Sub-saharan africa. The Democratic Republic of congo and Tanzania both established new credit reporting agencies. The Democratic Republic of congo's central bank established an electronic system allowing the exchange of credit information between its credit registry and banks and financial institutions. Tanzania's central bank issued an operating license to the country's first credit bureau, Creditinfo Tanzania, in June 2013, and to its second one, Dun & bradstreet Credit bureau Tanzania, in September 2013. Creditinfo Tanzania began responding to inquiries from data users 2 months after receiving its license. Vietnam's first credit bureau, Vietnam Credit Information, started serving data users in January 2014 along with the existing credit registry managed by the country's central bank. Five Sub-Saharan African economies Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Côte d'ivoire, Kenya and Senegal strengthened their regulatory frameworks for credit reporting. Cameroon's government passed legislation establishing an integrated database that records negative payment information on bank accounts checks and cards as well as credit information on firms and microfinance institutions. Kenya issued new regulations allowing the exchange of positive credit information and establishing guidelines for data retention. TABLE 4. 2 A comparison of Colombia's previous and new legal frameworks for secured transactions Previous legal framework New legal framework is there secured a functional transactions system? No. Yes. Is the collateral registry unified or centralized geographically for the entire economy? No. Yes. Is the collateral registry notice-based? No. Yes. Does the collateral registry have a modern online system (such as for registrations and amendments? No. Yes. Can secured creditors apply for relief from an automatic stay during reorganization proceedings? No. Yes, the new law establishes clear grounds for relief. do secured creditors'claims have priority inside bankruptcy? No clear priority rules for secured creditors. Yes, the new law gives priority to secured creditors'claims. Can security rights in a single category of assets be described in general terms? No, detailed description of the assets required by law. Yes, the new law allows a general description. Can parties agree to enforce security rights out of court? No, out-of-court enforcement not permissible by law. Yes, the new law allows out-of-court enforcement of collateral. Source: Doing Business database. 40 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Among OECD high-income economies, Ireland and the Slovak Republic improved their regulatory frameworks for credit reporting. Ireland created a regulatory framework for the establishment and operation of a central credit register that will be managed by the country's central bank. The Slovak Republic adopted a new regulation to protect the rights of individuals in the processing of their personal data. And New zealand, under its Credit Reporting Privacy Code, introduced more comprehensive credit reporting. In addition to negative credit information, credit bureaus now collect and report positive credit information on individuals and firms from banks, financial institutions and telephone companies. Strengthening minority investor protections The United arab emirates strengthened minority investor protections the most in 2013/14, through a new ministerial resolution on corporate governance rules and corporate discipline standards. The resolution establishes requirements for related-party transactions to be approved by a general meeting of shareholders, to undergo prior review by a specialized external firm and to be disclosed in detail to the Securities and Commodities Authority. The resolution also establishes director liability for any damage resulting from prejudicial related-party transactions and enables courts to cancel such transactions on grounds of unfairness. Finally it permits shareholders representing 5 %or more of the shares of a company involved in a related-party transaction to access documents relating to the transaction. The most far-reaching change in minority investor protections, however, took place in January 2014, when the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) Revised Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Economic Interest groups simultaneously updated the regulatory frameworks of 17 member economies in Sub-saharan africa. The revised act addresses multiple aspects of corporate law. Among other things, it increases the requirements for directors to disclose their conflicts of interest and grants shareholders the right to access and obtain copies of all documents pertaining to related-party transactions. One OHADA member Senegal, made further improvements by amending its code of civil procedure and with these changes became the economy that most strengthened minority investor protections in Sub-saharan africa in 2013/14. Notably, the amendments grant litigants increased rights to obtain evidence relevant to their claims from the opposing parties. Elsewhere in the region, The gambia adopted a new Companies Bill, clarifying the duties of directors and offering new venues and remedies for minority shareholders harmed by abusive conduct by company insiders. Making it easier to enforce contracts Doing Business recorded 15 reforms making it easier to enforce contracts in 2013/14. Kosovo made the biggest improvement by introducing a private bailiff system (figure 4. 6). The effort began in 2010 when the local judiciary was short of resources and facing a heavy backlog. Less than 4%of civil enforcement cases on court dockets were completed in 2009, and for many courts the share was less than 1%.The Kosovo Judicial Council, with the assistance of the U s. Agency for International Development, analyzed the legal framework and identified the main causes of delay. This mapping exercise showed that the lack of penalties for filing groundless appeals, the impossibility of seizing most kinds of assets and the inadequacy of the regulatory framework for enforcement officers contributed substantially to the growing backlog. A 3-year work plan was undertaken to provide more suitable ways to deal with business disputes. In 2013 Kosovo finished privatizing its judicial enforcement process and FIGURE 4. 6 Kosovo cut the time for enforcing judgments in half by introducing a private bailiff service Filing and service Trial and judgment Enforcement Time for enforcement cut from 180 days to 90 2013 2014 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Time to enforce a contract (days) Source: Doing Business database. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 41 created private bailiff services, expedient execution procedures and penalties for noncompliant debtors. Globally, one of the most common features of reforms in contract enforcement in the past year was the introduction of electronic filing. Greece, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mauritius and Turkey all made their courts more efficient by implementing electronic filing platforms. These enable litigants to file initial complaints electronically increasing transparency, expediting the filing and the service of process, limiting opportunities for corruption and preventing the loss, destruction or concealment of court records. In Singapore the judiciary launched an electronic litigation system designed to streamline the litigation process and improve access to justice. The system allows litigants to file their cases online and it enables courts to keep litigants and lawyers informed about their cases through e-mail, text messages and text alerts; to manage hearing dates; and even to hold certain hearings through videoconference. The Bahamas, Portugal and Uruguay adopted a new code of civil procedure or amended procedural rules applicable to commercial cases, mainly to reduce case backlog, simplify and expedite court proceedings and limit obstructive techniques. In 2013 Uruguay passed a law setting tight deadlines that parties to a commercial case must comply with throughout the entire court proceedings. Three economies the Czech republic, Ireland and South africa reorganized their court systems by amending the rules on the size of monetary claims that can be filed with courts at different levels thus redistributing the workload among courts and reducing backlog. Creating specialized commercial courts or divisions has been a common feature of reforms in contract enforcement over the years. Two economies undertook such changes in 2013/14. Benin established a commercial chamber within its court of first instance and assigned 6 judges to solely hear commercial cases. The Seychelles established a specialized commercial court and assigned a permanent local judge to resolve only commercial disputes. Increasing efficiency in resolving insolvency Doing Business recorded 10 reforms making it easier to resolve insolvency in 2013/14, most of them in OECD high-income and Sub-Saharan African economies. Among the most common features of these reforms were promoting reorganization and improving the likelihood of successful outcomes in insolvency proceedings. Mozambique, the Seychelles, and Trinidad and tobago introduced a court-supervised reorganization procedure. Switzerland allowed cancellation of long-term contracts that could jeopardize the debtor's rehabilitation. Slovenia established a simplified reorganization procedure for small companies and a preventive restructuring procedure for medium-size and large ones. Slovenia also made it easier for creditors to initiate reorganization proceedings and propose a reorganization plan, introduced provisions on debt-equity swaps and allowed new equity holders to take over management of the debtor to ensure continuation of the business. Mozambique improved the ease of resolving insolvency the most in the past year (table 4. 3). A new legal framework for insolvency adopted in 2013 introduced a reorganization procedure for commercial entities granted creditors better access to information during insolvency proceedings and provided for more active participation by creditors in the proceedings. Other insolvency reforms recorded in 2013/14 focused on streamlining and shortening time frames for proceedings. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia tightened time frames for several stages of insolvency proceedings and established a framework for electronic auctions of debtors'assets. Mexico shortened the time extensions allowed during reorganization proceedings and made it easier to submit documents electronically. Several other economies reformed their insolvency laws to strengthen the rights of creditors. For example, Kazakhstan established provisions for direct participation of all creditors through creditors'meetings. Another common feature of insolvency reforms in the past year was to improve regulations on the profession of insolvency administrators Trinidad and TABLE 4. 3 A comparison of Mozambique's previous and new legal frameworks for insolvency Previous legal framework New legal framework Can a debtor initiate reorganization proceedings? No. Yes. Do creditors vote on the reorganization plan? No reorganization available. Yes, all creditors vote. Do creditors vote on the reorganization plan in classes? No reorganization available. Creditors are divided into classes, creditors within each class are treated equally, and the plan is approved by a simple majority of creditors in each class. Can creditors request information about insolvency proceedings? No specific provisions. The insolvency administrator has the duty to provide any creditor with information requested by the creditor. Can creditors object to decisions that affect their rights? No specific provisions. A creditor has the right to object to decisions to accept or reject claims of other creditors. Source: Doing Business database. 42 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Tobago created a public office responsible for the general administration of insolvency proceedings and clarified rules on the appointment and duties of trustees. And Uganda established explicit rules on the enforcement of the duties of liquidators during liquidation proceedings. Addressing labor market regulation In 2013/14 Doing Business recorded 9 reforms relating to labor market regulation. The economies implementing reforms included Portugal, which has made the most reforms aimed at improving the labor market environment in recent years. In 2013 Portugal revised the rules on fixed-term contracts executed under the labor code that reach their maximum duration before November 8 2015; under the new rules these contracts can be renewed 2 more times, with an additional maximum duration of 12 months, though the renewed contracts need to end by December 31, 2016. In previous years Portugal reduced the wage premium required for work on weekly holidays and also made redundancy easier by eliminating the need to follow a specific order in dismissals when eliminating a worker's position. Portugal's continual reforms in labor market regulation are in part a response to the economic downturn that followed the global financial crisis. And Portugal is one of several Southern European economies that reformed business regulation in areas beyond labor market regulation in 2013/14 (box 4. 2). Other economies implementing reforms in labor market regulation in 2013/14 focused on different areas. Cabo Verde introduced a minimum wage. Finland made the redundancy process more flexible by eliminating the requirement to notify a third party before dismissing 1 redundant worker or a group of 9 redundant workers. Croatia lifted the 3-year limit on the duration of first time fixed-term contracts, while Mauritius reduced the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts to 24 months and Georgia reduced it to 30 months. NOTES 1. Klapper and Love 2011.2. Bruhn 2011.3. Branstetter and others 2013.4. Bripi 2013.5. Portugal-Perez and Wilson 2012.6. Kraay and Tawara 2013.7. The 6 mandatory labor contributions measured by Doing Business are those for social security health insurance, unemployment, an accident risk fund, a guarantee fund and medical leave. BOX 4. 2 Southern European economies continue a steady pace of regulatory reform Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain all among the economies most adversely affected by the global financial crisis have maintained a steady pace of regulatory reform. As Doing Business 2013 reported, the pace picked up in the aftermath of the crisis, and this year's report shows that the trend has continued. In 2013/14 Greece reformed in 3 areas of business regulation measured by Doing Business, and Spain in 4. Greece made starting a business easier by lowering the cost of registration. It made transferring property easier by reducing the property transfer tax and eliminating the requirement for a municipal tax clearance certificate. And it made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Italy and Spain also made starting a business easier. Italy reduced the minimum capital requirement, while Spain simplified business registration by introducing an electronic system that links several public agencies. Portugal lowered its corporate income tax rate and introduced a reduced corporate tax rate for a portion of the taxable profits of qualifying small and medium-size enterprises. Spain reduced its statutory corporate income tax rate. Portugal made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new code of civil procedure designed to reduce court backlog streamline court procedures, enhance the role of judges and speed up the resolution of standard civil and commercial disputes. Spain made resolving insolvency easier by introducing new rules for out-of-court restructuring as well as provisions applicable to prepackaged reorganizations. These economies, by actively reducing the complexity and cost of regulatory processes and strengthening legal institutions, are narrowing the gap with the regulatory frontier at a faster pace than the rest of the European union. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 43 TABLE 4a. 1 Who reduced regulatory complexity and cost or strengthened legal institutions in 2013/14 and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Making it easier to start a business Simplified preregistration and registration formalities (publication, notarization, inspection, other requirements) Albania; Bulgaria; The gambia; Guatemala; India; Islamic Republic of Iran; Jamaica; Malawi; Malta; Mauritius; Nicaragua; Norway; Slovak Republic; Spain; Swaziland; United kingdom Guatemala's official gazette reduced the time to publish a notice of incorporation by modifying internal processes. The Islamic Republic of Iran combined name reservation with company registration at a single window. Abolished or reduced minimum capital requirement Austria; Benin; China; Côte d'ivoire; Czech republic; Denmark; Italy; Moldova; São tomé and Príncipe; Senegal; Togo China and Côte d'ivoire both abolished the minimum capital requirement. In doing so, China also eliminated the need to open a preliminary bank account, deposit the capital and obtain a certificate of deposit. Cut or simplified postregistration procedures (tax registration, social security registration, licensing) Armenia; Greece; Jamaica; Lithuania; Mauritania; Russian Federation; United states Lithuania abolished the requirement for a company seal, no longer used in practice. Mauritania eliminated the requirement to publish company statutes in the official gazette. Introduced or improved online procedures Azerbaijan; Croatia; Iceland; Indonesia; FYR Macedonia; Switzerland; Trinidad and tobago Trinidad and tobago introduced an online platform for business registration, reducing registration time from 38 days to 14.5. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia introduced a free online company registration system. Created or improved one-stop shop Democratic Republic of congo; France; Suriname; Tajikistan; Timor-Leste Timor-Leste created a one-stop shop making it possible to reserve a company name, file the company statutes, apply for and obtain the final registration number and publish the statutes all at one agency. Making it easier to deal with construction permits Reduced time for processing permit applications Albania; Croatia; Djibouti; Ghana; Lithuania; Madagascar; Senegal; Thailand Lithuania tightened the time limit for issuing special architectural requirements, cutting the time to obtain a building permit from 42 days to 21. Madagascar completed the computerization of its onestop shop, reducing the time to obtain a building permit from 90 days to 45. Streamlined procedures Albania; Brunei Darussalam; Djibouti; Ghana; Madagascar; Mali; Rwanda Djibouti streamlined the review of building permits by adopting a 3-step process. Ghana made it mandatory to submit all required clearances when applying for a building permit. Adopted new building regulations Albania; Croatia; Lithuania; Montenegro; Nepal Albania adopted a new law on territory planning, consolidating the land permit and construction permit into a single construction development permit. Croatia's adoption of the Building Act and a new Physical Planning Act made it possible to obtain a building permit before paying contribution fees for utilities. Improved building inspection process Kosovo; Nepal; Puerto rico (U s.)Kosovo introduced a new inspection scheme and made the final inspection process easier by breaking the approval process into several phases. Puerto rico (territory of the United states) introduced the option of hiring an authorized professional and authorized inspector to carry out the fire safety recommendations and issue the fire prevention and environmental health certificates. Reduced fees Croatia; Rwanda; Tajikistan Rwanda eliminated the fee to obtain a freehold title. Tajikistan reduced the fee for obtaining an architectural planning assignment. Improved or introduced electronic platforms or online services Nepal Nepal launched an online system for obtaining building permits. Making it easier to get electricity Improved regulation of connection processes and costs India; Jamaica; Poland; Rwanda; Sierra leone; Taiwan, China In Poland the electricity utility made obtaining a new connection less costly by revising its fee structure. In Rwanda the electricity utility eliminated all its fees for a new connection. Improved process efficiency Democratic Republic of congo; Costa rica; Malawi; Solomon islands The electricity utility in Malawi engaged private subcontractors to carry out external connection works, reducing the time required to complete the works by 50 days. Streamlined approval process Indonesia; Islamic Republic of Iran Indonesia eliminated a redundant internal wiring inspection by dropping the requirement for a certificate guaranteeing that the internal installation meets the standards. Making it easier to register property Reduced taxes or fees Bahrain; Côte d'ivoire; Greece; San marino; Spain; Togo Greece reduced the property transfer tax from 10%of the property value to 3%.Spain reduced the property registration tax to 6%of the property value. Combined or eliminated procedures Colombia; Greece; Mozambique; Russian Federation; Senegal Colombia eliminated the need for a provisional registration. The Russian Federation eliminated the requirement for notarization of certain documents. Computerized procedures Albania; Côte d'ivoire; Ireland; Sweden; Vanuatu Ireland enhanced its land registry's computerized system and implemented an online system for title registration. In Vanuatu property records have been scanned, and the land registry is now using a fully computerized system for land transactions. Increased administrative efficiency Guinea; Republic of korea; United arab emirates The District Registration Courts in the Republic of korea increased efficiency by streamlining internal processes. The United arab emirates started licensing companies to act on behalf of the Dubai Land Department and use its system for property registration. 44 DOING BUSINESS 2015 TABLE 4a. 1 Who reduced regulatory complexity and cost or strengthened legal institutions in 2013/14 and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Making it easier to register property (continued) Set effective time limits Albania; Kazakhstan; Russian Federation Albania established effective time limits for processing requests at the local offices for registration of immovable property. Kazakhstan introduced effective time limits for issuing technical passports and nonencumbrance certificates on immovable property. Introduced online procedures Azerbaijan; Poland Azerbaijan introduced a system allowing notaries to obtain nonencumbrance certificates online. Poland provided legal status to land extracts obtained online. Introduced fast-track procedures Sierra leone Sierra leone introduced a fast-track procedure for property registration. Making it easier to pay taxes Introduced or enhanced electronic systems Azerbaijan; Belarus; China; Costa rica; Gabon; Guatemala; Moldova; Mongolia; Romania; Taiwan, China; Tajikistan; Ukraine; Zambia Belarus introduced electronic filing and payment for the obligatory insurance fund in 2013. Reduced profit tax rate by 2 percentage points or more Colombia; Republic of congo; Guatemala; Portugal; Seychelles; Spain; Swaziland; St kitts and nevis; Tunisia; United kingdom; Vietnam Portugal reduced the corporate income tax rate from 25%to 23%for 2013. Simplified tax compliance process Belarus; Brunei Darussalam; China; Democratic Republic of congo; Latvia; Seychelles Latvia introduced a simplified value added tax return in January 2013. Reduced labor taxes and mandatory contributions by 1 percentage point or more China; Colombia; Indonesia; Togo China reduced the social security contribution rate for firms in Shanghai from 37%to 35%for 2013. Merged or eliminated taxes other than profit tax Republic of congo; Hungary; Senegal; Zambia Hungary abolished the special tax that had been introduced in 2010. Reduced number of tax filings or payments Belarus; Cyprus; West bank and Gaza Cyprus reduced the number of provisional tax installments for corporate income tax from 3 to 2 in 2013. Making it easier to trade across borders Introduced or improved electronic submission and processing Bangladesh; Croatia; Ecuador; Pakistan; Palau; St lucia; Uganda; Uzbekistan Ecuador upgraded to a new electronic data interchange system, reducing customs clearance time. Improved customs administration Benin; Côte d'ivoire; Dominican republic; Morocco; Myanmar; St lucia; Uzbekistan St lucia reduced the number of export documents that must be submitted to customs by merging 2 forms. Strengthened transport or port infrastructure Algeria; Ghana; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Tanzania Ghana invested in infrastructure at the port of Tema, which helped reduce the wait time for vessels outside the port. Improved port procedures Côte d'ivoire; Poland Poland launched a new terminal operating system at the port of Gdansk. Introduced or improved risk-based inspections Uruguay Uruguay implemented a risk-based inspection system that reduced customs clearance time. Strengthening legal rights of borrowers and lenders Created a unified registry for movable property Colombia; Hungary; Jamaica; Lao PDR The Lao People's Democratic Republic established a registry in the Ministry of Finance for security interests in movable property. The registry began operating in November 2013. Introduced a functional, integrated and comprehensive secured transactions regime Colombia; Hungary; Jamaica Colombia approved a new law establishing a modern legal framework for secured transactions. The law allows all types of movable assets, present or future, to be used as collateral to secure a loan. It also regulates functional equivalents to loans secured with movable property, such as assignments of receivables and sales with retention of title. Strengthened rights of secured creditors during reorganization procedures Mexico; Rwanda; Trinidad and tobago In Mexico amendments to the insolvency proceedings law established new grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during a reorganization procedure. Allowed out-of-court enforcement Czech republic; Panama The Czech republic adopted new legislation making it possible to execute a security in any way established by the parties to a security agreement. Expanded range of movable assets that can be used as collateral Hungary; Panama Panama introduced a new law governing chattel mortgages that expands the range of movable assets that can be used as collateral to secure a loan. Improving the sharing of credit information Expanded scope of information collected and reported by credit bureau or registry Bahrain; Cyprus; Mauritania; New zealand; Sierra leone; Taiwan, China; United arab emirates; Zambia New zealand implemented comprehensive credit reporting and began distributing both positive and negative information in credit reports. Improved regulatory framework for credit reporting Cabo Verde; Cameroon; Côte d'ivoire; Dominican republic; Ireland; Kenya; Senegal; Slovak Republic Ireland adopted a new credit reporting act providing for the establishment of a central credit register to be managed by the central bank. Established a credit bureau or registry Democratic Republic of congo; Jamaica; Tanzania; Vietnam In Jamaica 2 new credit bureaus, licensed in 2012, started serving banks and other financial institutions in 2013. Introduced bureau or registry credit scores as a value added service Nicaragua; Tajikistan In Nicaragua in June 2013 the credit bureau Transunion Nicaragua started offering the service of credit scoring based on its data. REFORMING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN 2013/14 45 TABLE 4a. 1 Who reduced regulatory complexity and cost or strengthened legal institutions in 2013/14 and what did they do? Feature Economies Some highlights Strengthening minority investor protections Increased disclosure requirements for related-party transactions Benin; Burkina faso; Cameroon; Central african republic; Chad; Comoros; Democratic Republic of congo; Republic of congo; Côte d'ivoire; Ecuador; Arab republic of egypt; Equatorial guinea; Gabon; Guinea; Guinea-bissau; Hong kong SAR, China; India; Lao PDR; FYR Macedonia; Mali; Mongolia; Niger; Senegal; Togo; United arab emirates; Uzbekistan Uzbekistan adopted a new law on joint stock companies and protection of shareholder rights that establishes higher standards for disclosure of related-party transactions by interested directors and requires companies to include information on such transactions in their annual reports. Enhanced access to information in shareholder actions Benin; Burkina faso; Cameroon; Central african republic; Chad; Comoros; Democratic Republic of congo; Republic of congo; Côte d'ivoire; Equatorial guinea; Gabon; Guinea; Guinea-bissau; Mali; Niger; Senegal; Togo; United arab emirates Senegal's code of civil procedure, amended in August 2013, now permits judges to grant requests from parties to a civil case to compel evidence from the other party, as long as they are relevant to the subject matter of the claim. Expanded shareholders'role in company management Dominican republic; India; Republic of korea; Switzerland Switzerland issued a federal ordinance against abusive remuneration in publicly listed joint stock companies. The ordinance introduced multiple safeguards, including establishing compensation committees and increasing the transparency of directors'compensation schemes. Increased director liability The gambia; India; United arab emirates India's new companies act came into effect in 2014, bringing a host of enhancements, notably on the prevention of abuse by corporate insiders and company mismanagement. Making it easier to enforce contracts Increased procedural efficiency at main trial court The Bahamas; Czech republic; Ireland; Portugal; South africa; Uruguay The Bahamas and Portugal introduced new rules of civil procedure to streamline and expedite court proceedings and ensure less costly resolution of disputes. The Czech republic, Ireland and South africa amended the monetary thresholds for courts at different levels to reduce backlog. Introduced electronic filing Greece; Kazakhstan; Lithuania; Mauritius; Turkey Greece, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mauritius and Turkey all introduced an electronic filing system for commercial cases, allowing attorneys to submit the initial summons online. Introduced or expanded specialized commercial court Benin; Seychelles Benin established a commercial chamber within its court of first instance and assigned 6 judges to solely hear commercial cases. The Seychelles established a specialized commercial court and assigned a permanent local judge to resolve only commercial disputes. Expanded court automation Singapore Singapore launched a new electronic litigation system that streamlines litigation proceedings. Made enforcement of judgment more efficient Kosovo Kosovo introduced private bailiffs and strengthened its enforcement process by establishing penalties for noncompliant debtors. Making it easier to resolve insolvency Introduced a new restructuring procedure Mozambique; Seychelles; Slovenia; Trinidad and tobago; Uganda Uganda established a reorganization procedure for insolvent but viable companies. Strengthened creditors'rights Kazakhstan; Mexico; Mozambique; Switzerland; Uganda Kazakhstan expanded the rights of creditors in insolvency, making it possible for them to remove the debtor from management, nominate an insolvency representative and approve a plan for the sale of assets in case of liquidation. Improved the likelihood of successful reorganization Mexico; Seychelles; Slovenia; Switzerland Mexico introduced provisions allowing debtors to apply for postcommencement financing, establishing priority rules for postcommencement financing and permitting debtors facing imminent insolvency to apply for reorganization proceedings. Established framework for out-ofcourt restructuring FYR Macedonia; Slovenia; Spain Spain established a framework for a prebankruptcy, out-of-court payment agreement. Regulated the profession of insolvency administrators Mozambique; Trinidad and tobago; Uganda Trinidad and tobago created a public office responsible for the general administration of insolvency proceedings and clarified rules on the appointment and duties of trustees. Streamlined and shortened time frames for insolvency proceedings Kazakhstan; FYR Macedonia; Mexico FYR Macedonia tightened time frames for several stages of insolvency proceedings, including inventory and assessment of the debtor's property, submission of creditors'claims and the hearing to examine claims. Improved provisions applicable to voidable transactions Seychelles; Uganda The Seychelles introduced provisions allowing the avoidance of undervalued transactions or transactions made as a gift, if entered into within 2 years before the commencement of liquidation proceedings. Changing labor market regulation Altered hiring rules Cabo Verde; Croatia; Georgia; Italy; Mauritius; Portugal Cabo Verde introduced a minimum wage. Croatia lifted the 3-year limit on the duration of first time fixed-term contracts. Changed redundancy cost and procedures Belgium; Croatia; Finland; France; Georgia; Portugal Finland eliminated the requirement to notify a third party before dismissing 1 or a group of 9 redundant employees. Note: Reforms affecting the labor market regulation indicators are included here but do not affect the ranking on the ease of doing business. Source: Doing Business database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Starting a business The growing efficiency of company registries Entrepreneurs should have the opportunity to turn their ideas into a business. Often a first step is to formally register a company. Yet in many countries the bureaucratic obstacles and high costs imposed by inefficient company registries deter people with good business ideas from embarking on the path of formal entrepreneurship. Formal registration has substantial benefits for businesses and for the economy as a whole. Registered companies can benefit from legal and financial services provided by courts and commercial banks, services not available to unregistered businesses. Their employees benefit from social security protections. And the economy benefits from positive spillovers: where formal entrepreneurship is higher, job creation and economic growth also tend to be higher. 1 Moreover, as more businesses formalize, the tax base expands, enabling the government to spend on productivity-enhancing areas and pursue other social and economic policy objectives. As the first interface between the regulator and a potential new entrepreneur, company registries hold the key to the formal economy, providing businesses with a legal identity and empowering them to participate fully and within the framework of the law. Thus the relative ease or difficulty of start-up can have important economic consequences. Evidence suggests that regulatory reforms making it easier to start a formal business are associated with increases in the number of newly registered firms and with higher levels of employment and productivity. Conversely, excessively cumbersome regulation of startup is associated with higher levels of corruption and informality. 2 WHAT IS AN EFFICIENT REGISTRY? Institutional efficiency at company registries is thus a critical element of a healthy economy. 3 What makes an efficient registry? Answering that question first requires understanding what registries do. A company registry records and updates information on new and existing companies in its jurisdiction and enables registered entities to comply with their obligations under the current regulatory framework, including those related to the company laws. 4 In doing so, the registry incorporates legal entities, providing them with a unique identification, and deregisters insolvent firms. Other services provided by a registry commonly include conducting company name searches, reserving company names and processing applications for business licenses. These functions enable the government to measure tax compliance or avoidance in the formal sector and to derive other business statistics by economic sector or by company size or ownership type. They also enable the government to determine which Company registries empower businesses to operate in the formal economy and to reap the benefits that come with formalization. Online platforms for company incorporation make the process faster and cheaper. Electronic registration and online services substantially reduce the opportunities for bribery and other forms of corruption. Rwanda has made promoting private sector development a top priority on its reform agenda and making it easier to register a business is part of that. Chile's new online business registry experienced rapid take-up, accounting for nearly half of new registrations of limited liability companies in just 7 weeks. The United kingdom's corporate registry actively promotes the use of electronic services and data transparency. 48 DOING BUSINESS 2015 entities are eligible to participate in public tenders and bids (generally only formally registered companies). In addition, they promote consumer protection, as business licensing often represents a quality check to ensure that business activities in certain high-risk industries such as food preparation and pharmaceuticals meet the required health, safety and environmental standards. 5 In evaluating a registry's efficiency in providing daily services, several elements are considered often to be key: a comprehensive electronic database, a one-stop shop and an online platform for business registration. An effective electronic database maintains upto-date information and documents on both newly registered and existing companies and makes this information easily accessible, whether online or onsite at the registry's office. Historically, records were kept in a paper-based format. But the growing trend of computerization among company registries has enabled the electronic storage and maintenance of records. This not only helps reduce errors in inputting and updating business information but also speeds up searches. In addition, electronic record keeping makes it easier to extract statistics. One-stop shops for business registration have become increasingly common. Globally 100 economies have launched already one. And these 100 one-stop shops are quite widely distributed, with 64 of them located in low-or middle-income economies. A one-stop shop provides a single service point for completing several business registration processes. It might consist of several windows or offices occupied by representatives from different government agencies that entrepreneurs need to visit sequentially. Some one-stop shops are even one-window shops providing a single point of interaction between an entrepreneur and all the government agencies involved in business registration. In these onestop shops an entrepreneur can submit all the necessary documents at one window and the documents are distributed then to the appropriate agencies for processing and approval. A GLOBAL TREND OF GOING ELECTRONIC Putting processes online takes efficiency one step further. Doing Business data show that among the 189 economies covered, 144 have introduced online platforms for business incorporation. These enable entrepreneurs to file incorporation documents electronically and sometimes even to complete the entire business registration process online. Company registries in 95 economies around the world reported extensive use of online services in the World bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey in 2013. Among those in the sample, 60%offer an online application to register a business and 58%allow entrepreneurs to register a business remotely. The most common online features offered include online company name search, electronic submission of documents and applications, online filing of annual accounts and the exchange of data between different agencies. In New zealand and Singapore, for example, entrepreneurs can complete the entire business registration process online. Thanks to the interconnectivity between different agencies'systems, they can register their business with tax and social security authorities at the same time as they complete the incorporation process. Some economies, especially low-and middle-income ones, start the digitization process by putting just some features online such as conducting a company name search filling out and submitting registration forms and obtaining an electronic identification number. In Costa rica, Ecuador, Trinidad and tobago, and Zambia entrepreneurs can check the uniqueness and availability of company names online. In Kenya business registration reforms made it possible to complete the value added tax registration online. FIGURE 5. 1 Company registries in high-income economies offer more electronic services 0 20 40 60 80 100 High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income Share of economies with electronic service available(%)2013 Online application Remote registration Electronic access to data Source: World bank Group, Entrepreneurship Database. STARTING A BUSINESS 49 To implement an effective online registration system, all paper-based registration records need to be digitized in a single database and online name search, electronic document filing and online fee payment functions enabled. Streamlining data exchange with other government agencies to automate such actions as enrollment in tax and social security systems can further reduce processing times. Effective security measures are needed to ensure data security. And reliable internet and electricity connections are critical to ensure that online platforms function properly. The most technologically advanced registries are concentrated in OECD high-income economies and Europe and Central asia. Company registries in high-income and upper-middle-income economies tend to offer a much broader array of online services than those in lower-income ones (figure 5. 1). This pattern is not surprising, because developing and launching online services can be costly. Online platforms are designed usually by large international information technology consulting firms and can take months to implement. The cost can range from as low as $20, 000 to as high as several million dollars, depending on the features included. 6 In Nepal the Ministry of Finance allocated 32.20 million Nepalese rupees (about $447, 000) over 3 years to modernize the country's registration office. 7 Once a system is in place, funds are needed to operate it. In Colombia the operating costs of the online national business registration database RUE, which is hosted on 9 different servers, amount to $1 million a year. 8 WHAT ARE THE GAINS FROM GOING ELECTRONIC? Using online services for business registration has several advantages. Online platforms make the process faster and more efficient by eliminating the need for entrepreneurs to travel to meet with government officials, wait in long lines and return if some information turns out to be missing or incorrect. Analysis of data from 71 economies shows that business registration for limited liability companies is significantly faster in those using online platforms (figure 5. 2) . And in most cases online registration is either substantially less expensive than paper-based processes or costs the entrepreneur nothing at all. Using online registration services also greatly reduces the opportunities for corruption and bribery. Where entrepreneurs have need no to interact directly with public officials they are less likely to use informal payments or to face deliberate delays aimed at encouraging bribes. Analysis shows strong positive relationships between international measures of transparency or governance quality including rankings on the rule of law by the World Justice Project and rankings on voice and accountability, control of corruption and regulatory quality as measured by the Worldwide Governance Indicators and the use of online systems for company registration. 9 Economies whose company registry uses online registration, allowing entrepreneurs to set up new businesses remotely, tend to score high on such measures. THREE COUNTRY CASE STUDIES Three country case studies on Rwanda Chile and the United kingdom provide good examples of how corporate registries have improved efficiency and service quality over time. The choice of these countries is based on geographic diversity, adoption of good practices, consistent pace of business registration reform and availability of data. Rwanda promoting a competitive business environment The government of Rwanda has been working to improve the efficiency of business registration as part of broader business regulation reforms aimed at promoting private sector FIGURE 5. 2 Online registration makes starting a business faster and cheaper 05 10 15 20 25 30 35 0510 15 20 25 30 35 Online registration Paper registration SCALE 0 10 20 30 40 50 Average cost(%of income per capita) Average time (days) Average time Average cost Note: The sample consists of 71 economies, with 20 having online registration. Data are for 2013. The relationship is significant at the 5%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database; World bank Group, Entrepreneurship Database. 50 DOING BUSINESS 2015 development a top priority on its reform agenda. The reforms are driven by the conviction that an efficient business climate can reduce poverty by fostering economic growth and job creation. 10 As part of a series of reforms of the start-up process, in 2008 the government established the Office of the Registrar General to maintain an efficient business register and promote a competitive business environment. The new entity oversees the implementation of applicable commercial laws, such as the Companies Act, 11 and the registration and deregistration of businesses. 12 By May 2009 it had set up a one-stop shop, streamlining company name checking, payment of incorporation fees, and tax and company registration procedures. As a result of these reforms company registrations surged (figure 5. 3). In 2009 alone, 3, 028 new limited liability companies were formed almost equivalent to the total for the previous 5 years, when 3, 374 new limited liability companies had been registered. Further simplification of the start-up process followed as a new company law was enacted in 2009. This helped sustain the annual increase in the number of new limited liability companies, a number that reached 6, 655 in 2012.13 Today Rwanda's Office of the Registrar General is focused on making its registration system completely paperless by promoting electronic registration services. Other priorities include ensuring accurate and timely delivery of information on its services and raising awareness of the importance of formalizing businesses. Consistent with good practices in ensuring transparency, the Office of the Registrar General makes official fee schedules for business services easily available to the general public at its premises as well as on its website. 14 Rwanda has made important strides in improving its business environment over the past 10 years. Its business regulation reforms have resulted in cost savings for the private sector estimated at $5 million, investments totaling $45 million and about 15,000 jobs. 15 In 2006, before these reforms, starting a limited liability company in Rwanda took 9 procedures, 18 days and 235.5%of income per capita in fees. Today it takes 8 procedures, 6. 5 days and 52.3%of income per capita. Rwanda, a country facing a range of other development challenges, has shown that improvements in the regulatory environment including the adoption of global good practices are well within the reach of low-income economies. Chile creating a new online registry In recent years the government of Chile has been trying to reduce the size of the country's informal sector and encourage entrepreneurs to formalize their businesses. In 2013 as part of these efforts, a new Chilean law made it possible for entrepreneurs to register limited liability companies through an electronic, unified company registry hosted by the Ministry of Economy and accessible from anywhere free of charge. 16 The new law was part of a strategy aimed at continuing to enhance the efficiency of public services through the use of the latest technologies, moving the country closer to e-government and fostering entrepreneurship and competitiveness. It was motivated also by the government's desire to make further strides in the fight against excessive bureaucracy and red tape a widespread problem in Latin america. Private sector associations supported the new law, but Chilean notaries initially opposed it, because it dispensed with the requirement for the business incorporation services they offered. For business owners, however, the new law represented an opportunity to save time and money and to get access to the growing amount of funding that the Chilean government was investing in business start-ups. The electronic registration system called Your Company in One Day is FIGURE 5. 3 A surge in newly registered firms after start-up reforms in Rwanda 0 0. 2 0. 4 0. 6 0. 8 1. 0 1. 2 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year with reform New firm density Note: New firm density is defined as the number of newly registered limited liability companies per 1, 000 working-age people (ages 15 64. Source: World bank Group, Entrepreneurship Database. STARTING A BUSINESS 51 not only a new process of incorporation but also a new company registry that runs alongside the existing paperbased one. It allows users to register a company online at no cost. All they need to do is to fill out an electronic form providing information about the company and its shareholders. The process takes only a few minutes and provides the certificate of existence instantaneously. The system also automatically assigns a taxpayer identification number to the newly registered company, a function made possible by the interconnectivity with the online platform of the tax agency. And through a web service the system performs automatic identity checks with the tax and civil registry authorities. The rapid take-up of the online services testifies to the success of Your Company in One Day. Only 7 weeks after the launch, nearly half of new limited liability companies in Chile were being created through the new online registry (figure 5. 4). In the first 8 months, the government estimates, more than 20,000 companies were created electronically. The number of limited liability companies registered through the electronic system in 2013 (more than 85,000) was more than twice the number created in 2009 (close to 39 000). ) The ultimate goal should be to reach an electronic registration rate of nearly 100%(see the U k. case study as an example. Chile's online company registry has allowed greater productivity among business founders by making the incorporation process faster and more convenient. And more changes are set to come. The online registry is built for expansion, and the government plans to add new services as well as to allow other types of legal entities to incorporate electronically. The United kingdom simplifying start-up In the United kingdom interacting with the national business registry Companies House is an imperative for starting a business. According to the 2006 Companies Act and its 1985 predecessor, all new limited liability companies must register with Companies House to do business. Before the digital age this was often a costly and laborious task. It involved visits to Companies House long lines and the higher costs associated with postal mail. Company founders often had to hire solicitors to handle paperwork such as the articles of association. But Companies House has simplified greatly the process by introducing electronic filing in 2001, increasing the transparency of its data and providing model articles of association for FIGURE 5. 4 Chile's online system was soon registering almost half of new limited liability companies 0 10 20 30 40 50 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Share of new companies created through online system(%)Note: Data cover the period May 2 June 16, 2013. Source: Chile, Ministry of Economy, Register of Companies (Registro de Empresas y Sociedades. FIGURE 5. 5 Electronic registration has become almost universal in the United kingdom 01234 1990 1995 2000 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 0 Share of new companies registered electronically(%)Total number of registered companies (millions) 100 75 50 25 Share of new companies registered electronically Total number of registered companies Note: Data for 2014 are projected. Source: U k. Companies House 2013a.52 DOING BUSINESS 2015 companies. 17 These changes have made incorporation faster, more convenient and less expensive. Now entrepreneurs can register their business with Companies House in just a few hours by simply filing incorporation documents. All the incorporation forms are available at no cost on the Companies House website and come with detailed instructions. Registration can be done online or at the Companies House office, where computers are available to enable entrepreneurs to register electronically. Entrepreneurs are making good use of the electronic filing option. The share of new companies registered electronically grew sharply in the first few years rising from around 25%in 2001 to 95%in 2009 (figure 5. 5). Indeed, electronic filing has become virtually universal, with more than 98%of new companies registered electronically in 2013.18 Besides offering online registration, Companies House has simplified also the preregistration process. One important step was to increase the transparency of registry data, making initial business start-up research easier. Companies House made basic information on existing companies available at no charge in 1996, allowing business founders to easily conduct name searches both online and in its office. Today Companies House processes 235 million free basic company information searches online or through its mobile application every year. Beginning in 2012 Companies House expanded its company information to include company number, address, status, incorporation date, accounts and filing dates for annual returns. There were almost 15,000 unique downloads of this company information data set in 2013.19 Over the past decade, as Companies House has increased its data transparency, electronic procedures and free resources for business founders, the number of registered companies in the United kingdom has doubled. CONCLUSION Many economies have modernized their company registries, offering a wide array of online services for a lower fee or at no cost at all. But many others lag behind. For low-income economies introducing online platforms may not be an affordable or practical solution, especially if electricity shortages are common. But other steps can be taken to increase the efficiency of business registration. For example, economies could create physical one-stop shops or improve existing ones to streamline incorporation processes and coordinate the work of different agencies. Improving the efficiency and transparency of company registries can not only make incorporation faster and cheaper; it can also reduce the opportunities for corruption and bribery associated with business start-up processes. Two important (and related) observations emerge from this comprehensive overview of the Doing Business data on business start-up. First, a low level of income need not be an insurmountable obstacle to implementing reforms that reduce the complexity and cost of regulatory processes and improve the quality of the underlying institutions. And second, as the latest information and communication technologies spread around the world, low-income economies will find a broader range of opportunities to adopt good practices used in higher-income economies, further contributing to the process of convergence seen in the Doing Business indicators. A growing number of economies with difficult business environments are gradually adopting the practices seen in those with more business-friendly climates. NOTES This case study was written by Baria Nabil Daye, Paula García Serna, Julie Ryan and Valentina Saltane. 1. Fritsch and Noseleit 2013.2. Motta, Oviedo and Santini 2010; Klapper and Love 2011.3. While in some economies the registry is the first and only interface for formally commencing business operations, in other economies the start-up process involves other government agencies as a result of more burdensome regulations. 4. See, for example, the website of the Companies Office of Jamaica at http://www. orcjamaica. com/profile/and that of the Companies Registry of Hong kong at http://www. cr. gov. hk /en/home/./5. De Sa 2005.6. Wille and others 2011.7. IFC Helps Nepal Simplify Business Registration, World bank Group, https://www. wbginvestmentclimate. org/advisory-services/regulatory-simplification/business-regulation/business-entry/nepal-business -registration. cfm. 8. World bank Group, Investment Climate Advisory Services 2009.9. The relationship is significant at the 5%level after controlling for income per capita. 10. Rwanda's Vision 2020: Improving the Investment Climate for Private Sector Development, World bank Group, http://go. worldbank. org/2u51fr33m0. 11. Rwandan Law 07/2009 relating to companies, April 27, 2009.12. Information from the website of the Rwandan Office of the Registrar General at http://org. rdb. rw/./13. World bank Group, Entrepreneurship Database. 14. Information from the website of the Rwandan Office of the Registrar General at http://org. rdb. rw/./15. World bank Group, Investment Climate Advisory Services 2013.16. Simplifica el régimen de constitución, modificación y disolución de las sociedades comerciales, Chilean Law 20.659, January 22, 2013.17. Moss 2014.18. U k. Companies House 2013b.19. U k. Companies House 2013a. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Zoning and urban planning Understanding the benefits Sound regulation of construction helps strengthen property rights, protects the public from faulty building practices and contributes to the process of capital formation. 1 But if procedures are complicated too or costly, builders tend to proceed without a permit. 2 By some estimates 60 80%of building projects in developing economies are undertaken without the proper permits and approvals. 3 For many entrepreneurs, construction regulation is an important consideration when deciding where to establish their business. According to a competitiveness report by KPMG, construction costs are the 5th most important factor determining the location of a start-up in the United states and the permitting process is the 17th most important. 4 One element of construction regulation is zoning, which regulates the location and use of certain types of buildings within a city. HOW DOES ZONING RELATE TO CONSTRUCTION PERMITTING? Zoning is an essential tool in successful urban planning. Maps divide communities into different zones based on the types of uses allowed such as residential, commercial, industrial, public buildings, parks and green areas. In most economies with zoning plans, each zone has its own ordinance governing development within that section. These ordinances determine such factors as building size, height, shape and color; building location; and urban densities. 5 Zoning regulations can provide a useful framework for investors and developers by specifying the most appropriate location for their projects before they apply for a construction permit (figure 6. 1). They can also help municipal authorities establish a consistent and predictable basis for granting construction permits and approving or rejecting construction proposals. Having an up-to-date zoning system is therefore essential not only in supporting the coordination among agencies that is needed for prosperous urban planning but also in ensuring efficiency in granting construction permits. Also important is that such zoning systems be developed through a consultative process with broad participation to ensure that they benefit all social groups. HOW CAN ZONING AFFECT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT? Through zoning, governments can ensure the proper use of land and avoid mixing incompatible land uses. Zoning has been used as a regulatory tool to respond to changing environmental and development conditions as well, including flooding, rising sea levels and the loss of infrastructure. 6 Zoning regulations that take into account environmental threats such as flooding protect citizens by ensuring Zoning the process of planning for land use across geographic areas can help avoid the mixing of incompatible land uses. This has both environmental and economic benefits. Zoning practices vary widely around the world. Economies with an efficient and effective zoning process make zoning maps of cities accessible to builders. Others limit access to the building permit authority which checks the zoning compliance of permit applications. Still others have no zoning system at all. Among OECD high-income economies the process for obtaining a building permit, as measured by Doing Business, takes 19 fewer days on average in those where the process includes zoning procedures than in those where it does not. In New zealand all municipalities have a detailed, up-to-date zoning plan that has been approved through a process with intensive public involvement including public hearings to allow residents to offer suggestions or objections. Guatemala, a recent success story, introduced a land management plan in its capital city in January 2009. A new zoning system established zones based on the general use of land including mixed-use zones. 54 DOING BUSINESS 2015 that future development keeps them and their possessions out of harm's way. More generally, zoning plans can promote the conservation of energy and natural resources, foster a greener environment, improve sustainability and enhance the ability to adapt to climate change. A good zoning plan can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting down on vehicle travel such as by promoting higher-density development and concentrating residential development near job centers. A zoning plan can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting an adequate and accessible public transportation system. 7 By ensuring that certain municipalities include new areas for housing development and new industries zoning plans can help address the challenges associated with demographic change and shifts in business activity. In addition, municipal zoning can protect and improve the health of citizens by removing or minimizing pollution from industrial plants and contamination from landfills and sewage. Zoning can help ensure an adequate supply of safe water and the suitable disposal of waste. And it can enhance property values by reducing pollution, providing suitable light, avoiding overcrowding and traffic congestion, developing green zones and offering proximity to schools, hospitals and other public necessities. 8 But where a zoning process is too complex or restrictive, it can have an adverse effect on factors such as housing supply and prices. Consider the example of Sweden, where zoning policies mandate that municipalities must approve a detailed development plan for most housing projects before issuing a construction permit. According to the Stockholm Planning Department and an OECD study, more than half of all construction projects including most apartment buildings involve designing or modifying a detailed development plan. 9 This can take 18 months on average, according to estimates from the municipality of Stockholm, and in 20%of cases it can take 3 4 years. 10 Many researchers agree that administrative FIGURE 6. 1 Where does zoning generally fit into the construction permitting process? Builder decides on type of construction project. Builder obtains zoning approval (recorded by Doing Business as a separate procedure only if builder is required to obtain approval directly from the relevant agency). Builder prepares the necessary drawings and other required documentation. Builder applies for the necessary preapprovals for the project (if required), such as land use approval, environmental approval and fire safety approval (including any necessary inspections). Builder applies for and obtains a building permit. Builder begins construction and receives either random or phased inspections during construction by the relevant parties. Builder completes construction and receives final inspection from the relevant parties to ensure that the construction was completed in compliance with building regulations and the conditions set forth in the building permit. Builder receives a completion certificate or occupancy permit, ensuring that the building is ready to be occupied. Builder applies for and obtains the final water and sewerage connection from the water and sewerage authorities. In some instances builder must apply for a zoning certificate or zoning approval for the intended location of the project. The relevant authority consults the zoning maps of the city to determine whether the project will be built in an appropriate location, based on its specifications. In some instances builder may consult the zoning maps while the relevant authority simply does a verification check when reviewing the permit application. Source: Doing Business database. ZONING AND URBAN PLANNING 55 barriers to new construction are one of the 2 main factors (the other being rent control policies) that have led to a housing shortage in Sweden over the past decade. 11 WHAT ARE SOME GOOD PRACTICES IN ZONING? Recognizing the importance of zoning and urban planning, many economies require builders to obtain some form of zoning or urban planning approval before building or even before obtaining a construction permit. This is done to ensure that the intended building will be located in the appropriate zone (industrial, commercial or residential) according to the city's zoning requirements. But economies go about this process in different ways. Some economies complete the process efficiently and effectively by making zoning maps of cities accessible to builders (in some cases online. In these cases builders access the maps to verify that their project's intended location is in compliance with zoning regulations, and they can include this information with the building permit application. In Swaziland, for example, builders are responsible for checking the zoning maps and including the zoning information when submitting their permit application to the municipality. In the United states builders in New york city must complete a zoning diagram form available online and submit it along with other required forms to the Department of Buildings. The Department of Buildings will still review the form to check that the project complies with the city's zoning policies. In other economies the permit-issuing authority checks the zoning compliance itself after receiving the building permit application. In The Bahamas, for example, a builder is required only to submit a permit application to the Building Control Unit. This unit then automatically forwards the application to the Town planning Department for zoning approval, with no involvement from the builder. In Belize the Building Plan Committee of the Central Building Authority checks the permit application to ensure compliance with zoning, environmental and fire safety requirements. Neither of these processes requires the builder to take the extra step of actually obtaining a zoning approval before applying for a building permit a good-practice scenario if completed efficiently without significant delays. But efficiency is not all that is important. Around the world good zoning systems also need to be broadly inclusive, incorporating all groups in society to bring about positive social outcomes. They also need to be updated regularly to reflect changing needs and developments. Sixty-five of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business do require that builders go through the additional step of getting urban planning approval before obtaining a construction permit. Of those 65, the largest shares are in Europe and Central asia (26%)and Latin america and the Caribbean (22%)(figure 6. 2). This is a second-best scenario: a zoning system is still in place and zoning compliance is verified still, though not in the most efficient way. Nevertheless, requiring verification of zoning compliance is better than having no zoning system at all with builders able to construct any type of project in any part of the city. Thirty-six of the 65 economies require builders to obtain approval to build in their intended location before they can receive a construction permit (table 6. 1). Twenty-two of these 36 economies require a zoning permit as this form of approval. A zoning permit or zoning clearance signifies that the land use for the planned development is consistent with the zoning regulations. In Canada the building code requires a builder to obtain a zoning permit before even applying for a site plan approval and the technical review of a development application. Among the 22 economies requiring a zoning permit, some issue it more expeditiously than others. In the Philippines it takes 5 days on average to obtain the site clearance from the City planning and Development Office that a builder must have to apply for a construction permit. In Bangladesh obtaining a zoning clearance from the Capital Development Authority (Rajuk) in Dhaka takes 45 days on FIGURE 6. 2 Half the economies that require the additional step of obtaining a zoning or urban planning approval are in Europe and Central asia or Latin america Latin america & Caribbean (14 of 32 economies) OECD high income (9 of 31 economies Sub-saharan africa (8 of 47 economies ) East asia & Pacific (8 of 25 economies) Middle east & North africa (7 of 20 economies) South Asia (2 of 8 economies) Europe & Central asia (17 of 26 economies ) 26%22%14%12%12%11%3%Note: The numbers in parentheses are the number of economies out of the total in each region that require the additional step of obtaining a zoning or urban planning approval. Source: Doing Business database. 56 DOING BUSINESS 2015 average, while obtaining one from the Chittagong Development Authority takes 40 days on average. In other economies the process is entirely different. In Belgium, for example, an urban planning certificate is required only for large-scale projects. This certificate not only verifies that the project can be built in the specified zone but also guarantees that the construction permit will be issued without problems because much of the verification for the permit is done as part of the process for issuing the certificate. For smaller-scale projects all planning regulations are available online. These regulations are set at several levels regional municipal or special zoning providing several options for verifying the regulatory compliance of the project. In 29 of the 65 economies there is no legal requirement to obtain an urban planning clearance or certificate. But architects normally request a certificate because it provides all the information needed to ensure that architectural plans are in compliance with building regulations. In some economies the information is available online, but in most the information can be obtained upon request. IS PERMITTING MORE EFFICIENT WITH ZONING? While obtaining a zoning or urban planning clearance represents an additional step in the construction permitting process, this does not necessarily mean that economies that require this step have inefficient permitting systems. Consider OECD high-income economies. As measured by Doing Business, the process for obtaining approval of a building permit takes 43 days on average in those where it includes zoning procedures, 62 days in those where it does not. Obtaining a zoning or urban planning clearance actually speeds up the process by 19 days on average in these OECD high-income economies especially where the builder can obtain the clearance directly online. The reason is that this step avoids back-and-forth interactions between the permit-issuing agency and the architect or even outright rejection of the project because of noncompliance. On average across all 65 economies that require the additional step, obtaining the zoning or urban planning clearance takes 26 days (of a total of 177 days on average to comply with all formalities to build a warehouse) and costs $402 (of a total of $15, 709). These economies generally require only TABLE 6. 1 What type of clearance is needed in economies with zoning requirements? Zoning permit is mandatory Urban planning clearance or certificate is mandatory Urban planning clearance or certificate is obtained generally but not mandatory Afghanistan Albania Algeria Argentina Bosnia and herzegovina Antigua and barbuda Australia Côte d'ivoire Bahamas, The Bangladesh Ecuador Bahrain Bolivia Iran, Islamic Rep. Cameroon Canada Kosovo Cyprus Comoros Lebanon Finland Costa rica Macedonia, FYR France Czech republic Madagascar Kazakhstan Dominican republic Moldova Latvia El salvador Nicaragua Lithuania Fiji Serbia Montenegro Indonesia South africa Morocco Kuwait Spain Netherlands Mexico New zealand Namibia Palau Philippines Papua new guinea Puerto rico (U s.)Qatar Solomon islands Romania United states Russian Federation Uruguay Senegal Venezuela, RB Singapore Sudan Tajikistan Trinidad and tobago Turkey Ukraine Uzbekistan Vanuatu Note: A zoning permit signifies that the land use for the planned development is consistent with the zoning regulations. An urban planning clearance or certificate generally outlines conditions relating to the plot of land where the builder intends to build, including where construction is permitted on the plot (that is, the specific coordinates). Source: Doing Business database. ZONING AND URBAN PLANNING 57 one procedure to obtain the zoning certificate or clearance. Very few require a site inspection as part of this process, but in those that do, the overall permitting system tends to be less efficient. In Indonesia, for example, a builder must first request a city planning permit and building site plan in Jakarta, from the zoning office, and in Surabaya, from the one-stop shop then receive an on-site inspection and finally receive the city planning permit. This process takes 22 days on average in Jakarta (where the entire construction permitting process takes 202 days) and 23 days in Surabaya (where the entire process takes 243 days). By contrast, Namibia requires only one zoning procedure: the builder must consult with the Town planning Department to ensure that the land is in the correct zoning area. Zoning approvals are issued on the spot and at no cost. Overall, zoning requirements can lead to more efficient and less costly construction permitting systems. They can help guarantee compliance with zoning regulations even before the permit-issuing agency receives the building permit application. This allows architects and engineers to finalize the building specifications with the knowledge that there will be no need to adjust them later in the process because of possible zoning issues. TWO EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE New zealand and Guatemala both provide examples of well-implemented zoning systems. In New zealand all municipalities have a detailed up-to-date zoning plan that has been approved through a participatory process and supports an efficient construction permitting system. And in Guatemala planning authorities in the capital city recently switched to a mixed-use land planning system and digitized the zoning maps all in the span of just 5 years. Construction activity has increased substantially under the new zoning system in Guatemala city. New zealand an efficient and predictable process New zealand illustrates the use of municipal planning and zoning as a tool to facilitate the construction permitting process. Its planning and zoning regulations are among the world's most efficient. They are comprehensive predictable and streamlined in implementation. New zealand uses 2 main types of planning documents: regional plans and district plans. Regional plans specify general requirements, such as air and water quality and the use of coastal areas. District plans are detailed planning guidelines that outline the specific land use and design requirements for builders. The district plans are legally binding, cover the entire usable land in a municipality and are reviewed periodically to ensure that they reflect the changing urban needs. Each district plan is approved through a participatory process in which the district council holds public hearings to allow residents to submit suggestions or objections. Once the residents'comments have been processed the plan becomes operative as a statutory document that regulates land development activities for the entire municipality. This means that all municipalities in New zealand have a detailed, up-todate zoning plan in place that has been approved through meaningful public involvement. The plan provides investors and developers with a reliable reference to guide them in the design and conceptual stage of a project, before they apply for a construction permit. And it provides municipal authorities with a consistent basis for approving or rejecting construction permits, with little discretion involved (figure 6. 3). FIGURE 6. 3 New zealand's district plans support an efficient, predictable process for construction permitting A project not in the permitted category requires a resource consent, an official approval verifying compliance with the resource use requirements of the district plan. The district plan specifies 6 categories of construction projects ranging from permitted to prohibited. Apply for a construction permit Apply for a resource consent Provide an assessment of environmental effects Provide a written consent from the affected parties Undergo public hearings Notify directly affected parties and obtain the resource consent No No Yes Yes Is the land plot in a permitted zone? Is the project complex? Source: An Everyday Guide to the Resource Manangement Act Series 1. 1: Getting in on the Act, New zealand, Ministry of Environment, http://www. mfe. govt. nz/publications/rma/everyday/overview/./58 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Municipalities face official time limits for making a decision 20 working days for simple cases and 4 months for more complex cases that involve public hearings. According to Doing Business data, most complex cases are processed in 100 days. There are 3 main factors behind the efficient processing of construction permits in New zealand in cases where a change in zoning is necessary. First, there are clearly defined steps for modifying a zoning plan (that is, obtaining a resource consent), requiring different levels of review depending on the complexity of the project. A resource consent is required not if the proposed construction is already in a permitted zone. Second there are objective criteria for municipalities to use in making a decision to approve or reject a construction proposal an assessment of environmental effects and a written consent from affected parties. And third, there are official time limits for completing each procedure related to obtaining a resource consent (zoning modification) or construction permit. 12 Guatemala a recent success story Until 5 years ago Guatemala's capital city had a weak zoning system with no digital zoning maps. In January 2009, however, the Municipality of Guatemala city adopted a new land management plan that established land use classifications based on 10 objectives: Encourage access to housing and diversify its supply Promote high-density construction where there is an adequate transport network Limit construction in high-risk areas and protect natural and historically significant areas Ensure public participation in local land use planning Ensure compatibility in the use of buildings in close proximity Encourage mixed land use Create public spaces with high urban vitality Promote an interconnected road network Provide certainty to owners and investors, including by promoting the desired urban development practices through incentives Secure the necessary resources for municipal investment While the old system had divided the land into industrial, residential and commercial zones, the new one established zones according to the general use of land, a change that included introducing mixed-use zones. The city was divided into 6 main zones that range from rural to more urban (table 6. 2). The municipality developed the new plan in consultation with both the private and public sector and widely publicized it. The zoning maps have been digitized over the past 5 years, and the process is now complete for the entire city. Builders can access the maps through an online link to verify that a planned building is in compliance with the city's zoning system before applying for a building permit. 13 The new zoning system has shown positive results including a substantial increase in construction activity, a welcome development given pervasive shortages. The square meters of construction authorized by Guatemala city's one-stop shop for construction permitting almost doubled in the first few years, rising from 1. 1 million in 2009 to 2. 08 million in 2013.14 And the municipality expects to authorize 2. 2 million square meters by the end of 2014. But implementing the system was not without its challenges. Some citizens felt that the government was regulating what they could do with their own land. And many objected to the notion of mixed land use fearing an increase in negative externalities such as noise and traffic in residential areas. In introducing TABLE 6. 2 Zoning classifications in Guatemala city's new land management plan Zone Share of total land in Guatemala city(%)Primary use of zone Share of buildings in zone that can be residential(%)G0 natural 18 Natural reserve areas where residential buildings are allowed not for environmental reasons and because of high risk levels 0 G1 rural 20 Areas that are still rural or agricultural with an intermediate level of risk, where low-density residential buildings are allowed though preservation of the environment is a priority 75 G2 semiurban 9 Areas where low-density buildings in closer proximity are allowed but because of location or topography, preservation of the environment is a priority 75 G3 urban 37 Areas that comprise most of the city's currently urbanized area, including a medium density of single-family and multifamily dwellings 50 G4 central 13 Areas with a high density of mid-rise buildings, where most of the land has been developed and open spaces have been converted into public parks 35 G5 núcleo (core) 3 Areas with a high density of high-rise buildings and towers, where most of the land has been developed and open spaces have been converted into public parks 25 Source: Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial, Municipality of Guatemala city, http://pot. muniguate. com/docts soporte/07 procedimientos pot. php. ZONING AND URBAN PLANNING 59 mixed land use, however, the municipality was seeking to address both traffic issues, by reducing the need for long commutes, and security concerns, by ensuring that all neighborhoods would have activity throughout the day. CONCLUSION Without properly implemented zoning systems, urban planning becomes difficult, as does ensuring the proper uses of land and mitigating environmental concerns. Recognizing the importance of zoning and urban planning, many economies have adopted zoning systems to varying extents. These economies require builders to obtain some form of zoning or urban planning approval before building or even before obtaining a construction permit. These requirements can lead to more efficient and less costly construction permitting systems. NOTES This case study was written by Marie Lily Delion, Anushavan Hambardzumyan, Joyce Ibrahim, Ana Maria Santillana Farakos and Melissa Scanlan. 1. World bank Group, Investment Climate Department 2013.2. Moullier 2009.3. De Soto 2000.4. KPMG 2009.5. Grannis 2011; Neumann 2014.6. Grannis 2011.7. Schaffner and Waxman 2009.8. Crone 1982; Karkkainen 1994.9. In depth interview with an expert in the Stockholm Planning Department conducted by the Doing Business team on December 5, 2013; Hüfner and Lundsgaard 2007.10. Planprocessen, City of Stockholm, http://www. stockholm. se/Trafikstadsplanering/Stadsutveckling/Stadsplanering/Planprocessen/./11. Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning 2013.12. For more information on New zealand's zoning system, see the chapter on urban planning and construction permitting in World bank (2014b). 13. Zoning maps are available on the website of the Municipality of Guatemala city at http://vu. muniguate. com/index. php? id=14&opc=10.14. Statistics provided by the Municipality of Guatemala city. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Registering property Measuring the quality of land administration systems Insecure title to land prevents people from taking full advantage of the productive uses of the land. 1 Where people have proper title to their land, however, they can use the property as collateral for a loan or transfer land parcels in which they have invested. 2 And titles can serve as a valuable insurance and savings tool for families, providing protection during difficult times and in retirement. Indeed with the protection of secure title guaranteed by a reliable land registration system, land can be used to create wealth for the broader benefit of society and contribute to the eradication of poverty. Because land and buildings account for between half and three-quarters of the wealth in most economies, having a reliable system for registering and transferring property titles matters. 3 Doing Business, through its registering property indicators, measures the efficiency of property registration systems through the time, cost and number of procedures required to transfer a commercial property. These indicators do not provide information on the overall quality of land administration systems. This year for the first time, Doing Business has collected preliminary data in 170 economies on the reliability, transparency and coverage of land registration systems and on land dispute resolution (figure 7. 1). Next year Doing Business will refine the newly collected data and intends to add a new indicator on the quality of land administration to its current set of registering property indicators. This year Doing Business has collected new data in 170 economies on the overall quality of land administration systems through a set of indicators on reliability, transparency, coverage and dispute resolution. Half of economies around the world use an electronic database for checking for charges on property (encumbrances) and half have a geographic information system for recording maps. In 72%of economies the land registry makes fee schedules publicly available, either online or on public display boards. Only 56 economies make statistics about transactions at the land registry publicly available, and only 63 provide specific means for filing an official complaint about land services. Around the world, 27%of economies have a registry with full coverage of private land, and 34%a mapping system with complete coverage. A reliable, transparent, complete and secure land registration system is associated with greater access to credit, lower income inequality and a lower incidence of bribery at the land registry. FIGURE 7. 1 What do the data on the quality of land administration systems cover? Reliability Data on reliability assess whether the land registry and mapping system (cadastre) have adequate infrastructure to guarantee high standards and reduce the risk of errors. Reliable land administration systems can provide up-to-date information that is sufficient to make meaningful inferences on ownership. Data on transparency record whether the land administration system makes land-related information publicly available. This can inform the public about transaction possibilities and foster the development of a unified and more efficient land market. Data on coverage assess the extent to which the land registry and mapping system (cadastre) provide complete geographic coverage of privately held land parcels. To be accessible to third parties and thus enforceable to anyone, all transactions need to be verified publicly and authenticated at the registry. Data on dispute resolution measure the accessibility of conflict resolution mechanisms and the extent of liability for entities or agents recording land transactions. Unclear responsibilities in land transactions lead to more land disputes, diverting land from productive uses. Clear responsibilities can help keep the number of unresolved disputes low. Transparency Coverage Dispute resolution REGISTERING PROPERTY 61 HOW TO PROVIDE RELIABLE INFORMATION? A reliable land administration system provides clear information on the ownership of property, supports the security of tenure and facilitates the development of a land market (figure 7. 2). It also inhibits fraudulent actions, such as using false documents to conduct land transactions or selling properties multiple times without the knowledge of the true owners. One key to fulfilling these functions is to have in place the infrastructure needed to maintain land information, supported by an appropriate institutional framework and adequate capacity. Doing Business has developed a series of questions to assess the quality of the infrastructure of land administration systems. These questions focus mainly on how land records are stored at the land registry whether the information is kept in an electronic database, whether the databases for landownership and maps are linked and whether each parcel has a unique, searchable identification number. In many economies property titles are registered manually and most titles remain stored in paper archives with restricted access. In 62 economies property titles are kept only in paper format. Relying on a paper-based system increases the time required to conduct a title search and the opportunities for fraud. 4 It also increases the vulnerability of the records to political instability, poor climate conditions, natural disasters or such incidents as the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed almost all the city's real estate records. More recently, in Kosovo the entire cadastral system had to be reconstructed after years of armed conflict led to the loss or destruction of the system's records. 5 In Pakistan the floods of 2010 destroyed thousands of paper land records, leading to the loss of the only evidence that people had of their land tenure. 6 There was no backup. Computerization can provide a backup system to protect information. It can also make cross-checking data easier for the public agencies that deal with land issues as well as for the general public. Many economies are moving toward computerized land administration systems. Over the past 6 years 51 economies computerized their land registries. Mozambique where a flood affected land records in 2000, scanned most of its titles in 2013. Mauritius implemented a new electronic system that allows the automatic population of property registration information dating back to 1978 and enables different branches of the Registrar General Department to share information. Other economies scanned all their historical records. Digital records also make it easier to access key information on the legal status of properties. An electronic database for encumbrances can quickly show whether there is a mortgage or other charges on a property or any other limitations that would impede its sale to a third party. According to Doing Business research half of economies around the world have an electronic database for rights and encumbrances (figure 7. 3). Cadastral maps play an important part in increasing tenure security by providing information about the physical characteristics of land, the boundaries of parcels and any changes in those boundaries. They can also help ensure a stable source of public revenue by supporting more complete FIGURE 7. 2 What does land administration cover? Land administration A land registry records the ownership and other legal rights over land. The function of land registration is to provide a safe and certain foundation for the acquisition, enjoyment and disposal of rights in land. Land registration system A property map index (cadastre) provides descriptions of land parcels in a specific jurisdiction based on land surveys. It typically includes information about the location, owner and zoning use of parcels. It can be used for land taxation purposes. Surveying and mapping system FIGURE 7. 3 Half of economies have an electronic database for encumbrances and half have a geographic information system Share of economies with an electronic database for encumbrances(%)Share of economies with a geographic information system(%)High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Source: Doing Business database. 62 DOING BUSINESS 2015 coverage of property taxes. 7 A case in point was the Maputo Structure Plan in Mozambique an initiative to collect geographic data that was aimed at aiding the physical development of the capital but that also has the potential to help further improve the collection of property taxes. 8 Today, half of economies around the world have a geographic information system in place a computerized system that can capture, store and analyze geographic data. While most are highincome economies, some are low-and middle-income economies. In Sub-saharan africa for example, South africa and Swaziland both have an electronic database to record property boundaries, check maps and provide updated geographic information on land parcels. Linking the land registry with the cadastral system has important advantages. It helps in maintaining up-to-date records on the legal rights to properties and the spatial characteristics of land plots, thus increasing tenure security. And it provides a single point of contact for those conducting land transactions. 9 In recent years several economies, mostly in Europe and Central asia, have merged their land registries and cadastral systems. For example the Russian Federation created a unified electronic land and property registry in 2013 by merging the state registry of immovable property and the state topographical and cadastral mapping system. Having all agencies use a single identification number for property is also beneficial. It allows quick identification of the legal status of a parcel, providing greater certainty for the parties engaged in a transfer of property and reducing the likelihood of mistakes. A majority of economies use a single identification number, with the highest shares doing so in Europe and Central asia, the OECD high-income group and the Middle east and North africa. HOW DOES TRANSPARENCY SUPPORT QUALITY? Transparency is a key element in the quality of land administration systems. It helps eliminate asymmetries in information between users and officials in a land administration system and increases the efficiency of the land market. 10 Doing Business has collected data about transparency through a set of questions focusing on who has access to land information, whether the fee schedule for land registry services is publicly available, whether there are service standards for property transactions, whether statistics about land transactions are collected and made available to the public and whether any specific mechanism is in place for filing a complaint. Transparency in a land administration system provides a defense against requirements for informal payments such as to register property, change a title, acquire information on land or process cadastral surveys. Complicated processes and limited availability of information in the land sector facilitate such bribery. 11 But a transparent land administration system one in which all land-related information is publicly available, all procedures and property transactions are clear, and information on fees for public services is easy to access minimizes the possibilities for informal payments and abuses of the system. Indeed, cross-country data show that the greater the quality and transparency of a land administration system, the lower the incidence of bribery at the land registry (figure 7. 4). Among all economies included in the research, 45 do not make the fee schedule for land registry services publicly available. In 7 of these economies the fee schedule is not accessible, and in 38 it is accessible only by asking for it in person from a public official. In stark contrast, 83 economies make information on fee schedules available online. Some economies go even further: FIGURE 7. 4 A better and more transparent land administration system is associated with a lower incidence of bribery at the land registry Score on overall quality of land administration Reported incidence of bribery for land services(%)80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Note: The score on the overall quality of land administration is obtained through a set of questions on reliability, transparency; coverage and dispute resolution. For example; an economy receives 1 point if it has a functional electronic database for encumbrances; 1 point if it makes the documents and fee schedules for property registration publicly available (online or on public boards); 1 point if it compiles statistics on land transactions and makes them publicly available and so on. The highest possible score; indicating the highest overall quality; is 30 points. The reported incidence of bribery refers to the share of people reporting in Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2013 survey that when they had contact with land services in the previous 12 months; they paid a bribe for services. The correlation between the score on the overall quality of land administration and the reported incidence of bribery is-0. 60. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. The analysis is based on 88 observations. Source: Doing Business database; Transparency International data. REGISTERING PROPERTY 63 Sweden has an online system allowing anyone to access not only information on fees but also any information on plots going back 400 years. 12 Advanced systems like Sweden's are not easy to afford. A much cheaper alternative is to make fees available through public boards or brochures the approach used by land registries in 34 economies (figure 7. 5). Governments can give citizens the chance to be informed and contribute to a better business environment by promoting transparency about their operations for example, by tracking the performance of their land services and openly sharing statistics about property transactions. Lithuania compiles statistics on the performance of its land registries and makes them available to the public. 13 Panama's land registry dedicates a page on its online portal to transparency, publishing monthly data on the number of transactions broken down by type mortgages, first registrations, transfers. 14 Overall, 98 economies compile statistics on land transactions (figure 7. 6), though only 56 of those make their statistics public. One powerful consequence of transparency is accountability: information gives citizens the power of knowing what to expect and whom to hold accountable in case things go awry. But if the mechanisms through which individuals or agencies are held accountable function poorly, information alone will not be enough. Of all economies included in the research, only 63 have specific means for filing an official complaint about land services. One is Malaysia, where the land registry and the cadastre allow users to file anonymous complaints through their website, which are sent then directly to the director of the department. 15 Another is Mauritius, where the website of the Registrar General Department enables users to fill out a form providing feedback or filing a complaint. 16 WHERE IS COVERAGE COMPLETE? The utility of even the most reliable and transparent land administration system will be undermined if it covers only a limited area of the economy. Where land registries do not provide complete geographic coverage, companies and individuals cannot be sure whether the areas not covered at the registry might be relevant to their interests. 17 For maximum effectiveness, the registry and cadastre should make records of all registered private land readily available and the records should cover the entire economy. 18 Around the world, only 27%of economies have a registry with full coverage of private land and only 34%a cadastre with complete coverage (figure 7. 7). South Asia, Latin america and the Caribbean and Sub-saharan africa have the smallest shares of economies with full coverage of private land, while the OECD high-income group and Europe and Central asia have the largest shares with full coverage. Several economies have increased the coverage of their land registry and cadastre by registering properties and the associated rights through either systematic adjudication or a more sporadic approach. Between 1984 and 2004 Thailand implemented one of the world's largest land titling programs, using efficient, systematic land titling procedures and issuing more than 8. 5 million titles. 19 Recognized as very successful, the project has served as a model for other countries in East asia and the Pacific. 20 More recently, in 2014 Rwanda completed its process of regularizing land tenure, aimed at registering all land in the country. The effort required surveying all land parcels and providing land titles to all rightful claimants. It registered 10.3 million parcels through a low-cost, community-based process starting in 2010.21 With the process complete, FIGURE 7. 5 The accessibility of fee schedules for land registries varies across income groups 0 20 40 60 80 100 High income Middle income Low income Economies by type of access provided(%)Online Public boards/brochures In person Not publicly available Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 7. 6 Where do land registries have statistics on land transactions and a specific mechanism for filing a complaint? 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90specific complaint mechanism Statistics on the number of transactions High income Upper middle income Lower middle income Low income Share of economies with accountability mechanism(%)Source: Doing Business database. 64 DOING BUSINESS 2015 the land registry is now able to provide information on different categories of tenure, through a database searchable by parcel across the entire country. HOW TO DEAL WITH LAND DISPUTES? In many economies disputes over land can make up the lion's share of all disputes in court. 22 To prevent land disputes and better manage existing ones, the legal framework for land administration needs to assign clear responsibilities to the stakeholders involved in land transactions and provide effective mechanisms of dispute resolution that can be implemented in a consistent way and are accessible to all. 23 Data collected by Doing Business on the legal framework for land administration cover several aspects, including who is held responsible for verifying the identities of the parties to a land transaction, whether the property registration system is guaranteed, whether any specific compensation mechanism is in place, how long it takes to resolve a land dispute between 2 domestic companies in the first instance and whether statistics on land disputes are collected and made publicly available. To help avoid land disputes, it is essential to ensure the accuracy of the information underlying land transactions and to identify cases of fraud by verifying and authenticating the identity of parties to a property transaction and validating all property records. This can be done by the registrar or by professional agents such as notaries and lawyers whose legal responsibilities should be specified clearly in the law. In some economies the state requires a professional agent a public notary in France and Italy, a public officer in the Republic of korea to be fully responsible for the transaction. In many economies the state provides a guarantee over property registration. Among all economies covered by the research, 149 have a property registration system backed by a state guarantee. The most advanced forms of guarantee indemnify individuals for losses suffered because of deficiencies in information provided by the registry. 24 In Shanghai, for example, the state will provide full compensation FIGURE 7. 7 Land registries and cadastres provide the highest coverage of private land in OECD high-income economies and Europe and Central asia 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 South Asia Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 South Asia Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa East asia & Pacific Middle east & North africa Europe & Central asia OECD high income Share of economies where land registry has full coverage(%)Share of economies where mapping system has full coverage(%)Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 7. 8 How long does it take to resolve a land dispute in the first instance? 0 20 40 60 80 100 1 year 2 years 3 years or more Latin america & Caribbean South Asia Sub-saharan africa Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Economies by time required(%)Note: Data refer to a standardized case involving a dispute over a property transfer between 2 domestic companies. Source: Doing Business database. REGISTERING PROPERTY 65 for losses due to a technical error by a public officer. In England and Wales indemnity is also payable for losses incurred because of a mistake in an official search or an official copy. Accuracy of information in land registries can help avoid potential disputes. But when disputes do arise, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as voluntary mediation procedures can help deal with them at a preliminary stage, easing the burden on congested courts. 25 A dozen economies have mediation procedures specifically for land disputes. One is instituted Liberia, which a program for resolving land disputes through mediation to fill a gap left by the virtual collapse of its court system after the civil war. 26 The government set up the National Land Commission to address fundamental land tenure issues and develop interim measures for resolving land disputes. When land disputes end up in court, an efficient legal system should be able to provide a timely resolution. But time requirements vary considerably across economies. Obtaining a judgment in a standard land dispute takes less than a year in 58 economies, but up to 3 years or more in another 55 economies. There is also much variation across regions. In 61%of economies in the OECD high-income group and 58%in Europe and Central asia land disputes can be resolved within a year. In 80%of economies in South Asia and 62%in Latin america and the Caribbean, the process usually takes 3 years or more (figure 7. 8). Whether a judicial system provides official statistics on the number of land disputes filed and resolved can be an indicator of its overall quality reflecting something about how well it functions and how transparent it is. Among all economies included in the research, about 20 have such statistics available. In Finland, for example, statistics show that 1, 173 land disputes were settled in the district courts in 2012; these represented about 0. 25%of all disputes resolved through court in the country. In Georgia 168 land disputes were FIGURE 7. 9 Good land administration systems are associated with higher levels of domestic credit provided by the financial sector-100-500 50 100 150 200 250 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Domestic credit provided by financial sector(%of GDP) Score on overall quality of land administration Note: For an explanation of the scoring on the overall quality of land administration, see the note to figure 7. 4. Domestic credit provided by the financial sector includes all credit to various sectors on a gross basis, with the exception of credit to the central government, which is net. The data are for the most recent year available. The correlation between the overall quality of land administration and domestic credit provided by the financial sector is 0. 56. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. The analysis is based on 150 observations. Source: Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database. FIGURE 7. 10 Economies with a good land administration system are likely to have lower inequality 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Score on overall quality of land administration Gini index Note: For an explanation of the scoring on the overall quality of land administration, see the note to figure 7. 4. The Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income or consumption expenditure among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, an index of 100 perfect inequality. The data are for the most recent year available. The correlation between the overall quality of land administration and the Gini index is-0. 37. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. The analysis is based on 123 observations. Source: Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database. 66 DOING BUSINESS 2015 resolved in 2013, accounting for 1. 92%of all disputes settled by the courts of first instance. And in Latvia 324 land dispute claims were filed in 2013, representing 0. 91%of all claims submitted to the courts of first instance. WHY DOES THE QUALITY MATTER FOR ALL? A reliable, transparent, complete and secure land registration system plays an important part in supporting access to credit and economic growth for all. Providing a sound property registration system is a first step toward improving access to credit. Indeed, the higher the quality of the land administration system, the higher the level of domestic credit provided by the financial sector to the economy (figure 7. 9). In addition, clear property boundaries and ownership are important factors in social stability and social development. If people feel secure in their homes and on their land, they are more likely to invest in them, such as by making improvements that benefit health and well-being. Having a safe property registration system for all is associated with lower levels of inequality (figure 7. 10. Economies with a reliable and transparent land administration system tend to have lower inequality and to be more inclusive. CONCLUSION Expanding the registering property indicators to measure the quality of land administration systems as well as the efficiency of property transactions enriches the substance of these indicators. It provides measures of key elements of land administration systems elements that matter for all people in a society. New data on reliability, transparency, coverage and dispute resolution show much variation in the overall quality of land administration systems among the 170 economies covered. The data also show that examples of good practice exist in all regions of the world and will help policy makers identify those examples. NOTES This case study was written by Edgar Chavez, Laura Diniz, Frédéric Meunier, Parvina Rakhimova and Marilyne Youbi. 1. UN-Habitat 2013. Title refers to the formal legal document serving as evidence of ownership. This document can take a range of forms. 2. Galiani and Schargrodsky 2010.3. World bank 1989.4. UN-Habitat 2013.5. UN-Habitat 2012.6. Provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and UN-Habitat Inaugurates GIS Labs for Computerization and Digitization Process of Land Records, United nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), October 3 , 2012, http://www. fukuoka. unhabitat. org/projects/voices/pakistan/detail01 en. html. 7. Hanstad 1998.8. UN-Habitat 2012.9. UNECE 2012.10. One definition of a transparent business environment is one in which individuals possess essential information about the environment in which they operate, meaning that information asymmetries do not place an unjustifiable burden on them (OECD 2002). 11. Transparency International 2011.12. For more on the information available, see the website of Sweden's mapping, cadastral and land registration authority (Lantmäteriet) at http://www. lantmateriet. se/en/Maps-and-geographic-information. 13. For more on the information available, see the website of the Lithuanian Real property Cadastre and Register at http://www. registrucentras. lt. 14. For more on the information available, see the website of the Land Registry of Panama at https://www. registro-publico. gob. pa/index. php/es/icons. html. 15. For more information see the website of the Department of the Director General of Land and Mines of Malaysia at http://www. kptg. gov. my/?/q=en/content/complaints-enquiries. 16. For more information, see the website of the Registrar General Department of Mauritius at http://registrar. mof. gov. mu/English/Pages/About%20the%20department/Land. aspx. 17. Deininger, Selod and Burns 2012.18. UNECE 2012.19. Burns 2004.20. Brits, Grant and Burns 2002.21. Gillingham and Buckle 2014.22. Wehrmann 2008.23. Deininger, Selod and Burns 2012.24. Deininger, Selod and Burns 2012.25. FAO 2012.26. Bruce 2013. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Getting credit The importance of registries Small and medium-size enterprises account for the largest share of employment in the developing world. They are also more likely than large firms to be constrained credit. 1 These businesses need working capital to operate, to grow and to compete in the marketplace. So access to finance is crucial to their success. The Doing Business indicators on getting credit measure 2 types of institutions and systems that can facilitate access to finance and improve its allocation. One set of these indicators focuses on the secured transactions system, examining the legal rights of borrowers and lenders in secured transactions and bankruptcy laws. The second focuses on the credit reporting system, looking at the information collected and distributed through credit bureaus or registries. Research has shown that these institutions and systems work best when implemented together. 2 What is secured an effective transactions system? One that promotes the availability of credit by reducing the risk to lenders of accepting movable assets as collateral. This can be achieved by taking a functional approach to secured transactions and implementing modern collateral registries such as those in Honduras and New zealand to ensure their publicity. What is an effective credit reporting system? One that provides creditors with the most relevant, reliable, timely and sufficient credit data as well as value added services. Among the many features offered by a modern credit reporting service provider are online access to credit information and the provision of credit scores. Doing Business collected new data this year to strengthen the understanding of secured transactions and credit reporting systems around the world. The strength of legal rights index has been expanded from 10 points to 12 to also cover the functional approach to secured transactions and more features of collateral registries. The depth of credit information index has been expanded from 6 points to 8 to also cover the existence of credit scoring and online platforms for exchanging credit data. WHY A FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO SECURED TRANSACTIONS? For lenders considering a loan to a small or medium-size enterprise, one of the biggest deterrents is the possibility that the borrower has hidden liens that is, that the borrower has given already its assets as collateral to another lender. As more complex financial instruments develop and are adopted worldwide such as factoring (where a business sells its invoices to a third party, called a factor, at a discount) or financial leases that create hidden rights over property held by the borrowing company the need for Doing Business has expanded its measures of the legal rights of borrowers and lenders and the sharing of credit information. They now also cover the functional approach to secured transactions more features of the collateral registry and the availability of credit scores and online access to credit information. A functional approach to secured transactions provides transparency and predictability for creditors because the legal framework covers all rights in movable assets that secure the performance of an obligation, regardless of the type of transaction. Forty-seven of 189 economies have a functional approach as recorded by Doing Business. A modern collateral registry centralized, notice-based and allowing online access is important. Among 189 economies, 18 have such a registry, while 25 have based a notice registry and 28 an online registry. Credit bureaus or registries offering online access can provide faster service and better data quality. Online access is available in 119 of 126 economies with a functioning credit bureau or registry covering at least 5%of the adult population as recorded by Doing Business. Credit scores based on credit bureau or registry data provide highly predictive measures of a borrower's future repayment capacity and so can help expand access to finance. They are offered in 64 of the 126 economies with a functioning credit bureau or registry covering at least 5%of the adult population. 68 DOING BUSINESS 2015 a system that limits the impression of false wealth becomes paramount. One way to minimize the potential for secret liens is to adopt a functional approach to secured transactions. This requires legislation that covers all rights in movable assets that are created by agreement and that secure the payment or performance of an obligation, regardless of the type of transaction or the terminology used. 3 In this approach what matters is no longer the form that the agreement takes (whether a floating charge or a pledge agreement, for example) but the rights and obligations that it creates. These rights then need to be publicized through a reliable and affordable public registration system (figure 8. 1). In a system that includes several registries, the registries need to be integrated to the greatest extent possible to ensure that potential creditors can easily retrieve all notices of security interests that have been recorded. 4 This functional approach to secured transactions, also known as the unitary model, has been promoted through model laws in regions as far apart as Eastern europe and Latin america and the Caribbean (figure 8. 2). 5 The functional approach has also been considered in some highincome economies whose current system poses no significant problems but where the legal community sees possible advantages in the approach. 6 In the European union, as part of the efforts to harmonize private law, scholars from economies with different legal traditions have reached consensus on the importance of a single notion of security right with pledges covered by the same rules and principles for creation, publicity and enforcement as assignments of claims, transfers of ownership, and sales and leaseback agreements. 7 The benefits of a functional approach have inspired legal reforms all over the world. In Belgium a new unitary regime will come into force in December 2014. The provisions on pledges in the country's civil code as well as the 1919 law relating to pledges of commercial assets will be abolished, 8 and the distinction between the commercial pledge and civil pledge eliminated. The new legal framework will incorporate the provisions on retention of title now included in the country's bankruptcy law and will formally recognize fiduciary transfer of title. This will create a single legal framework for all pledges over movable assets a big step toward a functional approach to secured transactions. Once implemented, the reform will arguably be the first of its kind in Western europe. Colombia established a modern legal framework for secured transactions in the past year. The new legal framework allows the use of all types of movable assets, present or future, as collateral to secure a loan. It also regulates the functional equivalents of loans secured with movable property, such as financial leases and sales with retention of title. 9 FIGURE 8. 1 Recording all types of secured transactions in a collateral registry promotes transparency Note: Priority is established by time of registration of the security interest. Nonpossessory security interest Fiduciary transfer of title Financial lease Assignment of receivables Sale with retention of title Debtor keeps title & possession of movable asset What are some transactions that can be recorded? What form does the transaction take? Collateral registry Who has priority over claims on the asset? Debtor transfers title Bank Leasing company leases asset Debtor Company assigns receivables Bank Wholesaler sells asset & keeps title Company Bank Leasing company Bank Wholesaler Bank GETTING CREDIT 69 This change is expected to increase transparency and protect the rights of creditors when taking movable property as collateral. Jamaica also established a new legal framework to modernize its secured transactions system. The aim is to improve the availability of credit to the private sector while minimizing the risk of nonpayment of loans. The Security interests in Personal property Act, which came into force on January 2, 2014, repealed provisions governing traditional securities under the Agricultural Loans Act, the Bills of Sale Act and the Debenture Registration Act. The new legal framework applies to all types of security documents, including pledges, leases and floating charges. Jamaica is following a path laid by other jurisdictions with a common law tradition. The most recent previous example was Australia's implementation of the Personal property Security Act of 2009. The reform had a massive legal scope, replacing 77 commonwealth and state acts and regulations and affecting 30 commonwealth, state and territory agencies. All these reforms entailed creating new collateral registries or transforming existing ones. To help in understanding how these institutions function the Doing Business indicators on the legal rights of borrowers and lenders look at several features of their operation. A CRITICAL PIECE THE COLLATERAL REGISTRY To be integrated effective, an legal framework for secured transactions needs to be accompanied by a modern collateral registry for movable assets. Such registries allow a lender to take security rights in an asset without having to take physical custody of it. The debtor retains title and possession. Without registration of these transactions, there is no transparent security for the lender and no assurance that the lender is the only one laying claim to the asset. Collateral registries both enable potential creditors or buyers to discover any existing liens over property and allow them to register their own security interest establishing priority over other creditors in case of the debtor's default. 10 Studies show that a new collateral registry can have a substantial economic impact. In economies that introduce one, access to bank finance rises by about 8 percentage points on average, while interest rates decline by about 3 percentage points and the terms of loans increase by about 6 months. 11 Experience shows how active collateral registries can be, even in countries with small populations. In 5 such countries that recently created registries and reformed secured transactions laws the Marshall islands (2010), the Federated States of Micronesia (2007 the Solomon islands (2009), Tonga (2011) and Vanuatu (2009) the number of filings had reached a total of more than 20,000 by January 31, 2014, while the number of searches had exceeded 60,000. 12 In Australia, whose 2009 reform included implementing a new collateral registry, the number of filings exceeded 2 million in 2013 alone, while the number of searches exceeded 6 million. 13 Implementing and maintaining a modern and well-functioning collateral registry may entail significant financial and administrative efforts. It is encouraging to note that, costs notwithstanding, a number of low-income countries have found the associated investments to be justified fully when examined in light of other benefits for the economy at large. Key features of a modern collateral registry As model laws and legislative guides have evolved with technology over the years, they have encapsulated a set of good practices that serve as generally accepted standards for modern collateral registries. These include using notice-based registration, allowing online access to data and centralizing registries. While traditional registries usually require a copy of the loan agreement or other documents, notice-based registries require no documentation other than a simple generic form that records the existence of a security interest, providing the names of the creditor and the debtor as well as a general description of the collateral asset and the obligation secured. This FIGURE 8. 2 How many economies have adopted a functional approach to secured transactions? 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 South Asia Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa Using functional approach Not using functional approach 2 6 20 10 15 5 21 5 26 7 25 18 29 Number of economies Source: Doing Business database. 70 DOING BUSINESS 2015 avoids the need for a specialist to review lengthy documents, which can be costly and time-consuming. It also improves the quality of registration: with less documentation, the potential for errors is minimized. Notice-based registration has also been adopted successfully for other registration systems, such as patent and trademark registries. Online systems allow users to perform searches and register security interests from anywhere and at any time. Unlike with paper-based systems, there is no need for users to appear before the registrar and wait their turn to enter information in the registry index. Online registration also transfers the burden of preventing errors to the interested party. Centralized registries enable potential creditors to determine whether an asset has been pledged as collateral by searching a single database, regardless of the location of the borrower. To be effective, these registries also need to allow searches based on unique search criteria such as a debtor's unique identifier (or name, if no unique identifiers exist) or a serial number (for serial-numbered assets such as vehicles) and they need to encompass both legal and natural persons as well as all types of assets. Where registries are centralized not, searches can be time-consuming and even useless. In the fragmented collateral registry system for chattel mortgages in the Philippines, for example, finding out whether an asset is mortgaged requires submitting a request to more than a hundred registries. Different legal traditions different practices While the registration of collateral claims is common practice in many economies, the type and role of registries may vary depending on the legal tradition. In some economies with a common law tradition, rights over movable property are recorded customarily in separate registries for incorporated and nonincorporated entities. For example, not all security instruments may be available to both companies and sole proprietorships or registered at the same place. In some civil law economies registration of securities takes place at the local court of first instance or at the commercial registry. In many other economies there is no requirement at all to register security interests over movable property (figure 8. 3). The strength of legal rights index is consistent with good practices in secured transactions law, such as allowing both incorporated and FIGURE 8. 3 Which economies have collateral registries and of which type? Note: The map reports operational collateral registries as recorded by Doing Business those that are for all entities, are centralizied geographically and by asset type and have indexed an electronic database by the debtor's name or unique identifier. Functional equivalents to traditional security interests include financial leases, sales with retention of title, assignments of receivables and fiduciary transfers of title, among others. Registries that are fully online allow searches, registrations, amendments and cancellations to be carried out online by any party with a legitimate right to do so. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING CREDIT 71 nonincorporated companies to create security interests over all categories of movable assets. Good practices also call for registering all types of security interests and functional equivalents at the same place including financial leases, sales with retention of title, assignments of receivables, fiduciary transfers of title and tax liens to ensure that they are hidden not from prospective creditors or buyers. The indicator focuses on the first 4 of these functional equivalents and rewards economies in the scoring if at least 3 of them are recorded at the same collateral registry. This unitary approach has increasingly become part of the secured transactions reforms in Central and Eastern europe most recently in Hungary. But because of different approaches in their implementation, the wave of reforms in the region has led not to consistent results. 14 WHY ARE CREDIT BUREAUS AND REGISTRIES IMPORTANT? Credit reporting service providers can be grouped into 2 main types: credit bureaus, which aim primarily to improve the quality and availability of data that creditors need to make informed decisions, and credit registries, which seek mainly to support banking supervision while also improving the quality and availability of data for supervised financial intermediaries (figure 8. 4).(In practice, many credit bureaus also support financial supervision activities, and some credit registries also aim to improve data for creditors.)While their primary objectives might differ, both types serve the same purpose: reducing information asymmetries to help increase access to credit. They also improve borrower discipline, lower interest rates and support bank supervision and credit risk monitoring. Borrowers have more information about their past credit behavior and current financial situation than creditors do. This makes it hard for individuals and small firms trying to get a loan to make their case to lenders. Banks are more likely to lend to larger firms, which usually are required to adopt international accounting standards, are more transparent and bear less risk of default. 15 By collecting information on individuals and small firms, credit bureaus and registries provide banks with the information they need to assess creditworthiness. This information sharing helps poor people and micro and small businesses. 16 It can especially benefit new entrepreneurs, by enabling formal credit providers to check their past repayment patterns and track their current credit behavior. 17 A 2007 study found that in developing economies access to credit grew twice as fast FIGURE 8. 4 How credit information flows in a system with both a credit registry and credit bureaus Consumers Nonregulated financial institutions Credit card issuers Retailers Telecoms and utilities Public records Court judgments Credit registry Data bank Data providers Service providers Products Users Consumers or credit applicants Debt classification Credit bureau 1 Credit bureau 2 Credit bureau 3 Reports Credit scoring Antifraud Portfolio monitoring Reports Statistics unit of central bank Supervisory unit of central bank Banks and regulated financial institutions Nonregulated financial institutions Retailers Telecoms and utilities Central bank Credit card issuers Banks and regulated financial institutions Note: Some economies have only a credit registry, some have only one or more credit bureaus, and some have both a credit registry and one or more credit bureaus. Credit bureau networks tend to be more complex than credit registry networks because they generally include a larger variety of data providers and data users. Source: World bank 2011a, p. 51.72 DOING BUSINESS 2015 for small firms as for large ones after new credit reporting systems were introduced. 18 Good credit reporting systems combined with strong rule of law can be a catalyst for growth in frontier economies with many young firms and entrepreneurial ventures. Research based on World bank Enterprise Survey data from 123 countries found that in those with better credit reporting systems, younger firms have better access to bank finance than older firms do. 19 Credit information systems also reduce firms'reliance on informal credit, whose high interest rates and lack of protections can be destabilizing both to the firms and to the overall economy. Sharing credit information can improve borrower behavior and reduce interest rates. According to a study surveying more than a thousand consumers in the United states with primary or joint responsibility for paying bills, half said that they would be more likely to pay their bills on time if those payments were reported fully to credit bureaus and could affect their credit score. 20 A study in Albania found that loans given after the launch of its credit registry were 3 percentage points less likely to turn problematic. 21 And when credit reporting compels borrowers to establish consistent repayment patterns, financial institutions face less uncertainty in their debt exposure and can lower interest rates. 22 Credit information systems also help maintain the health of financial systems, with credit registries enabling policy makers and regulators to monitor large flows of money and credit bureaus allowing them to assess developments in credit markets and interest rates. One study found that credit registries played a valuable role in calculating credit risk for capital and in supervising and checking banks'internal ratings in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. 23 Coverage by credit bureaus and registries is extensive, encompassing more than 2 billion individuals and 120 million firms worldwide by January 2014.24 The number of economies with a credit bureau covering at least 5%of the adult population as recorded by Doing Business grew from 49 of 145 economies in 2004 to 94 of 189 in 2014 while the number with a credit registry covering at least 5%increased from 22 of 145 economies to 58 of 189 (figure 8. 5). Globally, 28 economies have both a credit registry and a credit bureau covering at least 5%of the adult population. Coverage continues to grow as economies establish or enhance credit reporting systems. Several did so in the past year. In Jamaica 2 new credit bureaus, Creditinfo Jamaica and CRIF-NM Credit Assure Limited, having received licenses in 2012, began serving banks and financial institutions in 2013. Thanks to the launch of their operations, Jamaica was the economy that made the biggest FIGURE 8. 5 Which economies have a credit bureau or registry? Note: Coverage is the number of individuals and firms covered as a percentage of the adult population. The map reports operational credit reporting service providers as recorded by Doing Business that have a coverage of at least 0. 1%of the adult population. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING CREDIT 73 improvement in credit reporting in 2013/14. Three other economies also developed new credit reporting systems in the past year. The Democratic Republic of congo's central bank established a credit registry by launching an electronic credit reporting system, YSYS CERI, in April 2013. Tanzania's central bank licensed the country's first credit bureau, Creditinfo Tanzania, in June 2013, and its second credit bureau, Dun & bradstreet Credit bureau Tanzania, in September 2013. Vietnam's first credit bureau, Vietnam Credit Information, started operating in January 2014. By April it was providing credit information to 23 of 47 commercial banks in the country as well as market education and training. Some economies have development plans under way. In June 2013 the West african Economic and Monetary Union set up a legal framework providing for the establishment of credit bureaus in member states. Two have adopted the law so far, Senegal in January 2014 and Côte d'ivoire in March 2014. FEATURES OF MODERN CREDIT INFORMATION SYSTEMS The vast majority of credit reporting service providers offer online access to their databases, which provides data users with faster, more efficient service and can ensure better data quality. Many also provide credit scores based on credit bureau or credit registry data as a value added service. These scores are different from those developed on the basis of individual lenders'data and provide a highly predictive measure of a borrower's repayment behavior. Online access and credit scoring are 2 of many features that define a modern credit reporting system. The efficiencies of online access More efficient credit reporting service providers share their data online. Offering online access for subscribed banks and financial institutions has become a must for many credit bureaus and registries. One way to do so is through an online platform accessed with a traditional internet browser. This kind of system allows a user to connect once it has validated the user's login information. Once connected to the system, the user can retrieve credit reports autonomously. Another way to provide online access is through a system-to-system connection where the user's system is connected to and integrated with the credit reporting service provider's system. Both parties have installed software that allows host-to-host connectivity without human interaction. Data are updated automatically, and users retrieve credit information by accessing their own system, with no need to log into the service provider's system. 25 Online access to data is fast and can ensure transparency, data quality and security. A system-to-system connection further ensures system efficiency and high service standards for users because it eliminates data duplication, reduces the risk of human error and allows the streamlining of work flows with appropriate business and validation rules. These advantages may encourage more data providers to share information with the credit bureaus and registries. Online access is widespread. In 119 of 126 economies with a functioning credit bureau or registry covering at least 5%of the adult population as recorded by Doing Business, data users can access borrowers'credit information online. Globally, data providers and users can exchange credit information electronically in 94 of the economies with a credit bureau that covers at least 5%of the adult population and in 50 of those with a credit registry that does so. In East asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central asia, Latin america and the Caribbean, the OECD high-income group and South Asia data providers and users can exchange data electronically in all economies that have a functioning credit bureau or registry covering at FIGURE 8 6 How many economies have a credit bureau or registry providing online access to credit data? 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 South Asia Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa No credit bureau or registry exists Credit bureau or registry exists but has less than 5%coverage Credit bureau or registry with at least 5%coverage exists but does not offer online access Credit bureau or registry with at least 5%coverage exists and offers online access Number of economies 12 5 21 9 20 1 11 30 1 25 1 16 2 7 11 2 5 2 5 21 Note: Coverage is the number of individuals and firms covered as a percentage of the adult population. Source: Doing Business database. 74 DOING BUSINESS 2015 least 5%of the adult population (figure 8. 6). In the middle East and North africa this is the case in about 85%of economies that have such a credit bureau or registry, while in Sub-saharan africa it is the case in only 71%.%Online access to credit reporting systems is growing in the developing world. Ethiopia's central bank established a credit information center to allow banks to submit data and inquiries electronically. A pilot program was launched in August 2011 with 3 commercial banks, and by April 2012 the online system was implemented fully. Today 17 Ethiopian banks are registered as data users and provide monthly updates. The objective for the online system is to preserve and distribute 5 years of historical data on the repayment status of all loans. Bangladesh's central bank (Bangladesh Bank) launched an online system for its credit information bureau in July 2011 to allow banks and other financial institutions to exchange information on borrowers and loan repayments electronically. Before Bangladesh Bank had a semiautomatic system in place: banks provided information on computer disks and had to pick up printed copies of credit reports from Bangladesh Bank's office. Paraguay's central bank introduced a new online system in April 2011. This system is aimed at improving both the credit registry's efficiency by reducing the time it takes to verify credit information from one week to just a few minutes and the accuracy of data. The system, called Red de Comunicación Financiera, allows financial institutions to transfer data to the credit registry and access credit information on both firms and individuals. The predictive value of credit scores Many credit bureaus and registries provide value added services to data users. These include credit scoring marketing services, portfolio monitoring, fraud detection and debt collection. An important tool in expanding access to finance is credit scoring, a statistical method of evaluating the probability that a prospective borrower will fulfill the financial obligations associated with a loan. Credit scores based on credit bureau or credit registry data pool information across many creditors as well as some public information sources. They therefore include characteristics otherwise unavailable to any individual creditor, such as total exposure, number of outstanding loans and previous defaults within the system. Credit scoring models typically incorporate historical data such as defaults positive payment behavior and previous inquiries. To sharpen the predictive value of credit scores, credit bureaus and registries also are increasingly collecting data from a wider range of sources (such as bankruptcies and court judgments). As a result, credit scores generally have a higher predictive value than assessments derived from credit histories alone. 26 Credit scores may improve market efficiency and provide borrowers with more opportunities to obtain credit. The availability of credit scores allows lenders that would otherwise not be capable of analyzing the raw credit data to extend credit to underserved markets at lower cost. Credit scoring based on credit bureau or credit registry data is offered in 64 of 126 economies with a credit reporting service provider covering at least 5%of the adult population as measured by Doing Business. This value added product is most widely available in Latin america and the Caribbean and the OECD high-income group offered in 80%of economies with a credit bureau or registry covering at least 5%of the adult population compared with 40%in Europe and Central asia, 38%in the middle East and North africa, 25%in East asia and the Pacific and 24%in Sub-saharan africa (figure 8. 7). In South Asia credit scores are offered in only 1 of 5 economies with a credit reporting service provider covering at least 5%of the adult population. FIGURE 8. 7 How many economies have a credit bureau or registry providing credit scores? No credit bureau or registry exists Credit bureau or registry exists but has less than 5%coverage Credit bureau or registry with at least 5%coverage exists but does not offer credit scores Credit bureau or registry with at least 5%coverage exists and offers credit scores Number of economies 1 5 4 10 24 16 4 4 8 12 15 6 4 13 2 5 2 1 21 1 2 7 1 1 11 9 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 South Asia Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa Note: Credit scores are those based on credit bureau or registry data. Coverage is the number of individuals and firms covered as a percentage of the adult population. Source: Doing Business database. GETTING CREDIT 75 WHAT ARE THE LINKS WITH ACCESS TO CREDIT? Where the legal framework provides stronger protection of secured creditors'rights and credit reporting systems provide more relevant, reliable, timely and sufficient data, the private sector tends to have better access to credit. Analysis of data collected for the strength of legal rights and depth of credit information indices confirms that economies that score high on these indices also have higher levels of domestic credit provided to the private sector by financial institutions (figure 8. 8). The results show that both transparency in the secured transactions system and access to credit information elements that create predictability for secured creditors and provide lenders with tools to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers are associated with a higher level of private sector credit, and this leads to more business creation or expansion in the long term. Nevertheless, there are many other factors that constrain or enable firms'access to credit, and these should be taken into account when analyzing an economy's credit market. CONCLUSION Effective systems for secured transactions and credit reporting can improve access to finance for small and mediumsize enterprises. This is confirmed by the data for the expanded indicators on getting credit, which this year also cover the functional approach to secured transactions, more features of the collateral registry and the availability of credit scores and online access to credit information. Analysis of these data shows a significant correlation between better performance on the getting credit indicators and higher levels of domestic credit provided to the private sector by financial institutions. Used in conjunction with other indicators measuring factors that affect firms'access to credit, the getting credit indicators can contribute to a better understanding of credit markets. NOTES This case study was written by Iana Ashchian, Catrice Christ, Santiago Croci Downes, Salima Daadouche, Nan (Charlotte) Jiang, Magdalini Konidari and Yasmin Zand. 1. Kuntchev and others 2012.2. Djankov, Mcliesh and Shleifer 2007.3. UNCITRAL 2007.4. World bank 2011b.5. The European Bank for reconstruction and development has used its 1994 Model Law on Secured Transactions to promote a functional approach in Eastern europe while the Organization of american states has used its 2002 Model Inter-American Law on Secured Transactions to promote the approach in Latin america and the Caribbean. 6. According to a discussion paper by the City of London Law Society (2012, p. 3), the advantage of this approach would be that all aspects of the law relating to secured transactions could be set out in one place. This would make it more accessible to those involved in taking or granting security, including those from outside England who engage in cross-border financing. It could also result in useful clarification and simplification of the law. 7. Study Group on a European Civil Code and Research Group on EC Private law (Acquis Group) 2009.8. The relevant provisions of the Belgian Civil Code are in articles 2071 84 on pledge. 9. Law 1676, article 3. 10. Alvarez de la Campa 2011.11. Love, Martínez Pería and Singh 2013.12. Asian Development Bank 2013.13. Data provided by the Australian Financial security Authority. 14. Tajti 2013.15. Jappelli and Pagano 2002; Behr, Entzian and Guettler 2011; Brown, Jappelli and Pagano 2009.16. Luoto, Mcintosh and Wydick 2004; Brown, Jappelli and Pagano 2009.17. Chavis, Klapper and Love 2010.18. Brown and Zehnder 2007.19. Chavis, Klapper and Love 2010.20. Turner and others 2009.21. Behr and Sonnekalb 2012.22. Brown and Zehnder 2007; Luoto, Mcintosh and Wydick 2004; Brown, Jappelli and Pagano 2009; Behr, Entzian and Guettler 2011.23. Powell and others 2004.24. Statistics refer to the number of individuals and firms covered in 126 economies with functioning credit bureaus and registries covering at least 5%of the adult population as recorded by Doing Business. 25. IFC 2012.26. World bank 2011a. FIGURE 8. 8 Economies with stronger systems for secured transactions and credit reporting have higher levels of domestic credit provided to the private sector 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 280 320 Distance to frontier score for getting credit, 2014 Domestic credit to private sector(%of GDP), 2013 Note: Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. The correlation between the distance to frontier score for getting credit and domestic credit to private sector as a percentage of GDP is 0. 34. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Protecting minority investors Going beyond related-party transactions Acorporation is a legal entity distinct from its founders. This essential separation enables a business to flourish or fail separately from the personal assets and interests of its members (whether owners, directors or employees). The advantages of untying a business from its founders are such that the corporation has today become the most common form of commercial entity around the world. But the separation also creates risks. Without a proper structure and allocation of duties and rights, and without clarity in decision-making processes, corporations can quickly become incapable of generating any wealth. Without adequate safeguards, corporations can become vulnerable to abuse, with insiders using corporate assets for personal gain to the detriment of other stakeholders. If such abuses become widespread in an economy, they can deter investors from participating in any corporation. The quality of the rules and regulations governing corporations is therefore fundamental to functioning markets and wealth-generating economic activity. The Doing Business indicators on protecting minority investors analyze the regulation of related-party transactions and shareholder access to judicial redress as a proxy for an economy's overall corporate governance standards and ease of access to financing from capital markets. Stronger protection of minority shareholders in prejudicial related-party transactions is associated with a higher level of development in capital markets as reflected by such indicators as higher market capitalization, larger numbers of listed domestic firms, more initial public offerings and lower private benefits of control. 1 For entrepreneurs seeking to develop or expand a business, access to external financing is a crucial concern. Stronger legal protection of minority investors increases the confidence of investors in markets making them more likely to invest. Econometric research shows that investors'willingness to provide entrepreneurs with equity capital is a significant factor in the development of financial markets, which in turn promotes economic development. Recent studies provide empirical evidence that corporate governance standards aimed at protecting minority shareholders promote positive economic outcomes at the country and firm level. To that end, certain aspects of corporate governance are particularly important such as board composition and independence, firm transparency and disclosure, and the rights of shareholders relative to the board of directors and management. Sound rules and regulations in these areas of corporate governance can minimize the agency problem between majority and minority shareholders as well as that between minority shareholders and the board of directors and management. Doing Business introduces 3 new measures of minority investor protections this year indices on shareholders'rights and role in major corporate decisions, on governance structure and on corporate transparency. Economies with the most developed securities markets tend to have the highest average scores on the 3 new indices. On average, OECD high-income economies offer the strongest protections as measured by the new indices and continue to provide the strongest protections as measured by the existing ones. Among 189 economies worldwide, India follows the largest share of the good practices measured by the new indices. On average shareholders of listed companies are protected more than those of nonlisted companies. Overall, minority investors are protected more in economies that distinguish between shareholders of listed companies and shareholders of nonlisted ones. PROTECTING MINORITY INVESTORS 77 Specifically, greater shareholder protection is associated with larger capital markets, 2 a lower cost of capital, higher cash flows, more efficient firm-level resource allocation3 and greater firm valuation4 and performance. 5 In addition, numerous studies suggest that investors will charge higher rates to provide financing if they are not assured of an adequate return or if they fear expropriation by corporate insiders. 6 In other words, greater shareholder protection reduces the cost of equity by mitigating the agency problem between minority shareholders and managers in relation to diverging interests in the allocation of company resources. Several other studies highlight the positive impact on firm-level resource allocation and long-term returns of having audit committees, of ensuring the independence of the board and of having different people serve as chief executive officer (CEO) and chair of the board. 7 WHAT DO THE INDICATORS NOW MEASURE? Since their inception, the Doing Business indicators on protecting minority investors have been measuring minority shareholder protections against directors'misuse of corporate assets for personal gain. This is done by positing specific sets of assumptions about a transaction between 2 companies that involves a clear conflict of interest. This transaction is tested against the regulations of each of the 189 economies covered by Doing Business to determine who can approve the transaction, what disclosure must be made, who can be held liable if the transaction causes losses, what sanctions decision makers incur and what evidence shareholders can obtain to help them win their case if they choose to initiate a legal action in court. Doing Business continues this exercise and starting in this year's report, also measures other aspects of corporate law that are unrelated to this transaction but that are also indicative of the strength of protection of minority shareholders. This is particularly important to identify additional areas of potential improvement for policy makers and to provide researchers with a broader set of data for analyzing the relationship between corporate governance and economic outcomes (box 9. 1). The fundamental development goal of promoting greater access to finance for entrepreneurs by encouraging regulation conducive to investment in capital markets remains the same and is indeed reinforced by the provision of data on a more comprehensive array of issues. To expand the coverage of the indicators the Doing Business team first used academic literature and institutional reports to identify regulatory good practices that support the relevant policy goals (box 9. 2). The team then selected those that could be measured objectively and independently justified, that offer variation across economies and that lend themselves to data collection and verification through the annual Doing Business questionnaire on minority investor protections. Previously the protecting minority investors indicators assessed 18 components of the quality of regulations. Now 20 additional components that strengthen the rights of minority investors are measured, by 3 new indices: the extent of shareholder rights BOX 9. 1 What is new in the protecting minority investors indicators? Name changed from protecting investors to clarify what is measured by the indicators and what is not. Three indices added to measure protections in matters beyond conflicts of interest: extent of shareholder rights index, strength of governance structure index and extent of corporate transparency index. Ease of shareholder suits index expanded to take into account the allocation of legal expenses. See the data notes for a detailed description of changes and additions to the methodology. FIGURE 9. 1 Shareholder rights in listed and nonlisted companies are consistent in most economies 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Shareholders have the right to amend bylaws or statutes with a simple majority. Shareholders have preemption rights on new shares. Shares can be traded freely prior to a major corporate action. Shareholders representing 10%can call for an extraordinary meeting. Shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor. A company must obtain shareholders'approval to issue new shares. Shareholders can remove directors before the end of their term. Share of economies where good practice applies(%)Listed companies Nonlisted companies Note: The good practices are measured those by the extent of shareholder rights index. Source: Doing Business database. 78 DOING BUSINESS 2015 index, the strength of governance structure index and the extent of corporate transparency index. In addition, a new component on the allocation of legal expenses associated with shareholder litigation has been added to the existing ease of shareholder suits index. 8 Extent of shareholder rights index The ability of shareholders to influence important corporate decisions such BOX 9. 2 Standard setters and good practices Corporate governance practices around the world have been converging over the past 2 decades. This convergence is being driven by a group of global standard setters to which governments look for guidance on how to strengthen their corporate governance, financial reporting and securities regulations. It is also being driven by capital market trends such as the growing use of cross-listings and dual listings that lead to the adoption of common regulatory practices. Corporate governance The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been establishing increasingly influential good practices in such areas as related-party transactions, conflicts of interest, approval requirements and disclosure obligations. The methodology for the protecting minority investors indicators promotes good practices recommended by the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. a For example, the indicators measure whether the division of responsibilities among shareholders officers, directors, outside auditors and regulators is articulated clearly in cases of conflict of interest, in line with OECD principle 1 on corporate governance (ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework). They also capture the rights of minority shareholders to be informed about, and to participate in general shareholder meetings and decisions relating to extraordinary transactions, consistent with principle 2 (rights of shareholders and key ownership functions). They investigate rules relating to insider trading and whether all shareholders of the same series of a class are treated equally, in line with principle 3 (equitable treatment of shareholders). And the extent of disclosure index directly follows principle 5 (disclosure and transparency), while the extent of director liability index echoes principle 6 (responsibilities of the board). Financial reporting and accounting The convergence of accounting standards has helped develop good practices in financial reporting. Two organizations the International Accounting Standards Board, an independent body that sets the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), a U s.-based organization that develops the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) have focused on driving this convergence over the past 15 years, issuing unified accounting standards for use by companies worldwide in both domestic and cross-border financial reporting. IFRS and US GAAP principles mandate strict financial disclosure with the aim of reducing information asymmetries between companies and investors. An important benefit of a single set of high-quality globally accepted accounting standards is that investors can understand and compare the financial results of any company in the world. For this reason many jurisdictions incorporate IFRS and, to a lesser extent, US GAAP into their domestic reporting systems. b Securities regulations The International organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is an association of organizations that regulate securities markets. Its more than 200 members, which oversee more than 95%of the world's securities markets, cooperatively develop, implement and promote standards of regulation, oversight and enforcement to protect both investors and markets. c Another important driver of convergence in securities regulations is the increase in cross-listings and dual listings. To appeal to more risk-averse investors companies in emerging markets are listing on more developed stock exchanges such as the London Stock exchange, the New york stock exchange or NASDAQ in addition to their home country exchanges. Research has found that cross-listing on a U s. stock exchange by a Non-u. S. firm is associated with a significantly positive stock price reaction in the home market. d One reason is that cross-listing in the United states forces firms incorporated in jurisdictions with poor investor protection and enforcement systems to commit themselves to higher standards of corporate governance and this increases the companies'valuation by attracting otherwise reluctant foreign investors. a. OECD 2004. b. U s. Securities and exchange commission 2012. c. Advancing the SEC's Mission through International Organizations, U s. Securities and exchange commission , http://www. sec. gov/about/offices/oia/oia intlorg. shtml. For more information on IOSCO, see its website at http://www. iosco. org/about/./d. Huang, Elkinawy and Jain 2013. PROTECTING MINORITY INVESTORS 79 as appointing and removing board members, issuing new stock and amending the company's bylaws is key to avoiding abuses by corporate insiders. In measuring this aspect Doing Business gives particular attention to the allocation of power between shareholders and management; studies have shown that greater power in the hands of shareholders can lead to greater management attention to shareholder interests and therefore to increased investment (figure 9. 1). Strength of governance structure index Legally mandating separation between corporate constituencies can directly minimize potential agency conflicts. For example, risks associated with conflicts of interest increase exponentially when a CEO can also be chair of the board of directors or when there is no requirement for a minimum number of independent directors. Doing Business tracks legal requirements that strengthen the governance structure of companies, such as board independence functional separation, audit and compensation committees, and limits on cross-shareholding and subsidiary ownership (figure 9. 2). 9 Extent of corporate transparency index Greater access to corporate information can have beneficial effects for firms. For example, where companies are required to disclose information about their finances, about the remuneration of their managers and directors and about other directorships they hold, research has found that this transparency improves corporate governance and lowers the cost of investment in capital markets. 10 Doing Business uses questions relating to a company's audit and financial statements to measure the extent to which companies are required to accurately present their business and financial condition, based on current knowledge and future expectations. Access to complete and accurate financial information is crucial to efficiently deploying investor capital (figure 9. 3). Allocation of legal expenses in shareholder litigation Comprehensive rights are moot without effective ways to assert them. In optimal regulatory environments, enforcement is the duty both of efficient government agencies with adequate resources and of private shareholders willing to initiate legal actions whenever they suspect that a company in which they have invested is being mismanaged by corporate insiders. But such lawsuits, which often target companies (and directors or managers) with deeper pockets, are unlikely to occur unless FIGURE 9. 2 Some areas of corporate governance continue to be overlooked in some economies 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Cross-shareholding between 2 independent companies is limited to 10%.%The board of directors must include independent board members. The CEO is barred from also being the chair of the board of directors. A subsidiary is barred from acquiring shares issued by its parent company. A company must have a separate audit committee. A buyer must make an offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50%of the company. Changes to voting rights of shares must be approved only by the affected shareholders. Listed companies Nonlisted companies Share of economies where good practice applies(%)Note: The good practices are measured those by the strength of governance structure index. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 9. 3 Corporate transparency could be enhanced in some areas 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Managerial compensation must be disclosed on an individual basis. Board members'other positions and directorships must be disclosed. A company must disclose ownership stakes representing 10%.%Audit reports must be disclosed to the public. Financial statements must contain explanatory notes. Annual financial statements must be audited by an external auditor. Listed companies Nonlisted companies Share of economies where good practice applies(%)Note: The good practices are measured those by the extent of corporate transparency index. Source: Doing Business database. 80 DOING BUSINESS 2015 shareholder plaintiffs can recover their legal expenses or the payment of their expenses can be made contingent on a successful outcome. The indicators now measure whether legal expenses incurred by shareholder plaintiffs can be charged to the company and whether plaintiffs can pay attorney fees depending on the damages they recover in court. WHAT DO THE RESULTS SHOW? Overall, OECD high-income economies have the strongest protections of minority shareholders as measured by Doing Business. These economies have the highest average score both on the extent of conflict of interest regulation index, which is the average of 3 existing indices of minority shareholder protections, and on the extent of shareholder governance index, which is the average of the 3 new ones (table 9. 1). 11 The average scores for all regions except South Asia reflect stronger performance on protections from conflicts of interest than on shareholder rights in corporate governance as measured by Doing Business, with the largest gap between the 2 dimensions in East asia and the Pacific and Latin america and the Caribbean. Worldwide, India, France, Albania, Croatia and Switzerland have among the highest scores on the 3 new indices. Coincidentally, both India and Switzerland introduced legislation in the past year that directly addressed some of the new components measured India with a new companies act and Switzerland with a federal ordinance on abusive compensation. Among the regions with lower average scores on the 3 new indices, Sub-saharan africa suffers from having less developed securities regulations and capital markets while the results in East asia and the Pacific and Latin america and the Caribbean are attributable mostly to outdated company laws and the heterogeneity of the economies in these regions. In East asia and the Pacific financial hubs with strong securities commissions and corresponding regulations such as Hong kong SAR, China; Singapore; and Malaysia score well, in contrast with some of the smaller Pacific islands. A similar phenomenon is apparent in Latin america and the Caribbean when comparing Brazil and Colombia, which have the region's highest scores, with such economies as Haiti, Grenada and St lucia. Globally, the results are in line with the results of research in this area suggesting positive correlations between TABLE 9. 1 OECD high-income economies offer the strongest protections overall and as measured by the new indices Region Average score (0 10) Extent of conflict of interest regulation index Extent of shareholder governance index Strength of minority investor protection index OECD high income 6. 4 6. 2 6. 3 Europe & Central asia 6. 0 5. 9 5. 9 South Asia 5 . 2 5. 3 5. 3 East asia & Pacific 5. 5 4. 5 5. 0 Middle east & North africa 4. 8 4. 6 4. 7 Latin america & Caribbean 5. 1 4. 1 4. 6 Sub-saharan africa 4. 8 4. 4 4. 6 Note: The strength of minority investor protection index is the average of the 2 other indices shown here. The extent of conflict of interest regulation index is the average of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder suits indices. The extent of shareholder governance index is the average of the extent of shareholder rights, strength of governance structure and extent of corporate transparency indices. For details on how the indices are constructed, see the data notes. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 9. 4 Greater protection of minority shareholders is associated with greater market capitalization Distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors (0 100), 2014 Market capitalization of listed companies(%of GDP), 2012 0 50 100 150 200 100 80 60 40 20 Note: The correlation between the distance to frontier score for protecting minority investors and market capitalization as a percentage of GDP is 0. 34. The relationship is significant at the 5%level after controlling for income per capita. The sample includes 116 economies for which data on market capitalization are available. Source: Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database. PROTECTING MINORITY INVESTORS 81 minority investor protection and economic outcomes: economies that have stronger regulation of related-party transactions and a greater minority shareholder role in corporate governance also tend to have, for example, higher market capitalization (figure 9. 4). Moreover, economies that tend to have greater shareholder involvement in corporate governance, as measured by the 3 new indices, also tend to have greater protection of minority shareholders in prejudicial related-party transactions, as measured by the 3 existing indices. The results thus confirm the validity of using the quality of regulation of related-party transactions as a proxy for the overall quality of corporate governance. Unsurprisingly the economies that score best on the new indices have active stock exchanges with the requisite legal frameworks and enforcement agencies. Among the 189 economies covered by Doing Business, 124 apply stronger regulations to listed companies than to nonlisted ones, so that shareholders of listed companies are protected more. 12 In all OECD highincome economies the regulations that apply to listed companies are more protective of minority shareholders, consistent with the more developed capital markets in these economies (figure 9. 5). Sub-saharan africa is the only region where the majority of economies provide the same level of protection for minority shareholders in both types of companies, further confirming the link with the level of development of capital markets. But applying the same standards to both types of companies does not necessarily mean better overall protection of shareholders. Somewhat counterintuitively, data show that the larger the gap, the better the overall protection: minority investors are protected more in economies that distinguish between shareholders of listed companies and shareholders of nonlisted ones (figure 9. 6). Indeed, economies that distinguish between these shareholder groups have adopted 55%on average of the good practices captured by the 3 new indices while those that do not distinguish have adopted 39%on average. FIGURE 9. 6 Minority investors are protected more overall in economies that distinguish between shareholders of listed companies and shareholders of nonlisted ones 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Sub-saharan africa Latin america & Caribbean Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific South Asia Europe & Central asia OECD high income Listed companies Nonlisted companies Average share of good practices measured by the 3 new indices that apply(%)Note: The 3 new indices are the extent of shareholder rights, strength of governance structure and extent of corporate transparency indices. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 9. 5 OECD high-income economies systematically offer more protection for shareholders of listed companies than for shareholders of nonlisted ones 100 75 50 250 OECD high income South Asia Europe & Central asia Middle east & North africa East asia & Pacific Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa Higher protection in listed companies Same protection in listed and nonlisted companies 31 7 21 15 16 17 17 30 15 9 5 5 1 Economies by relative level of shareholder protection in listed and nonlisted companies(%)Note: Shareholder protection is measured as by the extent of shareholder rights, strength of governance structure and extent of corporate transparency indices. The numbers shown in the bars are the number of economies in each category within each region. Source: Doing Business database. 82 DOING BUSINESS 2015 CONCLUSION Results on the 3 new indices highlight great variation across the 189 economies covered in the rights, responsibilities and protections afforded to minority shareholders, whether they are investing in a nonlisted company or in a listed one. The new data set brings attention to areas of corporate governance that are overlooked often by policy makers. It also sheds light on the protection of shareholders in nonlisted companies, an aspect on which data are collected seldom and yet that could prove to be a particularly important area of legislation and source of economic growth in economies with less developed stock exchanges and capital markets. More generally the new indices should prove to be helpful in moving beyond a focus on the regulation of relatedparty transactions and identifying a broader array of features that could be lacking in the corporate law and securities regulations of some economies contributing to sounder regulations that both protect minority investors and enhance entrepreneurs'access to equity finance. NOTES This case study was written by Nadine Abi Chakra and Hervé Kaddoura. 1. Djankov, La Porta and others 2008. Private benefits of control are defined as the economic advantages of a majority ownership stake. 2. Black and others 2010; Dharmapala and Khanna 2013.3. Mclean, Zhang and Zhao 2012.4. Cremers and Ferrell forthcoming; Balasubramanian, Black and Khanna 2010; Caixe and Krauter 2013.5. Lima and Sanvicente 2013.6. Chen, Chen and Wei 2011.7. Malhotra, Poteau and Fritz 2013; Black and Kim 2012; Guo and Masulis 2013; Lo, Wong and Firth 2010; Hodgson and Ruel 2012.8. See the data notes for the full list of components added this year. 9. Cross-shareholding refers to 2 independent companies acquiring shares in each other. 10. Gilson 2000; Lima and Sanvicente 2013; Bartha, Konchitchkib and Landsmanc 2013; Lang, Lins and Maffett 2012.11. The 3 existing indices are the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of shareholder suits indices. 12. For the purposes of the protecting minority investors indicators, nonlisted companies are defined as joint stock companies before they are listed on any stock exchange, or their functional equivalent under the respective legislation of the economies covered by Doing Business, and do not include other types of companies such as limited liability companies or sole proprietorships. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Paying taxes Trends before and after the financial crisis Taxes matter for the economy. They provide the sustainable funding needed for social programs and public investments to promote economic growth and development and build a prosperous and orderly society. But policy makers face a difficult challenge in formulating good tax policies: they need to find the right balance between raising revenue and ensuring that tax rates and the administrative burden of tax compliance do not deter participation in the system or discourage business activity. This balancing act is intensified during periods of crisis. In an economic downturn some categories of public spending may automatically rise, putting pressure on deficits. Governments may at times need to deliver tax-based stimulus packages while also providing reassurance to markets that deficits will be reversed and public debt contained. WHY TAX POLICY MATTERS DURING CRISES The global financial crisis of 2008 09 had a dramatic impact on national tax revenue and led to a sharp increase in deficits and public debt. The decline in revenue began in 2008 when general government revenue fell by an average of 0. 7%of GDP worldwide. Revenue declined by another 1. 1%of GDP in 2009.1 The financial crisis led to a shrinking of economic activity and trade in most economies. Fiscal measures were part of the policy toolkit that governments brought to bear in supporting the recovery. Policy makers in most economies applied measures aimed at improving revenue collection while keeping the taxes levied on businesses and households as low as possible, trying to strike a balance between reducing the disincentive effects of high taxes and generating adequate resources to fund essential expenditures. 2 Governments generally reduced the rates and broadened the base for corporate income tax while increasing the rates for the consumption tax or value added tax (VAT). 3 In the European union, for example, most member countries raised personal income tax rates often temporarily, through general surcharges or through solidarity contributions from high-income earners. In addition, several EU members reduced their corporate income tax rate and changed corporate tax bases. Most of these changes were aimed at providing tax relief for investment in physical capital or research and development (R&d) while limiting the deductibility of other items. By contrast, EU members commonly increased VAT rates along with statutory rates for energy and environmental taxes and for alcohol and tobacco taxes. 4 Some governments opted to broaden the VAT base by applying VAT to goods and services that had previously been subject to a zero rate and levying the standard VAT rate on products that had had reduced a VAT rate. 5 Unifying VAT rates Over the 9-year period ending in 2012, the global average total tax rate as measured by Doing Business fell by 9. 1 percentage points. Its rate of decline was fastest during the global financial crisis period (2008 10), averaging 1. 8 percentage points a year, then started slowing in 2011. The average profit tax rate dropped sharply during the crisis period and then started to increase slightly in 2012. The average rate for labor taxes and mandatory contributions was stable throughout the 9-year period. The administrative burden of tax compliance has been steadily easing since 2004 with the growing use of electronic systems for filing and paying taxes. During the financial crisis there was an increase in the number of tax reforms. The pace of reform accelerated with the onset of the crisis, then slowed in subsequent periods. 84 DOING BUSINESS 2015 across all goods and services increases revenue and reduces compliance and administrative costs. 6 Along with falling revenue, the global financial and economic crisis also led to growing tax compliance risks in some economies. Compliance with tax obligations and collection of tax revenue are important to support social programs and services, for example. But in an economic downturn businesses tend to underreport tax liabilities underpay the taxes due, fail to file their tax returns on time and even engage in transactions in the informal sector. 7 Many economies redesigned their tax systems during that period with the objective of easing compliance with tax obligations. BEFORE AND AFTER THE CRISIS A 9-YEAR GLOBAL TAX PROFILE Doing Business has been monitoring how governments tax businesses through its paying taxes indicators for 9 years, looking at both tax administration and tax rates. The data give interesting insights into the tax policies implemented during the financial crisis of 2008 09. Doing Business looks at tax systems from the perspective of the business through 3 indicators. The total tax rate measures all the taxes and mandatory contributions that a standardized medium-size domestic company must pay in a given year as a percentage of its commercial profit. 8 These taxes and contributions include corporate income tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, property taxes, vehicle taxes, capital gains tax, environmental taxes and a variety of smaller taxes. The taxes withheld (such as personal income tax) or collected by the company and remitted to the tax authorities (such as VAT) but not borne by the company are excluded from the total tax rate calculation. Two other indicators measure the complexity of an economy's tax compliance system. The number of payments reflects the total number of taxes and contributions paid the method of payment, the frequency of filing and payment, and the number of agencies involved. The time indicator measures the hours per year required to comply with 3 major taxes: corporate income tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and VAT or sales tax. The indicators show that for businesses around the world, paying taxes became easier and less costly over the 9 years from 2004 through 2012. Falling tax cost for businesses Globally, the total tax rate for the Doing Business case study company averaged 43.1%of commercial profit in 2012.9 Over the 9-year period ending that year, the average total tax rate fell by 9. 1 percentage points around 1 percentage point a year. Its rate of decline was fastest during the crisis period (2008 10 averaging 1. 8 percentage points a year, then started slowing in 2011. The total tax rate fell by an average of 0. 3 percentage points in 2011. The average rate for all 3 types of taxes included in the total tax rate profit, labor and other taxes also fell over the 9 years (figure 10.1). 10 Other taxes decreased the most, by 5. 9 percentage points followed by profit taxes (2. 7 percentage points) and labor taxes (0. 5 percentage points). The main driver of the drop in other taxes was the replacement of the cascading sales tax with VAT by a number of economies, many of them in Sub-saharan africa. Seven economies made this change during the 9 years, 6 of them during the crisis period. 11 This shift substantially reduces the tax cost for businesses: while a cascading sales tax is a turnover tax applied to the full value at every stage of production, a VAT is imposed only on the value added at each stage, and the final consumers bear the burden. While the total tax rate fell in all regions over the 9-year period, Sub-saharan africa had the biggest FIGURE 10.1 A global trend of steady decline in the total tax rate Profit tax Labor tax Other taxes 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Global average total tax rate (%of commercial profit) Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. PAYING TAXES 85 decline. Its average total tax rate dropped by almost 17 percentage points between 2004 and 2012. This aligned the region more closely with the rest of the world, though its average total tax rate still remains the highest, at 53.4%in 2012 (figure 10.2). 12 In addition, many African economies lowered rates for the profit tax, reducing its share in the total tax rate. The size of the tax cost for businesses matters for investment and growth. Where taxes are high, businesses are inclined more to opt out of the formal sector. Given the disincentive effects associated with very high tax rates the continual decline in the total tax rate has been a good trend for Africa. Other economies introduced new taxes during the 9-year period. For example, in 2010 Hungary introduced a sectorspecific surtax on business activity in retail, telecommunications and energy supply. The new tax remained in force until December 31, 2012. In 2009 Romania introduced a minimum income tax. Also in 2009, the Kyrgyz Republic introduced a new real estate tax that is set at 14,000 soms (about $270) per square meter and further adjusted depending on the city location, the property's location within the city and the type of business. The average profit tax rate in most economies fell consistently between 2004 and 2010 dropping most sharply during the crisis period (2008 10), and then started to increase slightly in 2011 and 2012. The average rate for labor taxes and mandatory contributions remained stable throughout the 9-year period regardless of the financial crisis. In several economies this reflects concerns on the part of the authorities about the impact of aging populations and the need to strengthen the financial situation of pension systems. The 9-year trends for the 3 types of taxes included in the total tax rate are reflected in the changing composition of this rate. On average labor taxes and mandatory contributions account for the largest share of the global total tax rate today, having risen from 32%of the total tax rate in 2004 to almost 38%in 2012. The profit tax share rose slightly, while other taxes fell from FIGURE 10.2 Among regions, Sub-saharan africa had the biggest reduction in the total tax rate 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Regional average total tax rate(%of commercial profit) Europe & Central asia East asia & Pacific OECD high income Latin america & Caribbean South Asia Middle east & North africa Sub-saharan africa Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. BOX 10.1 Using technology to make tax compliance easier Rolling out new information and communication technologies for filing and paying taxes and then educating taxpayers and tax officials in their use are not easy tasks for any government. But electronic tax systems, if implemented well and used by most taxpayers, benefit both tax authorities and firms. For tax authorities, electronic filing lightens workloads and reduces operational costs such as for processing, handling and storing tax returns. This allows administrative resources to be allocated to other tasks, such as auditing or providing customer services. Electronic filing is also more convenient for users. It reduces the time and cost required to comply with tax obligations and eliminates the need for taxpayers to wait in line at the tax office. a It also allows faster refunds. And it can lead to a lower rate of errors. Electronic systems for filing and paying taxes have become more common worldwide. Of the 314 reforms making it easier or less costly to pay taxes that Doing Business has recorded since 2004,88 included the introduction or enhancement of online filing and payment systems. These and other improvements to simplify tax compliance reduced the administrative burden to comply with tax obligations. By 2012,76 economies had implemented fully electronic systems for filing and paying taxes as measured by Doing Business. OECD high-income economies have the largest representation in this group. a. Bird and Zolt 2008.86 DOING BUSINESS 2015 32%of the total in 2004 to only 25%in 2012. Easing of the tax administrative burden To comply with tax obligations in 2012, the Doing Business case study company would have made 26.7 payments and put in 268 hours (nearly 7 weeks) on average. This reflects an easing of the administrative burden with 7 fewer payments and 62 fewer hours than in 2004. Consumption taxes have consistently been the most time consuming, requiring 106 hours in 2012, with labor taxes and mandatory contributions not far behind (figure 10.3). ) Corporate income tax takes the least time. While corporate income tax can be complex it often requires only one annual return. Labor and consumption taxes are filed often and paid monthly and involve repetitive calculations for each employee and transaction. And consumption taxes in the form of VAT require filing information on both input and output ledgers. The administrative burden for all the types of taxes eased over the 9 years. But it eased the most for labor taxes and mandatory contributions, with the time for compliance dropping by 23 hours on average and the number of payments by 4. This is thanks mainly to the introduction of electronic systems for filing and paying taxes and to administrative changes merging the filing and payment of labor taxes levied on the same tax base into one return and one payment For labor and consumption taxes, with their requirements for repetitive calculations, the use of accounting software and electronic filing and payment systems can offer great potential time savings (box 10.1). ) In contrast to the total tax rate, the time for compliance declined the most just before the onset of the financial crisis for all 3 types of taxes: profit tax, labor tax and consumption taxes. The number of payments decreased steadily over the 9-year period. PATTERNS IN TAX REFORMS DURING THE CRISIS PERIOD Over the 9-year period ending in 2012, tax reforms peaked in 2008. Doing Business recorded 118 changes implemented that year making it easier or less costly to pay taxes (figure 10.4). 13 The pace of reform slowed in the period immediately after the crisis: in 2011 Doing Business recorded only 43 such changes. Changes making it easier or less costly to pay taxes During the crisis period (2008 10) the most common changes affecting the paying taxes indicators were those cutting the corporate income tax rate (figure 10.5). ) Doing Business recorded 58 such changes during the 3-year FIGURE 10.3 The administrative burden of compliance has eased for all types of taxes 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Global average time (hours per year) Profit tax Labor tax Consumption taxes (sales and VAT) 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Profit tax Labor tax Other taxes 02468 10 12 14 16 18 Global average payments (number) Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. Source: Doing Business database. PAYING TAXES 87 period. The next most common changes were those enhancing or introducing electronic systems for filing and paying taxes online 38 such changes were reported in total. These were aimed at easing the administrative burden of tax compliance to counter the greater risk of tax evasion during economic downturns. Also common were changes to tax deductibility and depreciation rules that would respectively lower the tax cost for businesses and provide them with greater flexibility in planning their cash flow (with a total of 33 recorded). Reducing the corporate income tax rate was a change that many governments made during the financial crisis (box 10.2). ) In 2008 10 around 47 economies cut their rates. Moldova temporarily reduced its rate from 15%to 0, %effectively eliminating any tax on profits in 2008 11, then set the rate at 12%from January 1, 2012. Some economies (Canada, Fiji, Greece, Indonesia, Slovenia, the United kingdom) reduced their rates gradually, over several years. Others introduced temporary additional rate reductions. Vietnam cut its corporate income tax rate from 25%to 17.5%in 2009 as part of a stimulus package for small and medium-size businesses then restored the standard rate for the following year. Other economies abolished their minimum income tax (France, Timor-Leste. Romania, having introduced a minimum income tax in May 2009, abolished it in October 2010. Some economies amended their income tax brackets rather than reducing rates. Portugal introduced tax brackets for profit tax in January 2009. Taxable corporate income up to €12, 500 became subject to half the standard tax rate, while all income over this amount was taxed at the standard 25%rate. To stimulate investment in specific areas, some economies increased the percentage of allowance that could be applied on certain assets or allowed the deduction of more expenses. Thailand, for example, encouraged capital investment with accelerated depreciation for equipment and machinery acquired before December 2010. Australia introduced an investment allowance an up-front deduction of 30%of the cost of new plant contracted for between January 1, 2009, and June 30, 2009, and installed by June 30, FIGURE 10.4 An accelerating pace of tax reform during the global financial crisis East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Latin america & Caribbean Middle east & North africa South Asia Sub-saharan africa 120 100 80 60 40 200 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Number of changes making it easier or less costly to pay taxes as measured by Doing Business Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The changes shown for each year are recorded those from June 1 of that year to June 1 of the following year. Source: Doing Business database. FIGURE 10.5 During the crisis period many economies cut the corporate income tax rate while continuing to improve tax administration Abolished or merged taxes Introduced or enhanced electronic system Reduced labor taxes Made changes in tax depreciation or deductibility rules that reduced tax cost Reduced corporate income tax rate 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Changes making it easier or less costly to pay taxes as measured by Doing Business, by type Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The changes shown for each year are recorded those from June 1 of that year to June 1 of the following year. The figure does not show all types of changes making it easier or less costly to pay taxes recorded by Doing Business. Source: Doing Business database. 88 DOING BUSINESS 2015 2010. Austria introduced accelerated depreciation (30%for the first year) for tangible fixed assets produced or acquired within a specified time period. Spain introduced unlimited tax depreciation for investments made in new fixed assets and immovable property in 2009 and 2010, later extending this to investments made before December 31, 2012. Changes making it more complex or costly to pay taxes Some economies introduced new taxes (16 in total in 2008 10). These were mostly small taxes such as environmental taxes, vehicle taxes, road taxes and other social taxes. Finland increased energy taxes while cutting the income tax rate during the recession. In 2011 Italy raised VAT and local property tax rates, though it also cut labor and corporate income tax rates. In 2010 Pakistan increased the VAT rate from 16%to 17%and raised the minimum tax rate from 0. 5%to 1%levied on turnover. Other tax changes involved increases in labor taxes and mandatory contributions borne by the employer (figure 10.6). ) Estonia increased the unemployment insurance contribution rate twice during 2009 from 0. 3%to 1%on June 1, 2009, and to 1. 4%on August 1, 2009. Iceland increased the social security contribution rate for employers from 5. 34%to 7%in July 2009 and the pension contribution rate from 6%to 7%.CONCLUSION The financial crisis had a substantial impact on national tax revenue, leading in many economies to larger government deficits and higher levels of public debt. This may have helped trigger efforts to redesign tax systems, with governments aiming to strike the right balance between raising additional revenue and avoiding a greater tax burden on businesses. BOX 10.2 The Republic of korea a comprehensive approach to supporting an economy in recession The 2008 global credit crunch and ensuing economic recession hit Korea hard. Heavily dependent on manufactured exports and closely integrated with other developed markets through both trade and financial links, the Korean economy contracted sharply in 2009 and public finances came under pressure. Reflecting diminished confidence in the short-term outlook, the value of the Korean won fell sharply. This helped lead to rapid consideration of a package of measures aimed at putting in place the conditions for a recovery. The government set priorities for tax policy: supporting low-and middle-income taxpayers, facilitating job creation, promoting investment and sustainable growth, rationalizing the tax system and ensuring the sustainability of public finances. a Measures to support low-and middle-income taxpayers included changes in both individual and corporate taxation (such as a special tax credit for small and medium-size enterprises). To support the continuation of family businesses, the government reduced the inheritance tax and allowed deductions of up to 10 billion won (about $10 million) when a small or mediumsize enterprise is inherited, extending this to 50 billion won (about $50 million) in 2014. To help self-employed individuals who were forced to close their businesses in 2009, the government offered an exemption from paying delinquent taxes until the end of 2010 for those starting a new business or getting a new job. The exemption was extended further until the end of 2014. To support local business development it gave a corporate income tax deduction of 100%for the first 5 years and 50%for the next 2 years to companies relocating to Korea from abroad. To support future growth, it introduced R&d incentives for companies and also increased the deductibility of education expenses for individuals. Korea also accelerated the implementation of some tax changes already in the pipeline. It reduced the corporate income tax rate for taxable income below 200 million won ($197, 972) from 13%to 11%in 2008 and to 10%starting in 2010. For the upper bracket (above 200 million won) it reduced the rate from 25%to 22%in 2009 and to 20%in 2010 and thereafter. Korea reduced the personal income tax rate by 1 percentage point for the middle bracket and by 2 percentage points for the top bracket while also increasing allowable deductions. In addition, Korea strengthened tax compliance regulation, imposing penalties on high-income earners for failure to issue cash receipts and introducing more severe punishment for frequent and high-profile tax evaders. It also increased the statute of limitation for prosecution for certain tax crimes. Supporters of Korea's approach believe that it enabled the country to recover faster and more strongly from the global crisis than most other OECD countries. b Korea was one of only a handful of OECD countries that actually registered a reduction in public debt levels over the period 2009 13. Most other advanced economies saw rapid increases in public indebtedness as a result of policy interventions to deal with the effects of the financial crisis. c a. Korea, Ministry of Strategy and Finance 2012. b . OECD 2012. c. International monetary fund, World Economic Outlook Database. PAYING TAXES 89 The data collected for the paying taxes indicators show a clear trend of increasing changes to tax policies during the crisis. Among the most common changes as measured by the indicators were those cutting the corporate income tax rate while increasing VAT rates and those enhancing or introducing electronic systems for filing and paying taxes. Changes easing the administrative burden of tax compliance countered the greater risk of tax evasion that arises during economic downturns. In addition governments introduced new tax deductibility and depreciation rules that would lower the tax cost for businesses, provide them with greater flexibility in planning their cash flow and stimulate investment in specific areas. NOTES This case study was written by Michelle-Christine Hanf, Joanna Nasr and Nadia Novik. 1. World bank, World Development Indicators database. 2. OECD 2010b.3. Buti and Zourek 2012.4. Buti and Zourek 2012.5. Buti and Zourek 2012.6. OECD 2010a.7. Brondolo 2009.8. Commercial profit is net profit before all taxes borne. It differs from the conventional profit before tax reported in financial statements. In computing profit before tax, many of the taxes borne by a firm are deductible. In computing commercial profit, these taxes are not deductible. Commercial profit therefore presents a clear picture of the actual profit of a business before any of the taxes it bears in the course of the fiscal year. It is computed as sales minus cost of goods sold, minus gross salaries, minus administrative expenses, minus other expenses, minus provisions, plus capital gains (from the property sale ) minus interest expense, plus interest income and minus commercial depreciation. To compute the commercial depreciation a straight-line depreciation method is applied, with the following rates: 0%for the land, 5%for the building, 10%for the machinery, 33%for the computers, 20%for the office equipment, 20%for the truck and 10%for business development expenses. Commercial profit amounts to 59.4 times income per capita. 9. This is an unweighted average across 189 economies. 10. The terms profit tax and corporate income tax are used interchangeably in this case study. Other taxes include small taxes such as vehicle taxes, environmental taxes, road taxes, property taxes, property transfer fees, taxes on checks and cascading sales tax. 11. The 7 economies are Burundi the Democratic Republic of congo, Djibouti, The gambia, the Seychelles, Sierra leone and the Republic of Yemen. 12. This is the average for all Sub-Saharan African economies included in Doing Business 2013 (45 in total. 13. These reforms include both major and minor reforms as classified by Doing Business. These include changes in statutory rates, changes in deductibility of expenses and depreciation rules, administrative changes affecting time to comply with 3 major taxes (corporate income tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and VAT or sales tax) and introduction or elimination of taxes. Under the paying taxes methodology, the tax system assessment for calendar year 2008 covers reforms recorded from June 1, 2008, to June 1, 2009, a period that includes the start of the financial crisis in September 2008 and the months immediately following it. FIGURE 10.6 Among other changes to tax systems during the crisis period those introducing new taxes were the most common Introduced new tax Increased labor taxes Made changes in tax depreciation or deductibility rules that increased tax cost Increased corporate income tax rate 18 16 14 12 1086420 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Changes making it more complex or costly to pay taxes as measured by Doing Business, by type Note: The data refer to the 174 economies included in DB2006 (2004. The Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Kosovo, Liberia, Libya, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Myanmar, Qatar, San marino and South Sudan were added in subsequent years. The changes shown for each year are recorded those from June 1 of that year to June 1 of the following year. The figure does not show all types of changes making it more complex or costly to pay taxes recorded by Doing Business. Source: Doing Business database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Enforcing contracts How judicial efficiency supports freedom of contract Freedom of contract is the ability of adults and groups such as corporations and other legal entities to freely decide whether to enter into an enforceable agreement and to determine the rights and obligations of their bargain. This freedom is essential to an efficient economy: without it, and without enforcement of contracts, there would be little stability in financial arrangements, and uncertainty and lack of trust would discourage people from participating in economic life. This case study explores what freedom of contract means and examines how it is regulated in a sample of 34 economies belonging to different regions and income groups, chosen mostly on the basis of the quality of the data collected by the Doing Business team in each economy. 1 It also looks at judicial efficiency in contract resolution in the same 34 economies, using data for the enforcing contracts indicators as a proxy for judicial efficiency. Even substantial freedom of contract could become irrelevant without effective mechanisms for resolving commercial disputes because firms would find themselves operating in an environment where compliance with contractual obligations is not the norm. 2 As in previous years, the ranking on the ease of enforcing contracts continues to be based exclusively on the time, cost and procedural complexity of resolving commercial disputes before local firstinstance courts. This year's research on freedom of contract is a onetime exercise that will not be replicated in future editions of the report and has no implications for the data or rankings for enforcing contracts. Additionally, in carrying out this exercise the team does not intend to advocate in favor of more or less freedom of contract but instead aims to provide an overview of local regulations. In regulating freedom of contract, economies worldwide have had to draw the line between very extensive and very limited freedom of contract (figure 11.1). ) Most have drawn the line somewhere in between. Where freedom of contract is regulated very narrowly, most transactions fall within the strict schemes dictated by the law, leaving the contracting parties with limited negotiating power. But where it is regulated not narrowly, the law contains only the most common limitations (such as for public policy reasons and to prevent fraud and duress), allowing the parties to freely negotiate the terms of their agreement. Where there are few limitations to freedom of contract 2 capable and consenting adults would be able to conclude a 10-year loan contract with an interest rate of 50 %or even contract to sell a house worth $1 million for a penny. But they would not be able to circumvent public policy limitations and conclude a contract by which, for example, one of the parties sells himself as a slave or forces the other into an unwanted agreement limitations of this sort have become widely accepted in modern law. While most would agree In regulating freedom of contract, authorities around the world have had to strike a balance between the desire to give contracting parties the ability to enter into mutually beneficial arrangements and the need to provide adequate safeguards against possible abuse Worldwide, the most common limitations to freedom of contract stem from local legislation, through which the government attempts to draw a boundary between the use and misuse of bargaining power. Other limitations stem from the courts, which play a vital role in shaping freedom of contract by deciding whether or not to enforce certain agreements. In a sample of 34 economies, none allow the parties to a contract to exclude liability for gross negligence or for damages resulting in personal injury. Similarly, all of the economies consider contracts void or voidable if concluded in contravention of public policy or under duress fraud or coercion. Only 4 the Democratic Republic of congo, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri lanka set no statutory limit on interest rates. Almost half (14) explicitly prohibit covenants restricting the alienation of real property. Even where there is considerable freedom of contract, slow resolution of contract disputes can impose implicit limitations. Without reasonably expeditious dispute resolution, the meaning of freedom of contract can be eroded greatly. ENFORCING CONTRACTS 91 that contracts contravening public policy should be illegitimate, some would disagree on whether the first 2 contracts should be enforced. HOW THE LITERATURE DEFINES FREEDOM OF CONTRACT IN the legal and economic literature there is wide consensus on a definition of freedom of contract intended to be the power of contracting parties to freely determine the content of their agreement without interference from the government or from other individuals. 3 The concept is given generally both a negative and a positive meaning. Negative freedom of contract is freedom from interference by the government or by other individuals, while positive freedom of contract is the ability of parties to freely determine the content of an agreement. 4 While there is broad agreement on a general definition, every economy limits freedom of contract in different ways. In regulating these limitations, the main debate has centered on the role that should be played by the courts and by the state in general. In the late 1800s and early 1900s legislators influenced by classical contract theory, relied on the notion that only the parties to a contract can evaluate whether it is beneficial, leading to the idea that whether agreements are prudent and profitable should be determined not by the courts but by the parties themselves. 5 At the time, the private sphere represented a realm in which individual freedom and autonomy were protected from state intervention. Any legislation that disturbed parties'equality was seen as an arbitrary interference with liberty of contract, which no government could legally justify. In this context freedom of contract had few limitations; legislators were concerned more with protecting the sanctity of the bargain because they believed that maximizing individual profits through freedom of contract would promote efficiency in commercial markets. 6 During the mid-1900s, however, governments and courts started to acknowledge the tension between the parties'desire for certainty and stability in private agreements and the need to ensure fairness for weak and vulnerable individuals; concepts such as fraud, duress and undue influence began to play a bigger role in court decisions on limitations to freedom of contract. 7 In this context freedom of contract was seen no longer as absolute but instead as a liberty to be enjoyed within the framework of the law, designed to protect individuals from threats to health, safety, morals and welfare. The court decisions spurred a debate over the government's role in imposing limitations on freedom of contract, and a more paternalistic approach emerged. This entailed overruling individuals'contractual preferences for their own good to protect them from the damaging consequences of their agreements. 8 Several countries started to regulate contractual relationships under the assumption that in certain circumstances people are unable to identify their own preferences. 9 Today most economies regulate limitations to freedom of contract by pairing this paternalistic approach with a program of social justice animated by distributive motives, economic efficiency and overall fairness, which has led to rules favoring some groups in the struggle for welfare. 10 U s. labor law offers a great example of this evolution. In the late 1800s and early 1900s courts invalidated laws that limited freedom of contract including laws with minimum wage requirements, laws with restrictions on maximum working hours or union participation and federal child labor laws. 11 In these cases the court assumed a near equality of bargaining power and found it anomalous that the law would favor one party over the other. This approach dominated in the early 1900s and culminated in the 1905 decision Lochner v. New york, in which the court invalidated a New york law limiting the daily number of hours a baker could work. However, this Lochnerian freedom of contract, the freedom that required parties to live with their duly executed contracts however overreaching or disadvantageous to the weaker party succumbed to the state's interests. 12 During the late 1930s legislation and case law relying on the notion that countries should retain the right to protect individuals from entering into a contract against their health, safety or welfare started to emerge. Laws FIGURE 11.1 Spectrum of the possible limitations to freedom of contract Parties have little to no freedom in negotiating contract conditions because of numerous limitations imposed by law. All economies in the sample fall within this category. Parties have considerable freedom in negotiating contract conditions because the law limits freedom of contract only for reasons relating to public policy, fraud and duress. Very limited freedom of contract Midrange freedom of contract Very extensive freedom of contract 92 DOING BUSINESS 2015 regulating child labor, maximum hours, health and safety , sexual and moral harassment, and nondiscrimination in recruitment and hiring were enforced more and more often by the courts. When distributive motives started to play a bigger role in labor laws, so did measures regulating minimum wage and retirement security. Today, despite the differences in approaches to setting the boundary between the use and misuse of bargaining power, some limitations such as those relating to voluntariness, freedom from coercion, and natural and legal capacity are accepted universally. Worldwide, there are laws intended to prevent people from using force, secrecy, duress or fraud to compel others to enter into contracts that they would not agree to under different circumstances. Similarly, there are contract rules in effect to void agreements that appear to have been entered freely into but were not in actuality, because of the incapacity of one of the contracting parties. These limitations have become an indispensable part of any comprehensive definition of freedom of contract, now intended to be both freedom of the parties from interference by the state and freedom from imposition by one another. 13 Among the 34 economies in the sample, all have legislation deeming contracts unenforceable for reasons of public policy, duress, coercion, fraud, incapacity or undue influence. WHY FREEDOM OF CONTRACT MATTERS FOR FIRMS Freedom of contract is a critical instrument for economic progress and efficiency. 14 Its unrestricted exercise by parties with equal bargaining power, comparable skills and good knowledge of relevant market conditions maximizes individual welfare and promotes the most efficient allocation of resources in the marketplace. 15 In addition, freedom of contract contributes to the establishment of a functional economy in which predictability is prized. 16 Worldwide, the most common limitations to freedom of contract stem from the government, through its attempt to draw a boundary between the use and misuse of bargaining power. Others stem from the courts, which play a vital role in shaping freedom of contract when deciding whether to enforce certain agreements. Indeed, people have true freedom of contract only if the courts enforce their agreements. 17 Courts have a dual role in this context both to protect individuals from unreasonable government regulations and to clarify and apply rightful limitations. Additionally, the judiciary must also make sure that freedom of contract remains meaningful by ensuring timely enforcement of contracts. WHAT METHODOLOGY WAS USED To investigate limitations to freedom of contract in the 34 sampled economies the Doing Business team added several new questions to this year's questionnaire on enforcing contracts. These questions focus on 10 possible limitations to freedom of contract, relating to issues ranging from land transfers to consideration, choice of law and limited liability clauses (box 11.1). ) To observe meaningful differences between economies, the team focused on issues that have been debated extensively throughout the relevant literature and case law, although a consensus has BOX 11.1 Possible limitations to freedom of contract explored through this year's research Statutory limits on interest rates Limitations on consideration and on determination of contract price in future agreements Limitations on clauses restricting land transfers Limitations on choice of law clauses in commercial contracts (clauses specifying that any dispute arising under the contract will be determined in accordance with the law of a particular jurisdiction) Limitations relating to asymmetry of power and to unconscionability (a doctrine in contract law referring to terms that are so one-sided in favor of a party with superior bargaining power that they are contrary to good conscience) Limitations on disclaimers on implied warranties (guarantees that the item sold is merchantable and fit for the purpose intended) Limitations on clauses allowing termination at will (clauses usually included in employment agreements that permit an employee or employer to terminate the employment relationship at any time for any or no reason at all) Limitations on clauses limiting liability, such as for negligence (conduct that departs from what would be expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances) Restrictions on terms included in standard-form contracts (contracts between 2 parties in which the terms and conditions are set by one of the parties and the other party has little or no ability to negotiate more favorable terms) Limitations for reasons relating to public policy, capacity, duress, coercion, fraud and undue influence ENFORCING CONTRACTS 93 been reached on most of them. The 34 economies were chosen from the 189 covered by Doing Business in a way that ensures a representative sample across regions and income groups. One area explored through this research deals with the limitations imposed by national laws on consideration, traditionally defined as anything of value promised to the other party when concluding a contract. Consideration often takes the form of money, though it does not have to. In the sale of a house, for example, the selling party's consideration could be the purchase price or a promise to pay this price, while the buyer's consideration could be the house. The team investigated whether local courts can exercise any scrutiny on the adequacy of consideration and whether the determination of consideration can be left to a future agreement between the parties. If freedom of contract is restricted not courts should exercise no scrutiny on consideration as long as the parties willingly and knowingly accepted the terms of the contract. But if freedom of contract is restricted, courts may rule on the adequacy of consideration to ensure the fairness of all transactions carried out in the marketplace. The inclusion of choice-of-law clauses in international contracts was examined also. These clauses specify that any dispute arising under the contract will be determined under the law of a particular jurisdiction. Economies limiting freedom of contract in this area usually do not allow such clauses or allow them only if the parties have a relationship with the chosen jurisdiction. Those without strict limitations on freedom of contract do not forbid such provisions. Other areas of research included in this year's questionnaire are somewhat more controversial from a social, economic and philosophical perspective. Two research questions in particular provide an interesting example of this controversy: whether an economy has any regulations setting a cap on interest rates and what rules govern asymmetry of power. These questions go to the heart of whether usury laws and laws governing an imbalance in bargaining power should legitimately impose limits on freedom of contract. Both sides of the debate have been defended at length. Those arguing in favor of these laws conclude that without them, free markets would produce perverse incentives to take excessive credit risks, which drive up the cost of the welfare system as a whole. 18 Those arguing against them conclude that courts should enforce all voluntary contracts that do not produce negative consequences for others while redistribution of wealth should occur through the welfare system, not through laws and regulations. 19 On the question of asymmetry of negotiating power, those who defend freedom of contract argue that if contracts signed between parties with unequal bargaining power were treated as invalid because of this asymmetry, those with more power would refuse to sign contracts with people with less power, leading to the exclusion of these people from the market. 20 To capture the differences in the legal treatment of asymmetry of power in contracts, the team collected data on whether local laws contain restrictions on terms that can be used in standard-form contracts or on provisions allowing termination at will. In both cases as in all other cases covered in this study, it is assumed that both parties have full legal capacity and entered into the contract freely. After analyzing the laws addressing these issues in the sampled economies, the team counted the number of limitations to freedom of contract in each economy. The higher the number of limitations, the more limited the freedom of contract. The maximum number of limitations in the study is 10. Any limitation, even in the form of an exception to a general principle, is counted; no relevance is given to the intensity of the limitation. For limitations on contract provisions restricting land transfers, for example, 1 point is given even if the limitations are imposed not on all transactions but apply only to those involving foreigners. In carrying out this exercise the team does not intend to advocate in favor of more or less freedom of contract but instead aims to provide an overview of local regulations. Furthermore, in counting the number of limitations the team does not intend to suggest that a lower number connected with greater freedom of contract in laws and regulations is more desirable. The sole purpose in providing the number of limitations is to understand how the sampled economies regulate freedom of contract without giving any judgment on the quality of the regulations or on their desirability. WHAT THE RESULTS SHOW Among the 34 economies covered, Tunisia has the highest number of limitations to freedom of contract, with 8 of the 10 limitations measured. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the Democratic Republic of congo, with only 3 of the 10 limitations (figure 11.2). ) The results not only show that all 34 economies have struck a balance between the extremes of very limited and very extensive freedom of contract; they also reflect some consensus on the limitations that should be imposed. For example, none of the economies allow the parties to a contract to exclude liability for gross negligence or for damages resulting in personal injury. Similarly, none of them allow contracts concluded in contravention of public policy or under duress, fraud or coercion. And only 4 of the economies the Democratic Republic 94 DOING BUSINESS 2015 of Congo, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri lanka set no statutory limit on interest rates. But there is less agreement on other limitations to freedom of contract. For example there is great variation among the economies on whether the law prohibits covenants restricting alienation of real property. A clause of this type would, for example, forbid the buyer from selling the property for a certain number of years after purchasing it. Of the 34 economies, 14 explicitly prohibit this kind of covenant, though 9 of these 14 economies allow restrictions on alienation of real property when foreigners are involved in the transaction. The rest of the economies allow these contract provisions. Among the 7 regions covered, Europe and Central asia is the only one in which no variation was found in the number and type of limitations imposed on freedom of contract. All sampled economies in the region have the following 6 limitations: A cap is imposed by law on interest rates. Courts can exercise scrutiny on the adequacy of consideration. The determination of a contract price cannot be left to a future agreement, unless the contract already establishes how the price will be determined. Limitations are imposed by law on clauses that can be included in standard-form contracts. Liability for gross negligence cannot be excluded through mutual agreement of the parties. A contract cannot be agreed upon if its terms are against public policy or if one of the parties does not have full legal capacity. The other 6 regions show more variation in the number and type of limitations. Sub-saharan africa is a good example. While the Democratic Republic of congo has the smallest number of limitations in the overall sample, with 3, Togo has one of the largest numbers, with 7. Togo is the only Sub-Saharan African economy in the sample that allows the courts to deny enforcement of a contract on the basis of inadequate consideration. In addition, only 2 of the 5 Sub-Saharan African economies in the sample do not limit the terms that can be included in a standard-form contract, while all 5 allow termination at will, choice-of-law clauses and disclaimers on implied warranties as long as the seller was not acting in bad faith. Across all regions only 3 economies forbid choice-of-law clauses in international contracts. All 3 Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay are in Latin america and the Caribbean. Even where there is considerable freedom of contract, slow resolution of contract disputes can impose implicit limitations. Without reasonably expeditious dispute resolution, the meaning of freedom of contract is eroded; parties might be able to conclude most contracts on their own terms, but long contract resolution times would ultimately frustrate that ability. In Singapore parties not only have broad negotiating power; they also have the certainty that their contracts will be enforced promptly. The country imposes few limitations on freedom of contract, and resolving FIGURE 11.2 The Democratic Republic of congo has the fewest limitations to freedom of contract Number of limitations to freedom of contract Tunisia Uruguay Togo Taiwan, China Greece Brazil Turkey Romania Poland Mozambique Malta Macedonia, FYR India Germany France Czech republic Croatia Colombia Cambodia Bulgaria United arab emirates South africa Lebanon Italy El salvador China Bhutan Barbados Sri lanka Singapore Philippines Pakistan Nigeria Congo, Dem. Rep. 0123456789 10 Source: Doing Business database. ENFORCING CONTRACTS 95 a standardized commercial dispute through the courts from the filing of the case to the enforcement of the contract takes 150 days as measured by Doing Business (figure 11.3), a global best practice. In Sri lanka there are equally few limitations to freedom of contract, but resolving the standardized dispute through the courts takes 1, 318 days almost 4 years. Parties might be able to include a wide array of covenants in their agreements, but long enforcement times can nullify the utility of those covenants. A slow contract resolution process frustrates freedom of contract. The Democratic Republic of congo is another economy where long enforcement times frustrate freedom of contract. It limits freedom of contract only in the areas of future determination of contract price, exclusion of liability for gross negligence, and public policy and legal capacity. But resolving the standardized dispute takes 610 days almost 2 years. Pakistan provides a similar example: there are only 4 limitations to freedom of contract, but resolving the standardized dispute takes 976 days in Karachi. Freedom of contract and efficient contract enforcement are often mutually dependent because one can lose meaning without the other, as shown in the examples above. Among the 34 economies in the sample, however, there are cases where neither is prized. Greece is a clear example. Not only does Greece have one of the highest numbers of limitations (7), it also has among the longest resolution times in the sample. Resolving the standardized dispute in Athens takes 1 580 days more than 4 years. Similarly, in Tunisia, the economy with the highest number of limitations in the sample (8), enforcing a contract takes 565 days. CONCLUSION Freedom of contract and efficient contract enforcement matter to businesses. The exercise of freedom of contract by parties with similar negotiating power and good knowledge of market conditions promotes efficiency in the allocation of resources, maximizing individual welfare and spurring efficiency in the marketplace. 21 Efficient contract enforcement promotes investment by influencing the decisions of economic actors. By promoting investment, good judicial institutions can also contribute to economic growth and development. Indeed an effective judiciary, by providing a structured, timely and orderly framework for resolving disputes, fosters economic stability and growth. Moreover, efficient contract enforcement is essential to allow true freedom of contract. Even where the law allows extensive freedom of contract, the benefits of this can be undermined greatly if not matched by efficient contract enforcement. Without that, the predictability of the legal framework which is valued highly by firms operating in the market would be compromised. 22 NOTES This case study was written by Erica Bosio and Tanya Maria Santillan. 1. The 34 economies in the sample are Barbados; Bhutan; Brazil; Bulgaria; Cambodia; China; Colombia; the Democratic Republic of congo; Croatia; the Czech republic; El salvador; France; Germany; Greece; India; Italy; Lebanon; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Malta; Mozambique; Nigeria; Pakistan; the Philippines; Poland; Romania; Singapore; South africa; Sri lanka; Taiwan, China; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; the United arab emirates; and Uruguay. 2. Ramello and Voigt 2012.3. Braucher 1969.4. Berlin 1969.5. Eisenberg 1995; Edwards 2009; Marella 2006.6. Scott 2002.7. Edwards 2009; Dimatteo and Rich 2006.8. Kronman 1983.9 Shapiro 1988; Marella 2006.10. Kennedy 1982,2006; Kronman 1983.11. Adkins v. Children's Hospital; Adair v. United states; Coppage v. Kansas; Hammer v. Dagenhart; Carter v. Carter Coal Company; Weber 2013.12. West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish; Weber 2013.13. Kennedy 1982.14. Basu 2006; Edwards 2009.15. Edwards 2009.16. Weber 2013.17. Kennedy 1982.18. Posner 1995.19. Pettit 1999; Posner 1995.20. Basu 2006.21. Edwards 2009.22. Brunetti, Kisunko and Weder 1997,1998. FIGURE 11.3 Singapore is among the economies with both the fewest limitations to freedom of contract and the fastest contract resolution Tunisia Singapore Congo, Dem. Rep. Pakistan Sri lanka Greece 1, 600 1, 400 1, 200 1, 000 800 600 400 2000 Time to enforce a contract (days) Number of limitations to freedom of contract 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Source: Doing Business database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Resolving insolvency Measuring the strength of insolvency laws The word bankruptcy often evokes negative associations with failure and shame. And fear of bankruptcy and its consequences can deter potential entrepreneurs from starting a new business venture. According to a recent survey on entrepreneurship, people from a range of social and demographic groups rank the possibility of going bankrupt as the greatest fear associated with starting a business, above irregular income and lack of job security. 1 Yet evidence suggests that the exit of firms from the market is a necessary condition for economic growth, and efficient exit frameworks may in fact encourage greater entrepreneurial activity and new firm creation. 2 Moreover, businesses started by previously failed entrepreneurs can grow faster than those started by first-timers. 3 While reducing the stigma associated with bankruptcy may be difficult, policy makers can minimize the negative effects of business failures and take advantage of their positive effects by adopting efficient and well-functioning bankruptcy laws. Several studies show a strong link between bankruptcy laws and credit market development, as reflected by such aspects as collateral eligibility requirements, access to loans to finance investments, access to longterm debt and the level of firms'financing relative to their size. 4 And studies on the effects of bankruptcy reforms show that speeding up the resolution of debt disputes may increase the probability of timely repayment; that increasing the protection of creditors and their participation in bankruptcy proceedings may lead to a lower cost of debt and a higher aggregate level of credit; and that introducing reorganization proceedings may reduce the rate of business failure. 5 Moreover, efficient bankruptcy regimes with orderly procedures for the sale and distribution of debtors'assets can have a positive effect on loan terms, leverage ratios and bank recovery rates. 6 Bankruptcy laws play such an important role because they promote predictability for both creditors and entrepreneurs by establishing the rules for the worst-case scenario. They allow entrepreneurs to determine the maximum risk associated with a failed venture. 7 And they allow creditors to calculate the maximum risk associated with an unpaid Loan collection of debt through bankruptcy proceedings may be the least attractive option for any creditor, because these proceedings involve several creditors trying to enforce their claims against the same debtor. 8 So, having transparent, enforceable rules on the types of decisions that creditors can influence during bankruptcy proceedings, on the priority of creditors and on other important issues is critical for lenders and becomes a key factor for them in fixing interest rates and maturity terms for loans. 9 AN EXPANDED FOCUS FOR THE INDICATORS The Doing Business indicators on resolving insolvency measure the efficiency Doing Business introduces a new component of the resolving insolvency indicator set this year, the strength of insolvency framework index. This indicator tests whether each economy has adopted internationally recognized good practices in the area of insolvency. The good practices underlying the new indicator are based on 2 sources the World bank's Principles for Effective Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes and the United nations Commission on International Trade Law's Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law. OECD high-income economies have the highest average score on the strength of insolvency framework index. South Asia is the region with the lowest average score on the index. Economies that have reformed their insolvency laws in the past several years score substantially higher on the strength of insolvency framework index than economies with outdated insolvency provisions. Economies with better insolvency laws as measured by Doing Business tend to have more credit available to the private sector. RESOLVING INSOLVENCY 97 of insolvency (bankruptcy) frameworks around the world. Until this year the focus was on capturing the time, cost and outcome of the most likely incourt proceeding involving a domestic debtor in each economy. These 3 measures were used then to calculate the recovery rate how much of its loan a secured creditor would be able to recover at the end of the proceedings. This year Doing Business has introduced an important change in methodology for the resolving insolvency indicators. Besides measuring the recovery rate, it now also tests whether each economy has adopted internationally recognized good practices in the area of insolvency. A new indicator, the strength of insolvency framework index measures good practices in accordance with principles developed by the World bank and the United nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) the World bank's Principles for Effective Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes (referred to here as the World bank principles) and UNCITRAL's Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law (UNCITRAL guide. 10 The purpose behind expanding the scope of the methodology is to capture multiple aspects of the insolvency framework in each economy. The new strength of insolvency framework index measures the quality of insolvency laws, while the previous methodology (recovery rate) captures the insolvency practice. Thus the expanded methodology will provide a more complete and balanced view of the insolvency framework in each economy by addressing both the quality of the law and the efficiency of its implementation. One of the findings this year is that economies with a higher quality of insolvency laws as measured by the strength of insolvency framework index experience on average higher recovery rates. 11 Additionally while the previous methodology focused mainly on secured creditors, the new index widens the reach of the resolving insolvency indicator set to debtors and unsecured creditors. Both the World bank principles and the UNCITRAL guide avoid using the term bankruptcy and instead use the broader term insolvency. The 2 guidebooks generally agree on the objectives of an effective and efficient insolvency regime, and both provide specific recommendations on each of these objectives (the UNCITRAL guide, a multivolume publication, covers a multiplicity of options). The good practices tested under the new indicator are linked closely with the objectives identified in both guidebooks and follow the provisions elaborated in them (table 12.1). ) The strength of insolvency framework index measures whether each economy has adopted internationally recognized good practices in 4 areas: commencement of insolvency proceedings, management of the debtor's assets, reorganization proceedings and creditor participation in insolvency proceedings. Each of these topics is addressed by a separate component index through several questions. The commencement of proceedings index measures what type of proceedings (liquidation, reorganization or both) debtors and creditors can initiate and what standard is used to declare a debtor insolvent. The management of debtor's assets index measures whether, during insolvency proceedings, a debtor can continue transactions essential to the survival of the business and terminate contracts that are overly burdensome; whether preferential and undervalued transactions made by the debtor prior to the commencement of insolvency can be avoided; and whether the debtor can obtain new financing during insolvency proceedings to support its continuous operation. The reorganization proceedings index measures whether and how creditors vote on a reorganization plan and what protections are available to dissenting creditors. The creditor participation index measures whether creditors participate in important decisions during insolvency proceedings, such as appointment of the insolvency representative and sale of assets during the proceedings; whether creditors have access to information about the debtor and the proceedings; and whether creditors can object to decisions affecting their rights, such as approval of claims submitted by other creditors. The information used to compile the strength of insolvency framework index was provided by private and public sector insolvency practitioners in each economy with reference to the applicable laws and regulations. The Doing Business team analyzed both primary and secondary sources in evaluating to what extent insolvency laws in each economy accord with internationally accepted good practices. Based on this analysis, the team assigned a score for each of the 4 component indices. The sum of these 4 scores is the score on the strength of insolvency framework index. For a more detailed description of the scoring methodology, see the data notes.)WHERE ARE GOOD PRACTICES MOST COMMON? OECD high-income economies have the highest scores on average on the strength of insolvency framework index and on each of the 4 component indices (figure 12.1). ) Among the economies in this region, Germany and the United states have the highest scores. Europe and Central asia has the second highest average score on the strength of insolvency framework index, though there is a substantial difference between the average score of Eastern and Central European economies and that 98 DOING BUSINESS 2015 of Central Asian economies. Economies that have reformed recently their insolvency laws such as Bulgaria Romania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Montenegro have the region's highest scores, having implemented many of the good practices measured by the index as part of their reform efforts. East asia and the Pacific and Sub-saharan africa are tied with the third highest score. Economies with some of the highest scores in Sub-saharan africa are adopted those that the OHADA (Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa) Uniform Act Organizing Collective Proceedings for Wiping Off Debts. In East asia and the Pacific there is great variation in the strength of insolvency frameworks. Economies that have amended recently their insolvency laws such as China, Cambodia and the Philippines, receive high scores, while other economies have no formal insolvency framework, such as Palau and the Marshall islands. The region with the lowest average score on the strength of insolvency framework index is South Asia. Very few economies in the region have insolvency laws that facilitate the continuation of the debtor's business during insolvency proceedings. Economies in the middle East and North africa score only slightly better. Only 2 economies in this region have a reorganization framework, and many lack a designated insolvency law; instead, provisions related to insolvency are found in company laws and commercial codes. In Latin america and the Caribbean some economies have developed well insolvency laws, such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, for example, all of which score relatively high on the strength of insolvency framework index. But most of the smaller economies in the region, particularly island economies, still use winding-up provisions in companies acts that have not been amended for several decades. This analysis shows that economies that have reformed their insolvency TABLE 12.1 Objectives of an effective insolvency regime as identified by the World bank principles and the UNCITRAL guide and measured by the resolving insolvency indicators World bank principles UNCITRAL guide Resolving insolvency indicators Integrate with a country's broader legal and commercial systems Provision of certainty in the market to promote economic stability and growth Maximize the value of a firm's assets and recoveries by creditors Maximization of value of assets New indicator tests whether the value of the debtor's assets can be preserved by continuing contracts of the debtor essential to survival of its business, by rejecting overly burdensome contracts, by invalidating preferential and undervalued transactions and by obtaining post-commencement financing. Provide for the efficient liquidation of both nonviable businesses and businesses whose liquidation is likely to produce a greater return to creditors and reorganization of viable businesses Existing indicators test whether viable businesses can be reorganized and whether businesses in liquidation can be sold as a going concern Strike a careful balance between liquidation and reorganization, allowing for easy conversion of proceedings from one proceeding to another Striking a balance between liquidation and reorganization New indicator tests whether creditors and debtors have access to both liquidation and reorganization proceedings and what the basis is for declaring a debtor insolvent. Provide for equitable treatment of similarly situated creditors, including similarly situated foreign and domestic creditors Ensuring equitable treatment of similarly situated creditors New indicator tests how similarly situated creditors vote on a reorganization plan and what treatment they receive under the plan. Provide for timely efficient, and impartial resolution of insolvencies Provision for timely, efficient and impartial resolution of insolvency Existing indicators test how long the proceedings take and how much the proceedings cost for the creditors. Prevent the improper use of the insolvency system New indicator tests the basis for commencing insolvency proceedings. Prevent the premature dismemberment of a debtor's assets by individual creditors seeking quick judgments Preservation of the insolvency estate to allow equitable distribution to creditors This principle is tested by the strength of legal rights index. a Provide a transparent procedure that contains, and consistently applies, clear risk allocation rules and incentives for gathering and dispensing information Ensuring a transparent and predictable insolvency law that contains incentives for gathering and dispensing information New indicator tests the level of creditor participation during insolvency proceedings, including their ability to request information and to challenge decisions directly affecting their rights. Recognize existing creditor rights and respect the priority of claims with a predictable and established process Recognition of existing creditor rights and establishment of clear rules for ranking of priority claims New indicator tests whether postcommencement creditors receive priority over existing creditors. This principle is tested also by the strength of legal rights index. b Establish a framework for cross-border insolvencies with recognition of foreign proceedings Establishment of a framework for crossborder insolvency Because Doing Business focuses on domestic entities and transactions, the indicators do not test this principle. a. The strength of legal rights index (part of the getting credit indicator set) tests whether the insolvency framework includes automatic stay (moratorium) provisions, which suspend all individual creditor actions during insolvency. b. The strength of legal rights index tests the level of priority of secured creditors'claims as compared with other claims tax claims, employee claims, judgments. Source: Analysis based on World bank (2011b) and UNCITRAL (2004. RESOLVING INSOLVENCY 99 laws in the past several years score substantially higher on the strength of insolvency framework index than economies that rely on old insolvency provisions in companies acts and commercial codes. WHAT ARE RELATIVE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES? The strength of insolvency framework index can be a meaningful instrument for governments to use in reforming their insolvency system, because it enhances the ability to identify areas where each economy can improve. The data for the component indices point to 2 areas where many economies can improve: reorganization proceedings and creditor participation (figure 12.2). ) There is also room for improvement in the management of the debtor's assets, to facilitate continuous operation during insolvency. A third of the economies covered by Doing Business have no formal judicial reorganization framework. This means that preservation of insolvent businesses in these economies is virtually impossible, so that the only option for an insolvent debtor is to sell its assets. More than 40%of economies lack specific provisions in their insolvency laws that would allow debtors to maintain contracts supplying essential goods and services during insolvency proceedings. While some of these economies require utilities to continue providing services to insolvent customers for many debtors this is not enough to ensure continuous operation. For example, a manufacturing company must have raw materials to continue operating. And a retail business cannot operate without merchandise. If suppliers can cancel their contracts as soon as a debtor becomes insolvent, the debtor's business operations must stop, greatly reducing the value of its assets. Many economies do not allow creditors to participate in important decisions throughout insolvency proceedings. Among the first and most important decisions made after insolvency proceedings begin is the appointment of an insolvency representative, who often has the authority to act on behalf of the debtor and make key decisions about the management of its assets. Almost 60%of economies exclude creditors from the process of choosing the insolvency representative. Lack of meaningful participation can affect creditors'confidence in the system, making them less cooperative and more litigious and thus prolonging the proceedings. The data for the component indices also point to economies with particular strengths in the areas measured. For example, Germany is one of 51 economies that receive full points on the commencement of proceedings index. The country has unified insolvency proceedings, which means that when a debtor or creditor files for insolvency, there is no requirement to specify whether liquidation or reorganization is requested. But a debtor may submit a reorganization plan together with its insolvency petition or at a later stage and creditors may request the insolvency administrator to prepare a reorganization plan based on the financial evaluation of the company. The standard for initiating insolvency proceedings is flexible and includes both illiquidity (inability to pay debts as they mature) and overindebtedness (the debtor's assets no longer cover existing liabilities). The German insolvency framework also allows the commencement of insolvency proceedings when illiquidity is imminent, which may encourage debtors to file for insolvency before their financial circumstances become too dire. Japan is one of 26 economies that receive full points on the management of debtor's assets index. Reorganization and liquidation proceedings in Japan are covered by 2 separate laws. Both laws include provisions that facilitate the continuation of the debtor's business during insolvency. For example, both prohibit the termination of FIGURE 12.1 OECD high-income economies have developed well insolvency frameworks and the highest recovery rates 048 12 16 100 75 50 25 0 Average recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Average strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) Average strength of Average recovery rate insolvency framework index South Asia Middle east & North africa Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Source: Doing Business database. 100 DOING BUSINESS 2015 contracts on the sole ground that the debtor has become insolvent and allow the debtor (or an administrator or trustee in bankruptcy) to decide which contracts should be continued during insolvency and which should be terminated. This allows the business to receive essential goods and services that will enable it to survive while eliminating overly burdensome obligations that may threaten its operation. Both laws also allow the avoidance of preferential and undervalued transactions concluded before the commencement of proceedings. In addition, in both liquidation and reorganization proceedings the debtor (or an administrator or trustee in bankruptcy) is allowed to take new loans if necessary for continuation of the business though approval of the court may be required. New loans are treated as common benefit claims and receive preference over the claims of general unsecured creditors but not over those of secured creditors, whose preference remains unchanged. Such provisions on post-commencement financing permit a debtor in financial difficulties to continue operating while they also recognize and preserve the priority of existing creditors with preferential claims. Cambodia is one of 17 economies that receive full points on the reorganization proceedings index. In 2007 Cambodia adopted a new insolvency law that, among other features, introduced a reorganization procedure. Under the new law when a reorganization plan is proposed, all creditors whose rights are impaired or modified by the plan vote on whether to approve or reject it. This includes secured and preferential creditors, because they may represent a substantial share of the value of the debt and their participation may be necessary to achieve successful reorganization. But creditors whose rights are affected not do not have the right to vote, as this would grant them unnecessary influence. For the purposes of voting on the plan, creditors are classified into different classes based on their interests (secured claims, tax claims unsecured claims. All creditors within a class must be treated equally, and at least one class must approve the plan. To ensure equitable treatment of dissenting creditors, the Cambodian law requires that they receive at least as much under the reorganization plan as they would receive in liquidation. Despite Cambodia's adoption of a modern and comprehensive insolvency law, however, recovery rates remain very low. As this example illustrates, a modern law is not enough to achieve an efficient insolvency practice; effective implementation and a developed judiciary framework are also essential. Switzerland is one of only 3 economies that receive full points on the creditor participation index. The swiss insolvency law allows creditors to participate in many important decisions during insolvency. For example, creditors can reject the administrator appointed by the court and must approve the handling of the debtor's assets during insolvency proceedings. They can obtain copies of records related to the insolvency proceedings so as to stay informed about every stage of the process. And they have the right to object to decisions directly affecting their rights for example they can dispute decisions accepting the claims of other creditors. WHAT ARE THE LINKS WITH CREDIT MARKET DEVELOPMENT? Analysis of the data collected for the strength of insolvency framework index confirms the connection many researchers have made between insolvency laws and credit market development. Economies that score well on the index have higher levels of credit provided to the private sector by domestic financial institutions (figure 12.3). ) These results suggest that the quality of bankruptcy laws is important not for its own sake but as an indication of FIGURE 12.2 Two areas where many economies can improve are reorganization proceedings and creditor participation 0 20 40 60 80 100 Middle east South Asia & North africa Latin america & Caribbean Sub-saharan africa East asia & Pacific Europe & Central asia OECD high income Average index score as%of best score Commencement of proceedings index Management of debtor's assets index Reorganization proceedings index Creditor participation index Source: Doing Business database. RESOLVING INSOLVENCY 101 and perhaps a step toward a betterdeveloped financial system. Where credit institutions and entrepreneurs can anticipate the outcome of the worst-case scenario when a business fails to pay its loans and several creditors must compete for the best return more banks will be willing to lend and more entrepreneurs will be willing to take on the challenge of starting a business. CONCLUSION Analysis of the data collected for the strength of insolvency framework index shows that economies with recent changes to their insolvency frameworks have better-quality laws. Among other economies several still have no formal insolvency framework and many more rely on outdated companies acts and commercial codes for insolvency rules. Differences in regulatory quality are especially apparent in regions with emerging economies, such as Latin america and the Caribbean and East asia and the Pacific. The strength of insolvency framework index can be a useful tool for governments seeking to reform their insolvency laws because it helps in identifying specific areas where insolvency regulations are lacking. The results suggest that there is opportunity in many economies to improve reorganization proceedings, facilitate the continuation of businesses during insolvency and allow greater participation by creditors in insolvency proceedings. NOTES This case study was written by Klaus Koch Saldarriaga Olena Koltko and María Antonia Quesada Gámez. 1. European commission 2012.2. Cirmizi, Klapper and Uttamchandani 2010.3. Stam, Audretsch and Meijaard 2006.4. See Araujo, Ferreira and Funchal (2012) for a summary of different studies on the relationship between creditors'rights and economic development. 5. Klapper 2011.6. Cirmizi, Klapper and Uttamchandani 2010.7. Lee, Peng and Barney 2007.8. Haselmann, Pistor and Vig 2010.9. Qian and Strahan 2007.10. World bank 2011b; UNCITRAL 2004.11. For more on the relationship between the strength of insolvency framework index and the recovery rate, see figure 1. 7 and the related discussion in the overview. FIGURE 12.3 Economies with strong insolvency frameworks have higher levels of domestic credit provided to the private sector 16 12840 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ), 2014domestic credit to private sector(%of GDP), 2013 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Note: Domestic credit to private sector refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by financial corporations, such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. The correlation between the strength of insolvency framework index and domestic credit to private sector as a percentage of GDP is 0. 40. The relationship is significant at the 1%level after controlling for income per capita. Source: Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Highlights from the Doing Business research conference Data produced by Doing Business have inspired and enabled abundant empirical research on critical questions puzzling economists, policy makers and international development professionals. Researchers have used these data to investigate the importance of business-friendly regulation for the creation of new firms, for the productivity and profitability of existing ones and for such key outcomes as growth, employment, investment and informality. Since 2003, when the first Doing Business report was published, 2, 024 research articles have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and 5, 098 working papers have been posted online. 1 As a stocktaking exercise, the World bank Group convened an international research conference, Doing Business: Past, Present and Future of Business Regulation, in the winter of 2014.2 The conference brought together academics, World bank Group staff and development professionals from around the world to showcase and discuss the impact of regulatory reform and to offer guidance for the Doing Business project in the years to come. Researchers presented 28 papers in the 8 thematic sessions, covering such issues as entry regulation, entrepreneurship, innovation, financial infrastructure, foreign direct investment, trade , labor markets, growth, corruption and transparency in regulation. This chapter presents the main findings and methodology of selected papers from the conference. All these papers point to important practical implications for policy makers about how sensible regulation can help stimulate the creation of new firms help attract investment, facilitate a reduction in unemployment, aid innovative firms and support greater lending to the private sector, and about how bribery and corruption act as sand and not grease in the wheels of policy implementation (see table 13a.1 at the end of the chapter for a summary). WHAT MATTERS FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP? Several papers look at factors that encourage or discourage entrepreneurship. Klapper, Love and Randall (2014) investigate the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth and the effect of the 2008 09 global financial crisis on new firm registration. The authors explore the change in new firm registrations in 109 countries over the period 2002 12, which includes precrisis, crisis and recovery periods related to the global financial crisis as well as myriad other economic fluctuations at the region and country level. They find strongly procyclical results: country-specific GDP growth is associated with higher new firm registrations, even after the global macroeconomic shocks are controlled for. Moreover, they find that growth has a stronger association with entrepreneurship in economies with a higher level of financial development and a better business Doing Business data have inspired and enabled abundant research: 2, 024 research articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals since 2003, and 5, 098 working papers posted online. The World bank Group convened an international research conference, Doing Business: Past, Present and Future of Business Regulation, in the winter of 2014. According to findings of research presented at the conference, business-friendly regulation has a positive association with the entry of new firms, the profits of innovative firms, reductions in unemployment, growth in bank lending , inflows of foreign direct investment and expansions in franchises. Striking a balance in the amount of regulation matters. Having some business entry regulation helps define the playing field for firms and reduces the cost of information search for those entering new markets. But too much regulation increases the cost of doing business dissuading firms from entering markets at all and thus hurting economic development prospects. Corruption acts as sand and not grease in the wheels of policy implementation. Firms confronted with demands for bribes wait about 1. 5 times as long to get a construction permit, operating license or electricity connection as firms that did not have to pay bribes. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DOING BUSINESS RESEARCH CONFERENCE 103 regulatory environment (as measured by the Doing Business indicators. One important policy implication of their findings is that fostering an efficient regulatory environment for the financial and private sector can contribute to economic growth by aiding the efficient exit of insolvent firms during economic slowdowns and encouraging a speedier recovery in the formation of new firms during economic expansions. A growing body of empirical evidence based on cross-country variations shows that excessive regulation or burdensome legal procedures for starting a company can deter the entry of new firms and thus affect economic performance. But less is known about the effects on economic performance when the regulatory burden or entry regulation varies within countries and as subnational Doing Business reports have shown, there is evidence of great variation in the regulatory burden within some countries. While most research in this area focuses on developing or emerging economies, Bripi (2013) focuses on Italy, analyzing how differences among provinces in the local regulatory burden affect firm creation. Italy is a particularly interesting case because it has great heterogeneity in entrepreneurship and economic performance, with marked differences between the more developed regions of the Center and North and the less developed ones of the South. The author analyzes differences in bureaucratic burdens across Italian provinces before a major reform (single notice) that reduced the number of procedures and the time for starting a business. In the period examined there was a negative correlation between the time and cost of procedures and the entry rate of small limited liability firms (figure 13.1). ) After controlling for the effect of additional variables, including measures of local financial development and efficiency of bankruptcy procedures, the author finds that bureaucratic time delays (and, to a lesser extent, costs) due to inefficient regulatory procedures reduced the entry rate in industries that should have naturally high entry rates relative to low-entry sectors. The estimates show robust evidence of the negative effect of time delays on the entry rate of small limited liability firms. The relationship between cost and the entry rate is also statistically significant though it depends on the specification used. For example, the effect of cost is significant only in less developed provinces, in those with a higher level of corruption and in the service sectors (not in manufacturing. Overall, the results confirm the view that the regulatory burden on new start-ups matters for business creation. In particular, they provide evidence that the administrative burden in the years just before the reform was a significant obstacle to entrepreneurship (and ultimately economic performance) in the heavily regulated provinces of the South relative to the more lightly regulated ones of the Center and North of Italy. Audretsch, Belitski and Desai (2014) investigate how the overall business environment affects urban entrepreneurship. They look at a few dimensions of the business environment (such as those measured by the Doing Business indicators on starting a business registering property, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and trading across borders) and types of regulatory reform (those affecting measures of time, cost and procedures) and examine the links between these aspects and 2 measures of entrepreneurship, new business creation and self employment. The authors find that the national business environment is associated with both measures of entrepreneurship and that the type of regulatory reform can affect entrepreneurship outcomes. In particular, they find evidence that FIGURE 13.1 Bureaucratic time delays and costs are associated with lower entry by small limited liability firms across Italian provinces 2 3 4 5 6420-2 2 3 4 5 6420-2 Veneto Trieste Bolzano Sardinia Napoli Trento Milano Bologna Ancona Torino Bari L'aquila Firenze Roma Potenza Genova Perugia Catanzaro Aostacampobasso Palermo Veneto Triestebolzano Sardinia Napoli Trento Bologna Milano Ancona Bari L'aquila Torino Firenze Aosta Genovaperugia Potenza Campobasso Roma Catanzaro Palermo Log of time Log of cost Entry rate of small limited liability firms, average for 2005 07 Entry rate of small limited liability firms, average for 2005 07 Note: Entry rate is the ratio of the number of newly registered small limited liability firms to the total number of limited liability firms. Source: Bripi 2013.104 DOING BUSINESS 2015 specific regulatory dimensions (such as contract enforcement) as well as particular types of regulatory reform within each dimension (such as those affecting cost measures) are associated with the rate of self employment and new business creation. Audretsch, Belitski and Desai find evidence that different dimensions and pillars (time, cost, number of procedures) of the business environment could have different effects on entrepreneurship. They also find that in some cases their 2 measures of entrepreneurship (new business creation and self employment) are affected differently by the same regulatory dimension or same type of regulatory reform. CAN REGULATION ATTRACT INVESTMENT? Jovanovic and Jovanovic (2014) analyze whether business regulation as measured by Doing Business indicators affects inflows of foreign direct investment in 28 Eastern European and Central Asian countries. They find that greater regulatory efficiency as measured by Doing Business indicators has a positive association with foreign direct investment inflows from OECD countries. For example, a country in which 9 documents are required to export is likely to have investment inflows around 37%lower than those in a country in which 7 such documents are required. This effect seems strong, so it may also include the effects of other barriers to trade, such as the cost or time to export, both of which are correlated highly with the number of documents required to export (with a correlation coefficient of around 0. 75. The authors also find that a reduction in the cost of starting a business is associated positively with an increase in foreign direct investment inflows. Eight of the 9 sets of Doing Business indicators included in the analysis appear to have a statistically significant relationship with foreign direct investment inflows (starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency); none of the getting credit indicators do. The indicators measuring cost appear to be more important than those measuring time and number of procedures. The authors therefore conclude that governments may be able to attract foreign direct investment by creating a more efficient and more business-friendly regulatory environment. Hoffman, Munemo and Watson (2014) look at how different aspects of the business climate affect the location decisions of U s. franchise companies. They find that a stable system of governance, citizen participation and good-quality public services all increase the chances of franchise location in a country. Of particular interest are the findings on business entry regulation. Having some regulation helps define the playing field for firms and reduces the cost of information search for those entering new markets. But too much regulation increases the cost of doing business, dissuading firms from entering markets at all and thus hurting economic development prospects. Excessive taxation also discourages the entry of franchisors into a country. The findings suggest a diminishing return from regulation after a certain point. INNOVATION AND THE CONSTRAINTS OF RED TAPE Innovation is a key source of economic growth, so understanding the dynamics of innovative firms is important. Using firm-level panel data from emerging economies, Yang (2014) examines the relationship between the business climate and profitability for innovative and noninnovative firms. The author finds that in business climates where nonregulatory elements (such as infrastructure or levels of crime) are poor, innovative firms have higher profits than noninnovative firms. But in business climates where regulatory or governance-related elements (such as corruption or the time and cost to start a business) are poor, innovative firms have lower profits. Innovative firms tend to have moreeducated managers, better technologies and better access to finance, which may explain their greater ability to cope in poor business climates. But they may also suffer more from red tape. Innovative firms may experience greater friction as they attempt to expand or to enter new markets because creating new products requires interactions with government officials to apply for licenses or permits, where firms can encounter bureaucratic delays or requests for bribes. HOW DEBT ENFORCEMENT CAN BOOST LENDING Legal protections of creditors'rights are critical to support bank lending to the private sector. Judicial efficiency and substantive law defining creditors'rights have been shown to be correlated positively with bank lending. But in India bank lending to the private sector has doubled more than in the past 2 decades despite few improvements in judicial efficiency and substantive law. What explains the expansion in bank lending over this period? Rathinam (2014) looks at the short-and longterm effect of the introduction of debt recovery tribunals, a procedural law innovation that reduced the transaction cost of availing the law. These quasi-judicial bodies bypass the overburdened civil courts in adjudicating financial disputes involving banks. Debt recovery tribunals were introduced in a staggered way across Indian states, HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DOING BUSINESS RESEARCH CONFERENCE 105 allowing comparison of lending by banks with and without access to the tribunals. Rathinam finds that the introduction of debt recovery tribunals changed the perception of lenders in the short run: banks with access to tribunals loaned more than those without access. In the long run the debt recovery tribunals have had an effect on lending, even after both bank-and state-specific fixed effects are controlled for. This finding confirms the argument that good substantive law, if effectively enforced, enhances investors'and creditors'confidence in the system, which results in a larger volume of credit and ultimately greater economic growth. While confirming the causal link from law to finance, the author also points to the role of procedural law in enhancing adjudication and thus the availability of credit to the private sector. CAN REGULATION HELP REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT? Freund and Rijkers (forthcoming) investigate the factors that lead to swift, substantial and sustained reductions in unemployment. The authors examine the incidence and determinants of episodes of drastic reductions in the unemployment rate reductions of at least 3. 25 percentage points of the initial level that persist for a minimum of 3 years. They identify 43 such episodes over a period of nearly 3 decades in 94 high-income, middle-income and transition economies. Unemployment reduction episodes often coincide with an acceleration of growth and an improvement in macroeconomic conditions. Such episodes are much more prevalent in countries with higher levels of unemployment and given unemployment, are more likely in those with better regulation. An efficient legal system that enforces contracts expeditiously is particularly important for reducing unemployment. The authors'findings suggest that while employment is largely related to the business cycle, better regulation can reduce the likelihood of high unemployment and promote a more rapid recovery if unemployment builds up. They also underscore the importance of effective contract enforcement and secure property rights in enabling growth in employment. CORRUPTION SAND OR GREASE? Freund, Hallward-Driemeier and Rijkers (2014) investigate whether corruption accelerates policy implementation. The authors start by documenting striking differences between the time it takes to complete regulatory procedures in practice and the time it takes when complying with the law. These are shown in figure 13.2, which plots the 10th percentile, median and 90th percentile de facto log times to get a construction permit in a given country and year as reported by entrepreneurs in the World bank Enterprise Surveys against the time it should take to complete all the formalities to build a warehouse according to the Doing Business indicators. The authors link this heterogeneity to the incidence of demands for bribes. The authors examine the relationship between requests for bribes and the time it takes to complete various regulatory requirements getting a construction permit, obtaining an operating license, obtaining an electricity connection and clearing customs. They test 3 predictions implied by the grease the wheels hypothesis, which contends that bribes act as speed money: that all else being confronted equal, firms with requests for bribes should get things done faster; that firms with a higher opportunity cost of waiting are willing to pay more and consequently face shorter wait times; and that bribing is more beneficial where regulation is onerous. The data are inconsistent with all 3 predictions. In the authors'preferred specifications, all else being confronted equal, firms with demands for bribes wait about 1. 5 times as long to get a construction permit, operating license FIGURE 13.2 A striking difference between the time it takes for construction permitting in practice and the time it takes when complying with the law 0246 Log of time to get a construction permit as measured by Enterprise Surveys 4. 0 4. 5 5. 0 5. 5 6. 0 6. 5 Log of time to deal with construction permits as measured by Doing Business 10th percentile 50th percentile 90th percentile Colombia, 2010 Vanuatu, 2009 Tonga, 2009 Note: The sample comprises 106 countries. Data are for the most recent year available. Source: Freund, Hallward-Driemeier and Rijkers 2014.106 DOING BUSINESS 2015 or electricity connection as firms that did not have to pay bribes and they wait 1. 2 times as long to clear customs when exporting and 1. 4 times as long when importing. The results are robust to controlling for firm fixed effects and at odds with the notion that corruption enhances efficiency. CONCLUSION The research papers reviewed in this chapter show that business-friendly regulation is integral to economic growth and development. 3 Where regulation is streamlined and judicious, it unleashes innovation, promotes the creation of jobs and helps attract foreign direct investment. But while these papers answer many questions they also pose many new ones. For example, Hoffman, Munemo and Watson (2014) suggest that an important area for future research is to find out what the right amount of regulation is for business entry. And the pioneering study by Audretsch, Belitski and Desai (2014) invites followup research on the impact of multiple dimensions of the national business environment on firms in different cities. The expansion of the global Doing Business sample to the second largest business city in 11 large economies, along with the data published by the subnational Doing Business reports, will enable further research to explore the effects of business regulations across different cities within a country and to better understand the reasons for differences in outcomes. NOTES 1. Based on searches for citations of the 8 background papers that form the basis for the Doing Business indicators in the Social science Citation Index and Google Scholar (http://scholar. google. com). 2. The conference took place at Georgetown University's Mcdonough School of business in WASHINGTON DC. It was cosponsored by the U s. Agency for International Development and the Kauffman Foundation. More information is available at http://www. doingbusiness. org/special-features/conference. 3. For a comprehensive review of the literature on the effects of business regulation, see Doing Business 2014. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DOING BUSINESS RESEARCH CONFERENCE 107 TABLE 13a.1 Summary of the main findings and methodology of selected papers from the Doing Business research conference Theme Main findings Methodology overview Data sources Entrepreneurship Klapper, Love and Randall (2014) GDP growth, especially if combined with a higher level of financial development and a better business regulatory environment, is associated with higher new firm registrations. The initial empirical exercise uses a simple model with entry density as the dependent variable and economic growth (as a proxy for the business cycle) as the main independent variable. The authors then investigate heterogeneity in the relationship between the business cycle and new firm registration. World bank, Entrepreneurship Database; World bank, World Development Indicators database; Doing Business database Entrepreneurship Bripi (2013) Bureaucratic time delays and, to a lesser extent, costs due to inefficient regulatory procedures can reduce the firm entry rate in industries that should have naturally high entry rates relative to low-entry sectors. The analysis focuses on cross-industry and crossprovince interaction effects to investigate the impact of regulation on firm entry. Bank of Italy data set measuring the time and costs of regulation across Italian regions Entrepreneurship Audretsch, Belitski and Desai (2014) Specific national regulatory dimensions (such as contract enforcement) as well as different types of reform within a dimension (such as those affecting cost) are associated with the rate of new business start-ups and self employment in European cities. Panel data random effects regression is used to examine how the business environment affects new business creation and self employment in a panel of European cities. Eurostat Urban Audit database, regional and city statistics; Doing Business database Investment Jovanovic and Jovanovic (2014) Greater regulatory efficiency as measured by Doing Business indicators has a positive association with foreign direct investment flows from OECD countries to Eastern European and Central Asian countries. The analysis uses the generalized method of moments technique on data on bilateral foreign direct investment flows from 22 OECD countries to 28 Eastern European and Central Asian countries during 2004 11. World bank, World Development Indicators database; Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data; International monetary fund (IMF), World Economic Outlook and International Financial Statistics databases; International labour organization data; Doing Business database Investment Hoffman, Munemo and Watson (2014) Having some business entry regulation helps define the playing field for firms and reduces the cost of information search for those entering new markets. But too much regulation increases the cost of doing business, dissuading firms from entering markets at all. The analysis tests several hypotheses using a model with franchise expansion (the number of units planned for a country in the future divided by its urban population) as the dependent variable and several independent variables, including the Doing Business distance to frontier measure, entry regulation (measured by the cost of business start-up procedures as a percentage of GNI per capita) and the national corporate tax rate (measured as a percentage of profits). Additional explanatory variables include economic development (measured by real GDP per capita), measures of media infrastructure and of governance, and a dummy variable estimating the impact of the 2008 09 financial crisis on franchise expansion. Press announcements by U s. franchise companies on expansion plans or moves made into specific international markets during 2005 11 (to develop the sample); Doing Business database; World bank, World Development Indicators database; Worldwide Governance Indicators Innovationyang (2014) The profits of innovative firms are lower in business climates where regulatory or governance-related factors (such as corruption or the time and cost to start a business) are poor. The analysis exploits the panel structure of the data. A first-difference regression is estimated. A number of control variables are used, and further robustness checks are applied. World bank Enterprise Surveys; Doing Business database; World bank data catalog Debt enforcementrathinam (2014) In India the introduction of debt recovery tribunals a procedural law innovation that bypasses the overburdened civil courts in adjudicating financial disputes involving banks explains increased bank lending. The analysis uses a differences-indifferences model and data on lending by commercial banks in India (including advances to the commercial sector and total secured loans extended) for the years before and after the introduction of debt recovery tribunals (1993 and 1995). Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, PROWESS database; Reserve bank of India, annual accounts data on scheduled commercial banks 108 DOING BUSINESS 2015 TABLE 13a.1 Summary of the main findings and methodology of selected papers from the Doing Business research conference Theme Main findings Methodology overview Data sources Unemployment Freund and Rijkers (forthcoming) Episodes of drastic reductions in the unemployment rate are much more prevalent in countries with higher levels of unemployment and, given unemployment, are more likely in those with better regulation. The authors use an event-studies approach to examine how countries achieved episodes of drastic reductions in the unemployment rate over the period 1980 2008. They examine the determinants of such episodes by estimating a probit model with the potential for an unemployment reduction episode as the dependent variable. After performing several robustness checks, they use Bayesian model averaging to investigate which aspects of regulation matter most. World bank, World Development Indicators database; IMF data; Worldwide Governance Indicators; Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom; Doing Business database Corruption and transparency Freund, Hallward-Driemeier and Rijkers (2014) Firms confronted with demands for bribes wait about 1. 5 times as long to get a construction permit, operating license or electricity connection as firms that did not have to pay bribes and they wait 1. 2 times as long to clear customs when exporting and 1. 4 times as long when importing. The analysis tests 3 related hypotheses (whether bribe requests and the time to complete regulatory processes are correlated positively; and whether greasing the wheels is more evident for firms with the highest opportunity cost of waiting or in countries where regulations are most burdensome) by modeling the log of policy implementation time (the time it takes to export, import, get a construction permit or obtain an operating license) as a function of firm characteristics. A dummy variable indicating whether a bribe was solicited or expected is added. Results are robust to controlling for firm fixed effects and comparing within-firm heterogeneity in wait times for different government services. World bank Enterprise Surveys; Doing Business database Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Akerlof, George A, . and Robert J. Shiller. 2009. Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton university Press. 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Third, thmsurthxtnt of ll protctions of proprt, for xmpl, thprotctions of minoritinvstors inst lootinbcompndirctors or thrnof ssts tht cn busd s colltrl ccordinto scurd trnsctions lws. Fourth st of indictors documnts thtx burdn on businsss. Finll, st of dtcovrs diffrnt spcts of mplomnt rultion. Th11 sts of indictors msurd in Doinbusinss wrddd ovr tim, nd thsmplof conomis nd citis xpndd (tbl14. 1). Thdtfor ll sts of indictors in Doinbusinss 2015 rfor Jun2014. 1 TABLE 14.1 Topics nd conomis covrd bch Doinbusinss rport Topic DB 2004 DB 2005 DB 2006 DB 2007 DB 2008 DB 2009 DB 2010 DB 2011 DB 2012 DB 2013 DB 2014 DB 2015 Gttinlctricitdlinwith construction prmits Trdincross bordrs Pintxs Protctinminoritinvstors Ristrinproprtgttincrdit Rsolvininsolvncenforcincontrcts Lbor mrkt rultion Strtinbusinss Numbr of conomis 133 145 155 175 178 181 183 183 183 185 189 189 Not: Dtfor thconomis ddd to thsmplch r rbck-clcultd to thprvious r. Thxcptions rkosovo nd Montnro, which wrddd to thsmplftr thbcmmmbrs of thworld Bnk Group. In Doinbusinss 2015, whilthnumbr of conomis rmins thsms in Doinbusinss 2014,11 citis hvbn ddd. DATA NOTES 115 METHODOLOGY Thdoinbusinss dtrcollctd in stndrdid w. To strt, thdoinbusinss tm, with cdmic dvisrs, dsins qustionnir. Thqustionniruss simplbusinss csto nsurcomprbilitcross conomis nd ovr tim with ssumptions bout thll form of thbusinss, its si, its loction nd thnturof its opr-tions. Qustionnirs rdministrd to morthn 10,700 locl xprts, includinlwrs, businss consultnts, ccountnts, friht forwrdrs, ov-rnmnt officils nd othr profssion-ls routinldministrinor dvisinon ll nd rultorrquirmnts (tbl14. 2). Thsxprts hvsv-rl rounds of intrction with thdoinbusinss tm involvinconfrncclls, writtn corrspondncnd visits bthtm. For Doinbusinss 2015 tm mmbrs visitd 26 conomis, includin10 nw citis, to vrifdtnd rcruit rspondnts. Thdtfrom qustionnirs rsubjctd to numrous rounds of vrifiction, ldinto rvisions or xpnsions of thinform-tion collctd. Thdoinbusinss mthodolooffrs svrl dvnts. It is trnsprnt, usinfctul informtion bout wht lws nd rultions snd llowinmultiplintrctions with locl rspondnts to clrifpotntil misintrprttions of qustions. Hvinrprsnttivsmpls of rspondnts is not n issu; Doinbusinss is not sttisticl surv, nd thtxts of thrlvnt lws nd rultions rcollctd nd nswrs chckd for ccurc. Thmthodolois inxpnsivnd silrplicbl, so dtcn bcollctd in lrsmplof conomis. Bcusstndrd ssumptions rusd in thdtcollction, comprisons nd bnchmrks rvlid cross conomis. Finll, thdtnot onlhihliht thxtnt of spcific rultorobstcls to businss but lso idntifthir sourcnd point to wht miht brformd. LIMITS TO WHAT IS MEASURED Thdoinbusinss mthodolohs 5 limittions tht should bconsidrd whn intrprtinthdt. First, for most conomis thcollctd dtrfr to businsss in thlrst businss cit (which in somconomis Economchrctristics Gross national income per capita Doinbusinss 2015 rports 2013 incompr cpits publishd in thworld Bnk's World Dvlopmnt Indictors 2014. Incomis clcultd usinthatls mthod (currnt U s. dollrs. For cost indictors xprssd s prcntof incompr cpit, 2013 ross ntionl incom (GNI) in U s. dollrs is usd s thdnomintor. GNI dtbsd on thatls mthod wrnot vilblfrom thworld Bnk for Arntin, Thbhms, Bhrin, Brbdos, Bruni Drusslm, Djibouti, Kuwit, Lib, Mnmr, Nw Zlnd , Omn, Sn Mrino, thsrin Arb Rpublic, nd Wst Bnk nd G. In thscss GDP or GNP pr cpitdtnd rowth rts from othr sourcs , such s thintrntionl Montrfund's World Economic Outlook dtbsnd theconomist Intllincunit, wrusd. Region and income group Doinbusinss uss thworld Bnk rionl nd incomroup clssific-tions, vilblt http://dt. worldbnk. or/bout/countr-clssifictions. Whilthworld Bnk dos not ssin rionl clssifictions to hih-incomconomis rionl vrs prsntd in fiurs nd tbls in thdoinbusinss rport includconomis from ll incomroups (low, lowr middl, uppr middlnd hih incom. For thpurposof thrport, hih-incomoecd conomis rssind th rionl clssifiction OECD hih incom. Population Doinbusinss 2015 rports midr 2013 popultion sttistics s publishd in World Dvlopmnt Indictors 2014. TABLE 14.2 How mnxprts dos Doinbusinss consult? Economis with ivn numbr of rspondnts(%)Indic tor st Rspondnts 1 2 3 5 5+Strtinbusinss 1, 651 10 33 57 Dlinwith construction prmits 1, 082 18 40 42 Gttinlctricit967 22 45 33 Ristrinproprt1, 229 20 37 43 Gttincrdit 1, 538 10 25 65 Protctinminoritinvstors 1, 117 25 37 38 Pintxs 1, 305 7 39 54 Trdincross bordrs 1, 184 22 46 33 Enforcincontrcts 1, 314 18 42 40 Rsolvininsolvnc1, 051 25 40 35 Lbor mrkt rultion 1, 134 23 40 37 Tot l 13,572 18 39 43 116 DOING BUSINESS 2015 diffrs from thcpitl) nd mnot brprsnttivof rultion in othr prts of thconom. Thxcptions r11 conomis tht hvpopultion of morthn 100 million, whrdoinbusinss, for thfirst timthis r, lso collctd dtfor thscond lrst businss cit.)2 To ddrss this limittion, subntionl Doinbusinss indictors wrcrtd (box 14.1). ) Scond, thdtoftn focus on spcific businss form nrlllimitd libilitcompn (or its ll quivlnt) of spcifid si nd mnot brprsnttivof thrultion on othr businsss, for xmpl, solpropritorships. Third, trnsctions dscribd in stndrdid csscnrio rfr to spcific st of issus nd mnot rprsnt thfull st of issus tht businss ncountrs. Fourth, thmsurs of timinvolvn lmnt of judmnt bthxprt rspondnts. Whn sourcs indictdiffrnt stimts, thtimindictors rportd in Doinbusinss rprsnt thmdin vlus of svrl rsponss ivn undr thssumptions of thstndrdid cs. Finll thmthodolossums tht businss hs full informtion on wht is rquird nd dos not wsttimwhn compltinprocdurs. In prctic, compltinprocdurmtklonr if thbusinss lcks informtion or is unblto follow up promptl. Altrntivl, thbusinss mchoosto disrrd somburdnsomprocdurs. For both rsons thtimdls rportd in Doinbusinss 2015 would diffr from thrcollction of ntrprnurs rportd in thworld Bnk Entrprissurvs or othr firmlvl survs. CHANGES IN WHAT IS MEASURED As prt of 2-r updtin mthodolo, Doinbusinss 2015 incorports 7 importnt chns. First, thsof doinbusinss rnkins wll s ll topic-lvl rnkins rnow computd on thbsis of distncto frontir scors (sthchptr on thdistncto frontir nd sof doinbusinss rnkin. Scond, for th11 conomis with popultion of morthn 100 million, dtfor scond cithvbn ddd to thdtst nd thrnkinclcultion. Third, for ttincrdit, thmthodolohs bn rvisd for both thstrnth of ll rihts indx nd thdpth of crdit informtion indx. Thnumbr of points hs bn incrsd in both indics, from 10 to 12 for thstrnth of ll rihts indx nd from 6 to 8 for thdpth of crdit informtion indx. In ddition, onlcrdit burus nd ristris tht covr t lst 5%of thdult popultion cn rcivscoron thdpth of crdit informtion indx. Fourth, thnmof thprotctininvstors indictor st hs bn chnd to protctinminoritinvstors to bttr rflct its scop nd thscopof thindictor st hs bn xpndd to includshrholdrs'rihts in corportovrnncbond rltdprttrnsctions. Fifth thrsolvininsolvncindictor st hs bn xpndd to includn indx msurinthstrnth of thll frmwork for insolvnc. Sixth, thclcultion of thdistncto frontir scorfor p-intxs hs bn chnd. Thtotl tx rtcomponnt now ntrs thscorin nonlinr fshion, in n pproch diffrnt from tht usd for ll othr indictors (sthchptr on thdistncto frontir nd sof doinbusinss rnkin. Finll, thnmof thmplo-inworkrs indictor st hs bn chnd to lbor mrkt rultion, nd thscopof this indictor st hs lso bn chnd. Thindictors now focus on lbor mrkt rultions pplinto thrtil sctor rthr thn thmnufcturinsctor, nd thir covrhs bn xpndd to includrultions on lbor disputs nd on bnfits providd to workrs. Thlbor mrkt rultion indictors continuto bxcludd from thrtdistncto frontir scornd rnkinon thsof doinbusinss. Bond thschns thrr3 othr updts in mthodolo. For pintxs, thfinncil sttmnt vribls hvbn updtd to bproportionl to 2012 incompr cpit; prviouslthwrproportionl to 2005 incompr cpit. For nforcincontrcts, thvluof thclim is now st t twicthincompr cpitor $5, 000, whichvr is rtr. For dlinwith construction prmits, thcost of construction is now st t 50 tims incompr cpit (bfor, thcost ws ssssd bthbox 14.1 Subntionl Doinbusinss indictors Subntionl Doinbusinss studis point to diffrncs in businss rultion nd its implmnttion s wll s in thpcof rultorrform cross citis in thsmconomor rion. For svrl conomis subntionl studis rnow priodicllupdtd to msurchnovr timor to xpnd orphic covrto dditionl citis. This r subntionl studis wrcompltd in tharb Rpublic of Ept , Mxico nd Niri. In ddition thorphic covrws xpndd for onoinstudis in thdominicn Rpublic, Polnd, South Afric, Spin nd 6 Cntrl Amricn countris. And for thfirst timsubntionl studis rincorportinndr prspctiv, ssssinprctics t public ristris in Nirind nlinll indictors from thworld Bnk Group's Womn, Businss nd thlw rport on Cntrl Amric. DATA NOTES 117 Doinbusinss rspondnts. In ddition, this indictor st no lonr includs thprocdurs for obtininlndlintlphonconnction. DATA CHALLENGES AND REVISIONS Most lws nd rultions undrlinthdoinbusinss dtrvilblon thdoinbusinss wbsitt http://www. doinbusinss. or. All thsmplqustionnirs nd thdtils undrl-inthindictors rlso publishd on thwbsit. Qustions on thmthodolond chllns to dtcn bsubmittd throuh thwbsit's Ask Qustion function t http://www. doinbusinss. or. Doinbusinss publishs 18,400 indic-tors (92 indictors pr conom) ch r. To crtthsindictors, thtm msurs morthn 100,000 dtpoints, ch of which is mdvilblon thdoinbusinss wbsit. Historicl dtfor ch indictor nd conomrvilblon thwbsit, binninwith thfirst r thindictor or conomws includd in thrport. To providcomprbltimsris for rsrch thdtst is bckclcultd to djust for chns in mthodolond nrvisions in dtduto corrctions. This r, howvr, thttincrdit, pintxs nd lbor mrkt rultion indictors will bbck-clcultd for onlonr bcusof thsinificnt chns in mthodolofor thsindictors. Thwbsitlso mks vilblll oriinl dtsts usd for bckround pprs. Thcorrction rtbtwn Doinbusinss 2014 nd Doinbusinss 2015 is 5. 3%.3 Govrnmnts submit quris on thdtnd providnw informtion to Doinbusinss. Durinthdoinbusinss 2015 production cclthtm rcivd 105 such quris from ovrnmnts. In ddition, thtm hld vidoconfrncs with ovrnmnt rprsnttivs in 27 conomis nd in-prson mtins with ovrnmnt rprsnttivs in 13 conomis. STARTING A BUSINESS Doinbusinss rcords ll procdurs officillrquird or commonldonin prctic, for n ntrprnur to strt up nd formlloprtn industril or commrcil businss, s wll s thtimnd cost to compltthsproc-durs nd thpid-in minimum cpitl rquirmnt (fiur14. 1). Thsproc-durs includobtininll ncssrlicnss nd prmits nd compltinnrquird notifictions, vrifictions or inscriptions for thcompnnd mplos with rlvnt uthoritis. Thrnkinof conomis on thsof strtinbusinss is dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for strtinbusinss. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto frontir scors for ch of thcomponnt indictors (fiur14. 2). Thdistncto frontir msurillustrts thdistncof n conomto th frontir, which is drivd from thmost fficint prcticor hihst scorchivd on ch indictor. Aftr studof lws rultions nd publiclvilblinformtion on businss ntr, dtild list of proc-durs is dvlopd, lonwith thtimnd cost to complwith ch procdurundr norml circumstncs nd thpid -in minimum cpitl rquirmnt. Subsquntl, locl incorportion lw-rs, notris nd ovrnmnt officils compltnd vrifthdt. Informtion is lso collctd on thsquncin which procdurs rto bcompltd nd whthr procdurs mbcrrid out simultnousl. It is ssumd tht nrquird informtion is rdilvilblnd tht thntr-prnur will pno bribs. If nswrs blocl xprts diffr, inquiris continuuntil thdtrrconcild. To mkthdtcomprblcross conomis, svrl ssumptions bout thbusinss nd thprocdurs rusd. Assumptions about the business Thbusinss: Is limitd libilitcompn (or its ll quivlnt). If thris morthn ontpof limitd libilitcompnin thconom, thlimitd libilitform most common mondomstic firms is chosn. Informtion on thmost common form is obtind from incorportion lwrs or thsttisticl offic. FIGURE 14.1 Wht rthtim, cost, pid-in minimum cpitl nd numbr of procdurs to t locl limitd libilitcompnup nd runnin? $ Cost(%of income per capita) Paid-in minimum capital Number of procedures Preregistration Registration, Postregistration incorporation Time (days) Formal operation Entrepreneur 118 Doing Business 2015 Operates in the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1 at the end of the data notes. is owned 100%domestically and has 5 owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita, paid in cash. Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale to the public of products or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily polluting production processes. Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate. Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees 1 month after the commencement of operations all of them domestic nationals. Has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. Has a company deed 10 pages long. Procedures A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries. Interactions between company founders or company officers and employees are counted not as procedures. Procedures that must be completed in the same building but in different offices or at different counters are counted separately. If founders have to visit the same office several times for different sequential procedures, each is counted separately. The founders are assumed to complete all procedures themselves, without middlemen, facilitators, accountants or lawyers, unless the use of such a third party is mandated by law or solicited by the majority of entrepreneurs. If the services of professionals are required, procedures conducted by such professionals on behalf of the company are counted separately. Each electronic procedure is counted separately. If 2 procedures can be completed through the same website but require separate filings, they are counted as 2 separate procedures. Both pre-and postincorporation procedures that are required officially for an entrepreneur to formally operate a business are recorded (table 14.3). ) Procedures required for official correspondence or transactions with public agencies are included also. For example, if a company seal or stamp is required on official documents, such as tax declarations, obtaining the seal or stamp is counted. Similarly, if a company must open a bank account before registering for sales tax or value added tax, this transaction is included as a procedure. Shortcuts are counted only if they fulfill 4 criteria: they are legal, they are available to the general public, they are used by the majority of companies, and avoiding them causes substantial delays. Only procedures required of all businesses are covered. Industry-specific procedures are excluded. For example, procedures to comply with environmental regulations are included only when they apply to all businesses conducting general commercial or industrial activities. Procedures that the company undergoes to connect to electricity, water gas and waste disposal services are included not. Time Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary in practice to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day, except for procedures that can be completed fully online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Figure 14.2 Starting a business: getting a local limited liability company up and running As%of income per capita, no bribes included Preregistration, registration and postregistration (in calendar days) Funds deposited in a bank or with a notary before registration, as%of income per capita Procedures are completed when final document is received 25%Paid-in minimum capital 25%Time 25%Cost 25%Procedures Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 4 indicators TABLE 14.3 What do the starting a business indicators measure? Procedures to legally start and operate a company (number) Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) Registration in the economy's largest business citya Postregistration (for example, social security registration, company seal) Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot start on the same day) though procedures that can be completed fully online are an exception to this rule Procedure considered completed once final incorporation document is received No prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure(%of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes No professional fees unless services required by law Paid-in minimum capital(%of income per capita) Funds deposited in a bank or with a notary before registration (or within 3 months) a. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city. DATA NOTES 119 Althouh procdurs mtkplcsimultnousl, thcnnot strt on thsmd (tht is, simultnous proc-durs strt on conscutivds), in with thxcption of procdurs tht cn bfullcompltd onlin. A proc-duris considrd compltd oncthcompnhs rcivd thfinl incorportion documnt, such s thcompnristrtion crtifictor tx numbr. If procdurcn bcclrtd for n dditionl cost thfstst procduris chosn if tht option is morbnficil to thconom's rnkin. It is ssumd tht thntrprnur dos not wsttimnd commits to compltinch rmininprocdurwithout dl. Thtimtht thntrprnur spnds on thrininformtion is inord. It is ssumd tht thntrprnur is wrof ll ntrrquirmnts nd thir s-quncfrom thbinninbut hs hd no prior contct with nof thofficils. Cost Cost is rcordd s prcntof thconom's incompr cpit. It includs ll officil fs nd fs for ll or profssionl srvics if such srvics rrquird blw. Fs for purchsinnd lliincompnbooks rincludd if thstrnsctions rrquird blw. Althouh vluddd tx ristrtion cn bcountd s sprtprocdur vluddd tx is not prt of thincorportion cost. Thcompnlw, thcommrcil cod, nd spcific rultions nd fschduls rusd s sourcs for clcultincosts. In thbsncof fschduls, ovrnmnt officr's stimtis tkn s n officil sourc. In thbsncof ovrnmnt officr's stimt, stimts bincorportion lwrs rusd. If svrl incorportion lwrs providdiffrnt stimts, thmdin rportd vluis pplid. In ll css thcost xcluds bribs. Paidin minimum capital Thpid-in minimum cpitl rquir-mnt rflcts thmount tht thntrprnur nds to dposit in bnk or with notrbforristrtion nd up to 3 months followinincorportion nd is rcordd s prcntof thconom's incompr cpit. Thmount is tpicllspcifid in thcommrcil codor thcompnlw. Mnconomis rquirminimum cpitl but llow businsss to ponlprt of it bforristrtion with thrst to bpid ftr thfirst r of oprtion. In Turkin Jun2014, for xmpl, thminimum cpitl rquirmnt ws 10,000 Turkish lirs, of which on-fourth ndd to bpid bforristrtion. Thpid-in minimum cpitl rcordd for Turkis thrfor2, 500 Turkish lirs, or 12.14%of incompr cpit. Thdtdtils on strtinbusinss cn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. This mthodolows dvlopd bdjnkov nd othrs (2002) nd is doptd hrwith minor chns. DEALING WITH CONSTRUCTION PERMITS Doinbusinss rcords ll procdurs rquird for businss in thconstruction industrto build wr-hous (fiur14. 3). Thsprocdurs includobtininnd submittinll rlvnt projct -spcific documnts (for xmpl buildinplns, sitmps nd crtificts of urbnism) to thuthoritis; hirinxtrnl third-prtsuprvisors, ninrs or inspctors (if ncssr; obtininll ncssrclrncs, licnss, prmits nd crtificts; submittinll rquird notifictions; nd rqustinnd rcivinll ncssrinspctions (unlss compltd bprivt, third-prtinspctor. Doinbusinss lso rcords procdurs for obtininconnctions for wtr nd swr. Procdurs ncssrto ristr thwrhousso tht it cn busd s colltrl or trnsfrrd to nothr ntitrlso countd. Thqustionnirdivids thprocss of buildinwrhousinto distinct procdurs nd solicits dtfor clcultinthtimnd cost to compltch procdur. Thrnkinof conomis on thsof dlinwith construction prmits is dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for dlinwith construction prmits. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto frontir scors for ch of thcomponnt indictors (fiur14. 4). Informtion is collctd from xprts in construction licnsin, includinrchitcts, civil ninrs, construction lwrs , construction firms, utilitsrvicprovidrs nd public officils who dl with buildinrultions, includinpprovls, prmit issuncnd inspctions. To mkthdtcomprblfigure 14.3 Wht rthtim cost nd numbr of procdurs to complwith formlitis to build wrhous? Completed warehouse Preconstruction Construction Postconstruction and utilities A business in the construction industry Cost(%of warehouse value) Number of procedures Time (days) 120 Doing Business 2015 across economies, several assumptions about the business, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. Assumptions about the construction company The business (Buildco: Is a limited liability company. Operates in the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1). ) Is 100%domestically and privately owned. Has 5 owners, none of whom is a legal entity. is licensed fully and insured to carry out construction projects, such as building warehouses. Has 60 builders and other employees, all of them nationals with the technical expertise and professional experience necessary to obtain construction permits and approvals. Has at least 1 employee who is licensed a architect or engineer and registered with the local association of architects or engineers. has paid all taxes and taken out all necessary insurance applicable to its general business activity (for example accidental insurance for construction workers and thirdperson liability). Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built. Assumptions about the warehouse The warehouse: will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. The warehouse will not be used for any goods requiring special conditions, such as food, chemicals or pharmaceuticals. Will have 2 stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of 1, 300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high. Will have road access and be located in the periurban area of the economy's largest business city (that is, on the fringes of the city but still within its official limits). For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city. Will not be located in a special economic or industrial zone. will be located on a land plot of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100%owned by Buildco and is registered accurately in the cadastre and land registry. Is valued at 50 times income per capita. 4 Will be a new construction (there was no previous construction on the land. Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. Will include all technical equipment required to be fully operational. Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory requirements. Assumptions about the utility connections The water and sewerage connections: Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. Will not require water for fire protection reasons; a fire extinguishing system (dry system) will be used instead. If a wet fire protection system is required by law, it is assumed that the water demand specified below also covers the water needed for fire protection. Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1, 325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater flow of 1, 136 liters (300 gallons) a day. Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year. Will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Procedures A procedure is any interaction of the company's employees or managers, or any party acting on behalf of the company, with external parties, including government agencies, notaries, the land registry, the cadastre, utility companies and public inspectors or the hiring of private inspectors and technical experts apart from in-house architects and engineers. Interactions between company employees, such as development of the warehouse plans and inspections conducted by employees, are counted not as procedures. But interactions necessary to obtain any plans, drawings or other documents from external parties (including any documentation required Figure 14.4 Dealing with construction permits: building a warehouse Days to comply with formalities to build a warehouse As%of warehouse value, no bribes included Procedures are completed when final document is received; construction permits, inspections and utility connections included 33.3%Procedures 33.3%Time 33.3%Cost Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators DATA NOTES 121 for thrchitct to prprthplns), or to hvsuch documnts pprovd or stmpd bxtrnl prtis, rcountd s procdurs. Procdurs tht thcompnundros to connct thwrhousto wtr nd swrrincludd. All procdurs tht rlllrquird, or tht rdonin prcticbthmjoritof compnis, to build wrhousrcountd, vn if thmbvoidd in xcptionl css (tbl14. 4). Time Timis rcordd in clndr ds. Thmsurcpturs thmdin durtion tht locl xprts indictis ncssrto compltprocdurin prctic. It is ssumd tht thminimum timrquird for ch procduris 1 d xcpt for procdurs tht cn bfullcompltd onlin, for which thtimrquird is rcordd s hlf d. Althouh procdurs mtkplcsimultnousl, thcnnot strt on thsmd (tht is, simultnous procdurs strt on conscutivds), in with thxcption of procdurs tht cn bfullcompltd onlin. If procdurcn bcclrtd lllfor n dditionl cost nd thcclr-td procduris usd bthmjoritof compnis, thfstst procduris chosn. It is ssumd tht Buildco dos not wsttimnd commits to compltinch rmininprocdurwithout dl. Thtimtht Buildco spnds on thrininformtion is not tkn into ccount. It is ssumd tht Buildco is wrof ll buildinrquirmnts nd thir squncfrom thbinnin. Cost Cost is rcordd s prcntof thwrhousvlu (ssumd to b50 tims incompr cpit. Onlofficil costs rrcordd. All thfs ssoci-td with compltinthprocdurs to lllbuild wrhousrrcordd, includinthosssocitd with obtininlnd uspprovls nd prconstruction dsin clrncs; rcivininspctions bfor, durinnd ftr construction; obtininutilitconnctions; nd ristrinthwrhousproprt. Nonrcurrintxs rquird for thcompltion of thwrhousprojct rlso rcordd. Sls txs (such s vluddd tx) or cpitl ins txs rnot rcordd. Nor rdposits tht must bpid up front nd rltr rfundd. Thbuildincod, informtion from locl xprts, nd spcific rultions nd fschduls rusd s sourcs for costs. If svrl locl prtnrs providdiffrnt stimts, thmdin rportd vluis usd. Thdtdtils on dlinwith construction prmits cn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. GETTING ELECTRICITY Doinbusinss rcords ll procdurs rquird for businss to obtin prmnnt lctricitconnction nd supplfor stndrdid wrhous (fiur14. 5). Thsprocdurs includpplic-tions nd contrcts with lctricitutilitis ll ncssrinspctions nd clrncs from thutilitnd othr ncis, nd thxtrnl nd finl connction works. Thqustionnirdivids thprocss of ttinn lctricitconnction into distinct procdurs nd solicits dtfor clcultinthtimnd cost to compltch procdur. Thrnkinof conomis on thsof ttinlctricitis dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for ttinlctricit. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto TABLE 14.4 Wht do thdlinwith construction prmits indictors msur? Procdurs to l llbuild w rhous (numbr) Submittinll rlvnt documnts nd obtininll ncssrclrncs, licnss, prmits nd crtificts Submittinll rquird notifictions nd rcivinll ncssrinspctions Obtininutilitconnctions for wtr nd swrristrinthwrhousftr its compltion (if rquird for uss colltrl or for trnsfr of thwrhous) Timrquird to complt ch procdur (c lnd r d s) Dos not includtimspnt thrininformtion Ech procdurstrts on sprtd thouh procdurs tht cn bfullcompltd onlinrn xcption to this rulprocdurconsidrd compltd oncfinl documnt is rcivd No prior contct with officils Cost rquird to complt ch procdur(%of w rhousv lu) Officil costs onl, no bribs FIGURE 14.5 Doinbusinss msurs thconnction procss t thlvl of distribution utilitis Generation Transmission Distribution u New connections Network operation and maintenance Metering and billing Customer 122 Doing Business 2015 frontier scores for each of the component indicators (figure 14.6). ) Data are collected from the electricity distribution utility, then completed and verified by electricity regulatory agencies and independent professionals such as electrical engineers, electrical contractors and construction companies. The electricity distribution utility consulted is the one serving the area (or areas) where warehouses are located. If there is a choice of distribution utilities, the one serving the largest number of customers is selected. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse and the electricity connection are used. Assumptions about the warehouse The warehouse: is owned by a local entrepreneur. is located in the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1). ) is located in an area where similar warehouses are located typically. In this area a new electricity connection is not eligible for a special investment promotion regime (offering special subsidization or faster service, for example. is located in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. Has 2 stories, both above ground, with a total surface area of approximately 1, 300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet. The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet. is used for storage of refrigerated goods. Assumptions about the electricity connection The electricity connection: Is a permanent one. Is a 3-phase, 4-wire Y, 140-kilovoltampere (kva)( subscribed capacity) connection (where the voltage is 120/208 V, the current would be 400 amperes; where it is 230/400 B, the current would be nearly 200 amperes). Is 150 meters long. The connection is to either the low-voltage or the medium-voltage distribution network and either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the warehouse is located. Requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are carried all out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners'private property because the warehouse has access to a road. Includes only a negligible length in the customer's private domain. Will supply monthly electricity consumption of 0. 07 gigawatt-hours (GWH. Does not involve work to install the internal electrical wiring. This has already been completed, up to and including the customer's service panel or switchboard and installation of the meter base. Procedures A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company's employees or its main electrician or electrical engineer (that is, the one who may have done the internal wiring) with external parties, such as the electricity distribution utility, electricity supply utilities, government agencies, electrical contractors and electrical firms. Interactions between company employees and steps related to the internal electrical wiring, such as the design and execution of the internal electrical installation plans, are counted not as procedures. Procedures that must be completed with the same utility but with different departments are counted as separate procedures (table 14.5). ) The company's employees are assumed to complete all procedures themselves unless the use of a third party is mandated (for example, if only an electrician registered with the utility Figure 14.6 Getting electricity: obtaining an electricity connection Days to obtain an electricity connection As%of income per capita, no bribes included Steps to file an application, prepare a design, complete works, obtain approvals, go through inspections, install a meter and sign a supply contract 33.3%Procedures 33.3%Time 33.3%Cost Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators TABLE 14.5 What do the getting electricity indicators measure? Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances and permits Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary inspections Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing material for these works Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final supply Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Is at least 1 calendar day Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering information Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure(%of income per capita) Official costs only, no bribes Value added tax excluded DATA NOTES 123 is llowd to submit n ppliction. If thcompncn, but is not rquird to, rqust thsrvics of profssion-ls (such s privtfirm rthr thn thutilitfor thxtrnl works), thsprocdurs rrcordd if thrcommonldon. For ll procdurs, onlthmost liklcss (for xmpl, morthn 50%of thtimthutiliths thmtril) nd thosfollowd in prcticfor connctinwrhousto lctricitrcountd. Time Timis rcordd in clndr ds. Thmsurcpturs thmdin durtion tht thlctricitutilitnd xprts indictis ncssrin prctic, rthr thn rquird blw, to compltprocdurwith minimum follow-up nd no xtrpmnts. It is lso ssumd tht thminimum timrquird for ch procduris 1 d. Althouh procdurs mtkplcsimultnousl, thcnnot strt on thsmd (tht is, simultnous procdurs strt on conscutivds). It is ssumd tht thcompndos not wsttimnd commits to compltinch rmininprocdurwithout dl. Thtimtht thcompnspnds on thrininformtion is not tkn into ccount. It is ssumd tht thcompnis wrof ll lctricitconnction rquirmnts nd thir squncfrom thbinnin. Cost Cost is rcordd s prcntof thconom's incompr cpit. Costs rrcordd xclusivof vluddd tx. All thfs nd costs ssocitd with compltinthprocdurs to connct wrhousto lctricitrrcordd, includinthosrltd to obtininclrncs from ovrnmnt ncis, pplinfor thconnction, rcivininspctions of both thsitnd thintrnl wirin , purchsinmtril, ttinthctul connction works nd pinscuritdposit. Informtion from locl xprts nd spcific rultions nd fschduls rusd s sourcs for costs. If svrl locl prtnrs providdiffrnt stimts thmdin rportd vluis usd. In ll css thcost xcluds bribs. Security deposit Utilitis rquirscuritdposits s urntinst thpossiblfilurof customrs to pthir consumption bills. For this rson thscuritdposit for nw customr is most oftn clcultd s function of thcustomr's stimtd consumption. Doinbusinss dos not rcord thfull mount of thscuritdposit. If thdposit is bsd on thcustomr's ctul consumption, this bsis is thonssumd in thcsstud. Rthr thn thfull mount of thscuritdposit, Doinbusinss r-cords thprsnt vluof thlosss in intrst rnins xprincd bthcustomr bcusthutilitholds thscuritdposit ovr prolond priod , in most css until thnd of thcontrct (ssumd to bftr 5 rs. In css whrthscuritd-posit is usd to covr thfirst monthlconsumption bills, it is not rcordd. To clcultthprsnt vluof thlost intrst rnins, thnd-2013 lndinrts from thintrntionl Montrfund's Intrntionl Finncil Sttistics rusd. In css whrthscuritdposit is rturnd with intrst, thdiffrncbtwn thlndinrtnd thintrst pid bthutilitis usd to clcultthprsnt vlu. In somconomis thscuritdposit cn bput up in thform of bond: thcompncn obtin from bnk or n insurnccompnurntissud on thssts it holds with tht finncil institution. In contrst to thscnrio in which thcustomr ps thdposit in csh to thutilit, in this scnrio thcompndos not losownrship control ovr thfull mount nd cn continuusinit. In rturn thcompnwill pthbnk commission for obtininthbond. Thcommission chrd mvrdpndinon thcrdit stndinof thcompn. Thbst possiblcrdit stndinnd thus thlowst possiblcommission rssumd. Whrbond cn bput up, thvlurcordd for thdposit is thnnul commission tims th5 rs ssumd to bthlnth of thcontrct. If both options xist, thchpr ltrntivis rcordd. In Hondurs in Jun2014 customr r-qustin140-kva lctricitconnction would hvhd to put up scuritdposit of 118 434 Hondurn lmpirs (L) in csh or chck, nd thdposit would hvbn rturnd onlt thnd of thcontrct. Thcustomr could instd hvinvstd this mont thprvilinlndinrtof 20.08%.%Ovr th5 rs of thcontrct this would implprsnt vluof lost intrst rnins of L 70,998. 58. In contrst, if thcustomr chosto sttlthdposit with bnk urntt n nnul rtof 2. 5%,thmount lost ovr th5 rs would bjust L 14,804. 30. Thdtdtils on ttinlctricitcn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. REGISTERING PROPERTY Doinbusinss rcords thfull s-quncof procdurs ncssrfor businss (thbur) to purchsproprtfrom nothr businss (thsllr) nd to trnsfr thproprttitlto thbur's nmso tht thbur cn usthproprtfor xpndinits businss, usthproprts colltrl in tkinnw lons or, if ncssr, sll thproprtto nothr businss. Thprocss strts with obtininthncssrdocumnts such s copof thsllr's titlif ncssr, nd conductindudilincif rquird. Thtrnsction is considrd compltwhn it is opposblto third prtis nd whn thbur cn usth 124 Doing Business 2015 property, use it as collateral for a bank loan or resell it (figure 14.7). ) The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators (figure 14.8). ) Every procedure required by law or necessary in practice is included, whether it is the responsibility of the seller or the buyer or must be completed by a third party on their behalf. Local property lawyers, notaries and property registries provide information on procedures as well as the time and cost to complete each of them. The registering property indicators do not measure the accessibility of property registration systems, the legal security offered by formal registration, the use of informal property registration systems or the equity of land policies. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. Assumptions about the parties The parties (buyer and seller: Are limited liability companies. are located in the periurban area of the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1). ) Are 100%domestically and privately owned. Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. Perform general commercial activities. Assumptions about the property The property: Has a value of 50 times income per capita. The sale price equals the value. is owned fully by the seller. has attached no mortgages and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6, 000 square feet. A 2-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition and complies with all safety standards, building codes and other legal requirements. It has no heating system. The property of land and building will be transferred in its entirety. Will not be subject to renovations or additional building following the purchase. Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Procedures A procedure is defined as any interaction of the buyer or the seller, their agents (if an agent is legally or in practice required) or the property with external parties, including government agencies, inspectors, notaries and lawyers. Interactions between company officers and employees are considered not. All procedures that are legally or in practice required for registering property are recorded, even if they may be avoided in exceptional cases (table 14.6). ) It is assumed that the buyer follows the fastest legal option available and used by the majority of property owners. Although the buyer may use lawyers or other professionals where Figure 14.7 What are the time, cost and number of procedures required to transfer property between 2 local companies? Number of procedures Buyer can use the property, resell it or use it as collateral Preregistration Registration Postregistration Time (days) Cost(%of property value) Seller with property registered and no title disputes Land & 2-story warehouse Figure 14.8 Registering property: transfer of property between 2 local companies Days to transfer property As%of property value, no bribes included Steps to check encumbrances, obtain clearance certificates, prepare deed and transfer title so that the property can be occupied, sold or used as collateral 33.3%Procedures 33.3%Time 33.3%Cost Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators Data Notes 125 necessary in the registration process, it is assumed that the buyer does not employ an outside facilitator in the registration process unless legally or in practice required to do so. Time Time is recorded in calendar days. The measure captures the median duration that property lawyers notaries or registry officials indicate is necessary to complete a procedure. It is assumed that the minimum time required for each procedure is 1 day, except for procedures that can be completed fully online, for which the time required is recorded as half a day. Although procedures may take place simultaneously, they cannot start on the same day, again with the exception of procedures that can be completed fully online. It is assumed that the buyer does not waste time and commits to completing each remaining procedure without delay. If a procedure can be accelerated for an additional cost the fastest legal procedure available and used by the majority of property owners is chosen. If procedures can be undertaken simultaneously, it is assumed that they are. It is assumed that the parties involved are aware of all requirements and their sequence from the beginning. Time spent on gathering information is considered not. Cost Cost is recorded as a percentage of the property value, assumed to be equivalent to 50 times income per capita. Only official costs required by law are recorded, including fees, transfer taxes, stamp duties and any other payment to the property registry, notaries, public agencies or lawyers. Other taxes, such as capital gains tax or value added tax, are excluded from the cost measure. Both costs borne by the buyer and those borne by the seller are included. If cost estimates differ among sources, the median reported value is used. The data details on registering property can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness. org. GETTING CREDIT Doing Business measures the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through one set of indicators and the sharing of credit information through another. The first set of indicators measures whether certain features that facilitate lending exist within the applicable collateral and bankruptcy laws. The second set measures the coverage scope and accessibility of credit information available through credit reporting service providers such as credit bureaus or credit registries (figure 14.9). ) The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting credit. These scores are the distance to frontier score for the sum of the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index (figure 14.10). Legal rights The data on the legal rights of borrowers and lenders are gathered through a questionnaire administered to financial lawyers and verified through analysis of laws and regulations as well as public sources of information on collateral and bankruptcy laws. Questionnaire responses are verified through several rounds of follow-up communication with respondents as well as by contacting third parties and consulting public sources. The questionnaire data are confirmed through teleconference calls or on-site visits in all economies. Figure 14.9 Do lenders have credit information on entrepreneurs seeking credit? Is the law favorable to borrowers and lenders using movable assets as collateral? Movable asset Collateral registry Lender Credit bureaus and registries Potential borrower What types can be used as collateral? Can lenders access credit information on borrowers? Can movable assets be used as collateral? Credit information TABLE 14.6 What do the registering property indicators measure? Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property (number) Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) Registration procedures in the economy's largest business citya Postregistration procedures (for example, filing title with municipality) Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day though procedures that can be completed fully online are an exception to this rule Procedure considered completed once final document is received No prior contact with officials Cost required to complete each procedure(%of property value) Official costs only, no bribes No value added or capital gains taxes included a. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city. 126 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Strength of legal rights index Thstrnth of ll rihts indx m-surs thdrto which colltrl nd bnkruptclws protct thrihts of borrowrs nd lndrs nd thus fcilittlndin (tbl14. 7). Thindx for thfirst timthis r includs 12 componnts rthr thn 10. For ch conomit is first ssssd whthr unitrscurd trnsctions sstm xists. Thn 2 csscnrios, csa nd csb, rusd to dtrminhow nonpossssorscuritintrst is crtd, publicid nd nforcd ccordinto thlw. Spcil mphsis is ivn to how thcolltrl ristroprts (if ristrtion of scuritintrsts is possibl). Thcsscnrios involvscurd borrowr, thcomp-nabc, nd scurd lndr, Bibnk. In somconomis thll frmwork for scurd trnsctions will llow onlcsa or csb (not both) to ppl. Both css xminthsmst of ll provisions rltinto thusof movblcolltrl. Svrl ssumptions bout thscurd borrowr (ABC) nd lndr (Bibnk) rusd: ABC is domstic limitd libilitcompn. ABC hs up to 50 mplos. ABC hs its hdqurtrs nd onlbsof oprtions in thconom's lrst businss cit. For 11 conomis thdtrlso collctd for thscond lrst businss cit (stbl14a. 1 ). Both ABC nd Bibnk r100%domsticllownd. Thcsscnrios lso involvssumptions. In csa, s collt-rl for thlon, ABC rnts Bibnk nonpossssorscuritintrst in onctorof movblssts, for xmpl, its mchinror its invntor. ABC wnts to kp both possssion nd ownrship of thcolltrl. In conomis whrthlw dos not llow nonpossssorscuritintrsts in movblproprt, ABC nd Bibnk usfiducirtrnsfr-of-titlrrnmnt (or similr substitutfor nonpossssorscuritintrsts. In csb, ABC rnts Bibnk businss chr, ntrprischr, flotinchror nchrtht ivs Bibnk scuritintrst ovr ABC'S combind movblssts (or s much of ABC'S movblssts s possibl. ABC kps ownrship nd possssion of thssts. Thstrnth of ll rihts indx covrs functionl quivlnts to scuritovr movblssts (for xmpl, lsinor rsrvtion of titl) onlin its first componnt, to ssss how intrtd or unifid thconom's ll frmwork for scurd trnsctions is. Thstrnth of ll rihts indx includs 10 spcts rltd to ll rihts in colltrl lw nd 2 spcts in bnkruptclw. A scorof 1 is ssind for ch of thfollowinfturs of thlws: Thconomhs n intrtd or unifid ll frmwork for scurd trnsctions tht xtnds to thcrtion, publicitnd nforcmnt of 4 functionl quivlnts to s-curitintrsts in movblssts: fiducirtrnsfr of titl; finncil lss; ssinmnt or trnsfr of rcivbls; nd sls with rtntion of titl. Thlw llows businss to rnt nonpossssorscuritriht in sinlctorof movblssts (such s mchinror invntor), without rquirinspcific dscription of thcolltrl. Thlw llows businss to rnt nonpossssorscuritriht in substntillll its movblssts, without rquirinspcific dscription of thcolltrl. A scuritriht cn bivn ovr futuror ftr-cquird ssts nd xtnds utomticllto thproducts, procds or rplcmnts of thoriinl ssts. A nrl dscription of dbts nd oblitions is prmittd in thcolltrl rmnt nd in ristr-tion documnts, ll tps of dbts nd oblitions cn bscurd b-twn thprtis, nd thcolltrl rmnt cn includmximum mount for which thssts rncumbrd. A colltrl ristror ristrtion institution for scuritintrsts rntd ovr movblproprtbincorportd nd nonincorportd FIGURE 14.10 Gttincrdit: colltrl ruls nd crdit informtion Regulations on nonpossessory security interests in movable property Scope, quality and accessibility of credit information through credit bureaus and registries 100%Sum of strength of legal rights index (0 12) and depth of credit information index (0 8) Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for the sum of 2 indicators Not: Crdit buru covrnd crdit ristrcovrrmsurd but do not count for thrnkins. TABLE 14.7 Wht do thttincrdit indictors msur? Strn th of l l ri hts indx (0 12) Protction of rihts of borrowrs nd lndrs throuh colltrl lws Protction of scurd crditors 'rihts throuh bnkruptclws Dpth of crdit inform tion indx (0 8) Scopnd ccssibilitof crdit informtion distributd bcrdit ristris nd crdit burus Crdit bur u covr(%of dults) Numbr of individuls nd firms listd in thlrst crdit buru s prcntof dult popultion Crdit r istrcovr(%of dults ) Numbr of individuls nd firms listd in crdit ristrs prcntof dult popultion DATA NOTES 127 ntitis is in oprtion, unifid o-rphicllnd with n lctronic dtbsindxd bdbtors'nms. Thcolltrl ristris notic-bsd ristr ristrtht fils onlnoticof thxistncof scuritintrst (not thundrlindocumnts) nd dos not prform ll rviw of thtrnsction. Thristrlso publicis functionl quivlnts to scuritintrsts. Thcolltrl ristrhs modrn fturs such s thostht llow scurd crditors (or thir rprsnttivs) to ristr, srch, mnd or cncl scuritintrsts onlin. Scurd crditors rpid first (for xmpl, bfortx clims nd mploclims) whn dbtor dfults outsidn insolvncprocdur. Scurd crditors rpid first (for xmpl, bfortx clims nd mploclims) whn businss is liquidtd. Scurd crditors rsubjct to n utomtic ston nforcmnt procdurs whn dbtor ntrs court-suprvisd rornition procdur, but thlw protcts scurd crditors'rihts bprovidinclr rounds for rlif from thutomtic st (for xmpl, if thmovblproprtis in dnr) or sttintimlimit for it. Thlw llows prtis to rin thcolltrl rmnt tht thlndr mnforcits scuritriht out of court; thlw llows public nd privtuctions nd lso prmits thscurd crditor to tkthsst in stisfction of thdbt. As rsult of chns introducd this r, thfirst componnt of thindx rplcs onrltinto ll limittions on who cn prticiptin scuritrmnt. Two componnts wrddd, on wht tpof colltrl ristroprts in thconomnd on how it oprts. Thscorinnow pnlis conomis for not hvinn utomtic ston nforcmnt durinrornition procdurs so s to nsurtht viblbusinss cn continuto oprt. And thindx tks into ccount nw lmnts rltinto out-of-court nforcmnt procdurs (such s thtps of uctions llowd. Thindx rns from 0 to 12, with hihr scors indictintht colltrl nd bnkruptclws rbttr d-sind to xpnd ccss to crdit. Credit information Thdton thshrinof crdit informtion rbuilt in 2 sts. First, bnkinsuprvision uthoritis nd public informtion sourcs rsurvd to confirm thprsncof crdit rportinsrvicprovidr, such s crdit buru or crdit ristr. Scond, whn pplicbl, dtild qustionniron thcrdit buru's or crdit ristr's structur, lws nd ssocitd ruls is dministrd to thntititslf. Qustionnirrsponss rvrifid throuh svrl rounds of follow-up communiction with rspondnts s wll s bcontctinthird prtis nd consultinpublic sourcs. Thqustionnirdtrconfirmd throuh tlconfrncclls or on-sitvisits in ll conomis. Depth of credit information index Thdpth of crdit informtion indx msurs ruls nd prctics ffctinthcovr scopnd ccssibilitof crdit informtion vilblthrouh ithr crdit buru or crdit r-istr. A scorof 1 is ssind for ch of thfollowin8 fturs of thcrdit buru or crdit ristr (or both: Dton both firms nd individuls rdistributd. Both positivcrdit informtion (for xmpl, oriinl lon mounts, outstndinlon mounts nd pttrn of on-timrpmnts) nd ntivinformtion (for xmpl, ltpmnts nd thnumbr nd mount of dfults) rdistributd. Dtfrom rtilrs nd utilitcompnis rdistributd in ddition to dtfrom finncil institutions. At lst 2 rs of historicl dtrdistributd. Crdit burus nd ristris tht distributmorthn 10 rs of ntivdtor rsdton dfults s soon s thrrpid obtin scorof 0 for this componnt. 5 Dton lon mounts blow 1%of incompr cpitrdistributd. Blw, borrowrs hvthriht to ccss thir dtin thlrst crdit buru or ristrin thconom. Crdit burus nd r-istris tht chrmorthn 1%of incompr cpitfor borrowrs to inspct thir dtobtin scorof 0 for this componnt. 6 Dtusrs cn ccss borrowrs'crdit informtion onlin (for x-mpl, throuh n onlinpltform, sstm-to-sstm connction or both. 7 Buru or ristrcrdit scors roffrd s vluddd srvicto hlp dtusrs ssss thcrditworthinss of borrowrs. 8 Prviouslthdpth of crdit informtion indx covrd onlthfirst 6 fturs listd bov. Thindx rns from 0 to 8, with hihr vlus indictinthvilbilitof morcrdit informtion, from ithr crdit buru or crdit ristr, to fcilittlndindcisions. If thcrdit buru or ristris not oprtionl or covrs lss thn 5%of thdult popultion, thscoron thdpth of crdit informtion indx is 0. In Lithuni, for xmpl, both crdit buru nd crdit ristroprt. Both distributdton firms nd individuls (scorof 1). Both distributpositivnd ntivinformtion (scorof 1). Althouh thcrdit ristrdos not distributdtfrom rtil-rs or utilitis thcrdit buru dos (scorof 1). Both distributt lst 2 rs of historicl dt (scorof 1). Althouh thcrdit ristrhs 128 DOING BUSINESS 2015 thrshold of 1, 000 liti, thcrdit buru distributs dton lons of nvlu (scorof 1). Borrowrs hvthriht to ccss thir dtin both thcrdit buru nd thcrdit ristrfrof chroncr (scorof 1). Both ntitis providdtusrs ccss to dtbss throuh n onlinpltform (scorof 1). Althouh thcrdit ristrdos not providcrdit scors, thcrdit buru dos (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Lithuniscorof 8 on thdpth of crdit informtion indx. Credit bureau coverage Crdit buru covrrports thnumbr of individuls nd firms listd in crdit buru's dtbss of Jnur1 2014, with informtion on thir borrowinhistorfrom thpst 5 rs. Thnumbr is xprssd s prcntof thdult popultion (thpopultion 15 nd bovin 2013 ccordinto thworld Bnk's World Dvlopmnt Indictors. A crdit buru is dfind s privtfirm or nonprofit ornition tht mintins dtbson thcrditworthinss of borrowrs (individuls or firms) in thfinncil sstm nd fcilitts thxchnof crdit informtion moncrditors. Mncrdit burus support bnkinnd ovrll finncil suprvision ctivitis in prctic, thouh this is not thir primrobjctiv. Crdit invstitivburus nd crdit rportinfirms tht do not dirctlfcilittinform-tion xchnmonbnks nd othr finncil institutions rnot considrd. If no crdit buru oprts, thcovr-vluis 0. 0%.Credit registry coverage Crdit ristrcovrrports thnumbr of individuls nd firms listd in crdit ristr's dtbss of Jnur1, 2014, with informtion on thir borrowinhistorfrom thpst 5 rs. Thnumbr is xprssd s prcntof thdult popultion (thpopultion 15 nd bovin 2013 ccordinto thworld Bnk's World Dvlopmnt Indictors. A crdit ristris dfind s dtbsmnd bthpublic sctor, usullbthcntrl bnk or thsuprintndnt of bnks, tht primrilssists bnkinsuprvision whilt thsmtimfcilittinthxchnof crdit informtion monbnks nd othr rultd finncil institutions. If no ristropr-ts, thcovrvluis 0. 0%.Thdtdtils on ttincrdit cn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. Thinitil mthodolows dvlopd bdjnkov, Mclish nd Shlifr (2007) nd is doptd hrwith minor chns. PROTECTING MINORITY INVESTORS Doinbusinss msurs thprotction of minoritinvstors from conflicts of intrst throuh onst of indictors nd shrholdrs'rihts in corportovrnncthrouh nothr (tbl14. 8). Thdtcomfrom qustionnirdministrd to corportnd scuritis lwrs nd rbsd on scuritis rultions, compnlws civil procdurcods nd court ruls of vidnc. Thrnkinof conomis on thstrnth of minoritinvstor protctions is dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for protctinminoritinvstors. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto frontir scors for thxtnt of conflict of intrst rultion indx nd thxtnt of shrholdr ovrnncindx (fiur14. 11. Protection of shareholders from conflicts of interest Thxtnt of conflict of intrst rul-tion indx msurs thprotction of shrholdrs inst dirctors'misusof corportssts for prsonl in bdistinuishin3 dimnsions of rul-tion tht ddrss conflicts of intrst: trnsprncof rltd-prttrnsctions (xtnt of disclosurindx), shr-holdrs'bilitto sund hold dirctors liblfor slf-dlin (xtnt of dirctor libilitindx) nd ccss to vidncnd lloction of ll xpnss in TABLE 14.8 Wht do thprotctinminoritinvstors indictors msur? Extnt of disclosurindx (0 10) Extnt of sh rholdr ri hts indx (0 10.5) Rviw nd pprovl rquirmnts for rltdprttrnsctions Shrholdrs'rihts nd rolin mjor corportdcisions Intrnl, immditnd priodic disclosurrquirmnts for rltd-prttrnsctions Extnt of dirctor li bilitindx (0 10) Strn th of ovrn ncstructurindx (0 10.5) Minoritshrholdrs'bilitto sund hold intrstd dirctors liblfor prjudicil rltdprttrnsctions Govrnncsfurds protctinshrholdrs from undubord control nd ntrnchmnt Avilblll rmdis (dms, disormnt of profits, fins, imprisonmnt, rscission of trnsctions) E sof sh rholdr suits indx (0 10) Extnt of corpor ttr nsp rncindx (0 9 ) Accss to intrnl corportdocumnts Corporttrnsprncon ownrship stks compnstion, udits nd finncil prospcts Evidncobtinbldurintril Alloction of ll xpnss Extnt of conflict of intrst r ul tion indx (0 10) Extnt of sh rholdr ovrn ncindx (0 10) Sum of thxtnt of disclosur, xtnt of dirctor libilitnd sof shrholdr suits indics, dividd b3 Sum of thxtnt of shrholdr rihts , strnth of ovrnncstructurnd xtnt of corporttrnsprncindics, dividd b3 Strn th of minoritinvstor protction indx (0 10) Simplvrof thxtnt of conflict of intrst rultion nd xtnt of shrholdr ovrnncindics Data Notes 129 shareholder litigation (ease of shareholder suits index. To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the transaction are used (figure 14.12). Assumptions about the business The business (Buyer: is traded a publicly corporation listed on the economy's most important stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple shareholders. Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. Has a supervisory board (applicable to economies with a 2-tier board system) on which 60%of the shareholder-elected members have been appointed by Mr. James, who is Buyer's controlling shareholder and a member of Buyer's board of directors. Is a manufacturing company. Has its own distribution network. Assumptions about the transaction Mr. James owns 60%of Buyer and elected 2 directors to Buyer's 5-member board. Mr. James also owns 90%of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller's unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer's distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10%of Buyer's assets and is higher than the market value. The proposed transaction is part of the company's ordinary course of business and is not outside the authority of the company. Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosures made (that is, the transaction is not fraudulent). The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the other parties that approved the transaction. Extent of disclosure index The extent of disclosure index has 5 components: Which corporate body can provide legally sufficient approval for the transaction. A score of 0 is assigned if it is the CEO or the managing director alone; 1 if the board of directors, the supervisory board or shareholders must vote and Mr. James is permitted to vote; 2 if the board of directors or the supervisory board must vote and Mr. James is permitted not to vote; 3 if shareholders must vote and Mr. James is permitted not to vote. Whether immediate disclosure of the transaction to the public, the regulator or the shareholders is required. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure is required; 1 if disclosure on the terms of the transaction is required but not on Mr. James's conflict of interest; 2 if disclosure on both the terms and Mr. James's conflict of interest is required. 9 Whether disclosure in the annual report is required. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure on the transaction is required; 1 if disclosure on the terms of the transaction is required but not on Mr. James's conflict of interest; 2 if disclosure on both the terms and Mr. James's conflict of interest is required. Whether disclosure by Mr. James to the board of directors or the supervisory board is required. A score of 0 is assigned if no disclosure is required; 1 if a general disclosure of the existence of a conflict of interest is required without any specifics; 2 if full disclosure of all material facts relating to Mr. James's interest in the Buyer-Seller transaction is required. Whether it is required that an external body, for example, an external auditor, review the transaction Figure 14.12 How well are protected minority shareholders from conflicts of interest? Extent of disclosure Disclosure and approval requirements Extent of director liability Ability to sue directors for damages Ease of shareholder suits Access by shareholders to documents plus other evidence for trial 90%ownership, sits on board of directors 60%ownership, sits on board of directors Company B (seller) Company A (buyer) Transaction involving conflict of interest Mr. James Minority shareholders Lawsuit Figure 14.11 Protecting minority investors: shareholders'rights in conflicts of interest and corporate governance Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 2 indicators 50%Extent of conflict of interest regulation index 50%Extent of shareholder governance index 130 DOING BUSINESS 2015 bforit tks plc. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Thindx rns from 0 to 10, with hihr vlus indictinrtr disclosur. In Polnd, for xmpl, thbord of dirctors must pprovthtrnsction nd Mr. Jms is not llowd to vot (scorof 2). Bur is rquird to disclosimmditlll informtion ffctinthstock pric, includinthconflict of intrst (scorof 2). In its nnul r-port Bur must lso disclosthtrms of thtrnsction nd Mr. Jms's own-rship in Bur nd Sllr (scorof 2). Bforthtrnsction Mr. Jms must discloshis conflict of intrst to thothr dirctors, but his not rquird to providspcific informtion bout it (scorof 1). Polnd dos not rquirn xtrnl bodto rviw thtrnsction (scorof 0). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Polnd scorof 7 on thxtnt of disclosurindx. Extent of director liability index Thxtnt of dirctor libilitindx hs 7 componnts: 10 Whthr shrholdr plintiff is blto hold Mr. Jms liblfor thdmthbur-Sllr trnsction cuss to thcompn. A scorof 0 is ssind if Mr. Jms cnnot bhld liblor cn bhld liblonlfor frud, bd fith or ross nlinc; 1 if Mr. Jms cn bhld liblonlif hinfluncd thpprovl of thtrnsction or ws nlint; 2 if Mr. Jms cn bhld liblwhn thtrnsction is unfir or prjudicil to thothr shrholdrs. Whthr shrholdr plintiff is blto hold thpprovinbod (thceo, mmbrs of thbord of dirctors or mmbrs of thsuprvisorbord) liblfor thdmthtrnsction cuss to thcompn. A scorof 0 is ssind if thpprovinbodcnnot bhld liblor cn bhld liblonlfor frud, bd fith or ross nlinc; 1 if thpprovinbodcn bhld liblfor nlinc; 2 if thpprovinbodcn bhld liblwhn thtrnsction is unfir or prjudicil to thothr shrholdrs. Whthr court cn void thtrns-ction upon succssful clim bshrholdr plintiff. A scorof 0 is ssind if rscission is unvilblor is vilblonlin csof frud, bd fith or ross nlinc; 1 if r-scission is vilblwhn thtrns-ction is opprssivor prjudicil to thothr shrholdrs; 2 if rscission is vilblwhn thtrnsction is unfir or ntils conflict of intrst. Whthr Mr. Jms ps dms for thhrm cusd to thcompnupon succssful clim bthshrholdr plintiff. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Whthr Mr. Jms rps profits mdfrom thtrnsction upon succssful clim bthshrholdr plintiff. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Whthr both fins nd imprisonmnt cn bpplid inst Mr. Jms. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Whthr shrholdr plintiffs rblto sudirctlor drivtivlfor thdmthtrnsction cuss to thcompn. A scorof 0 is ssind if suits runvilblor rvilblonlfor shrholdrs holdinmorthn 10%of thcompn's shrcpitl; 1 if dirct or drivtivsuits rvilblfor shrholdrs holdin10%of shrcpitl. Thindx rns from 0 to 10, with hihr vlus indictinrtr libilitof dirctors. Assumintht thprjudicil trnsction ws dulpprovd nd disclosd, in ordr to hold Mr. Jms li-blin Pnm, for xmpl, plintiff must provtht Mr. Jms influncd thpprovinbodor ctd nli-ntl (scorof 1). To hold thothr dirctors libl, plintiff must provtht thctd nlintl (scorof 1). Thprjudicil trnsction cnnot bvoidd (scorof 0). If Mr. Jms is found libl, hmust pdms (scorof 1) but his not rquird to disorhis profits (scorof 0). Mr. Jms cnnot bfind nd imprisond (scorof 0). Dirct or drivtivsuits rvilblfor shrholdrs holdin10%of shrcpitl (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Pnmscorof 4 on thxtnt of dirctor libilitindx. Ease of shareholder suits index Thsof shrholdr suits indx hs 6 componnts: Wht rnof documnts is vil-blto thshrholdr plintiff from thdfndnt nd witnsss durintril. A scorof 1 is ssind for ch of thfollowintps of documnts vilbl: informtion tht thdfndnt hs indictd hintnds to rlon for his d-fns; informtion tht dirctlprovs spcific fcts in thplintiff's clim; nd ninformtion rlvnt to thsubjct mttr of thclim. Whthr thplintiff cn dirctlxminthdfndnt nd witnsss durintril. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s, with prior pprovl of thqustions bthjud; 2 if s, without prior pprovl. Whthr thplintiff cn obtin ct-oris of rlvnt documnts from thdfndnt without idntifinch documnt spcificll. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Whthr shrholdrs ownin10%of thcompn's shrcpitl hvthriht to inspct thtrnsction documnts bforfilinsuit or r-qust tht ovrnmnt inspctor invstitthbur-Sllr trns -ction without filinsuit. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. 11 Whthr thstndrd of proof for civil suits is lowr thn tht for criminl cs. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if s. Whthr shrholdr plintiffs cn rcovr thir ll xpnss DATA NOTES 131 from thcompn. A scorof 0 is ssind if no; 1 if plintiffs cn rcovr thir ll xpnss from thcompnonlupon succssful outcomof thir ll ction or if pmnt of thir ttornfs is continnt on succssful outcom; 2 if plintiffs cn rcovr thir ll xpnss from thcompnrrdlss of thoutcomof thir ll ction. 12 Thindx rns from 0 to 10, with hihr vlus indictinrtr pow-rs of shrholdrs to chllnthtrnsction. In Croti, for xmpl, thplintiff cn ccss documnts tht thdfndnt intnds to rlon for his dfns (scorof 1). Thplintiff cn xminthdfndnt nd witnsss durintril, without prior pprovl of thqustions bthcourt (scorof 2). Thplintiff must sp-cificllidntifthdocumnts binsouht (for xmpl, thbur-Sllr purchsrmnt of Jul15, 2006) nd cnnot simplrqust ctoris (for xmpl, ll documnts rltd to thtrnsction)( scorof 0). A shrholdr holdin10%of Bur's shrs cn rqust tht ovrnmnt inspctor rviw suspctd mismn-mnt bmr. Jms nd thceo without filinsuit in court (scorof 1). Thstndrd of proof for civil suits is thsms tht for criminl cs (scorof 0). Thplintiff cn rcovr ll xpnss from thcompnonlupon succssful outcomof thl-l ction (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Crotiscorof 5 on thsof shrholdr suits indx. Extent of conflict of interest regulation index Thxtnt of conflict of intrst rultion indx is thsum of thxtnt of disclosurindx, thxtnt of dirctor libilitindx nd thsof shrholdr suits indx. Thindx is dividd b3 so tht it rns from 0 to 10. Hihr vlus indictstronr rultion of conflicts of intrst. Shareholders'rights in corporate governance Thxtnt of shrholdr ovrnncindx msurs shrholdrs'rihts in corportovrnncbdistinuishin3 dimnsions of ood ovrnnc: shrholdrs'rihts nd rolin mjor corportdcisions (xtnt of shr-holdr rihts indx), ovrnncsf-urds protctinshrholdrs from undubord control nd ntrnchmnt (strnth of ovrnncstructurindx ) nd corporttrnsprncon ownrship stks, compnstion, udits nd finncil prospcts (xtnt of corporttrnsprncindx. 13 Extent of shareholder rights index For ch componnt of thxtnt of shrholdr rihts indx, scorof 0 is ssind if thnswr is no; 1 if it is s; nd 1. 5 if it would lso pplif Bur wrprivtlhld joint stock compnnot listd on nstock xchn. Thindx hs 7 componnts: Whthr shrholdrs hvthriht to mnd Bur's blws or sttuts with simplmjorit. Whthr shrholdrs ownin10%of Bur's shrcpitl hvthriht to cll for n xtrordinrmtinof shrholdrs. Whthr shrholdrs hvthriht to rmovmmbrs of Bur's bord of dirctors bforthnd of thir trm. Whthr Bur must obtin its shrholdrs'pprovl vrtimit issus nw shrs. Whthr shrholdrs rutomticllrntd prmption or subscription rihts vrtimbur issus nw shrs. Whthr shrholdrs rrquird blw to pprovthlction nd dismissl of thxtrnl uditor. Whthr shrholdrs hvthriht to frltrdshrs prior to mjor corportction or mtinof shrholdrs. Strength of governance structure index For ch componnt of thstrnth of ovrnncstructurindx scorof 0 is ssind if thnswr is no; 1 if it is s; nd 1. 5 if it would lso pplif Bur wrprivtlhld joint stock compnnot listd on nstock xchn. Thindx hs 7 componnts: Whthr thceo is brrd from lso binchir of thbord of dirctors. Whthr thbord of dirctors must includindpndnt bord mmbrs. Whthr Bur must hvsp-rtudit committ. Whthr chns to thvotinrihts of sris or clss of shrs must bpprovd onlbthhold-rs of thffctd shrs. Whthr potntil cquirr must mktndr offr to ll shrhold-rs upon cquirin50%of Bur. Whthr cross-shrholdinb-twn 2 indpndnt compnis is limitd to 10%of outstndinshrs. Whthr subsidiris brrd from cquirinshrs issud bits pr-nt compn. Extent of corporate transparency index For ch componnt of thxtnt of corporttrnsprncindx, scorof 0 is ssind if thnswr is no; 1 if it is s; nd 1. 5 if it would lso pplif Bur wrprivtlhld joint stock compnnot listd on nstock xchn. Thindx hs 6 componnts: Whthr Bur must disclosown-rship stks rprsntin10%.%Whthr Bur must disclosinformtion bout bord mmbrs'othr dirctorships s wll s bsic informtion on thir primrmplomnt. Whthr Bur must disclosthcompnstion of individul mnrs. Whthr Bur must hvits nnul finncil sttmnts uditd bn xtrnl uditor. 132 Doing Business 2015 Whether financial statements must contain explanatory notes on significant accounting policies, trends, risks, uncertainties and other factors influencing the reporting. Whether audit reports must be disclosed to the public. Extent of shareholder governance index The extent of shareholder governance index is the sum of the extent of shareholder rights index, the strength of governance structure index and the extent of corporate transparency index. The index is divided by 3 so that it ranges from 0 to 10. Higher values indicate stronger rights of shareholders in corporate governance. Strength of minority investor protection index The strength of minority investor protection index is the average of the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. The index ranges from 0 to 10, rounded to the nearest decimal place, with higher values indicating stronger minority investor protections. The data details on protecting minority investors can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness. org. The initial methodology was developed by Djankov, La Porta and others (2008. The extent of shareholder governance index was introduced in Doing Business 2015. PAYING TAXES Doing Business records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay in a given year as well as measures of the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions (figure 14.13). The project was developed and implemented in cooperation with Pwc. 14 Taxes and contributions measured include the profit or corporate income tax, social contributions and labor taxes paid by the employer, property taxes, property transfer taxes, dividend tax, capital gains tax, financial transactions tax, waste collection taxes, vehicle and road taxes, and any other small taxes or fees. The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators (figure 14.14 with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax rate. 15 The threshold is defined as the highest total tax rate among the top 15%of economies in the ranking on the total tax rate. It is calculated and adjusted on a yearly basis. This year's threshold is 26.1%.%All economies with a total tax rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. The threshold is not based on any economic theory of an optimal tax rate that minimizes distortions or maximizes efficiency in an economy's overall tax system. Instead it is mainly empirical in nature, set at the lower end of the distribution of tax rates levied on medium-size enterprises in the manufacturing sector as observed through the paying taxes indicators. This reduces the bias in the total tax rate indicator toward economies that do need not to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized case study company because they raise public revenue in other ways for example, through taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors other than manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). Doing Business measures all taxes and contributions that are government Figure 14.13 What are the time, total tax rate and number of payments necessary for a local medium-size company to pay all taxes? To prepare, file and pay value added or sales tax, profit tax and labor taxes and contributions Number of payments (per year) Total tax rate Time Hours per year%of profit before all taxes Figure 14.14 Paying taxes: tax compliance for a local manufacturing company Number of hours per year to prepare, file returns and pay taxes Firm tax liability as%of profits before all taxes borne Number of tax payments per year 33.3%Payments 33.3%Time 33.3%Total tax rate Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators Note: All economies below the threshold receive the same score in the total tax rate component as the economies at the threshold. DATA NOTES 133 mndtd (t nlvl fdrl, sttor locl) nd tht pplto thstndrdid businss nd hvn impct in its finncil sttmnts. In doinso, Doinbusinss os bond thtrditionl dfinition of tx. As dfind for thpurposs of ovrnmnt ntionl ccounts, txs includonlcompulsor, unrquitd pmnts to nrl ov-rnmnt. Doinbusinss dprts from this dfinition bcusit msurs imposd chrs tht ffct businss ccounts, not ovrnmnt ccounts. Onmin diffrncrlts to lbor contributions. Thdoinbusinss m-surincluds ovrnmnt-mndtd contributions pid bthmplor to rquitd privtpnsion fund or workrs'insurncfund. It includs for xmpl, Austrli's compulsorsuprnnution urntnd work-rs'compnstion insurnc. For thpurposof clcultinthtotl tx rt (dfind blow), onltxs bornrincludd. For xmpl, vluddd txs rnrllxcludd (providd tht thrnot irrcovrbl) bcusthdo not ffct thccountinprofits of thbusinss tht is, thrnot rflctd in thincomsttmnt. Thr, howvr, includd for thpurposof thcomplincmsurs (timnd pmnts), s thdd to thburdn of complinwith thtx sstm. Doinbusinss uss csscnrio to msurthtxs nd contributions pid bstndrdid businss nd thcomplxitof n conom's tx complincsstm. This csscnrio uss st of finncil sttmnts nd ssumptions bout trnsctions mdovr thcoursof thr. In ch conomtx xprts from numbr of diffrnt firms (in mnconomis thsincludpwc) computthtxs nd mndtorcontributions duin thir jurisdiction bsd on thstndrdid csstudfcts. Informtion is lso compild on thfrquncof filinnd pmnts s wll s thtimtkn to complwith tx lws in n conom. To mkthdtcomprblcross conomis, svrl ssumptions bout thbusinss nd thtxs nd contributions rusd. Thmthodolofor thpintxs indictors hs bnfitd from discussion with mmbrs of thintrntionl Tx Dilound othr stkholdrs. This hs ld to rfinmnt of thqustions on thtimto ptxs, thcollction of dditionl dton thl-bor tx wdfor furthr rsrch nd thintroduction of thrshold pplid to thtotl tx rtfor thpurposof clcultinthrnkinon thsof pintxs. Assumptions about the business Thbusinss: Is limitd libilit, txblcompn. If thris morthn ontpof limitd libilitcompnin thconom, thlimitd libilitform most common mondomstic firms is chosn. Thmost common form is rportd bincorportion lwrs or thsttisticl offic. Strtd oprtions on Jnur1, 2012. At tht timthcompnpurchsd ll shown thssts in its blncsht nd hird ll its workrs. Oprts in thconom's lrst businss cit. For 11 conomis thdtrlso collctd for thscond lrst businss cit (stbl14a. 1). Is 100%domsticllownd nd hs 5 ownrs, ll of whom rnturl prsons. At thnd of 2012, hs strt-up cpitl of 102 tims incompr cpit. Prforms nrl industril or commrcil ctivitis. Spcificll it producs crmic flowrpots nd slls thm t rtil. It dos not prticiptin forin trd (no import or xport) nd dos not hndlproducts subjct to spcil tx r-im, for xmpl, liquor or tobcco. At thbinninof 2013, owns 2 plots of lnd, 1 buildin, mchinr, officquipmnt, computrs nd 1 truck nd lss 1 truck. Dos not quliffor invstmnt incntivs or nbnfits prt from thosrltd to thor siof thcompn. Hs 60 mplos 4 mnrs, 8 ssistnts nd 48 workrs. All rntionls, nd 1 mnr is lso n ownr. Thcompnps for dditionl mdicl insurncfor mplos (not mndtd bnlw) s n dditionl bnfit. In ddition in somconomis rimbursblbusinss trvl nd clint ntrtinmnt xpnss rconsidrd frinbnfits. Whn pplicbl, it is ssumd tht thcompnps thfrinbnfit tx on this xpnsor tht thbnfit bcoms txblincomfor thmplo. Thcsstudssums no dditionl slrdditions for mls, trnsporttion, duction or othrs. Thrfor, vn whn such bnfits rfrqunt, thrnot ddd to or rmovd from thtxblross slris to rrivt thlbor tx or contribution clcultion. Hs turnovr of 1, 050 tims incompr cpit. Mks loss in thfirst r of oprtion. Hs ross mrin (prtx) of 20%(tht is, sls r120%of thcost of oods sold. Distributs 50%of its nt profits s dividnds to thownrs t thnd of thscond r. Slls onof its plots of lnd t profit t thbinninof thscond R is subjct to sris of dtild ssumptions on xpnss nd trnsctions to furthr stndrdithcs. All finncil sttmnt vribls rproportionl to 2012 incompr cpit (this is n updtfrom prvious rs, whn thvribls wrproportionl to 2005 incompr cpit. For xmpl, thownr who is lso mnr spnds 10%of incompr cpit 134 DOING BUSINESS 2015 on trvlinfor thcompn (20%of this ownr's xpnss rpurlprivt, 20%rfor ntrtinincustomrs , nd 60%rfor businss trvl. Assumptions about the taxes and contributions All thtxs nd contributions rcordd rthospid in thscond r of oprtion (clndr r 2013. A tx or contribution is considrd distinct if it hs diffrnt nmor is collctd bdiffrnt nc. Txs nd contributions with thsmnmnd nc, but chrd t diffrnt rts dpndinon thbusinss, rcountd s thsmtx or contribution. Thnumbr of tims thcompnps txs nd contributions in r is thnumbr of diffrnt txs or contributions multiplid bthfrquncof pmnt (or withholdin) for ch tx. Thfrquncof pmnt includs dvncp-mnts (or withholdin) s wll s rulr pmnts (or withholdin. Tax payments Thtx pmnts indictor rflcts thtotl numbr of txs nd contributions pid, thmthod of p-mnt, thfrquncof pmnt, thfrquncof filinnd thnumbr of ncis involvd for thstndrdid csstudcompndurinthscond r of oprtion (tbl14. 9). It includs txs withhld bthcompn, such s sls tx, vluddd tx nd mplo -bornlbor txs. Thstxs rtrditionllcollctd bthcompnfrom thconsumr or mploon bhlf of thtx ncis. Althouh thdo not ffct thincomsttmnts of thcompn, thdd to thdministrtivburdn of complinwith thtx sstm nd so rincludd in thtx pmnts msur. Thnumbr of pmnts tks into ccount lctronic filin. Whrfull lctronic filinnd pmnt is llowd nd it is usd bthmjoritof mdium-sibusinsss thtx is countd s pid oncr vn if filins nd pmnts rmorfrqunt. For p-mnts mdthrouh third prtis, such s tx on intrst pid bfinncil institution or ful tx pid bful distributor, onlonpmnt is includd vn if pmnts rmorfrqunt. Whr2 or mortxs or contributions rfild for nd pid jointlusinthsmform, ch of thsjoint p-mnts is countd onc. For xmpl, if mndtorhlth insurnccontributions nd mndtorpnsion contributions rfild for nd pid tothr, onlonof thscontributions would bincludd in thnumbr of pmnts. Time Timis rcordd in hours pr r. Thindictor msurs thtimtkn to prpr, filnd p3 mjor tps of txs nd contributions: thcorportincomtx, vluddd or sls tx, nd lbor txs, includinproll txs nd socil contributions. Prprtion timincluds thtimto collct ll informtion ncssrto computthtx pblnd to clcultthmount pbl. If sprtccountinbooks must bkpt for tx purposs or sprtclcultions md thtimssocitd with thsprocsss is includd. This xtrtimis includd onlif thrulr ccountinwork is not nouh to fulfill thtx ccountinrquirmnts. Filintimincluds thtimto compltll ncssrtx rturn forms nd filthrlvnt rturns t thtx uthorit. Pmnt timconsidrs thhours ndd to mkthpmnt onlinor in prson. Whrtxs nd contributions rpid in prson, thtimincluds dls whilwitin. Total tax rate Thtotl tx rtmsurs thmount of txs nd mndtorcontributions bornbthbusinss in thscond r of oprtion xprssd s shrof commrcil profit. Doinbusinss 2015 rports thtotl tx rtfor clndr r 2013. Thtotl mount of txs bornis thsum of ll thdiffrnt txs nd contributions pblftr ccountinfor llowbldductions nd xmptions. Thtxs withhld (such s prsonl incomtx) or collctd bthcompnnd rmittd to thtx uthoritis (such s vluddd tx, sls tx or oods nd srvictx ) but not bornbthcompnrxcludd. Thtxs includd cn bdividd into 5 ctoris: profit or corportincomtx, socil contributions nd lbor txs pid bthmplor (for which ll mndtorcontributions rincludd, vn if pid to privtntitsuch s rquitd pnsion fund), proprttxs, turnovr txs nd othr txs (such s municipl fs nd vhicltxs. Ful txs rno lonr includd in thtotl tx rtbcusof thdifficultof computinthstxs in consistnt wfor ll conomis covrd. Thful tx mounts rin TABLE 14.9 Wht do thpintxs indictors msur? T x p mnts for m nuf cturin comp nin 2013 (numbr pr r djustd for lctronic nd joint filin nd p mnt) Totl numbr of txs nd contributions pid, includinconsumption txs (vluddd tx, sls tx or oods nd srvictx) Mthod nd frquncof filinnd pmnt Timrquird to complwith 3 m jor t xs (hours pr r) Collctininformtion nd computinthtx pblcompltintx rturn forms, filinwith propr ncis Arrninpmnt or withholdinprprinsprtmndtortx ccountinbooks, if rquird Tot l t x r t(%of profit bfor ll t xs) Profit or corportincomtx Socil contributions nd lbor txs pid bthmplor Proprtnd proprttrnsfr txs Dividnd, cpitl ins nd finncil trnsctions txs Wstcollction, vhicl, rod nd othr txs DATA NOTES 135 most css vrsmll, nd msurinthsmounts is oftn complictd bcusthdpnd on ful consumption. Ful txs continuto bcountd in thnumbr of pmnts. Thtotl tx rtis dsind to providcomprhnsivmsurof thcost of ll thtxs businss brs. It diffrs from thsttutortx rt, which mrlprovids thfctor to bpplid to thtx bs. In computinthtotl tx rt, thctul tx p-blis dividd bcommrcil profit. Dtfor Kiribti rprovidd s n xmpl (tbl14. 10. Commrcil profit is ssntillnt profit bforll txs born. It diffrs from thconvntionl profit bfortx, rportd in finncil sttmnts. In computinprofit bfortx, mnof thtxs bornbfirm rdductibl. In computincommrcil profit, thstxs rnot dductibl. Commrcil profit thrforprsnts clr picturof thctul profit of businss bfornof thtxs it brs in thcoursof thfiscl r. Commrcil profit is computd s sls minus cost of oods sold, minus ross slris, minus dministrtivxpnss, minus othr xpnss, minus provisions, plus cpitl ins (from thproprtsl) minus intrst xpns, plus intrst incomnd minus commrcil dprcition. To computthcommrcil dprcition, strihtlindprcition mthod is pplid, with thfollowinrts: 0%for thlnd, 5%for thbuildin, 10%for thmchinr, 33%for thcomputrs, 20%for thofficquipmnt, 20%for thtruck nd 10%for businss dvlopmnt xpnss. Commrcil profit mounts to 59.4 tims incompr cpit. Thmthodolofor clcultinthtotl tx rtis brodlconsistnt with thtotl Tx Contribution frm-work dvlopd bpwc nd thclcultion within this frmwork for txs born. But whilthwork undrtkn bpwc is usullbsd on dtr-civd from thlrst compnis in thconom, Doinbusinss focuss on csstudfor stndrdid mdium-sicompn. Thdtdtils on pintxs cn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. This mthodolows dvlopd bdjnkov nd othrs (2010. TRADING ACROSS BORDERS Doinbusinss msurs thtimnd cost (xcludintriffs) ssocitd with xportinnd importinstndrdid cro of oods bstrnsport. Thtimnd cost ncssrto complt4 prdfind sts (documnt prprtion; customs clrncnd inspctions; inlnd trnsport nd hndlin; nd port nd trminl hndlin) for xportinnd importinthoods rrcordd; howvr, thtimnd cost for strnsport rnot includd. All documnts ndd bthtrdr to xport or import thoods cross thbordr rlso rcordd. Thprocss of xportinoods rns from pckinthoods into thcontinr t thwrhousto thir dprturfrom thport of xit. Thprocss of importinoods rns from thvssl's rrivl t thport of ntrto thcro's dlivrt thwrhous. For lndlockd conomis, sincthsport is loctd in thtrnsit conom, thtim, cost nd documnts ssocitd with thprocsss t thinlnd bordr rlso includd. It is ssumd tht thpmnt is mdblttr of crdit, nd thtim, cost nd documnts rquird for thissuncor dvisinof lttr of crdit rtkn into ccount (fiur14. 15. Thrnkinof conomis on thsof trdincross bordrs is dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for trdincross bordrs. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto frontir scors for ch of thcomponnt indictors (fiur14. 16. Locl friht forwrdrs, shippinlins, customs brokrs, port officils nd bnks providinformtion on rquird documnts, cost nd timto xport nd import. To mkthdtcomprblcross conomis, svrl ssumptions bout thbusinss nd thtrdd oods rusd. Assumptions about the traded goods Thtrdd product trvls in dr-cro, 20-foot, full continr lod. 16 It wihs 10 tons nd is vlud t $20, 000. Thproduct: Is not hrdous nor dos it includmilitritms. Dos not rquirrfrirtion or nothr spcil nvironmnt. TABLE 14.10 Computinthtotl tx rtfor Kiribti Tpof t x (t x b s) St tutorr tr(%)St tutort x b sb ($a) Actu l t x p bl=r × b ($a) Commrci l profit*c ($a) Tot l t x r tt=/c(%)Corportincomtx (txblincom) 20.0 35.0 109,381 33,283 137,156 24.3 Emplor-pid socil scuritcontributions (txblws) 7. 5 154,711 11,603 137,156 8. 5 Tot l 44,886 32.7*Profit bforll txs born. Not: Commrcil profit is ssumd to b59. 4 tims incompr cpit. $a is Austrlin dollr. Sourc: Doinbusinss dtbs. 136 Doing Business 2015 Does not require any special phytosanitary or environmental safety standards other than accepted international standards. Is one of the economy's leading export or import products. Assumptions about the business The business: is located in the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1). ) Is a private, limited liability company. Does not operate in an export processing zone or an industrial estate with special export or import privileges. Conducts export and import activities but does not have any special accreditation, such as an authorized economic operator status. is owned 100%domestically. Documents It is assumed that a new contract is drafted per shipment and that the contract has already been executed agreed upon and by both parties. All documents required by law or common practice by relevant agencies including government ministries, customs authorities, port authorities and other control agencies per export and import shipment are taken into account (table 14.11). For landlocked economies, documents required by authorities in the transit economy are included also. Since payment is by letter of credit, all documents required by banks for the issuance or securing of a letter of credit are taken also into account. Documents that are requested at the time of clearance but that are valid for a year or longer or do not require renewal per shipment (for example, an annual tax clearance certificate) are included not. Documents that are required by customs authorities purely for purposes of preferential treatment but are required not for any other purpose by any of the authorities in the process of trading are included not. For example if a certificate of origin is presented only to qualify for a preferential tariff rate under trade agreements, the document is counted not. It is assumed that the exporter will always obtain a certificate of origin for its trade partner, and the time and cost associated with obtaining this certificate are included therefore in the time and cost of document preparation to export. Time The time for exporting and importing is recorded in calendar days. The time calculation for each of the 4 predefined stages starts from the moment the stage is initiated and runs until it is completed. Fast-track procedures applying only to firms located in an export processing zone or only to certain accredited firms under authorized economic operator programs, are taken not into account because they are not available to all trading companies. Sea transport time is included not. It is assumed that neither the exporter nor the importer wastes time and that each commits to completing the process without delay. It is assumed that document preparation, inland transport and handling, customs clearance and inspections, and port and terminal handling require a minimum time of 1 day each and cannot take place simultaneously. The waiting time that occurs in practice for example, in queues to obtain a service or during the moving of the cargo at the seaport is included in the measure. Cost Cost measures the fees levied on a 20-foot container in U s. dollars. All fees charged by government agencies and the private sector to a trader in the process of exporting and importing the goods are taken into account. These include but are limited not to costs Figure 14.15 How much time, how many documents and what cost to export and import by sea transport? Full, 20-foot container To export Time Cost Documents Time Cost Documents To import Import Export Port and terminal handling Customs and border agencies Inland transport Figure 14.16 Trading across borders: exporting and importing by sea transport All documents required by customs and other agencies Document preparation, customs clearance and inspections, port and terminal handling, inland transport and handling US$ per 20-foot container, no bribes or tariffs included 33.3%Cost to export and import Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators 33.3%Documents to export and import 33.3%Time to export and import Data Notes 137 for documents, administrative fees for customs clearance and inspections, customs broker fees, port-related charges and inland transport costs. The exporter is incurred responsible for the costs related to exporting the goods until they depart from the exporting economy and the importer is incurred responsible for the costs related to importing from the moment the goods arrive at the seaport in the importing economy. The cost does not include customs tariffs and duties or costs related to sea transport. Only official costs are recorded. The data details on trading across borders can be found for each economy at http://www. doingbusiness. org. This methodology was developed by Djankov, Freund and Pham (2010) and is adopted here with minor changes. ENFORCING CONTRACTS Indicators on enforcing contracts measure the efficiency of the judicial system in resolving a commercial dispute. The data are built by following the step-by-step evolution of a commercial sale dispute before local courts (figure 14.17. The data are collected through study of the codes of civil procedure and other court regulations as well as questionnaires completed by local litigation lawyers and judges. The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators (figure 14.18. The name of the relevant court in each economy the court in the largest business city with jurisdiction over the standardized commercial dispute described below is published at http://www. doingbusiness. org/data/exploretopics/enforcing-contracts. For 11 economies for which the data are collected also for the second largest business city, the name of the relevant court in that city is given as well. Assumptions about the case The value of the claim is equal to 200%of the economy's income per capita or $5, 000, whichever is greater. 17 The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between 2 businesses (Seller and Buyer), both located in the economy's largest business city. For 11 economies the data are collected also for the second largest business city (see table 14a.1). ) Pursuant to a contract between the businesses, Seller sells some custom-made furniture to Buyer worth 200%of the economy's income per capita or $5, 000, whichever is greater. After Seller delivers the goods to Buyer, Buyer refuses to pay the contract price, alleging that the goods are not of adequate quality. Because they were custommade, Seller is unable to sell them to anyone else. Seller (the plaintiff) sues Buyer (the defendant) to recover the amount under the sales agreement. The dispute is brought before the court located in the economy's largest business city with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200%of income per capita or $5, 000, whichever is greater. As noted, for 11 economies the data are also Figure 14.17 What are the time, cost and number of procedures to resolve a commercial dispute through the courts? Court Filing & service Trial & judgment Enforcement Company A (seller & plaintiff) Company B (buyer & defendant) Time Cost Number of procedures Commercial dispute Figure 14.18 Enforcing contracts: resolving a commercial dispute through the courts Attorney, court and enforcement costs as%of claim value Days to resolve commercial sale dispute through the courts Steps to file claim, obtain judgment and enforce it 33.3%Procedures 33.3%Time 33.3%Cost Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 3 indicators TABLE 14.11 What do the trading across borders indicators measure? Documents required to export and import (number) Bank documents Customs clearance documents Port and terminal handling documents Transport documents Time required to export and import (days) Obtaining, filling out and submitting all the documents Inland transport and handling Customs clearance and inspections Port and terminal handling Does not include sea transport time Cost required to export and import (US$ per container) All documentation Inland transport and handling Customs clearance and inspections Port and terminal handling Official costs only, no bribes 138 DOING BUSINESS 2015 collctd for thscond lrst businss cit (stbl14a. 1). At thoutst of thdisput, Sllr dcids to ttch Bur's movblssts (for xmpl, officquipmnt nd vhicls) bcussllr frs tht Bur mhidits ssts or othrwisbcominsolvnt. Thclim is disputd on thmrits bcusof Bur's lltion tht thqulitof thoods ws not dqut. Bcusthcourt cnnot dcidthcson thbsis of documntrvidncor ll titllon, n xprt opinion is ivn on thqulitof thoods. If it is stndrd prcticin thconomfor ch prtto cll its own xprt witnss, thprtis ch cll onxprt witnss. If it is stndrd prcticfor thjudto ppoint n indpndnt xprt, thjuddos so. In this csthjuddos not llow opposinxprt tstimon. Followinthxprt opinion, thjuddcids tht thoods d-livrd bsllr wrof dqutqulitnd tht Bur must pthcontrct pric. Thjudthus rndrs finl judmnt tht is 100%in fvor of Sllr. Bur dos not ppl thjud-mnt. Sllr dcids to strt nforcinthjudmnt s soon s thtimlloctd blw for ppl lpss. Sllr tks ll rquird stps for prompt nforcmnt of thjud-mnt. Thmonis succssfullcollctd throuh public slof Bur's movblssts (for xmpl, officquipmnt nd vhicls. Procedures Thlist of procdurl stps compild for ch conomtrcs thchronoloof commrcil disputbforthrlvnt court. A procduris dfind s nintrction, rquird blw or commonlcrrid out in prctic, btwn thprtis or btwn thm nd thjudor court officr. Othr procdurl stps, intrnl to thcourt or btwn thprtis nd thir counsl, mbcountd s wll. Procdurl stps includstps to filnd srvthcs, stps to ssin thcsto jud, stps for tril nd judmnt nd stps ncssrto nforcthjudmnt (tbl14. 12. To indictovrll fficinc, 1 proc-duris subtrctd from thtotl numbr for conomis tht hvspcilid commrcil courts or divisions, nd 1 procdurfor conomis tht llow lctronic filinof thinitil complint. Somprocdurl stps tht rprt of othrs rnot countd in thtotl numbr of procdurs. Time Timis rcordd in clndr ds, countd from thmomnt thplintiff dcids to filthlwsuit in court until pmnt. This includs both thds whn ctions tkplcnd thwitinpriods in btwn. Thvrdurtion of 3 diffrnt sts of disputrsolution is rcordd: thcompltion of srvicof procss (timto filnd srvthcs), thissu-ncof judmnt (timfor tril nd to obtin thjudmnt) nd thrcovrof thclim vluthrouh public sl (timfor nforcmnt of thjudmnt. Cost Cost is rcordd s prcntof thclim, ssumd to bquivlnt to 200%of incompr cpitor $5, 000, whichvr is rtr. Thrtps of costs rrcordd: court costs, nforc-mnt costs nd vrttornfs. Court costs includll costs tht Sllr (plintiff) must dvncto thcourt, rrdlss of thfinl cost bornbsllr. Enforcmnt costs rll costs tht Sllr (plintiff) must dvncto nforcthjudmnt throuh public slof Bur's movblssts, rrdlss of thfinl cost bornbsllr. Avrttornfs rthfs tht Sllr (plintiff) must dvncto locl ttornto rprsnt Sllr in thstndrdid cs. Bribs rnot tkn into ccount. Thdtdtils on nforcincontrcts cn bfound for ch conomt http://www. doinbusinss. or. This mthodolows dvlopd bdjnkov nd othrs (2003) nd is doptd hrwith minor chns. RESOLVING INSOLVENCY Doinbusinss studis thtim, cost nd outcomof insolvncprocdins involvindomstic ntitis. In ddition this r it introducs nw msur, thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx, vlutinthdqucnd intritof thll frmwork pplicblto liquidtion nd rornition procdins. Thdtfor thrsolvininsolvncindictors rdrivd from qustionnirrsponss blocl insolvncprctitionrs nd vrifid throuh studof lws nd rultions s wll s public informtion on bnkruptcsstms. Thrnkinof conomis on thsof rsolvininsolvncis dtrmind bsortinthir distncto frontir scors for rsolvininsolvnc. Thsscors rthsimplvrof thdistncto frontir scors for thrcovrrtnd thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx (fiur14. 19. TABLE 14.12 Wht do thnforcincontrcts indictors msur? Procdurs to nforc contr ct throu h thcourts (numbr) Stps to filnd srvthcsstps for tril nd judmnt Stps to nforcthjudmnt Timrquird to compltprocdurs (c lnd r d s) Timto filnd srvthcstimfor tril nd to obtin thjudmnt Timto nforcthjudmnt Cost rquird to compltprocdurs(%of cl im) Avrttornfs Court costs Enforcmnt costs DATA NOTES 139 Debt recovery in insolvency To mkthdton thtim, cost nd outcomof insolvncprocdins comprblcross conomis, svrl ssumptions bout thbusinss nd thcsrusd. Assumptions bout thbusinss Thbusinss: Is limitd libilitcompn. Oprts in thconom's lrst businss cit. For 11 conomis thdtrlso collctd for thscond lrst businss cit (stbl14a. 1). Is 100%domsticllownd, with thfoundr, who is lso chirmn of thsuprvisorbord, ownin51%(no othr shrholdr holds morthn 5%of shrs). Hs downtown rl stt, whrit runs hotl, s its mjor sst. Hs profssionl nrl mnr. Hs 201 mplos nd 50 suppli-rs, ch of which is owd monfor thlst dlivr. Hs 10-r lon rmnt with domstic bnk scurd bmortovr thhotl's rl sttproprt. A univrsl businss chr (n ntrprischr) is lso ssumd in conomis whrsuch colltrl is rconid. If thlws of thconomdo not spcificllprovidfor n ntrprischrbut contrcts commonlussomothr provision to tht ffct, this provision is spcifid in thlon rmnt. Hs obsrvd thpmnt schdulnd ll othr conditions of thlon up to now. Hs mrkt vlu, oprtins oinconcrn of 100 tims incompr cpitor $200, 000, whichvr is rtr. Thmrkt vluof thcompn's ssts, if sold picml, is 70%of thmrkt vluof thbusinss. Assumptions bout thcsthbusinss is xprincinliquiditproblms. Thcompn's loss in 2013 rducd its nt worth to ntivfiur. It is Jnur1, 2014. Thris no csh to pthbnk intrst or principl in full, duthnxt d, Jnur2. Thbusinss will thrfordfult on its lon. Mnmnt blivs tht losss will bincurrd in 2014 nd 2015 s wll. But it xpcts 2014 csh flow to covr ll oprtinxpnss, includinsupplir pmnts, slris, mintnnccosts nd txs, thouh not principl or intrst pmnts to thbnk. Thmount outstndinundr thlon rmnt is xctlqul to thmrkt vluof thhotl businss nd rprsnts 74%of thcompn's totl dbt. Thothr 26%of its dbt is hld bunscurd crditors (supplirs, mplos, tx uthoritis. Thcompnhs too mncrditors to notitn informl out-of-court workout. Thfollowinoptions rvilbl: judicil procdurimd t thrhbilittion or rornition of thcompnto prmit its continud oprtion; judicil procdurimd t thliquidtion or windin-up of thcompn; or dbt nforcmnt procdur (forclosuror rcivrship) inst thcompn. Assumptions bout thprtis Thbnk wnts to rcovr s much s possiblof its lon, s quicklnd chpls possibl. Thunscurd crditors will do vrthinprmittd undr thpplicbllws to void picml slof thssts. Thmjoritshrholdr wnts to kp thcompnoprtinnd undr his control. Mnmnt wnts to kp thcompnoprtinnd prsrvits mplos'jobs. All thprtis rlocl ntitis or citins; no forin prtis rinvolvd. Timtimfor crditors to rcovr thir crdit is rcordd in clndr rs (tbl14. 13. Thpriod of timm-surd bdoinbusinss is from thcompn's dfult until thpmnt of somor ll of thmonowd to thbnk. Potntil dltctics bthfigure 14.19 Rsolvininsolvnc: rcovrrtnd strnth of insolvncfrmwork 50%Recovery rate 50%Strength of insolvency framework index Rankings are based on distance to frontier scores for 2 indicators TABLE 14.13 Wht do thindictors on dbt rcovrin insolvncmsur? Timrquird to rcovr dbt (rs) Msurd in clndr rs Appls nd rqusts for xtnsion rincludd Cost rquird to rcovr dbt(%of dbtor's st t) Msurd s prcntof sttvlucourt fs Fs of insolvncdministrtors Lwrs'fs Assssors'nd uctionrs'fs Othr rltd fs Outcomwhthr thbusinss continus oprtins oinconcrn or whthr its ssts rsold picml Rcovrr tfor scurd crditors (cnts on thdoll r) Msurs thcnts on thdollr rcovrd bscurd crditors Prsnt vluof dbt rcovrd Officil costs of thinsolvncprocdins rdductd Dprcition of furnituris tkn into ccount Outcomfor thbusinss (survivl or not) ffcts thmximum vlutht cn brcovrd 140 DOING BUSINESS 2015 prtis such s thfilinof diltorppls or rqusts for xtnsion, rtkn into considrtion. Cost Thcost of thprocdins is r-cordd s prcntof thvluof thdbtor's stt. Thcost is clcultd on thbsis of qustionnirrsponss nd includs court fs nd ovrnmnt lvis; fs of insolvncdministrtors, uctionrs, ssssors nd lwrs; nd ll othr fs nd costs. Outcome Rcovrbcrditors dpnds on whthr thhotl businss mrs from thprocdins s oinconcrn or thcompn's ssts rsold picml. If thbusinss kps oprtin, 100%of thhotl vluis prsrvd. If thssts rsold pic-ml, thmximum mount tht cn brcovrd is 70%of thvluof thhotl. Recovery rate Thrcovrrtis rcordd s cnts on thdollr rcoupd bscurd crditors throuh rornition, liquidtion or dbt nforcmnt (for-closuror rcivrship) procdins (fiur14. 20. Thclcultion tks into ccount thoutcom: whthr thbusinss mrs from thprocdins s oinconcrn or thssts rsold picml. Thn thcosts of thprocdins rdductd (1 cnt for ch prcntpoint of thvluof thdbtor's stt. Finll, thvlulost s rsult of thtimthmonrmins tid up in insolvncprocdins is tkn into ccount, includinthloss of vluduto dprcition of thhotl furnitur. Consistnt with intrntionl ccountinprctic, thnnul dprcition rtfor furnituris tkn to b20%.%Thfurnituris ssumd to ccount for qurtr of thtotl vluof ssts. Thrcovrrtis thprsnt vluof thrmininprocds, bsd on nd-2013 lndinrts from thintrntionl Montrfund's Intrntionl Finncil Sttistics, supplmntd with dtfrom cntrl bnks nd theconomist Intllincunit. If n conomhd ro css r ovr thpst 5 rs involvinjudicil rornition, judicil liquidtion or dbt nforcmnt procdur (for-closuror rcivrship), thconomrcivs no prctic mrk on thtim, cost nd outcomindictors. This mns tht crditors runliklto rcovr thir monthrouh forml ll procss. Thrcovrrtfor no prctic conomis is ro. In ddition, no prctic conomrcivs scorof 0 on thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx vn if its ll frmwork includs provisions rltd to insolvncprocdins (liquidtion or rornition. Strength of insolvency framework Thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx is bsd on 4 othr indics: commncmnt of procdins indx, mnmnt of dbtor's ssts indx, rornition procdins indx nd crditor prticiption indx (fiur14. 21; tbl14. 14. Commencement of proceedings index Thcommncmnt of procdins indx hs 3 componnts: Whthr dbtors cn inititboth liquidtion nd rornition procdins. A scorof 1 is ssind if dbtors cn inititboth tps of procdins; 0. 5 if thcn initi-tonlonof thstps (ithr liquidtion or rornition; 0 if thcnnot inititinsolvncprocdins. Whthr crditors cn inititboth liquidtion nd rornition procdins. A scorof 1 is ssind if crditors cn inititboth tps of procdins; 0. 5 if thcn initi-tonlonof thstps (ithr liquidtion or rornition; 0 if thcnnot inititinsolvncprocdins. Wht stndrd is usd for commncmnt of insolvncprocdins. A scorof 1 is ssind if liquidittst (thdbtor is nr-llunblto pits dbts s thfigure 14.20 Rcovrrtis function of thtim, cost nd outcomof insolvncprocdins inst locl compnsecured creditor with unpaid claim Recovery rate Reorganization, liquidation or foreclosure proceedings Time Cost Outcome FIGURE 14.21 Strnth of insolvncfrmwork indx msurs thqulitof insolvnclws tht ovrn rltions btwn dbtors, crditors nd thcourt Management of debtor's assets index Commencement of proceedings index Reorganization proceedings index Creditor participation index Court Creditors Debtor DATA NOTES 141 mtur) is usd; 0. 5 if thblncsht tst (thlibilitis of thdbtor xcd its ssts) is usd; 1 if both thliquiditnd blncsht tsts rvilblbut onlonis rquird to inititinsolvncprocdins; 0. 5 if both tsts rrquird; 0 if diffrnt tst is usd. Thindx rns from 0 to 3, with hihr vlus indictinrtr ccss to insolvncprocdins. In Bulri, for xmpl, dbtors cn inititboth liquidtion nd rornition procdins (scorof 1), s cn crditors (scorof 1). Thstndrd for commncininsolvncprocdins is tht thdbtor cnnot pits dbts s thmtur (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Bulriscorof 3 on thcommncmnt of procdins indx. Management of debtor's assets index Thmnmnt of dbtor's ssts indx hs 6 componnts: Whthr thdbtor (or n insolvncrprsnttivon its bhlf) cn continuprformincontrcts ssntil to thdbtor's survivl. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if continution of contrcts is not possiblor if thlw contins no provisions on this subjct. Whthr thdbtor (or n insolvncrprsnttivon its bhlf) cn rjct ovrlburdnsomcontrcts. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if r-jction of contrcts is not possibl. Whthr trnsctions ntrd into bforcommncmnt of insolvncprocdins tht ivprfrncto onor svrl crditors cn bvoidd ftr procdins riniti-td. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if voidncof such trnsctions is not possibl. Whthr undrvlud trnsctions ntrd into bforcommncmnt of insolvncprocdins cn bvoidd ftr procdins riniti-td. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if voidncof such trnsctions is not possibl. Whthr thinsolvncfrmwork includs spcific provisions tht llow thdbtor (or n insolvncrprsnttivon its bhlf), ftr commnc-mnt of insolvncprocdins, to obtin finncinncssrto function durinthprocdins. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if obtininpost-commncmnt finncinis not possiblor if thlw contins no provisions on this subjct. Whthr post-commncmnt finncinrcivs prioritovr ordinrunscurd crditors durindistribution of ssts. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0. 5 if post-commncmnt finncinis rntd suprprioritovr ll crditors, scurd nd unscurd; 0 if no prioritis rntd to postcommncmnt finncin. Thindx rns from 0 to 6, with hihr vlus indictinmordvnt-ous trtmnt of thdbtor's ssts from thprspctivof thcompn's stkholdrs. In Rwnd, for xmpl, dbtors cn continussntil contrcts (scorof 1) nd rjct burdnsomons (scorof 1) durininsolvncprocdins. But thinsolvncfrmwork contins no provisions on ithr prfrntil trnsctions (scorof 0) or undrvlud ons (scorof 0). Post-commncmnt finncinis vilblundr thlws of Rwnd (scorof 1 ) nd rcivs prioritonlovr ordinrunscurd crditors (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Rwndscorof 4 on thmnmnt of dbtor's ssts indx. Reorganization proceedings index Thrornition procdins indx hs 3 componnts: Whthr thrornition pln is votd on onlbthcrditors whosrihts rmodifid or ffctd bthpln. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0. 5 if ll crditors voton thpln, rrdlss of its impct on thir intrsts; 0 if crditors do not voton thpln or if rornition is not vilbl. Whthr crditors ntitld to voton thpln rdividd into clsss, ch clss vots sprtlnd thcrditors within ch clss rtrt-d qull. A scorof 1 is ssind if thvotinprocdurhs ths3 fturs; 0 if thvotinprocdurdos not hvths3 fturs or if rornition is not vilbl. Whthr thinsolvncfrmwork rquirs tht dissntincrditors r-civs much undr throrni-tion pln s thwould hvrcivd in liquidtion. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if no such provisions xist or if rornition is not vilbl. Thindx rns from 0 to 3, with hihr vlus indictinrtr complincwith intrntionllccptd TABLE 14.14 Wht do thindictors on thstrnth of thinsolvncfrmwork msur? Commncmnt of procdin s indx (0 3) Avilbilitof liquidtion nd rornition to dbtors nd crditors Stndrds for commncmnt of insolvncprocdins M n mnt of dbtor 's ssts indx (0 6) Continution nd rjction of contrcts durininsolvncavoidncof prfrntil nd undrvlud trnsctions Post-commncmnt crdit Ror ni tion procdin s indx (0 3) Approvl nd contnt of thrornition pln Crditor p rticip tion indx (0 4) Crditors'prticiption in nd rihts durinliquidtion nd rornition procdins Strn th of insolvncfr mwork indx (0 16) Sum of thcommncmnt of procdins, mnmnt of dbtor's ssts, rornition procdins nd crditor prticiption indics 142 DOING BUSINESS 2015 prctics. Nicru for xmpl, hs no judicil rornition procdins nd thrforrcivs scorof 0 on thrornition procdins indx. In Estoni, nothr xmpl, onlcrditors whosrihts rffctd bthrornition pln rllowd to vot (scorof 1). Thrornition pln divids crditors into clsss, ch clss vots sprtlnd crditors within thsmclss rtrtd qull (scorof 1). But thrrno provisions rquirintht thrturn to dissntincrditors bqul to wht thwould hvrcivd in liquidtion (scorof 0). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Estoniscorof 2 on thror-nition procdins indx. Creditor participation index Thcrditor prticiption indx hs 4 componnts: Whthr crditors prticiptin thslction of n insolvncrprsnttiv. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if no. Whthr crditors rrquird to pprovthslof substntil ssts of thdbtor in thcoursof insolvncprocdins. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if no. Whthr n individul crditor hs thriht to ccss informtion bout insolvncprocdins, ithr brqustinit from n insolvncrprsnttivor br-viwinthofficil rcords. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if no. Whthr n individul crditor cn objct to dcision of thcourt or of thinsolvncrprsnttivto pprovor rjct clims inst thdbtor brouht bthcrditor itslf nd bothr crditors. A scorof 1 is ssind if s; 0 if no. Thindx rns from 0 to 4, with hihr vlus indictinrtr prticiption of crditors. In Iclnd, for xmpl, thcourt ppoints thinsolvncrprsnttiv, without crditors'pprovl (scorof 0). Thinsolvncrprsnttivdcids uniltrllon thslof thdbtor's ssts (scorof 0). Ancrditor cn inspct thrcords kpt bthinsolvncrpr-snttiv (scorof 1). And ncrditor is llowd to chllndcision of thinsolvncrprsnttivto pprovll clims if this dcision ffcts thcrditor's rihts (scorof 1). Addinthsnumbrs ivs Iclnd scorof 2 on thcrditor prticiption indx. Strength of insolvency framework index Thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx is thsum of thscors on thcommncmnt of procdins indx, mnmnt of dbtor's ssts indx rornition procdins indx nd crditor prticiption indx. Thindx rns from 0 to 16, with hihr vlus indictininsolvnclisltion tht is bttr dsind for rhbilittinviblfirms nd liquidtinnonviblons. This mthodolows dvlopd bdjnkov, Hrt nd othrs (2008) nd is doptd hrwith svrl chns. Thstrnth of insolvncfrmwork indx ws introducd in Doinbusinss 2015. Thbst prctics tstd in this indx wrdvlopd on thbsis of thworld Bnk's Principls for Effctivinsolvncnd Crditor/Dbtor Rims nd thunitd Ntions Commission on Intrntionl Trdlw's Lisltivguidon Insolvnclw. LABOR MARKET REGULATION Doinbusinss msurs flxibilitin thrultion of mplomnt, sp-cificlls it ffcts thhirinnd rdundncof workrs nd thriiditof workinhours (fiur14. 22. This r, for thfirst tim, thindictors msurinflxibilitin lbor mrkt rultions focus on thosffctinthfood rtil industr, usinstndrdid csstudof cshir in suprmrkt. Also nw is tht Doinbusinss collcts dton rultions pplinto mplos hird throuh tmporr-work ncis s wll s on thospplinto prmnnt mplos or mplos hird on fixdtrm contrcts. Thindictors lso covr dditionl rs of lbor mrkt rultion, includinsocil protction schms nd bnfits s wll s lbor disputs. Ovr thpriod from 2007 to 2011 improvmnts wrmdto lin thmthodolofor thlbor mrkt rultion indictors (formrlthmploinworkrs indictors) with thlttr nd spirit of thintrntionl Lbour Ornition (ILO) convntions. Onl6 of th188 ILO convntions covr rs msurd bdoinbusinss: mplotrmin-tion, wknd work, holidwith FIGURE 14.22 How flxiblrhirin, work schdulinnd rdundncruls? Work scheduling 2. 1. Hiring 3. Redundancy DATA NOTES 143 p, niht work, protction inst unmplomnt nd mdicl crnd sicknss bnfits. Thdoinbusinss mthodolois fullconsistnt with ths6 convntions. Thilo convntions covrinrs rltd to thlbor mrkt rultion indictors do not includthilo corlbor stndrds 8 convntions covrinthriht to collctivbrinin, thlimintion of forcd lbor, thbolition of child lbor nd quitbltrtmnt in mplomnt prctics. Btwn 2009 nd 2011 thworld Bnk Group workd with consult-tivroup includinlbor lwrs, mplor nd mplorprsnt-tivs, nd xprts from thilo, thornistion for Economic Cooprtion nd Dvlopmnt (OECD), civil socitnd thprivtsctor to rviw thmthodolofor thlbor mrkt rultion indictors nd xplorfuturrs of rsrch. 18 A full rport with thconclusions of thconsulttivroup lonwith thmthodoloit proposd, is vilblt http://www. doinbusinss. or/mthodolo/lbor-mrkt-rultion. Doinbusinss 2015 prsnts thdtfor thlbor mrkt rultion indic-tors in n nnx. Thrport dos not prsnt rnkins of conomis on thsindictors or includthtopic in thrtdistncto frontir scoror rnkinon thsof doinbusinss. Dtild dtcollctd on lbor mrkt rultions rvilblon thdoinbusinss wbsit (http://www. doinbusinss. or. Thdton lbor mrkt rultions rbsd on dtild qustionniron mplo-mnt rultions tht is compltd blocl lwrs nd public officils. Emplomnt lws nd rultions s wll s scondrsourcs rrviwd to nsurccurc. To mkthdtcomprblcross conomis, svrl ssumptions bout thworkr nd thbusinss rusd. Assumptions about the worker Thworkr: Is cshir in suprmrkt or rocrstor. Is full-timmplo. Is not mmbr of thlbor union, unlss mmbrship is mndtor. Assumptions about the business Thbusinss: Is limitd libilitcompn (or thquivlnt in thconom. Oprts suprmrkt or rocrstorin thconom's lrst businss cit. For 11 conomis thdtrlso collctd for thscond lrst businss cit (stbl14a. 1). Hs 60 mplos. Is subjct to collctivbrininrmnts if such rmnts covr morthn 50%of thfood rtil sctor nd thpplvn to firms tht rnot prtto thm. Abids bvrlw nd rultion but dos not rnt workrs morbnfits thn thosmndtd blw, rultion or (if pplicbl) collctivbrininrmnts. Riiditof mplomnt Riiditof mplomnt covrs 3 rs: difficultof hirin, riiditof hours nd difficultof rdundnc (tbl14. 15. Difficultof hirincovrs 4 rs:(i) whthr fixd-trm contrcts rprohibitd for prmnnt tsks;(ii) thmximum cumultivdurtion of fixd-trm contrcts;(iii) thminimum wfor cshir, 19, with 1 r of work xprinc; nd (iv) thrtio of thminimum wto thvrvluddd pr workr. 19 Riiditof hours covrs 7 rs:(i) whthr thworkwk cn xtnd to 50 hours or mor (includinovrtim) 2 months in r to rspond to ssonl incrsin worklod;(ii) thmximum numbr of ds llowd in thworkwk;(iii) thprmium for niht work (s prcntof hourlp;(iv) thprmium for work on wklrst d (s prcntof hourlp;(v) whthr thrrtable 14.15 Wht do thlbor mrkt rultion indictors includ? Ri iditof mplomnt Difficultof hirinwhthr fixd-trm contrcts rprohibitd for prmnnt tsks Mximum durtion of fixd-trm contrcts, includinrnwls Minimum wpplicblto thworkr ssumd in thcsstud (US$/month) Rtio of minimum wto vluddd pr workr Riiditof hours Whthr 50-hour workwks rprmittd for 2 months in r duto n incrsin worklod Allowd mximum lnth of thworkwk in ds nd hours, includinovrtimprmium for niht work(%of hourlp) Prmium for work on wklrst d(%of hourlp) Whthr thrrrstrictions on niht work nd wklholidwork Pid nnul vction ds for workrs with 1 r of tnur, 5 rs of tnurnd 10 rs of tnurdifficultof rdundnclnth of thmximum probtionrpriod (in months) for prmnnt mplos Whthr rdundncis llowd s rounds for trmintion Whthr third -prtnotifiction is rquird for trmintion of rdundnt workr or roup of workrs Whthr third-prtpprovl is rquird for trmintion of rdundnt workr or roup of workrs Whthr mplor is oblitd to rssin or rtrin nd to follow prioritruls for rdundncnd rmplomnt Rdund nccost (wks of s l r) Noticrquirmnts, svrncpmnts nd pnltis duwhn trmintinrdundnt workr, xprssd in wks of slrsoci l protction schms nd bnfits Whthr n unmplomnt protction schmxists Whthr thlw rquirs mplors to providhlth insurncfor prmnnt mplos L bor disputs Avilbilitof courts or court sctions spciliinin lbor disputs 144 DOING BUSINESS 2015 rstrictions on niht work;(vi) whthr thrrrstrictions on wklholidwork; nd (vii) thvrpid nnul lvfor workrs with 1 r of tnur, 5 rs of tnurnd 10 rs of tnur. Difficultof rdundnclooks t 9 qustions:(i) wht thlnth is in months of thmximum probtion-rpriod;(ii) whthr rdundncis disllowd s bsis for trmintinworkrs;(iii) whthr thmplor nds to notifthird prt (such s ovrnmnt nc) to trmint1 rdundnt workr;(iv) whthr thmplor nds to notifthird prtto trmintroup of 9 rdundnt workrs;(v) whthr thmplor nds pprovl from third prtto trmint1 rdundnt workr;(vi) whthr thmplor nds pprovl from third prtto trmintroup of 9 rdundnt workrs;(vii) whthr thlw rquirs thmplor to rssin or rtrin workr bformkinthworkr rdundnt;(viii) whthr prioritruls pplfor rdundncis; nd (ix) whthr prioritruls pplfor rmplomnt. Redundancy cost Rdundnccost msurs thcost of dvncnoticrquirmnts, sv-rncpmnts nd pnltis duwhn trmintinrdundnt workr, xprssd in wks of slr. Thvr-vluof noticrquirmnts nd svrncpmnts pplicblto workr with 1 r of tnur, workr with 5 rs nd workr with 10 rs is considrd. Onmonth is rcordd s 4 nd 1/3 wks. Social protection schemes and benefits Doinbusinss collcts dton thxistncof unmplomnt protction schms s wll s dton whthr mplors rlllrquird to providhlth insurncfor mplos with prmnnt contrcts. Labor disputes Doinbusinss sssss thmch-nisms vilblto rsolvlbor disputs. Morspcificll, it collcts dton wht courts would bcomptnt to hr lbor disputs nd whthr thcomptnt courts rspcilid in rsolvinlbor disputs. Thdtdtils on lbor mrkt rul-tion cn bfound for ch conomt http://www doinbusinss. or. Thdoinbusinss wbsitlso provids historicl dtsts. Thmthodolows dvlopd bbotro nd othrs (2004. Doinbusinss 2015 dos not prsnt rnkins of conomis on thlbor mrkt rul-tion indictors. NOTES 1. Thdtfor pintxs rfr to Jnur Dcmbr 2013.2. Thsrbnldsh, Bril, Chin, Indi, Indonsi, Jpn, Mxico, Niri, Pkistn, thrussin Fdrtion nd thunitd Stts. 3. This corrction rtrflcts chns tht xcd 5%up or down. 4. This ssumption is nw in Doinbusinss 2015.5. This componnt is rvisd in Doinbusinss 2015. Thprvious mthodolossind point if morthn 2 rs of historicl dtwrdistributd. Similrl, crdit burus nd ristris tht rsd dton dfults s soon s thwrrpid obtind scorof 0. 6. This componnt is rvisd in Doinbusinss 2015. Thprvious mthodolossind point if borrowrs hvthriht blw to ccss thir dtin thlrst crdit buru or ristrin thconom. 7. This componnt is nw in Doinbusinss 2015.8 This componnt is nw in Doinbusinss 2015.9. This qustion is usullrultd bstock xchnor scuritis lws. Points rwrdd onlto conomis with morthn 10 listd firms in thir most importnt stock xchn. 10. Whn vlutinthrimof libilitfor compndirctors for prjudicil rltdprttrnsction, Doinbusinss ssums tht thtrnsction ws duldisclosd nd pprovd. Doinbusinss dos not msurdirctor libilitin thvnt of frud. 11. This componnt is rvisd in Doinbusinss 2015; it combins 2 prviouslsprtcomponnts. 12. This componnt is nw in Doinbusinss 2015.13. This componnt is nw in Doinbusinss 2015.14. Pwc rfrs to thntwork of mmbr firms of Pricwtrhouscooprs Intrntionl Limitd (Pwcil) or, s thcontxt rquirs, individul mmbr firms of thpwc ntwork. Ech mmbr firm is sprtll ntitnd dos not ct s nt of Pwcil or nothr mmbr firm. Pwcil dos not providnsrvics to clints. Pwcil is not rsponsiblor liblfor thcts or omissions of nof its mmbr firms nor cn it control thxrcisof thir profssionl judmnt or bind thm in nw. No mmbr firm is rsponsiblor liblfor thcts or omissions of nothr mmbr firm nor cn it control thxrcisof nothr mmbr firm's profssionl judmnt or bind nothr mmbr firm or Pwcil in nw 15. Thnonlinr distncto frontir for thtotl tx rtis qul to thdistncto frontir for thtotl tx rtto thpowr of 0. 8. 16. Whildiffrnt tps of continrs rusd round thworld, th2 most importnt r20-foot nd 40-foot continrs. Usof 40-foot continrs is rowin, but this r's rsrch confirms tht 20-foot continrs rstill common in thmjoritof conomis. Accordinto rspondnts qustiond in ch of th189 conomis covrd bdoinbusinss, 20-foot nd 40-foot continrs rqullcommon in 49%of thconomis, 20-foot continrs rmorcommon in 29%,nd 40-foot continrs rmostlrlid on in onl10%.%For thrminin12%of conomis no dton thusof th2 tps of continrs wrvilbl. Thtrdincross bordrs indictors will continuto bbsd on 20-foot continrs bcusthis sirmins thmost rlvnt for intrntionl trdcross thlob. 17. This ssumption is rvisd in Doinbusinss 2015.18. For thtrms of rfrncnd composition of thconsulttivroup, sworld Bnk, Doinbusinss Emploinworkrs Indictor Consulttivgroup, http://www. doinbusinss. or. 19. Thvrvluddd pr workr is thrtio of n conom's GNI pr cpitto thworkin-popultion s prcntof thtotl popultion. DATA NOTES 145 TABLE 14a.1 Citis covrd in ch conombthdoinbusinss rport Economcitor citis Economcitor citis Economcitor citis Afhnistn Kbul Grcathns Pkistn Krchi Lhoralbnitirngrndst. Gor's Plu Koror Alrialirs Gutmlgutmlcitpnmpnmcitanollundguinconkrppunw Guinport Morsbantiund Brbudst. John's Guin-Bissu Bissu Pruasunción Arntinbunos Airs Gungortown Pru Limarmniyrvn Hiti Port-u-Princphilippins Quon Citaustrlisdnhondurs Tucilppolnd Wrsw Austrivinnhonkonsar, Chinhonkonsar Portul Lisbon Arbijn Bku Hunrbudpst Purto Rico (U s.)Sn Jun Bhms, Thnssu Iclnd Rkjvik Qtr Dohbhrin Mnmindimumbi, Dlhi Romnibuchrst Bnldsh Dhk, Chittonindonsijkrt, Surbrussin Fdrtion Moscow, St. Ptrsburbrbdos Bridtown Irn, Islmic Rp. Thrn Rwndkili Blrus Minsk Irq Bhdd Smoapiblium Brussls Irlnd Dublin Sn Mrino Sn Mrino Bliblicitisrl Tl Aviv Sao Tomé nd Príncipsao Tomé Bnin Cotonou Itlromsudi Arbiridh Bhutn Thimphu Jmickinston Snl Dkr Bolivilpjpn Toko Osksrbiblrdbosnind Hrovinsrjvo Jordn Ammn Schlls Victoribotswngboronkkhstn Almtsirrlonfrtown Bril Sao Pulo, Rio djniro Knnirobi Sinporsinporbruni Drusslm Bndr Sri Bwn Kiribti Trwslovk Rpublic Brtislvbulrisofikor, Rp. Soul Slovniljubljnburkinfso Oudouou Kosovo Pristinsolomon Islnds Honirburundi Bujumburkuwit Kuwit Citsouth Africjohnnsburcbo Vrdprikrrpublic Bishkk South Sudn Jubcmbodiphnom Pnh Lo PDR Vintinspin Mdrid Cmroon Doulltvirisri Lnkcolombo Cndtoronto Lbnon Birut St kitts nd Nvis Bsstrrcntrl Africn Rpublic Bnui Lsotho Msru St. Lucicstris Chd N'Djmnlibrimonrovist. Vincnt nd thgrndins Kinstown Chilsntio Libtripoli Sudn Khrtoum Chinshnhi, Bijinlithunivilnius Surinmprmribo Colombiboota Luxmbourluxmbourswilnd Mbbncomoros Moroni Mcdoni, FYR Skopjswdn Stockholm Cono, Dm. Rp. Kinshsmdscr Antnnrivo Switrlnd Zurich Cono, Rp. Brvillmlwi Blntrsrin Arb Rpublic Dmscus Costricsn José Mlsikullumpur Tiwn Chintipi Côtd'Ivoirabidjn Mldivs Mlé Tjikistn Dushnbcrotizrb Mli Bmko Tnnidr s Slm Cprus Nicosimltvllttthilnd Bnkok Cch Rpublic Prumrshll Islnds Mjuro Timor-Lstdili Dnmrk Copnhn Muritninoukchott Too Lomé Djibouti Djibouti Villmuritius Port louis Tonnuku'lofdominicrosu Mxico Mxico Cit, Montrrtrinidd nd Tobo Port of Spin Dominicn Rpublic Snto Domino Micronsi, Fd. Sts. Islnd of Pohnpi Tunisitunis Ecudor Quito Moldovchisinau T urkistnbul Ept, Arb Rp. Ciro Monoliulnbtr Undkmplel Slvdor Sn Slvdor Montnro Podoricukrinkiv Equtoril Guinmlbo Morocco Csblncunitd Arb Emirts Dubi Eritrasmrmombiqumputo Unitd Kindom London Estonitllinn Mnmr Ynon Unitd Stts Nw York Cit, Los Anls Ethiopiaddis Abbnmibiwindhok Uruumontvido Fiji Suvnpl Kthmndu Ubkistn Tshknt Finlnd Hlsinki Nthrlnds Amstrdm Vnutu Port-Vilfrncpris Nw Zlnd Aucklnd Vnul RB Crcs Gbon Librvillnicrumnuvitnm Ho chi minh Citgmbi, Thbnjul Nir Nimwst Bnk nd GRMLLH Goritbilisi Nirilos, Kno Ymn, Rp. Sn'Grmnbrlin Norwoslo Zmbiluskghnaccromn Musct Zimbbwhrr Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Distance to frontier and ease of doing business ranking This year's report presents results for 2 aggregate measures: the distance to frontier score and the ease of doing business ranking, which for the first time this year is based on the distance to frontier score. The ease of doing business ranking compares economies with one another; the distance to frontier score benchmarks economies with respect to regulatory best practice, showing the absolute distance to the best performance on each Doing Business indicator. When compared across years, the distance to frontier score shows how much the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs in an economy has changed over time in absolute terms, while the ease of doing business ranking can show only how much the regulatory environment has changed relative to that in other economies. DISTANCE TO FRONTIER The distance to frontier score captures the gap between an economy's performance and a measure of best practice across the entire sample of 31 indicators for 10 Doing Business topics (the labor market regulation indicators are excluded). For starting a business, for example, Canada and New zealand have the smallest number of procedures required (1), and New zealand the shortest time to fulfill them (0. 5 days). Slovenia has the lowest cost (0. 0), and Australia, Colombia and 110 other economies have paid no-in minimum capital requirement (table 15.1). ) Calculation of the distance to frontier score Calculating the distance to frontier score for each economy involves 2 main steps. First, individual component indicators are normalized to a common unit where each of the 31 component indicators y (except for the total tax rate) is rescaled using the linear transformation (worst-y)/(worst-frontier. In this formulation the frontier represents the best performance on the indicator across all economies since 2005 or the third year in which data for the indicator were collected. For legal indicators such as those on getting credit or protecting minority investors, the frontier is set at the highest possible value. For the total tax rate, consistent with the use of a threshold in calculating the rankings on this indicator, the frontier is defined as the total tax rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis. For the time to pay taxes the frontier is defined as the lowest time recorded among all economies that levy the 3 major taxes: profit tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and value added tax (VAT) or sales tax. In addition, the cost to export and cost to import for each year are divided by the GDP deflator, to take the general price level into account when benchmarking these absolute-cost indicators across economies with different inflation trends. The base year for the deflator is 2013 for all economies. In the same formulation, to mitigate the effects of extreme outliers in the DISTANCE TO FRONTIER AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKING 147 distributions of the rescaled data for most component indicators (very few economies need 700 days to complete the procedures to start a business, but many need 9 days), the worst performance is calculated after the removal of outliers. The definition of outliers is based on the distribution for each component indicator. To simplify the process, 2 rules were defined: the 95th percentile is used for the indicators with the most dispersed distributions (including time, cost, minimum capital and number of payments to pay taxes), and the 99th percentile is used for number of procedures and number of documents to trade. No outlier was removed for component indicators bound by definition or construction, including legal index scores (such as the depth of credit information index, extent of conflict of interest regulation index and strength of insolvency framework index) and the recovery rate (figure 15.1). ) Second, for each economy the scores obtained for individual indicators are aggregated through simple averaging into one distance to frontier score first for each topic and then across all 10 topics: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. More complex aggregation methods such as principal components and unobserved components yield a ranking nearly identical to the simple average used by Doing Business. 1 Thus Doing Business uses the simplest method: weighting all topics equally and, within each topic, giving equal weight to each of the topic components. 2 An economy's distance to frontier score is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the worst performance and 100 the frontier. All distance to frontier calculations are based on a maximum of 5 decimals. However, indicator ranking calculations and the TABLE 15.1 What is the frontier in regulatory practice? Topic and indicator Who sets the frontier Frontier Worst performance Starting a business Procedures (number) Canada; New zealand 1 18a Time (days) New zealand 0. 5 100b Cost(%of income per capita) Slovenia 0. 0 200. 0b Minimum capital(%of income per capita) Australia; Colombiac 0. 0 400. 0b Dealing with construction permits Procedures (number) Hong kong SAR, China 5 30a Time (days) Singapore 26 373b Cost(%of warehouse value) Qatar 0. 0 20. 0b Getting electricity Procedures (number) Germany; Korea, Rep. d 3 9a Time (days) Korea, Rep. 18 248b Cost(%of income per capita) Japan 0. 0 8, 100. 0b Registering property Procedures (number) Georgia; Norway; Portugal; Sweden 1 13a Time (days) Georgia; New zealand; Portugal 1 210b Cost(%of property value) Saudi arabia 0. 0 15. 0b Getting credit Strength of legal rights index (0 12) Colombia; Montenegro; New zealand 12 0e Depth of credit information index (0 8) Ecuador; United Kingdomf 8 0e Protecting minority investors Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) No economy has attained the frontier yet. 10 0e Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) No economy has attained the frontier yet. 10 0e Paying taxes Payments (number per year) Hong kong SAR, China; Saudi arabia 3 63b Time (hours per year) Singapore 49g 696b Total tax rate(%of profit) Singapore 26. 1h 84. 0b Trading across borders Documents to export (number) France; Ireland 2 11a Time to export (days) Denmark; Estonia; Singapore 6 54b Cost to export (US$ per container), deflated Timor-Leste 410.0 5, 000. 0b Documents to import (number) France; Ireland 2 15a Time to import (days) Singapore 4 66b Cost to import (US$ per container), deflated Singapore 368.4 6, 000. 0b (continued) 148 DOING BUSINESS 2015 ease of doing business ranking calculations are based on 2 decimals. The difference between an economy's distance to frontier score in any previous year and its score in 2014 illustrates the extent to which the economy has closed the gap to the regulatory frontier over time. And in any given year the score measures how far an economy is from the best performance at that time. Treatment of the total tax rate This year for the first time, the total tax rate component of the paying taxes indicator set enters the distance to frontier calculation in a different way than any other indicator. The distance to frontier score obtained for the total tax rate is transformed in a nonlinear fashion before it enters the distance to frontier score for paying taxes. As a result of the nonlinear transformation, an increase in the total tax rate has a smaller impact on the distance to frontier score for the total tax rate and therefore on the distance to frontier score for paying taxes for economies with a belowaverage total tax rate than it would have in the calculation done in previous years (line B is smaller than line A in figure 15.2). ) And for economies with an extreme total tax rate (a rate that is very high relative to the average), an increase has a greater impact on both these distance to frontier scores than before (line D is bigger than line C in figure 15.2). ) The nonlinear transformation is not based on any economic theory of an optimal tax rate that minimizes distortions or maximizes efficiency in an economy's overall tax system. Instead, it is mainly empirical in nature. The nonlinear transformation along with the threshold reduces the bias in the indicator toward economies that do need not to levy significant taxes on companies like the Doing Business standardized case study company because they raise public revenue in other ways for example through taxes on foreign companies, through taxes on sectors other than manufacturing or from natural resources (all of which are outside the scope of the methodology). In addition, it acknowledges the need of economies to collect taxes from firms. Calculation of scores for economies with 2 cities covered For each of the 11 economies for which a second city was added in this year's report, the distance to frontier score is calculated as the population-weighted average of the distance to frontier scores for the 2 cities covered (table 15.2). ) This is done for the aggregate score, the score for each topic and the scores for all the component indicators for each topic. TABLE 15.1 What is the frontier in regulatory practice?(continued) Topic and indicator Who sets the frontier Frontier Worst performance Enforcing contracts Procedures (number) Singapore 21 53a Time (days) Singapore 120 1, 340b Cost(%of claim) Bhutan 0. 1 89. 0b Resolving insolvency Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) Japan 92.9 0. 0e Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) No economy has attained the frontier yet. 16 0e a. Worst performance is defined as the 99th percentile among all economies in the Doing Business sample. b. Worst performance is defined as the 95th percentile among all economies in the Doing Business sample. c. One hundred and ten other economies also have a minimum capital requirement of 0. 0. d. In 11 other economies it also takes only 3 procedures to get an electricity connection. e. Worst performance refers to the worst value recorded. f. Twenty-two other economies also score 8 on the depth of credit information index. g. Defined as the lowest time recorded among all economies in the Doing Business sample that levy the 3 major taxes: profit tax, labor taxes and mandatory contributions, and VAT or sales tax. h. Defined as the highest total tax rate among the 15%of economies with the lowest total tax rate in the Doing Business sample. Source: Doing Business database. TABLE 15.2 Weights used in calculating the distance to frontier scores for economies with 2 cities covered Economy City Weight(%)Bangladesh Dhaka 78 Chittagong 22 Brazil São paulo 61 Rio de janeiro 39 China Shanghai 55 Beijing 45 India Mumbai 47 Delhi 53 Indonesia Jakarta 78 Surabaya 22 Japan Tokyo 65 Osaka 35 Mexico Mexico city 83 Monterrey 17 Nigeria Lagos 77 Kano 23 Pakistan Karachi 65 Lahore 35 Russian Federation Moscow 70 St petersburg 30 United states New york 60 Los angeles 40 Source: United nations, Department of Economic and Social affairs, Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects, 2014 Revision, File 12: Population of Urban Agglomerations with 300,000 Inhabitants or More in 2014, by Country, 1950 2030 (thousands), http://esa. un. org/unpd/wup/CD-ROM/Default. aspx. DISTANCE TO FRONTIER AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKING 149 Variability of economies'scores across topics Each indicator set measures a different aspect of the business regulatory environment. The distance to frontier scores and associated rankings of an economy can vary, sometimes significantly, across indicator sets. The average correlation coefficient between the 10 indicator sets included in the aggregate distance to frontier score is 0. 37, and the coefficients between 2 sets of indicators range from 0. 19 (between getting electricity and registering property) to 0. 60 (between protecting minority investors and resolving insolvency). These correlations suggest that economies rarely score universally well or universally badly on the indicators (table 15.3). ) Consider the example of Portugal. Its aggregate distance to frontier score is 76.03. Its score is 96.27 for starting a business and 85.20 for trading across borders. But its score is only 59.17 for protecting minority investors and 45.00 for getting credit. Figure 2. 1 in the chapter About Doing Business illustrates the degree of variability for each economy's performance across the different areas of business regulation covered by Doing Business. The figure draws attention to economies with a particularly uneven performance by showing for each economy, the distance between the average of its highest 3 distance to frontier scores and the average of its lowest 3 across the 10 topics included in this year's aggregate distance to frontier score. While a relatively small distance between these 2 averages suggests a broadly consistent approach across the areas of business regulation measured by Doing Business, a relatively large distance suggests a more uneven approach, with greater room for improvement in some areas than in others. Variation in performance across the indicator sets is not at all unusual. It reflects differences in the degree of priority that government authorities give to particular areas of business regulation reform and in the ability of different government agencies to deliver tangible results in their area of responsibility. Economies that improved the most across 3 or more Doing Business topics in 2013/14 Doing Business 2015 uses a simple method to calculate which economies improved the ease of doing business the most. First, it selects the economies FIGURE 15.1 How are distance to frontier scores calculated for indicators? Two examples 100 80 60 40 200 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Worst performance (99th percentile: 30 procedures Best performance (frontier: 5 procedures Distance to frontier score for proceduresa time-and-motion topic: dealing with construction permits A legal topic: protecting minority investors 100 80 60 40 200 Procedures (number) Distance to frontier score for extent of shareholder governance index Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Best performance (frontier: 10 points Worst performance: 0 points Regulatory frontier Regulatory frontier Source: Doing Business database. 150 DOING BUSINESS 2015 that in 2013/14 implemented regulatory reforms making it easier to do business in 3 or more of the 10 topics included in this year's aggregate distance to frontier score. 3 Twenty-one economies meet this criterion: Azerbaijan; Benin; the Democratic Republic of congo; Côte d'ivoire; the Czech republic; Greece; India; Ireland; Kazakhstan; Lithuania; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Poland; Senegal; the Seychelles; Spain; Switzerland; Taiwan, China; Tajikistan; Togo; Trinidad and tobago; and the United arab emirates. Second, Doing Business sorts these economies on the increase in their distance to frontier score from the previous year using comparable data. Selecting the economies that implemented regulatory reforms in at least 3 topics and had the biggest improvements in their distance to frontier scores is intended to highlight economies with ongoing, broad-based reform programs. The improvement in the distance to frontier score is used to identify the top improvers because this allows a focus on the absolute improvement in contrast with the relative improvement shown by a change in rankings that economies have made in their regulatory environment for business. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKING The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 189. The ranking of economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to 2 decimals. FIGURE 15.2 How the nonlinear transformation affects the distance to frontier score for the total tax rate Total tax rate(%)Distance to frontier score for total tax rate 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 100 80 60 40 200 A b c D Linear distance to frontier score for total tax rate Nonlinear distance to frontier score for total tax rate Regulatory frontier Note: The nonlinear distance to frontier score for the total tax rate is equal to the distance to frontier score for the total tax rate to the power of 0. 8. Source: Doing Business database. TABLE 15.3 Correlations between economy distance to frontier scores for Doing Business topics Dealing with construction permits Getting electricity Registering property Getting credit Protecting minority investors Paying taxes Trading across borders Enforcing contracts Resolving insolvency Starting a business 0. 29 0. 28 0. 35 0. 44 0. 48 0 . 51 0. 43 0. 43 0. 48 Dealing with construction permits 0. 33 0. 31 0. 21 0. 23 0. 35 0. 34 0. 27 0. 22 Getting electricity 0. 19 0. 23 0. 20 0. 41 0. 53 0. 29 0. 31 Registering property 0. 42 0. 45 0. 37 0. 20 0. 49 0. 40 Getting credit 0. 51 0. 27 0. 32 0. 38 0. 56 Protecting minority investors 0. 37 0. 35 0. 37 0. 60 Paying taxes 0. 42 0. 33 0. 35 Trading across borders 0. 28 0. 49 Enforcing contracts 0. 48 Source: Doing Business database. DISTANCE TO FRONTIER AND EASE OF DOING BUSINESS RANKING 151 NOTES 1. See Djankov, Manraj and others (2005. Principal components and unobserved components methods yield a ranking nearly identical to that from the simple average method because both these methods assign roughly equal weights to the topics, since the pairwise correlations among indicators do not differ much. An alternative to the simple average method is to give different weights to the topics, depending on which are considered of more or less importance in the context of a specific economy. 2. For getting credit, indicators are weighted proportionally, according to their contribution to the total score, with a weight of 60%assigned to the strength of legal rights index and 40%to the depth of credit information index. Indicators for all other topics are assigned equal weights. 3. Changes making it more difficult to do business are subtracted from the total number of those making it easier to do business. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Summaries of Doing Business reforms in 2013/14 Doing Business reforms affecting all sets of indicators included in this year's report, implemented from June 2013 to June 2014. Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business Afghanistan Starting a business Afghanistan made starting a business more difficult by increasing the publication fees and prolonging the time required for registration. Albania Starting a business Albania made starting a business easier by lowering registration fees. Dealing with construction permits Albania made dealing with construction permits easier by resuming the issuance of construction permits and by consolidating the land permit and construction permit into a single construction development permit. Registering property Albania made transferring property easier by establishing effective time limits and computerizing the records on immovable property. Getting credit Albania weakened its secured transactions system through an amendment to the Securing Charges Law that does not allow intangible assets to be secured with a nonpossessory pledge. Paying taxes Albania made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the corporate income tax rate. Algeria Trading across borders Algeria made trading across borders easier by upgrading infrastructure at the port of Algiers. Argentina Dealing with construction permits Argentina made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing several fees. Armenia Starting a business Armenia made starting a business easier by streamlining postregistration procedures Austria Starting a business Austria made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement, which in turn reduced the paid-in minimum capital Reforms affecting the labor market regulation indicators are included here but do not affect the ranking on the ease of doing business. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 153 requirement, and by lowering notary fees. Azerbaijan Starting a business Azerbaijan made starting a business easier by reducing the time to obtain an electronic signature for online tax registration. Registering property Azerbaijan made transferring property easier by introducing an online procedure for obtaining the nonencumbrance certificate. Paying taxes Azerbaijan made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying social insurance contributions. Bahamas, The Dealing with construction permits The Bahamas made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Enforcing contracts The Bahamas made enforcing contracts easier by introducing new rules of civil procedure focused on streamlining and simplifying court proceedings and ensuring less costly resolution of disputes. Bahrain Registering property Bahrain made registering property easier by reducing the registration fee. Getting credit Bahrain improved access to credit information by approving the credit bureau's collection of data on firms. Bangladesh Trading across borders Bangladesh made trading across borders easier by introducing a fully automated, computerized customs data management system ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) World. This reform applies to both Chittagong and Dhaka. Belarus Paying taxes Belarus made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying contributions for the obligatory insurance for work accidents and by simplifying the filing requirements for corporate income tax and value added tax (VAT). On the other hand, it increased the ecological tax rate and made bad debt provisions nondeductible for purposes of the corporate income tax. Belgium Resolving insolvency Belgium made resolving insolvency more difficult by establishing additional requirements for commencing reorganization proceedings, including the submission of documents verified by external parties. Labor market regulation Belgium increased the notice period for redundancy dismissals. Benin Starting a business Benin made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement and the fees to be paid at the one-stop shop. Protecting minority investors Benin strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Trading across borders Benin made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents needed for imports. Enforcing contracts Benin made enforcing contracts easier by creating a commercial section within its court of first instance. Bolivia Trading across borders Bolivia made trading across borders more difficult by increasing customs clearance time. Brunei Darussalam Dealing with construction permits Brunei Darussalam made dealing with construction permits easier by consolidating final inspections. Paying taxes Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes easier for companies by allowing joint filing and payment of supplemental contributory pension and employee provident fund contributions and by introducing an online system for paying these 2 contributions. Bulgaria Starting a business Bulgaria made starting a business easier by lowering registration fees. Burkina faso Protecting minority investors Burkina faso strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. 154 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Cabo Verde Getting credit Cabo Verde improved its credit information system by adopting a new law providing for the establishment of credit bureaus. Labor market regulation Cabo Verde introduced a minimum wage. Cameroon Getting credit Cameroon improved its credit information system by passing regulations that provide for the establishment and operation of a credit registry database. Protecting minority investors Cameroon strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Central african republic Protecting minority investors The Central african republic strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of relatedparty transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Trading across borders The Central african republic made trading across borders more difficult by increasing border checks and security controls at the border post with Cameroon. Chad Protecting minority investors Chad strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. China Starting a business China made starting a business easier by eliminating both the minimum capital requirement and the requirement to obtain a capital verification report from an auditing firm. This reform applies to both Beijing and Shanghai. Paying taxes China made paying taxes easier for companies by enhancing the electronic system for filing and paying taxes and adopting new communication channels within its taxpayer service, changes applying to both Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, China made paying taxes less costly for companies in Shanghai by reducing the social security contribution rate. Colombia Registering property Colombia made transferring property easier by eliminating the need for a provisional registration. Getting credit Colombia improved access to credit by adopting a new secured transactions law that establishes a functional approach to secured transactions and a centralized, notice-based collateral registry. The law broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral, allows a general description of assets granted as collateral, establishes clear priority rules inside bankruptcy for secured creditors, sets out grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during reorganization procedures and allows out-ofcourt enforcement of collateral. Paying taxes Colombia made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a new profit tax (CREE), though it also reduced the corporate income tax rate and payroll taxes. Comoros Protecting minority investors The Comoros strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Congo Dem. Rep. Starting a business The Democratic Republic of congo made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop. Dealing with construction permits The Democratic Republic of congo made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fee. Getting electricity In the Democratic Republic of congo the utility in Kinshasa made getting electricity easier by reducing the number of approvals required for new connections and reducing the burden of the security deposit. Getting credit The Democratic Republic of congo improved access to credit information by establishing a credit registry. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 155 Protecting minority investors The Democratic Republic of congo strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of relatedparty transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Paying taxes The Democratic Republic of congo made paying taxes easier for companies by simplifying corporate income tax returns and abolishing the minimum tax payable depending on a company's size. On the other hand, it increased the rate for the minimum lump-sum tax applied to annual revenue. Congo, Rep. Protecting minority investors The Republic of congo strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Paying taxes The Republic of congo made paying taxes easier for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate and by abolishing the tax on the rental value of business premises and the tax on company-owned cars. Costa rica Getting electricity Costa rica reduced the time required for getting electricity by improving the coordination between different departments at the utility. Paying taxes Costa rica made paying taxes easier for companies by implementing an electronic system for filing corporate income tax and VAT. Côte d'ivoire Starting a business Côte d'ivoire made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement lowering registration fees and enabling the one-stop shop to publish notices of incorporation. Registering property Côte d'ivoire made transferring property easier by digitizing its land registry system and lowering the property registration tax. Getting credit Côte d'ivoire improved its credit information system by introducing regulations that govern the licensing and operation of credit bureaus. Protecting minority investors Côte d'ivoire strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Trading across borders Côte d'ivoire made trading across borders easier by simplifying the processes for producing the inspection report and by reducing port and terminal handling charges at the port of Abidjan. Croatia Starting a business Croatia made starting a business easier by reducing notary fees. Dealing with construction permits Croatia made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the requirements and fees for building permits and carrying out the final building inspection more promptly. Paying taxes Croatia made paying taxes more complicated for companies by raising the health insurance contribution rate, increasing the Croatian Chamber of commerce fees and introducing more detailed filing requirements for VAT. On the other hand, it abolished the contribution to the Croatian Chamber of commerce. Trading across borders Croatia made trading across borders easier by implementing a new electronic customs system. Labor market regulation Croatia lifted the 3-year limit on the duration of first time fixed-term contracts. Cyprus Getting credit Cyprus improved its credit information system by adopting a central bank directive eliminating the minimum threshold for loans to be included in credit bureaus'databases. Paying taxes Cyprus made paying taxes easier for companies by reducing the number of provisional tax installments for corporate income tax. Czech republic Starting a business The Czech republic made starting a business easier by substantially reducing the minimum capital requirement and the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Getting credit The Czech republic improved access to credit by adopting a new legal regime on secured transactions that 156 DOING BUSINESS 2015 allows the registration of receivables at the collateral registry and permits out-of-court enforcement of collateral. Enforcing contracts The Czech republic made enforcing contracts easier by amending its civil procedure code and modifying the monetary jurisdictions of its courts. Denmark Starting a business Denmark made starting a business easier by reducing the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Djibouti Dealing with construction permits Djibouti made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by streamlining the review process for building permits. Dominican republic Dealing with construction permits The Dominican republic made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Getting credit The Dominican republic improved its credit information system by enacting a new law regulating the protection of personal data and the operation of credit reporting institutions. Protecting minority investors The Dominican republic strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater shareholder rights and requirements for greater corporate transparency. Trading across borders The Dominican republic made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents required for exports and imports. Ecuador Protecting minority investors Ecuador strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions as well as a requirement that a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring voting shares. Trading across borders Ecuador made trading across borders easier by upgrading to a new electronic data interchange system called ECUAPASS. Egypt Arab Rep. Protecting minority investors The Arab republic of egypt strengthened minority investor protections by introducing additional requirements for approval of related-party transactions and greater requirements for disclosure of such transactions to the stock exchange. Equatorial guinea Protecting minority investors Equatorial guinea strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Finland Labor market regulation Finland eliminated the requirement to notify a third party before dismissing a redundant employee or group of redundant employees. France Starting a business France made starting a business easier by reducing the time it takes to register a company at the onestop shop (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises. Labor market regulation France substantially amended its labor market regulations, including the provisions dealing with large-scale collective redundancy processes. Gabon Registering property Gabon made transferring property more costly by increasing the property registration tax rate. Protecting minority investors Gabon strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Paying taxes Gabon made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying VAT. Gambia The Starting a business The gambia made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to pay stamp duty. Protecting minority investors The gambia strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying the duties of directors and providing new venues and remedies for minority shareholders seeking redress for oppressive conduct. Georgia Labor market regulation Georgia reduced the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 157 and introduced a notice period for redundancy dismissals. Germany Starting a business Germany made starting a business more difficult by increasing notary fees. Registering property Germany made transferring property more costly by increasing the property transfer tax rate. Ghana Dealing with construction permits Ghana made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by streamlining the process to obtain a building permit. Trading across borders Ghana made trading across borders easier by upgrading infrastructure at the port of Tema. Greece Starting a business Greece made starting a business easier by lowering registration costs. Registering property Greece made transferring property easier by reducing the property transfer tax rate and eliminating the requirement for a municipal tax clearance certificate. Enforcing contracts Greece made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Guatemala Starting a business Guatemala made starting a business easier by eliminating certain registration fees and reducing the time to publish a notice of incorporation. Paying taxes Guatemala made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by enhancing the electronic system for filing and paying corporate income tax and VAT and by reducing the capital gains and corporate income tax rates. On the other hand, it also made paying taxes more complicated by introducing a new form for capital gains tax. Guinea Registering property Guinea made registering property easier by reorganizing the records at the land registry and reducing the notary fees. Protecting minority investors Guinea strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Guinea-bissau Protecting minority investors Guinea-bissau strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Honduras Dealing with construction permits Honduras made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Hong kong SAR, China Starting a business Hong kong SAR, China, made starting a business more difficult by increasing the registration fee. Protecting minority investors Hong kong SAR, China, strengthened minority investor protections by introducing requirements for directors to provide more detailed disclosure of conflicts of interest to the other board members. Hungary Starting a business Hungary made starting a business more difficult by increasing the paidin minimum capital requirement. Getting credit Hungary improved access to credit by adopting a new legal regime on secured transactions that implements a functional approach to secured transactions, extends security interests to the products and proceeds of the original asset and establishes a modern, notice-based collateral registry. Paying taxes Hungary made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by abolishing the special tax that had been introduced temporarily in 2010 and by reducing the vehicle tax rate. Iceland Starting a business Iceland made starting a business easier by offering faster online procedures. Registering property Iceland made transferring property more costly by increasing the stamp duty rate. India Starting a business India made starting a business easier by considerably reducing the 158 DOING BUSINESS 2015 registration fees but also made it more difficult by introducing a requirement to file a declaration before the commencement of business operations. These changes apply to both Delhi and Mumbai. Getting electricity In India the utility in Mumbai made getting electricity less costly by reducing the security deposit for a new connection. Protecting minority investors India strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater disclosure of conflicts of interest by board members, increasing the remedies available in case of prejudicial related-party transactions and introducing additional safeguards for shareholders of privately held companies. This reform applies to both Delhi and Mumbai. Indonesia Starting a business Indonesia made starting a business easier by allowing the Ministry of Law and Human rights to electronically issue the approval letter for the deed of establishment. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Getting electricity In Indonesia the electricity company in Jakarta made getting electricity easier by eliminating the need for electrical contractors to obtain multiple certificates guaranteeing the safety of internal installations though it also increased the cost by introducing a security deposit for new connections. Paying taxes Indonesia made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing employers'health insurance contribution rate. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Trading across borders In Indonesia trading across borders became more difficult because of insufficient infrastructure at the Tanjung Priok Port Jakarta. This change applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Iran Islamic Rep. Starting a business The Islamic Republic of Iran made starting a business easier by streamlining the name reservation and company registration procedures. Getting electricity The Islamic Republic of Iran made getting electricity easier by eliminating the need for customers to obtain an excavation permit for electricity connection works. Ireland Registering property Ireland made transferring property easier by enhancing its computerized system at the land registry and implementing an online system for the registration of title. Getting credit Ireland improved its credit information system by passing a new act that provides for the establishment and operation of a credit registry. Enforcing contracts Ireland made enforcing contracts easier by modifying the monetary jurisdictions of its courts. Israel Paying taxes Israel made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the profit tax rate. Italy Starting a business Italy made starting a business easier by reducing both the minimum capital requirement and the paid-in minimum capital requirement and by streamlining registration procedures. Labor market regulation Italy relaxed the conditions for using fixed-term contracts but reduced their maximum duration to 36 months. Jamaica Starting a business Jamaica made starting a business easier by consolidating forms, but also made it more time-consuming as a result of delays in the implementation of the electronic interface with different agencies. Getting electricity Jamaica made getting electricity less expensive by reducing the cost of external connection works. Getting credit Jamaica improved access to credit by establishing credit bureaus and by adopting a new secured transactions law that implements a functional approach to secured transactions, broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral, allows a general description of assets granted as collateral and establishes a modern, notice-based collateral registry. Paying taxes Jamaica made paying taxes more costly for companies by introducing a new minimum business tax. Jordan Trading across borders Jordan made trading across borders easier by improving infrastructure at the port of Aqaba. Kazakhstan Registering property Kazakhstan made registering property easier by introducing effective time limits and an expedited procedure. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 159 Paying taxes Kazakhstan made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a mandatory contribution to the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs and by increasing the vehicle and environmental taxes. Trading across borders Kazakhstan made trading across borders easier by opening a new border station and railway link that helped reduce congestion at the border with China. Enforcing contracts Kazakhstan made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Resolving insolvency Kazakhstan made resolving insolvency easier by clarifying and simplifying provisions on liquidation and reorganization, introducing the concept of creditors'meetings, expanding the rights of creditors during insolvency proceedings, authorizing payment in kind to secured creditors and clarifying the process for submitting creditors'claims. Kenya Dealing with construction permits Kenya made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Getting credit Kenya improved its credit information system by passing legislation that allows the sharing of both positive and negative credit information and establishes guidelines for the treatment of historical data. Paying taxes Kenya made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing employers'social security contribution rate. Kiribati Paying taxes Kiribati made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing VAT. Korea, Rep. Registering property The Republic of korea made transferring property easier by reducing the time needed to buy housing bonds and to register the property transfer. Protecting minority investors Korea strengthened minority investor protections by increasing the level of transparency expected from companies on managerial compensation. Kosovo Dealing with construction permits Kosovo made dealing with construction permits easier by establishing a new phased inspection scheme and substantially reducing the building permit fee. Registering property Kosovo made transferring property more difficult by increasing the fee for the registration of property transactions. Enforcing contracts Kosovo made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a private bailiff system. Kuwait Starting a business Kuwait made starting a business more difficult by increasing the commercial license fee. Lao PDR Getting credit The Lao People's Democratic Republic improved access to credit by implementing a modern, unified, notice-based collateral registry. Protecting minority investors Lao PDR strengthened minority investor protections by introducing requirements for directors to disclose in detail their conflicts of interest to the other board members and for companies to promptly disclose related-party transactions to the Securities Commission and to include the information in their annual reports. Latvia Starting a business Latvia made starting a business more difficult by increasing registration fees, bank fees and notary fees. Paying taxes Latvia made paying taxes easier for companies by simplifying the VAT return, enhancing the electronic system for filing corporate income tax returns and reducing employers'social security contribution rate. Lithuania Starting a business Lithuania made starting a business easier by eliminating the need to have a company seal and speeding up the VAT registration at the State Tax Inspectorate. Dealing with construction permits Lithuania made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the time required for processing building permit applications. Enforcing contracts Lithuania made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Macedonia FYR Starting a business The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia made starting a business 160 DOING BUSINESS 2015 easier by making online registration free of charge. Protecting minority investors FYR Macedonia strengthened minority investor protections by requiring prior review of related-party transactions by an external auditor. Resolving insolvency FYR Macedonia made resolving insolvency easier by establishing a framework for electronic auctions of debtors'assets, streamlining and tightening the time frames for insolvency proceedings and the appeals process and establishing a framework for out-of-court restructurings. Madagascar Dealing with construction permits Madagascar made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the time needed to obtain a building permit. Malawi Starting a business Malawi made starting a business easier by streamlining company name search and registration and by eliminating the requirement for inspection of company premises before issuance of a business license. Getting electricity Malawi reduced the time required to get electricity by engaging subcontractors to carry out external connection works. Mali Dealing with construction permits Mali made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the time needed to obtain a geotechnical study. Protecting minority investors Mali strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Malta Starting a business Malta made starting a business easier by creating an electronic link between the Registrar of Companies and the Inland Revenue Department to facilitate issuance of a tax identification number. Mauritania Starting a business Mauritania made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop and eliminating the publication requirement and the fee to obtain a tax identification number. Getting credit Mauritania improved its credit information system by lowering the minimum threshold for loans to be included in the registry's database. Mauritius Starting a business Mauritius made starting a business easier by reducing trade license fees. Enforcing contracts Mauritius made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Labor market regulation Mauritius reduced the maximum duration of fixed-term contracts. Mexico Getting credit Mexico improved access to credit by amending its insolvency proceedings law and establishing clear grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during reorganization procedures. This reform applies to both Mexico city and Monterrey. Resolving insolvency Mexico made resolving insolvency easier by clarifying several rules, shortening the time extensions allowed during reorganization, facilitating the electronic submission of documents and improving the legal rights of creditors and other parties involved in bankruptcy procedures. This reform applies to both Mexico city and Monterrey. Moldova Starting a business Moldova made starting a business easier by abolishing the minimum capital requirement. Paying taxes Moldova made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying social security contributions. On the other hand it increased the minimum salary used for calculating the environmental tax liability. Furthermore, Moldova increased the employers'health insurance contribution rate and introduced new filing requirements for VAT. Mongolia Protecting minority investors Mongolia strengthened minority investor protections by introducing a requirement for public joint stock companies to publicly disclose related-party transactions within 2 business days. Paying taxes Mongolia made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing corporate income tax, VAT and social security contributions. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 161 Montenegro Dealing with construction permits Montenegro made dealing with construction permits substantially less costly by reducing the fee for the provision of utilities on construction land and eliminating the fee for obtaining urban development and technical requirements from the municipality. Morocco Trading across borders Morocco made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of export documents required. Mozambique Registering property Mozambique made registering property easier by streamlining procedures at the land registry and municipality. Resolving insolvency Mozambique made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a courtsupervised reorganization procedure and a mechanism for prepackaged reorganizations, by clarifying rules on the appointment and qualifications of insolvency administrators and by strengthening creditors'rights. Myanmar Trading across borders Myanmar made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents required for exports and imports. Namibia Paying taxes Namibia made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a new vocational education and training levy. Nepal Dealing with construction permits Nepal made dealing with construction permits easier by implementing a new electronic building permit system. New zealand Getting credit New zealand improved access to credit information by beginning to distribute both positive and negative credit information. Nicaragua Starting a business Nicaragua made starting a business easier by combining multiple registration procedures. Getting credit Nicaragua improved access to credit information by starting to provide credit scores to banks and financial institutions. Niger Protecting minority investors Niger strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Norway Starting a business Norway made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement for limited liability companies to have examined their balance sheet by an external auditor if the capital is paid in cash. Pakistan Trading across borders Pakistan made trading across borders easier by introducing a fully automated, computerized system (the Web-Based One Customs system) for the submission and processing of export and import documents. This reform applies to both Lahore and Karachi. Palau Trading across borders Palau made trading across borders easier by improving the system for calculating customs duties and thereby reducing customs clearance time. Panama Getting credit Panama improved access to credit through a new law broadening the range of assets that can be used as collateral allowing a general description of assets granted as collateral and allowing out-of-court enforcement of collateral. Philippines Trading across borders In the Philippines trading across borders became more difficult because of a new city ordinance restricting truck traffic in Manila. Poland Getting electricity Poland made getting electricity less costly by revising the fee structure for new connections. Registering property Poland made transferring property easier by introducing online procedures and reducing notary fees. Trading across borders Poland made trading across borders easier by implementing a new terminal operating system at the port of Gdansk. 162 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Portugal Paying taxes Portugal made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate and introducing a reduced corporate tax rate for a portion of the taxable profits of qualifying small and medium-size enterprises. Enforcing contracts Portugal made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new code of civil procedure designed to reduce case backlogs, streamline court procedures, enhance the role of judges and speed up the resolution of standard civil and commercial disputes. Labor market regulation Portugal reduced the amount of severance pay per year of service and increased the maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts. Puerto rico (U s.)Dealing with construction permits Puerto rico (territory of the United states) made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing the option of hiring authorized private professionals to carry out the fire safety recommendations and issue the fire safety and environmental health certificates. Romania Paying taxes Romania made paying taxes easier for companies, with the majority now using the electronic system for filing and paying taxes. Russian Federation Starting a business The Russian Federation made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to deposit the charter capital before company registration as well as the requirement to notify tax authorities of the opening of a bank account. This reform applies to both Moscow and St petersburg. Registering property Russia made transferring property easier by eliminating the requirement for notarization and introducing tighter time limits for completing the property registration. This reform applies to both Moscow and St petersburg. Rwanda Starting a business Rwanda made starting a business more difficult by requiring companies to buy an electronic billing machine from a certified supplier but also made it easier by launching free mandatory online registration. Dealing with construction permits Rwanda made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the fee for obtaining a freehold title and by streamlining the process for obtaining an occupancy permit. Getting electricity In Rwanda the electricity company made getting electricity less costly by eliminating several fees. Getting credit Rwanda improved access to credit by establishing clear priority rules outside bankruptcy for secured creditors and establishing clear grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during reorganization procedures. Samoa Dealing with construction permits Samoa made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. San marino Registering property San marino made transferring property easier by lowering the property registration tax rate. São tomé and Príncipe Starting a business São tomé and Príncipe made starting a business easier by eliminating the minimum capital requirement for business entities with no need to obtain a commercial license. Senegal Starting a business Senegal made starting a business easier by reducing the minimum capital requirement. Dealing with construction permits Senegal made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by reducing the time for processing building permit applications. Registering property Senegal made transferring property easier by replacing the requirement for authorization from the tax authority with a notification requirement and by creating a single step for the property transfer at the land registry. Getting credit Senegal improved its credit information system by introducing regulations developed by the West african Economic and Monetary Union that govern the licensing and operation of credit bureaus. Protecting minority investors Senegal strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors; by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions; and by making it possible for shareholder plaintiffs to request from the other party, and from witnesses, documents relevant to the subject matter of the claim during the trial. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 163 Paying taxes Senegal made paying taxes easier for companies by abolishing the vehicle tax and making it possible to download the declaration forms for VAT online. Serbia Registering property Serbia made transferring property more difficult by eliminating the expedited procedure for registering a property transfer. Seychelles Paying taxes The Seychelles made paying taxes easier for companies by reducing the business tax rate applicable to income above 1 million Seychelles rupees ($77 700) and by introducing a simplified new tax return allowing joint filing and payment of the business tax, VAT and corporate social responsibility tax. On the other hand, it increased employers'pension fund contribution rate. Enforcing contracts The Seychelles made enforcing contracts easier by establishing a commercial court, implementing and refining its case management system, introducing court-annexed mediation and addressing scheduling conflicts within the courts. Resolving insolvency The Seychelles made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a reorganization procedure, provisions on the avoidance of undervalued transactions and the possibility to request post-commencement financing during the reorganization. Sierra leone Getting electricity Sierra leone made getting electricity easier by eliminating the need for customers to submit an application letter inquiring about a new connection before submitting an application and made the process faster by improving staffing at the utility. Registering property Sierra leone made registering property easier by introducing a fasttrack procedure. Getting credit Sierra leone improved its credit information system by beginning to distribute both positive and negative data and by increasing the system's coverage rate. Paying taxes Sierra leone made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a capital gains tax. Singapore Enforcing contracts Singapore made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a new electronic litigation system that streamlines litigation proceedings. Slovak Republic Starting a business The Slovak Republic made starting a business easier by reducing the time needed to register with the district court and eliminating the need (and therefore the fee) for the verification of signatures by a notary public. Getting credit The Slovak Republic improved its credit information system by implementing a new law on the protection of personal data. Slovenia Resolving insolvency Slovenia made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a simplified reorganization procedure for small companies and a preventive restructuring procedure for mediumsize and large ones, by allowing creditors greater participation in the management of the debtor and by establishing provisions for an increase in share capital through debt-equity swaps. Solomon islands Getting electricity The Solomon islands made getting electricity easier by improving procurement practices for the materials needed to establish new connections. South africa Getting credit South africa made access to credit information more difficult by introducing regulations requiring credit bureaus to remove negative credit information from their databases, such as adverse information on consumer behavior or enforcement action accumulated on a consumer's record before April 1, 2014. Enforcing contracts South africa made enforcing contracts easier by amending the monetary jurisdiction of its lower courts and introducing voluntary mediation. Spain Starting a business Spain made starting a business easier by introducing an electronic system linking several public agencies and thereby simplifying business registration. Registering property Spain made transferring property easier by reducing the property transfer tax rate. Paying taxes Spain made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the statutory corporate income tax rate. Resolving insolvency Spain made resolving insolvency easier by introducing new rules for out-of-court restructuring introducing provisions applicable to 164 DOING BUSINESS 2015 prepackaged reorganizations and making insolvency proceedings more public. Sri lanka Paying taxes Sri lanka made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the reduced corporate income tax rate for qualifying small and medium-size enterprises. St kitts and nevis Dealing with construction permits St kitts and nevis made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the building permit fees. Paying taxes St kitts and nevis made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. St lucia Trading across borders St lucia made trading across borders easier by implementing the ASYCUDA World electronic system for the submission of export and import documents and by reducing the number of export documents required Suriname Starting a business Suriname made starting a business easier by introducing an online system for obtaining trade licenses. Swaziland Starting a business Swaziland made starting a business easier by shortening the notice and objection period for obtaining a new trade license. Paying taxes Swaziland made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Sweden Registering property Sweden made registering property easier by fully implementing a new online system for property registration. Switzerland Starting a business Switzerland made starting a business easier by introducing online procedures. Protecting minority investors Switzerland strengthened minority investor protections by increasing the level of transparency required from publicly traded companies. Resolving insolvency Switzerland made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a moratorium period while the debtor is preparing a composition (reorganization) agreement, allowing creditors greater participation in the composition (reorganization) procedure and clarifying claw-back provisions applicable to voidable transactions. Taiwan, China Getting electricity Taiwan, China, made getting electricity easier by eliminating site inspections. Getting credit Taiwan, China, improved access to credit information by beginning to include data from utility companies in credit reports. Paying taxes Taiwan, China, made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for paying the vehicle license tax. Tajikistan Starting a business Tajikistan made starting a business easier by enabling the Statistics Agency to issue the statistics code for the new business at the time of registration. Dealing with construction permits Tajikistan made dealing with construction permits less costly by reducing the fee to obtain the architectural planning assignment. Getting credit Tajikistan improved access to credit information by beginning to provide credit scores. Paying taxes Tajikistan made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying corporate income tax, VAT and labor taxes. Tanzania Getting credit Tanzania improved access to credit information by creating credit bureaus. Paying taxes Tanzania made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing an excise tax on money transfers. On the other hand, it made paying taxes less costly by reducing the rate of the skill and development levy. Trading across borders Tanzania made trading across borders easier by upgrading infrastructure at the port of Dar es salaam. Thailand Dealing with construction permits Thailand made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by introducing a fast-track approval process for building permits for smaller buildings. SUMMARIES OF DOING BUSINESS REFORMS IN 2013/14 165 Timor-Leste Starting a business Timor-Leste made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop. Togo Starting a business Togo made starting a business easier by enabling the one-stop shop to publish notices of incorporation and eliminating the requirement to obtain an economic operator card. Registering property Togo made transferring property easier by lowering the property registration tax rate. Protecting minority investors Togo strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to relatedparty transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. Paying taxes Togo made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the payroll tax rate. Trinidad and tobago Starting a business Trinidad and tobago made starting a business easier by introducing online systems for employer registration and tax registration. Getting credit Trinidad and tobago improved access to credit by adopting the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, which establishes clear grounds for relief from a stay of enforcement actions by secured creditors during reorganization procedures as well as a time limit for the stay. Resolving insolvency Trinidad and tobago made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a formal mechanism for rehabilitation establishing a public office responsible for the general administration of insolvency proceedings and clarifying the rules on appointment of trustees. Tunisia Paying taxes Tunisia made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. Trading across borders In Tunisia trading across borders became more difficult because of a deterioration in port infrastructure (for example, in loading and unloading equipment) and inadequate terminal space. Turkey Starting a business Turkey made starting a business more difficult by increasing the notary and company registration fees. Paying taxes Turkey made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing employers'social security contribution rate. Enforcing contracts Turkey made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system for court users. Uganda Trading across borders Uganda made trading across borders easier by implementing the ASYCUDA World electronic system for the submission of export and import documents. Resolving insolvency Uganda made resolving insolvency easier by consolidating all provisions related to corporate insolvency in one law, establishing provisions on the administration of companies (reorganization), clarifying standards on the professional qualifications of insolvency practitioners and introducing provisions allowing the avoidance of undervalued transactions. Ukraine Paying taxes Ukraine made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic system for filing and paying labor taxes. On the other hand, it increased the environmental tax. United arab emirates Registering property The United arab emirates made transferring property easier by introducing new service centers and a standard contract for property transactions. Getting credit In the United arab emirates the credit bureau improved access to credit information by starting to exchange credit information with a utility. Protecting minority investors The United arab emirates strengthened minority investor protections by introducing additional approval requirements for related-party transactions and greater requirements for disclosure of such transactions to the stock exchange; by introducing a requirement that interested directors be held liable in a related-party transaction that is unfair or constitutes a conflict of interest; and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to a related-party transaction, appoint auditors to inspect the transaction and request a rescission of the transaction if it should prove to be unfair. 166 DOING BUSINESS 2015 United kingdom Starting a business The United kingdom made starting a business easier by speeding up tax registration. Paying taxes The United kingdom made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. On the other hand, it increased the landfill tax. United states Starting a business In the United states starting a business became easier in New york city thanks to faster online procedures. Uruguay Trading across borders Uruguay made trading across borders easier by implementing a risk-based inspection system that reduced customs clearance time for both exports and imports. Enforcing contracts Uruguay made enforcing contracts easier by simplifying and speeding up the proceedings for commercial disputes. Uzbekistan Protecting minority investors Uzbekistan strengthened minority investor protections by introducing a requirement for public joint stock companies to disclose information about related-party transactions in their annual report; setting higher standards for disclosure of such transactions to the board of directors; and establishing the right of shareholders to receive all documents related to such transactions. Trading across borders Uzbekistan made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of documents to export and import and by making it possible to submit documents electronically. Vanuatu Registering property Vanuatu made property transfers faster by digitizing its land registry system and hiring and training new staff. Venezuela, RB Starting a business República Bolivariana de Venezuela made starting a business more difficult by increasing incorporation costs. Vietnam Getting credit Vietnam improved its credit information system by establishing a new credit bureau. Paying taxes Vietnam made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate. West bank and Gaza Paying taxes West bank and Gaza made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing the option to make either 1 or 4 advance payments of corporate income tax. Yemen, Rep. Trading across borders In the Republic of Yemen trading across borders became more difficult as a result of inefficient port operation. Zambia Registering property Zambia made transferring property more difficult by increasing the property transfer tax rate. Getting credit In Zambia the credit bureau improved access to credit information by starting to exchange credit information with retailers and utilities. Paying taxes Zambia made paying taxes easier for companies by abolishing the medical levy and by introducing an online system for filing corporate income tax, VAT and some labor taxes. At the same time, it also increased the property transfer tax. Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business AFGHANISTAN South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 700 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 183 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 41.16 Population (m) 30.6 Starting a business (rank) 24 Registering property (rank) 183 Trading across borders (rank) 184 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.54 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 33.33 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 9. 21 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 7 Time (days) 250 Time to export (days 86 Cost(%of income per capita) 15.1 Cost(%of property value) 5. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5, 045 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 91 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 185 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 5, 680 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 30.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 183 Time (days) 323 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 31.29 Cost(%of warehouse value) 57 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 1, 642 Getting electricity (rank ) 141 Protecting minority investors (rank) 189 Cost(%of claim) 25.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 61.09 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 10.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 1. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 159 Time (days) 114 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 0. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 23.60 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 373.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 1. 0 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 25 Paying taxes (rank) 79 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 26.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 74.39 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 3 Payments (number per year) 20 Time (hours per year) 275 Total tax rate(%of profit) 35.8 ALBANIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 4, 700 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 68 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.06 Population (m) 2. 8 Starting a business (rank) 41 Registering property (rank) 118 Trading across borders (rank) 95 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.86 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.67 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 72.48 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 4. 5 Time (days) 22 Time to export (days) 19 Cost (%of income per capita) 10.0 Cost(%of property value) 9. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 745 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 8 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 18 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 157 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 730 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 56.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 19 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 102 Time (days) 228 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.14 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 16.7 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 525 Getting electricity (rank) 152 Protecting minority investors (rank) 7 Cost (%of claim) 34.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 58.34 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 72.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 44 Time (days) 177 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7 . 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 61.37 Cost(%of income per capita) 472.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7 . 3 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 131 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 41.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 64.75 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12.5 Payments (number per year) 34 Time (hours per year) 357 Total tax rate(%of profit) 30.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. Country tables 168 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ALGERIA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 5, 290 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 154 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 50.69 Population (m) 39.2 Starting a business (rank) 141 Registering property (rank) 157 Trading across borders (rank) 131 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.07 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 50.67 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 64.21 Procedures (number) 13 Procedures (number) 10 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 22 Time (days) 55 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita ) 11.0 Cost(%of property value) 7. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 270 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 24.1 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 127 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 330 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 65.72 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 120 Time (days) 204 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 52.89 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 0 Procedures (number) 45 Time (days) 630 Getting electricity (rank) 147 Protecting minority investors (rank) 132 Cost(%of claim) 21.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 59.98 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 97 Time days) 180 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 42.74 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 318.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 5 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 176 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 41.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 41.63 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6. 5 Payments (number per year) 27 Time (hours per year) 451 Total tax rate (%of profit) 72.7 ANGOLA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 5 010 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 181 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 41.85 Population (m) 21.5 Starting a business (rank) 174 Registering property (rank) 164 Trading across borders (rank) 167 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 56.56 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 46.62 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 40.96 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 66 Time (days) 190 Time to export (days) 40 Cost(%of income per capita ) 123.5 Cost(%of property value) 3. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2 060 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 20.0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 180 Time to import (days) 43 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 67 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 5. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 725 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.47 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 187 Time (days) 203 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 25.22 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 8 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 1, 296 Getting electricity (rank) 157 Protecting minority investors (rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 44.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 56.66 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 145 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0 . 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 660.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 2 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 144 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 60.40 Strength of insolvency framework index 0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 282 Total tax rate(%of profit) 52.0 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 12,910 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 89 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.64 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 102 Registering property (rank) 141 Trading across borders (rank) 89 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.28 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 55.44 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 73.58 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 21 Time (days) 25 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita 10.2 Cost(%of property value) 10.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 090 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 23 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 30 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 520 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 82.21 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 76 Time (days) 106 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.26 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 351 Getting electricity (rank) 17 Protecting minority investors (rank) 35 Cost(%of claim) 22.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 90.46 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 62.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 114 Time (days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 38.19 Cost(%of income per capita) 122.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 3 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost (%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 159 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 36.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 54 51 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 57 Time (hours per year) 207 Total tax rate(%of profit) 41.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 169 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ARGENTINA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 11,376 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 124 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 57.48 Population (m) 41.4 Starting a business (rank) 146 Registering property (rank) 119 Trading across borders (rank) 128 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 72.58 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60 63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 65.11 Procedures (number) 14 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 25 Time (days) 51.5 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 15.2 Cost(%of property value) 6. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 770 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 4. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 181 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 320 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 42.54 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 21 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 63 Time (days) 341 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.88 Cost (%of warehouse value) 3. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 41.2 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 590 Getting electricity (rank) 104 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 20.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.42 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 57.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 83 Time days) 92 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 45.10 Cost(%of income per capita) 45.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 8 Time (years) 2. 8 Cost(%of estate) 12 Paying taxes (rank) 170 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 44.99 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 405 Total tax rate(%of profit) 137.3 ARMENIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 3 790 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 45 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 70.60 Population (m) 3. 0 Starting a business (rank) 4 Registering property (rank) 7 Trading across borders (rank) 110 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 97.77 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 93.03 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.81 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 3 Time (days) 7 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 0 Cost(%of property value) 0. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 885 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 18 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 81 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 175 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.78 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 19 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 119 Time (days) 83 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 65.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 53.33 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 23.5 Procedures (number) 49 Time (days) 570 Getting electricity (rank) 131 Protecting minority investors rank) 49 Cost(%of claim) 14.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 64.02 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 69 Time (days) 187 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 48.14 Cost(%of income per capita) 92.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 0 Time (years) 1. 9 Cost(%of estate) 11 Paying taxes (rank) 41 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.10 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 10 Time hours per year) 321 Total tax rate(%of profit) 20.4 AUSTRALIA OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 65,520 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 10 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.66 Population (m) 23.1 Starting a business (rank) 7 Registering property (rank) 53 Trading across borders (rank) 49 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.47 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 76.87 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 80.53 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 2. 5 Time (days) 4. 5 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita ) 0. 7 Cost(%of property value) 5. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 200 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 4 Time to import (days) 8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 19 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 90.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 220 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 84.30 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 11 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 12 Time (days) 112 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 77.06 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 28 Time (days) 395 Getting electricity rank) 55 Protecting minority investors (rank) 71 Cost(%of claim) 21.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.59 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 56.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 14 Time (days) 75 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 81.60 Cost(%of income per capita) 8. 6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 7 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 39 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 81.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.48 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 105 Total tax rate(%of profit) 47.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 170 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business AUSTRIA OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 48,590 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 21 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 77.42 Population (m) 8. 5 Starting a business (rank) 101 Registering property (rank) 35 Trading across borders (rank) 19 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.42 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 81 07 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 87.66 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 22 Time (days) 20.5 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) 4. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 150 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 13.6 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 78 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 215 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.25 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 5 Time (days) 192 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 53.2 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 81.55 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 0 Procedures (number) 25 Time (days) 397 Getting electricity (rank) 24 Protecting minority investors (rank) 32 Cost(%of claim) 18.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 87.75 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 63.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 16 Time days) 23 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 78.84 Cost(%of income per capita) 101.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 3 Time (years) 1. 1 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 72 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 82.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 76.36 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments (number per year) 12 Time (hours per year) 166 Total tax rate(%of profit) 52.0 AZERBAIJAN Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 7 350 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 80 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.08 Population (m) 9. 4 Starting a business (rank) 12 Registering property (rank) 10 Trading across borders (rank) 166 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 95.54 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 92.30 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 42.37 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 8. 5 Time to export (days) 27 Cost (%of income per capita) 3. 1 Cost(%of property value) 0. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3 460 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 150 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3, 450 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 59.89 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 21 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 31 Time (days) 151 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.02 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 28.7 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 277 Getting electricity (rank) 159 Protecting minority investors rank) 51 Cost(%of claim) 18.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 55.69 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 59.17 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 94 Time (days) 164 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.02 Cost(%of income per capita) 226.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 9 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 12 Paying taxes (rank) 33 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 83.77 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 7 Time hours per year) 195 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.8 BAHAMAS, THE Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 23,489 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 97 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.37 Population (m) 0. 4 Starting a business (rank) 95 Registering property (rank) 179 Trading across borders (rank) 63 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 84.12 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 37.22 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 77.36 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 23.5 Time (days) 122 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 10.2 Cost(%of property value) 12.1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 005 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 92 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 770 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.81 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 125 Time (days) 178 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 51.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 49 Time (days) 427 Getting electricity (rank) 50 Protecting minority investors (rank) 141 Cost(%of claim) 28.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 81.24 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 43.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 60 Time (days) 67 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 3. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 52.93 Cost(%of income per capita) 133.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 3 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 12 Paying taxes (rank) 31 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 63.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 84.07 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 18 Time (hours per year) 58 Total tax rate(%of profit) 41.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 171 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BAHRAIN Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 27,435 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 53 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 69.00 Population (m 1. 3 Starting a business (rank) 131 Registering property (rank) 17 Trading across borders (rank) 64 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 76.92 DTF score for registering property (0 100 88.65 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 77.27 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 31 Time to export (days ) 11 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 8 Cost(%of property value) 1. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 810 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 192.2 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 7 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 870 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 88.48 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 123 Time (days) 60 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 48.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 52.33 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 48 Time (days) 635 Getting electricity (rank) 73 Protecting minority investors (rank) 104 Cost(%of claim) 14.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.26 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 87 Time (days) 90 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 44.24 Cost(%of income per capita) 47.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 0 Time (years ) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 8 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 41.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 93.88 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 13 Time (hours per year) 60 Total tax rate(%of profit) 13.5 BANGLADESH South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 900 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 173 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 46.84 Population (m) 156.6 Starting a business (rank) 115 Registering property (rank) 184 Trading across borders (rank) 140 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 81.36 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 31 34 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 61.36 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 19.5 Time (days) 244 Time to export (days) 28.3 Cost(%of income per capita) 16.8 Cost(%of property value) 7. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 281 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 33.6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 144 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 515 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 61.90 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13.4 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 188 Time (days) 269.2 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 20.82 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 9 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 1, 442 Getting electricity (rank) 188 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost(%of claim) 66.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 17.32 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 9 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency rank) 147 Time (days) 428.9 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 29.49 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 890.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 1 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 83 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 25.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.98 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 21 Time (hours per year) 302 Total tax rate (%of profit) 32.5 BARBADOS Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 15 373 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 106 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.57 Population (m) 0. 3 Starting a business (rank) 94 Registering property (rank) 144 Trading across borders (rank) 38 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 84.36 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 54.95 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 83.34 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 18 Time (days) 118 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita) 7. 6 Cost(%of property value) 5. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 810 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 5 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 147 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 615 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 61.06 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 9 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 160 Time (days) 442 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 41.61 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 1, 340 Getting electricity (rank) 118 Protecting minority investors (rank) 177 Cost(%of claim) 19.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 67.51 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 30.83 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 26 Time (days) 87 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 74.09 Cost(%of income per capita) 64.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 1 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 92 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 65.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 72.99 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ) 12.5 Payments (number per year) 27 Time (hours per year) 237 Total tax rate(%of profit) 34.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 172 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BELARUS Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 6, 720 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 57 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 68.26 Population (m) 9. 5 Starting a business (rank) 40 Registering property (rank) 3 Trading across borders (rank) 145 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.88 DTF score for registering property (0 100 96.67 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 59.09 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 4 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 8 Cost(%of property value) 0. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 460 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 51 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 265 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.20 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 7 Time (days) 114 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 78.70 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 64.5 Procedures (number) 29 Time (days) 275 Getting electricity (rank) 148 Protecting minority investors (rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 23.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 59.90 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 68 Time days) 131 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 48.18 Cost(%of income per capita) 364.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 2 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 60 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 78.29 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 183 Total tax rate(%of profit) 52.0 BELGIUM OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 45 210 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 42 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.11 Population (m) 11.2 Starting a business (rank) 14 Registering property (rank) 171 Trading across borders (rank) 26 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.42 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 42.27 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 85.55 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 4 Time (days) 64 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita ) 5. 0 Cost(%of property value) 12.7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 240 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 18.2 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 82 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 400 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.68 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 10 Time (days) 212 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 77.67 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 96.4 Procedures (number) 26 Time (days) 505 Getting electricity (rank) 99 Protecting minority investors rank) 40 Cost(%of claim) 17.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.81 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 61.67 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 11 Time (days) 88 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 83.87 Cost(%of income per capita) 92.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 2 Time (years) 0. 9 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 81 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 89.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 74.18 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 160 Total tax rate(%of profit) 57.8 BELIZE Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 4, 660 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 118 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.14 Population (m) 0. 3 Starting a business (rank) 148 Registering property (rank ) 120 Trading across borders (rank) 91 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 72.38 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.61 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 73.17 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 43 Time (days) 59 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita) 41.4 Cost(%of property value) 4. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 355 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 160 Time to import (days) 19 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 69 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 20.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 580 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.35 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 170 Time (days) 110 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.38 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 51 Time (days) 892 Getting electricity rank) 54 Protecting minority investors (rank) 169 Cost(%of claim) 27.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.62 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 35.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 71 Time (days) 66 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 2. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 47.94 Cost(%of income per capita) 319.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 3. 6 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 23 Paying taxes (rank) 61 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 54.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 78.17 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments number per year) 29 Time (hours per year) 147 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 173 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BENIN Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 790 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 151 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 51.10 Population (m) 10.3 Starting a business (rank) 117 Registering property (rank) 165 Trading across borders (rank ) 121 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 80.91 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 46.61 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 66.45 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 120 Time to export (days) 25 Cost(%of income per capita) 55.8 Cost(%of property value ) 11.7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 052 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 6. 3 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 64 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 487 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.87 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 1 Enforcing contracts (rank) 167 Time (days) 111 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.73 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 10.0 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 750 Getting electricity (rank) 173 Protecting minority investors (rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 64.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 45.12 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 115 Time days) 90 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 38.08 Cost(%of income per capita) 14,654. 9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 178 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 41.02 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 55 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit) 63.3 BHUTAN South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 2 460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 125 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 57.47 Population (m) 0. 8 Starting a business (rank) 92 Registering property (rank) 86 Trading across borders (rank) 165 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.01 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 68.82 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 43.10 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 17 Time (days) 92 Time to export (days) 38 Cost(%of income per capita) 4. 4 Cost(%of property value) 5. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2 230 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 37 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 131 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 330 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 64.51 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 21 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 74 Time (days) 150 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 18.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.42 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 47 Time (days) 225 Getting electricity (rank) 72 Protecting minority investors rank) 104 Cost(%of claim) 23.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 74 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 606.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 0 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 86 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.55 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 274 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.7 BOLIVIA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 2, 550 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 157 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.95 Population (m) 10.7 Starting a business (rank) 171 Registering property (rank) 130 Trading across borders (rank) 125 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 59.07 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 58.55 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 65.79 Procedures (number) 15 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 49 Time (days) 91 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 64.4 Cost(%of property value) 4. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 440 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 1. 6 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 28 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 129 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 745 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 64.97 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 111 Time (days) 275 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 39.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 54.93 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 15.1 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 591 Getting electricity rank) 127 Protecting minority investors (rank) 160 Cost(%of claim) 33.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 65.33 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 40.83 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 96 Time (days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 4. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 42.82 Cost(%of income per capita) 829.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 1 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 189 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 12.18 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments number per year) 42 Time (hours per year) 1, 025 Total tax rate(%of profit) 83.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 174 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 4, 740 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 107 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.55 Population (m) 3. 8 Starting a business (rank) 147 Registering property (rank) 88 Trading across borders (rank) 104 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 72.51 DTF score for registering property 0 100) 68.12 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 69.76 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 37 Time (days) 24 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 14.6 Cost(%of property value) 5. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 260 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 28.6 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 182 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 200 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 39.10 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 95 Time (days) 179 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 8. 1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.64 Cost(%of warehouse value) 19.7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 39.7 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 595 Getting electricity (rank) 163 Protecting minority investors (rank) 83 Cost(%of claim) 34.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 54.72 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 54.17 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 34 Time days) 125 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 66.21 Cost(%of income per capita) 484.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 4 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 151 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 35.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 58.22 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 15 Payments (number per year) 45 Time (hours per year) 407 Total tax rate(%of profit) 23.3 BOTSWANA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 7 730 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 74 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.87 Population (m) 2. 0 Starting a business (rank) 149 Registering property (rank) 51 Trading across borders (rank) 157 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 71.68 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.13 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 52.02 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 60 Time (days) 15 Time to export (days) 27 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 0 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3 145 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 35 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 93 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3, 710 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.43 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 20 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 61 Time (days) 110 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 51.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.02 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 28 Time (days) 625 Getting electricity (rank) 103 Protecting minority investors rank) 106 Cost(%of claim) 39.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.56 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 49.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 49 Time (days) 121 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 57.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 340.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 9 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 67 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 62.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 77.47 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7. 5 Payments (number per year) 34 Time (hours per year) 152 Total tax rate(%of profit) 25.3 BRAZIL Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 11,690 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 120 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.01 Population (m) 200.4 Starting a business (rank) 167 Registering property (rank) 138 Trading across borders (rank) 123 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 63.37 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 56.18 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 66.11 Procedures (number) 11.6 Procedures (number) 13.6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 83.6 Time (days) 31.7 Time to export (days) 13.4 Cost(%of income per capita ) 4. 3 Cost(%of property value) 2. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 323 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 174 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 323 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 48.31 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 18.2 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 118 Time (days) 426.1 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 63.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 53.60 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 52.5 Procedures number) 43.6 Time (days) 731 Getting electricity (rank) 19 Protecting minority investors (rank) 35 Cost(%of claim) 16.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 89.20 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 62.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 55 Time (days) 53.3 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6 . 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 54.52 Cost(%of income per capita) 31.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6 . 3 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 12 Paying taxes (rank) 177 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 25.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 41.31 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 2, 600 Total tax rate(%of profit) 69.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 175 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BRUNEI DARUSSALAM East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 39,943 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 101 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.26 Population (m) 0 . 4 Starting a business (rank) 179 Registering property (rank) 162 Trading across borders (rank) 46 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 53.12 DTF score for registering property (0 100 48.65 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 80.87 Procedures (number) 15 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 101 Time (days) 298 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 10.4 Cost(%of property value) 0. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 705 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 53 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 770 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100 ) 77.93 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 139 Time (days) 88 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 47.76 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 56.6 Procedures (number) 47 Time (days) 540 Getting electricity (rank) 42 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 36.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 83.22 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 88 Time (days) 56 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 44.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 38.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 30 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 47.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 84.40 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 27 Time (hours per year) 93 Total tax rate(%of profit) 15.8 BULGARIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 7, 030 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 38 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.80 Population (m) 7. 3 Starting a business (rank) 49 Registering property (rank) 57 Trading across borders (rank) 57 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.09 DTF score for registering property 0 100) 75.36 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.34 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 18 Time (days) 10 Time to export (days) 18 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 8 Cost(%of property value) 2. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 375 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 101 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 365 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.85 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 75 Time (days) 110 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.27 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 62.9 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 564 Getting electricity (rank) 125 Protecting minority investors (rank) 14 Cost(%of claim) 23.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 65.78 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 68.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 38 Time days) 130 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 64.75 Cost(%of income per capita) 320.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 8 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 89 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 33.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.18 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 15 Payments (number per year) 13 Time (hours per year) 454 Total tax rate(%of profit) 27.0 BURKINA FASO Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 670 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 167 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 48.36 Population (m) 16.9 Starting a business (rank) 153 Registering property (rank) 147 Trading across borders (rank) 174 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 69.06 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 53.79 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 29.51 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 67 Time to export (days) 41 Cost(%of income per capita) 44.7 Cost(%of property value) 12.3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 305 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 308.5 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 49 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 75 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 330 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.55 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 153 Time (days) 112 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 43.83 Cost(%of warehouse value ) 5. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 0 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 446 Getting electricity (rank) 177 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 81.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 40.82 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency rank) 115 Time (days) 158 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 38.08 Cost(%of income per capita) 11,057. 1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 21 Paying taxes (rank) 152 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 58.08 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 45 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit) 41.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 176 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business BURUNDI Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 280 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 152 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 51.07 Population (m) 10.2 Starting a business (rank) 18 Registering property (rank ) 48 Trading across borders (rank) 169 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.25 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.38 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 37.50 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 23 Time to export (days) 32 Cost(%of income per capita) 13.4 Cost(%of property value) 3. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 905 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 43 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 133 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 420 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 64.16 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 158 Time (days) 99 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 42.15 Cost(%of warehouse value) 10.1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 9 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 832 Getting electricity (rank) 182 Protecting minority investors (rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 38.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 35.27 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 144 Time days) 158 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 30.55 Cost(%of income per capita) 16,367. 3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 2 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 30 Paying taxes (rank) 124 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 7. 4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.78 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 25 Time (hours per year) 274 Total tax rate (%of profit) 45.7 CABO VERDE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 3 630 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 122 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 57.94 Population (m) 0. 5 Starting a business (rank) 78 Registering property (rank) 62 Trading across borders (rank) 101 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 87.00 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 74.50 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 70.92 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 22 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita) 14.3 Cost(%of property value) 3. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 125 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 114 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 925 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.53 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 39 Time (days ) 140 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 67.61 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults ) 16.7 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 425 Getting electricity (rank) 133 Protecting minority investors (rank 170 Cost(%of claim) 19.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.80 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 35.00 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 88 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 932.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 5 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 91 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.05 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 30 Time hours per year) 186 Total tax rate(%of profit) 36.5 CAMBODIA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 950 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 135 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 55.33 Population (m) 15.1 Starting a business (rank) 184 Registering property (rank) 100 Trading across borders (rank) 124 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 41.23 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 64.83 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 65.92 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 101 Time (days) 56 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 139.5 Cost(%of property value) 4. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 795 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 26.1 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 12 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 183 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 80.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 930 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 35.54 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 11 Procedures (number) 20 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 178 Time (days) 652 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 29.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 32.79 Cost(%of warehouse value) 6. 7 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 483 Getting electricity (rank) 139 Protecting minority investors (rank) 92 Cost(%of claim) 103.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 62.44 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 52.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 84 Time (days) 168 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 45.02 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 495.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) 6. 0 Cost(%of estate) 28 Paying taxes (rank) 90 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 8. 2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.06 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13 Payments (number per year 40 Time (hours per year) 173 Total tax rate(%of profit) 21.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 177 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business CAMEROON Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 270 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 158 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.85 Population (m) 22.3 Starting a business (rank) 133 Registering property (rank) 172 Trading across borders (rank) 160 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 76.41 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 42.00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 49.83 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 86 Time to export (days) 23 Cost(%of income per capita ) 34.3 Cost(%of property value) 19.0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 379 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 156.4 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 166 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 267 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 52.87 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 1 Enforcing contracts (rank) 159 Time (days) 136 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 42.11 Cost(%of warehouse value) 13.9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 5. 4 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 800 Getting electricity (rank) 52 Protecting minority investors (rank) 117 Cost(%of claim) 46.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.84 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 46.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 123 Time days) 64 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.42 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 686.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 7 Time (years) 2. 8 Cost(%of estate) 34 Paying taxes (rank) 181 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 15.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 36.34 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 44 Time (hours per year) 630 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.8 CANADA OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 52 200 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 16 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 79.09 Population (m) 35.2 Starting a business (rank) 2 Registering property (rank) 55 Trading across borders (rank) 23 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 98.82 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 76.20 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 86.07 Procedures (number 1 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 16.5 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 4 Cost(%of property value) 3. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 680 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 7 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 118 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 85.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 680 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.12 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 65 Time (days) 249 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.76 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 570 Getting electricity (rank) 150 Protecting minority investors rank) 7 Cost(%of claim) 22.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 59.27 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 72.50 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 6 Time (days) 142 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 89.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 131.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7. 3 Time (years) 0. 8 Cost(%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 9 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 87.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 93.00 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 131 Total tax rate(%of profit) 21.0 CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 320 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 187 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 34.47 Population (m) 4. 6 Starting a business (rank) 187 Registering property (rank ) 150 Trading across borders (rank) 186 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 34.30 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 52.46 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 6 . 48 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 22 Time (days) 75 Time to export (days) 46 Cost(%of income per capita ) 226.0 Cost(%of property value) 11.1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5, 490 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 607.3 Documents to import (number) 17 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 68 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 145 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 6, 335 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 61.83 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 182 Time (days) 200 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 31.62 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 6 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 660 Getting electricity rank) 186 Protecting minority investors (rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 82.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 32.27 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 152 Time (days) 102 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 28.13 Cost(%of income per capita) 17,232. 4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 4. 8 Cost(%of estate) 76 Paying taxes (rank) 185 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 23.47 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 56 Time (hours per year) 483 Total tax rate(%of profit) 73.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 178 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business CHAD Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 020 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 185 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 37.25 Population (m) 12.8 Starting a business (rank) 185 Registering property (rank) 166 Trading across borders (rank) 182 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 39.98 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 45 92 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 10.68 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 60 Time (days) 44 Time to export (days) 70 Cost(%of income per capita) 165.6 Cost(%of property value) 15.2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 6, 615 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 201.7 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 90 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 123 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 9, 025 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.09 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 149 Time (days) 207 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 45.05 Cost(%of warehouse value) 5. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 1 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 743 Getting electricity (rank) 174 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 45.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 44.64 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 152 Time days) 67 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 28.13 Cost(%of income per capita) 7, 677.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 60 Paying taxes (rank) 186 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 19.54 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 54 Time (hours per year) 732 Total tax rate (%of profit) 63.5 CHILE OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 15 230 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 41 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.24 Population (m) 17.6 Starting a business (rank) 59 Registering property (rank) 45 Trading across borders (rank) 40 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.83 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.96 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 82.05 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 5. 5 Time (days) 28.5 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 7 Cost(%of property value) 1. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 910 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 5 Getting credit rank) 71 Time to import (days) 12 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 62 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 860 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 76.13 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 64 Time (days) 152 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 8. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.85 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 44.7 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 480 Getting electricity (rank) 49 Protecting minority investors (rank) 56 Cost (%of claim) 28.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 81.34 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 58.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 73 Time (days) 30 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 47.38 Cost(%of income per capita) 62.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 8 Time (years) 3. 2 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 29 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 84.50 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 291 Total tax rate(%of profit) 27.9 CHINA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 6, 560 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 90 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.58 Population (m 1, 357.4 Starting a business (rank) 128 Registering property (rank) 37 Trading across borders (rank) 98 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.43 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 80.67 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 71.68 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 31.4 Time (days) 19.5 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 9 Cost(%of property value) 3. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 823 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 179 DTF score for getting credit (0 100 ) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 800 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 43.75 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 22 Depth of credit information index (0 8 ) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 35 Time (days) 244.3 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.21 Cost(%of warehouse value ) 7. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 33.2 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 452.8 Getting electricity (rank) 124 Protecting minority investors (rank ) 132 Cost(%of claim) 16.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 66.35 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.00 Procedures (number) 5. 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 53 Time (days) 143.2 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 55.31 Cost(%of income per capita) 459.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 5 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 120 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 36.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 67.44 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 261 Total tax rate%of profit) 64.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 179 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business COLOMBIA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 7, 560 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 34 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 72.29 Population (m) 48.3 Starting a business (rank) 84 Registering property (rank) 42 Trading across borders (rank) 93 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.13 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 79 33 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 72.69 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 16 Time to export (days) 14 Cost(%of income per capita) 7. 5 Cost(%of property value) 2. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 355 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 2 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 61 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 95.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 470 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 76.45 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 12 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 168 Time (days) 73 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 87.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.66 Cost (%of warehouse value) 7. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 1, 288 Getting electricity (rank) 92 Protecting minority investors (rank) 10 Cost(%of claim) 47.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.20 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 71.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 30 Time (days) 105 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 70.00 Cost(%of income per capita) 504.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7. 2 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 6 Paying taxes (rank) 146 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 72.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 59.71 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 239 Total tax rate(%of profit) 75.4 COMOROS Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 880 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 159 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.56 Population (m ) 0. 7 Starting a business (rank) 173 Registering property (rank) 105 Trading across borders (rank) 144 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 57.65 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 63.83 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 59.33 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 30 Time to export (days) 31 Cost(%of income per capita) 114.0 Cost(%of property value) 10.4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 295 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 226.7 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 31 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 295 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 81.92 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 177 Time (days) 113 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 33.20 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 506 Getting electricity (rank) 81 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 89.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.46 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency rank) 189 Time (days) 120 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 127.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 167 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 47.37 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 100 Total tax rate(%of profit) 216.5 CONGO DEM. REP. Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 400 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 184 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 40.60 Population (m ) 67.5 Starting a business (rank) 172 Registering property (rank) 142 Trading across borders (rank) 175 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 58.53 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 55.39 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 29.09 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 16 Time (days) 44 Time to export (days) 44 Cost(%of income per capita) 30.0 Cost(%of property value) 9. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3 365 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 500.0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 63 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 111 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 290 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.72 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 176 Time (days) 119 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 33.51 Cost(%of warehouse value) 11.6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 2 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 610 Getting electricity (rank) 175 Protecting minority investors rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 80.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 43.19 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 65 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 16,191. 7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4 . 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 168 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 46.11 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year 50 Time (hours per year) 316 Total tax rate(%of profit) 54.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 180 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business CONGO, REP. Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 2, 660 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 178 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 43.29 Population (m) 4. 4 Starting a business (rank) 170 Registering property (rank) 168 Trading across borders (rank) 181 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 60.56 DTF score for registering property (0 100 44.17 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 15.40 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 53 Time (days) 55 Time to export (days) 50 Cost(%of income per capita) 52.7 Cost(%of property value) 20.4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3, 795 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 79.3 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 54 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 102 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 7, 590 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.76 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 2 Enforcing contracts (rank) 151 Time (days) 168 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 44.11 Cost(%of warehouse value) 5. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 9. 4 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 560 Getting electricity (rank) 170 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 53.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 47.01 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 117 Time days) 135 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 37.75 Cost(%of income per capita) 4, 705.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 25 Paying taxes (rank) 182 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 31.67 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 49 Time (hours per year) 602 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 55.2 COSTA RICA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 9 550 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 83 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.67 Population (m) 4. 9 Starting a business (rank) 118 Registering property (rank) 47 Trading across borders (rank) 47 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 80.90 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.40 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 80.84 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 24 Time (days) 19 Time to export (days) 14 Cost(%of income per capita) 11.5 Cost(%of property value) 3. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 020 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 52 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 070 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 129 Time (days) 113 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 51.13 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 27.4 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 852 Getting electricity (rank) 46 Protecting minority investors rank) 181 Cost(%of claim) 24.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 82.72 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 28.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 89 Time (days) 55 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.95 Cost(%of income per capita) 196.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 8 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 121 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 26.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 67.27 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 23 Time (hours per year) 163 Total tax rate(%of profit) 58.0 CÔTE D'IVOIRE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 380 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 147 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 52.26 Population (m) 20.3 Starting a business (rank) 44 Registering property (rank) 124 Trading across borders (rank) 158 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.24 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.05 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 50.54 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 7 Time (days) 30 Time to export (days) 25 Cost(%of income per capita) 20.0 Cost (%of property value) 9. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 390 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 3. 4 Documents to import (number) 13 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 32 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 180 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 960 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 43.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 23 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 72 Time (days) 347 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.88 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 2 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 525 Getting electricity (rank) 161 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 41.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 55.24 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 85 Time (days) 55 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 44.97 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 824.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 2. 2 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 175 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 31.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 42.73 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 9 Payments (number per year) 63 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit) 51.9 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 181 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business CROATIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 13,330 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 65 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.53 Population (m) 4 . 3 Starting a business (rank) 88 Registering property (rank) 92 Trading across borders (rank) 86 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.43 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 66 44 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.25 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 72 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 5 Cost(%of property value) 5. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 335 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 26.6 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 178 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 185 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 44.97 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 21 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 54 Time (days) 188 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.81 Cost (%of warehouse value) 10.9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 572 Getting electricity (rank) 59 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 13.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.05 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 57.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 56 Time days) 70 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 53.92 Cost(%of income per capita) 316.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 8 Time (years) 3. 1 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 36 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.92 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 208 Total tax rate(%of profit) 18.8 CYPRUS Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 25 190 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 64 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.55 Population (m 1. 1 Starting a business (rank) 64 Registering property (rank) 112 Trading across borders (rank) 34 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.18 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 61.83 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 83.87 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 8 Time to export (days) 7 Cost(%of income per capita ) 12.6 Cost(%of property value) 10.4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 865 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank ) 61 Time to import (days) 5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 148 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 010 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 60.68 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 4 Enforcing contracts (rank) 113 Time (days) 677 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 6. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 54.17 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 735 Getting electricity (rank) 160 Protecting minority investors (rank) 14 Cost(%of claim) 16.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 55.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 68.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 51 Time (days) 247 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 56.68 Cost(%of income per capita) 102.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 8 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 50 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 70.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.53 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 29 Time (hours per year) 146.5 Total tax rate(%of profit) 23.2 CZECH REPUBLIC OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 18,060 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 44 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 70.95 Population (m) 10.5 Starting a business (rank) 110 Registering property (rank) 31 Trading across borders (rank) 58 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 82.58 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 81.87 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.33 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 19 Time (days) 24 Time to export (days) 17 Cost (%of income per capita) 8. 0 Cost(%of property value) 4. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 240 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 139 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 215 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.91 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 24 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 37 Time (days) 143 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 76.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.00 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 6. 4 Procedures (number) 27 Time (days) 611 Getting electricity (rank) 123 Protecting minority investors rank) 83 Cost(%of claim) 33.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 66.52 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 54.17 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 20 Time (days) 129 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 77.50 Cost(%of income per capita) 175.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 4 Time (years) 2. 1 Cost(%of estate) 17 Paying taxes (rank) 119 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 65.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 67.66 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 413 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 182 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business DENMARK OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 61,110 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 4 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 84.20 Population (m) 5. 6 Starting a business (rank) 25 Registering property (rank) 8 Trading across borders (rank) 7 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.40 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 92 61 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 92.23 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 5. 5 Time (days) 4 Time to export (days ) 6 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 2 Cost(%of property value) 0. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 795 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 14.5 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 5 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 745 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 89.84 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index 0 8 ) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 34 Time (days) 64 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 7. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.79 Cost(%of warehouse value ) 2. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 410 Getting electricity (rank) 14 Protecting minority investors (rank) 17 Cost(%of claim) 23.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 91.07 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 67.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 9 Time (days ) 38 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 84.59 Cost(%of income per capita) 114.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 8 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 12 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 87.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 91.94 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 10 Time (hours per year) 130 Total tax rate(%of profit) 26.0 DJIBOUTI Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 595 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 155 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 50.48 Population (m) 0. 9 Starting a business (rank) 163 Registering property (rank) 154 Trading across borders (rank) 56 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 65.89 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 51.63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.65 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days ) 14 Time (days) 39 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita) 175.2 Cost(%of property value) 12.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 885 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 180 Time to import (days) 18 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 146 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 5. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 910 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 61.63 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 171 Time (days) 117 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100 ) 37.31 Cost(%of warehouse value) 7. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 3 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 1, 225 Getting electricity (rank) 176 Protecting minority investors (rank) 162 Cost(%of claim) 34.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 42.21 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 39.17 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 70 Time (days) 180 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 48.04 Cost(%of income per capita) 6, 988.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 9 Time (years) 2. 3 Cost(%of estate) 11 Paying taxes (rank) 75 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 75.26 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 82 Total tax rate(%of profit) 37.3 DOMINICA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 6, 760 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 97 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.37 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 63 Registering property (rank) 149 Trading across borders (rank) 88 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.27 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 52.86 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.03 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 42 Time to export (days) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 15.7 Cost(%of property value) 13.3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 990 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 43 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 600 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.79 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 148 Time (days) 175 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 45.17 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 681 Getting electricity (rank) 53 Protecting minority investors (rank) 87 Cost(%of claim) 36.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 53.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 121 Time days) 61 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 37.09 Cost(%of income per capita) 483.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 94 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 72.49 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 37 Time (hours per year) 117 Total tax rate(%of profit) 37.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 183 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 5, 620 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 84 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.43 Population (m) 10.4 Starting a business (rank) 113 Registering property (rank) 82 Trading across borders (rank) 24 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 81.60 DTF score for registering property (0 100 69.90 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 85.56 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 19.5 Time (days) 51 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita ) 16.9 Cost(%of property value) 3. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 040 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 43.0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 96 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 145 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 70.88 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 73 Time (days) 184 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 63.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.87 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 38.1 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 460 Getting electricity (rank) 119 Protecting minority investors (rank) 83 Cost(%of claim) 40.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 67.36 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 54.17 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 158 Time days) 82 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 23.75 Cost(%of income per capita) 276.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 4 Time (years) 3. 5 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 80 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 9. 3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 74.24 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 324 Total tax rate(%of profit) 43.4 ECUADOR Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 5 510 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 115 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.88 Population (m) 15.7 Starting a business (rank) 165 Registering property (rank) 80 Trading across borders (rank) 114 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 65.31 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 70.21 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 68.23 Procedures (number) 13 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 55.5 Time (days) 39 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita ) 24.0 Cost(%of property value) 1. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 535 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 3. 5 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 59 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 520 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 76.86 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 88 Time (days) 114 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 73.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.30 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 588 Getting electricity (rank) 120 Protecting minority investors rank) 117 Cost(%of claim) 27.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 67.03 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 46.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 151 Time (days) 74 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 28.36 Cost(%of income per capita) 638.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 7 Time (years) 5. 3 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 138 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 62.84 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 8 Time hours per year) 654 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.0 EGYPT, ARAB REP . Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 3, 160 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 112 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.54 Population (m) 82.1 Starting a business (rank) 73 Registering property (rank) 84 Trading across borders (rank) 99 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.14 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 69.13 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 71.56 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 63 Time to export (days) 12 Cost (%of income per capita) 9. 2 Cost(%of property value) 0. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 625 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 142 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 790 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.06 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 20 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 152 Time (days) 179 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 21.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 44.02 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 5. 8 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 1 010 Getting electricity (rank) 106 Protecting minority investors (rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 26.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 71.31 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 126 Time (days) 54 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 304.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 149 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 26.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 58.84 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ) 7 Payments (number per year) 29 Time (hours per year) 392 Total tax rate(%of profit) 45.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 184 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business EL SALVADOR Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 3, 720 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 109 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.93 Population (m) 6. 3 Starting a business (rank) 121 Registering property (rank) 56 Trading across borders (rank) 73 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 79.87 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 75.65 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 76.01 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 16.5 Time (days) 31 Time to export (days) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 45.2 Cost(%of property value) 3. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 045 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 2. 7 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 155 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 035 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 57.19 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 25 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 82 Time (days) 115 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 32.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 60.06 Cost (%of warehouse value) 4. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 28.2 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 786 Getting electricity (rank) 144 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 19.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 60.56 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 41.67 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 79 Time days) 83 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 46.02 Cost(%of income per capita) 543.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4 . 2 Time (years) 3. 5 Cost(%of estate) 12 Paying taxes (rank) 161 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 33.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 52.31 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 53 Time (hours per year) 320 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.7 EQUATORIAL GUINEA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 14 320 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 165 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.01 Population (m) 0. 8 Starting a business (rank) 186 Registering property (rank) 145 Trading across borders (rank) 143 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 36.74 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 54.82 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 59.67 Procedures (number) 18 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 135 Time (days) 23 Time to export (days) 29 Cost(%of income per capita) 99.0 Cost(%of property value) 12.5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 390 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 14.3 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 44 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 94 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 600 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.20 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 2 Enforcing contracts (rank) 67 Time (days) 144 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.23 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 5. 1 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 475 Getting electricity (rank) 95 Protecting minority investors rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 19.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 73.84 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 106 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 557.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4 . 6 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 171 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 44.73 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 46 Time (hours per year) 492 Total tax rate(%of profit) 44.0 ERITREA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 490 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 189 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 33.16 Population (m) 6. 3 Starting a business (rank) 183 Registering property (rank) 176 Trading across borders (rank) 172 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 44.81 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 39.78 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 32.24 Procedures (number) 13 Procedures (number) 11 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 84 Time (days) 78 Time to export (days) 50 Cost(%of income per capita) 41.5 Cost(%of property value) 9. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 850 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 182.1 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 185 Time to import (days) 59 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 189 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 0. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 000 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 0. 00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 68 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100 ) 62.70 Cost(%of warehouse value) NO PRACTICE Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 490 Getting electricity rank) 113 Protecting minority investors (rank) 166 Cost(%of claim) 22.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 70.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 38.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 59 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 078.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 8 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 174 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar ) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 43.49 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 0 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 216 Total tax rate(%of profit) 83.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 185 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ESTONIA OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 17,370 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 17 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 78.84 Population (m 1. 3 Starting a business (rank) 26 Registering property (rank) 13 Trading across borders (rank) 6 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.25 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 90.88 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 92.76 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 4. 5 Time (days) 17.5 Time to export (days) 6 Cost(%of income per capita) 1 . 4 Cost(%of property value) 0. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 765 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 18.6 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 5 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 20 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 795 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 84.18 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 32 Time (days ) 103 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 34.2 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.91 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0 . 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 425 Getting electricity (rank) 56 Protecting minority investors (rank) 56 Cost(%of claim) 21.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.27 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 58.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 37 Time (days) 111 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 64.92 Cost(%of income per capita) 169.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 28 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 84.93 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 81 Total tax rate(%of profit) 49.3 ETHIOPIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 470 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 132 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 56.31 Population (m) 94.1 Starting a business (rank) 168 Registering property (rank) 104 Trading across borders (rank) 168 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 63.15 DTF score for registering property (0 100 64.05 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 38.58 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 10 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 41 Time to export (days) 44 Cost(%of income per capita) 89.3 Cost (%of property value) 2. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 380 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 164.4 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days) 44 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 28 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 960 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 82.49 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 50 Time (days) 125 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 65.43 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 2 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 530 Getting electricity (rank) 82 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 15.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.39 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 41.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 74 Time days) 95 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 47.20 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 676.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 2 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 112 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 69.11 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 306 Total tax rate (%of profit) 31.8 FIJI East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 4 430 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 81 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.90 Population (m) 0. 9 Starting a business (rank) 160 Registering property (rank) 64 Trading across borders (rank) 116 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 67.79 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 74.15 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.04 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 59 Time (days) 69 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 22.5 Cost(%of property value) 3. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 790 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 73 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 753 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.89 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 59 Time (days) 141 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 78.9 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.34 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 397 Getting electricity (rank) 75 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim ) 38.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 77.97 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 91 Time (days) 81 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.62 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 784.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 107 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 46.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 70.73 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 38 Time (hours per year) 195 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 186 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business FINLAND OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 47,110 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 9 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.83 Population (m) 5. 4 Starting a business (rank) 27 Registering property (rank) 38 Trading across borders (rank) 14 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.10 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 80 58 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 89.10 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 14 Time (days) 32 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 1 Cost(%of property value) 4. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 615 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 7. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 33 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 625 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 81.61 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8 ) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 17 Time (days) 64 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 19.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.58 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0 . 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 375 Getting electricity (rank) 33 Protecting minority investors (rank) 76 Cost(%of claim) 13.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.29 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 1 Time (days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 93.85 Cost(%of income per capita) 29.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 6 Time (years) 0. 9 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 21 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 90.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 88.36 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14.5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 93 Total tax rate(%of profit) 40.0 FRANCE OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 42,250 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 31 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100 ) 73.88 Population (m) 66.0 Starting a business (rank) 28 Registering property (rank) 126 Trading across borders (rank) 10 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.00 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 59.36 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 90.18 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 2 Time (days) 4. 5 Time (days) 49 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 9 Cost(%of property value) 6. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 335 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 2 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 11 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 86 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 445 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 10 Time (days) 183 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 77.67 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 44.5 Procedures (number) 29 Time (days) 395 Getting electricity (rank) 60 Protecting minority investors (rank) 17 Cost(%of claim) 17.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.87 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 67.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 22 Time days) 79 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 75.94 Cost(%of income per capita) 42.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 8 Time (years) 1. 9 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 95 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 77.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 72.12 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 137 Total tax rate(%of profit) 66.6 GABON Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 10 650 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 144 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 53.43 Population (m 1. 7 Starting a business (rank) 135 Registering property (rank) 181 Trading across borders (rank) 135 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 75.90 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 36.51 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 63.26 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 50 Time (days) 103 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita ) 12.9 Cost(%of property value) 17.5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2 145 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 19.6 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 76 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 275 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.36 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 2 Enforcing contracts (rank) 156 Time (days) 194 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 43.51 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 50.8 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 1, 070 Getting electricity (rank) 129 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 34.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 64.23 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 125 Time (days) 141 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.29 Cost(%of income per capita) 311.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 154 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 15.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 57.75 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ) 9 Payments (number per year) 26 Time (hours per year) 488 Total tax rate(%of profit) 40.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 187 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business GAMBIA, THE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 510 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 138 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.81 Population (m 1. 8 Starting a business (rank) 159 Registering property (rank) 113 Trading across borders (rank) 77 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.37 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 61.54 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 75.52 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 26 Time (days) 66 Time to export (days ) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 131.2 Cost(%of property value) 7. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 040 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 160 Time to import (days) 19 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 71 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 20.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 745 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 49 Time (days) 144 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 65.49 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0 . 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 407 Getting electricity (rank) 138 Protecting minority investors (rank) 162 Cost(%of claim) 37.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.05 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 39.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 102 Time (days) 78 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.51 Cost(%of income per capita) 4 166.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 9 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 180 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 38.36 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 50 Time (hours per year) 376 Total tax rate(%of profit) 63.3 GEORGIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 3, 570 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 15 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 79.46 Population (m) 4. 5 Starting a business (rank) 5 Registering property (rank) 1 Trading across borders (rank) 33 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 97.73 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 99.88 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 84.02 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number 1 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 2 Time (days) 1 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 4 Cost(%of property value) 0. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 355 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 7 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 3 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 85.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 595 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 91.44 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 23 Time (days) 68.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 56.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 71.82 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 285 Getting electricity (rank) 37 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost(%of claim) 29.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 84.69 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 122 Time (days) 71 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.48 Cost(%of income per capita) 503.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 1 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 38 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.76 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 5 Time (hours per year) 362 Total tax rate(%of profit) 16.4 GERMANY OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 46 100 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 14 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 79.73 Population (m) 80.6 Starting a business (rank) 114 Registering property (rank) 89 Trading across borders (rank) 18 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 81.38 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 67.78 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 87.67 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 14.5 Time (days) 40 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita ) 8. 8 Cost(%of property value) 6. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 015 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 35.8 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 8 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 050 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 87.42 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 13 Time (days) 96 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 76.74 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 3 Procedures (number) 31 Time (days) 394 Getting electricity (rank) 3 Protecting minority investors rank) 51 Cost(%of claim) 14.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 98.37 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 59.17 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 3 Time (days) 28 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 91.78 Cost(%of income per capita) 44.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 9 Time (years) 1. 2 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 68 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 83.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.02 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 15 Payments (number per year) 9 Time hours per year) 218 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 188 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business GHANA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 760 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 70 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 65.24 Population (m) 25.9 Starting a business (rank) 96 Registering property (rank) 43 Trading across borders (rank) 120 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.73 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 79 23 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 67.10 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 14 Time (days) 46 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 19.2 Cost(%of property value) 1. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 875 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 2. 8 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 41 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 106 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 360 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 96 Time (days) 201 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 14.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.59 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 710 Getting electricity (rank) 71 Protecting minority investors (rank) 56 Cost(%of claim) 23.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.29 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 58.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 161 Time days) 79 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 22.45 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 778.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 1. 9 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 101 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 24.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.53 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 3 Payments (number per year) 32 Time (hours per year) 224 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.3 GREECE OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 22 530 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 61 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.70 Population (m) 11.0 Starting a business (rank) 52 Registering property (rank) 116 Trading across borders (rank) 48 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.71 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 61.16 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 80.80 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 20 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita ) 2. 2 Cost(%of property value) 4. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 040 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 88 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 135 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 72.31 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 155 Time (days) 124 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 82.5 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 43.60 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 1, 580 Getting electricity (rank) 80 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 14.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 52 Time (days) 62 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 55.98 Cost(%of income per capita) 69.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 3. 5 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 59 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 34.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 78.30 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ) 12 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 193 Total tax rate(%of profit) 49.9 GRENADA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 7, 460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 126 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 57.35 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 80 Registering property (rank) 128 Trading across borders (rank) 51 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.70 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 59.12 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 80.22 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number ) 4 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 32 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita) 18.4 Cost%of property value) 7. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 300 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 40 DTF score for getting credit (0 100 ) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 170 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 79.00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 144 Time (days) 128 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 46.25 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures number) 46 Time (days) 688 Getting electricity (rank) 77 Protecting minority investors (rank) 141 Cost(%of claim) 32.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 77.78 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 43.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 49 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100 ) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 257.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate ) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 106 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.12 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 140 Total tax rate(%of profit) 45.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 189 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business GUATEMALA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 3, 340 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 73 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.88 Population (m) 15.5 Starting a business (rank) 98 Registering property (rank) 65 Trading across borders (rank) 102 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.72 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 74 07 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 70.10 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 18.5 Time (days) 24 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita) 25.8 Cost(%of property value) 3. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 355 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 18.7 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 12 Time to import (days) 16 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 122 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 80.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 445 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.18 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 143 Time (days) 158 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 8. 7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 46.35 Cost(%of warehouse value) 7. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 19.2 Procedures (number) 31 Time (days) 1, 402 Getting electricity (rank) 18 Protecting minority investors (rank) 174 Cost(%of claim) 26.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 89.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 31.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 155 Time (days) 39 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 27.37 Cost(%of income per capita) 514.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 2 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 54 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.04 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 4 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 256 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.9 GUINEA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 169 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 47.42 Population (m ) 11.7 Starting a business (rank) 175 Registering property (rank) 122 Trading across borders (rank) 141 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 55.44 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.14 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 60.25 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days ) 8 Time (days) 44 Time to export (days) 36 Cost(%of income per capita) 82.6 Cost(%of property value) 8. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 915 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 416.0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 31 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 159 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 480 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 55.92 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 26 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 133 Time (days) 166 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 49.74 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 49 Time (days) 276 Getting electricity (rank) 154 Protecting minority investors (rank) 162 Cost(%of claim) 45.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 57.61 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 39.17 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank 119 Time (days) 69 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 37.62 Cost(%of income per capita) 7, 155.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 9 Time (years) 3. 8 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 184 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 28.27 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 57 Time (hours per year) 440 Total tax rate(%of profit) 68.3 GUINEA-BISSAU Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 520 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 179 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 43.21 Population (m 1 7 Starting a business (rank) 176 Registering property (rank) 160 Trading across borders (rank) 119 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 54.83 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 48.92 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 67.41 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 51 Time to export (days) 25 Cost(%of income per capita) 50.1 Cost(%of property value) 10.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 448 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 401.3 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 165 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 006 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 52.95 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 169 Time (days) 116 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.54 Cost(%of warehouse value) 18.2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 1, 715 Getting electricity (rank) 180 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 25.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 35.96 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 455 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0 . 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 062.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 150 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 58.65 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 46 Time (hours per year) 208 Total tax rate(%of profit) 45.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 190 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business GUYANA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 3, 750 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 123 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 57.83 Population (m) 0. 8 Starting a business (rank) 99 Registering property (rank) 103 Trading across borders (rank) 82 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.62 DTF score for registering property (0 100 64.08 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.63 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 19 Time (days) 75 Time to export (days) 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 11.5 Cost(%of property value) 4. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 730 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days ) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 38 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 720 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 80.06 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 71 Time (days) 195 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 62.37 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0 . 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 581 Getting electricity (rank) 155 Protecting minority investors (rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 25.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 57.21 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 150 Time (days) 109 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 28.50 Cost(%of income per capita) 442.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 29 Paying taxes (rank) 115 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.69 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 256 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.3 HAITI Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 810 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 180 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 42.18 Population (m) 10.3 Starting a business (rank) 188 Registering property (rank) 175 Trading across borders (rank) 142 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 33.48 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 39.79 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 59.98 Procedures (number) 12 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 97 Time (days ) 312 Time to export (days) 28 Cost(%of income per capita) 246.7 Cost(%of property value) 7. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 200 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 17.6 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 132 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 555 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 64.42 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 89 Time (days) 71 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.28 Cost(%of warehouse value) 16.4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 1 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 530 Getting electricity (rank) 94 Protecting minority investors (rank) 187 Cost(%of claim) 42.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 73.97 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 20.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 60 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 1. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 495.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 0 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 142 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 61.87 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 47 Time (hours per year) 184 Total tax rate (%of profit) 40.3 HONDURAS Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 2 180 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 104 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.61 Population (m) 8. 1 Starting a business (rank) 138 Registering property (rank) 81 Trading across borders (rank) 70 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.84 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 70.09 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 76.50 Procedures (number) 12 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 14 Time (days) 22 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 39.0 Cost(%of property value) 5. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 450 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 11.5 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 7 Time to import (days) 16 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 103 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 85.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 630 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.37 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 166 Time (days) 82 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 36.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.90 Cost (%of warehouse value) 7. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 21.8 Procedures (number) 47 Time (days) 920 Getting electricity (rank) 110 Protecting minority investors rank) 174 Cost(%of claim) 35.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 70.96 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 31.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 140 Time (days) 39 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 31.83 Cost(%of income per capita) 918.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 2 Time (years ) 3. 8 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 153 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 57.92 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 48 Time hours per year) 224 Total tax rate(%of profit) 43.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 191 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business HONG KONG SAR, CHINA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 38,420 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 3 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 84.97 Population (m) 7. 2 Starting a business (rank) 8 Registering property (rank) 96 Trading across borders (rank) 2 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.38 DTF score for registering property 0 100) 66.19 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 95.36 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 2. 5 Time (days) 35.5 Time to export (days) 6 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 4 Cost(%of property value) 7. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 590 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 5 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 1 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 565 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 95.53 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 5 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 6 Time (days) 66 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 96.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 80.32 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 26 Time (days) 360 Getting electricity (rank) 13 Protecting minority investors (rank) 2 Cost(%of claim) 21.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 91.54 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 80.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 9. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 25 Time (days) 38 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 7. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 75.06 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 8. 1 Time (years) 0. 8 Cost(%of estate) 5 Paying taxes (rank) 4 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 87.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 98.51 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 3 Time (hours per year) 78 Total tax rate(%of profit) 22.8 HUNGARY Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 12,410 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 54 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 68.80 Population (m) 9 . 9 Starting a business (rank) 57 Registering property (rank) 52 Trading across borders (rank) 72 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.04 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.04 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 76.48 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 16.5 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita) 8. 3 Cost(%of property value) 5. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 885 Minimum capital(%of income per capita ) 54.0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 17 Time to import (days) 19 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 103 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 845 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.37 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures number) 23 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 20 Time (days) 91 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 74.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 73.36 Cost(%of warehouse value ) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 395 Getting electricity (rank) 162 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 15.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 55.10 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 64 Time (days) 252 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 49.78 Cost%of income per capita) 111.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 88 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 40.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.27 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 277 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.0 ICELAND OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 43,930 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 12 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.27 Population (m) 0. 3 Starting a business (rank) 31 Registering property (rank) 23 Trading across borders (rank) 39 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92 35 DTF score for registering property (0 100 ) 86.03 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 83.23 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 4 Time (days) 3 . 5 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 2. 4 Cost(%of property value) 3. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 530 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 9. 3 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 56 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 620 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 77.60 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 3 Time (days) 84 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 82.30 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 27 Time (days) 417 Getting electricity (rank) 9 Protecting minority investors (rank) 28 Cost(%of claim) 9. 0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 93.81 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 65.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 15 Time days) 22 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 81.47 Cost(%of income per capita) 12.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 5 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 46 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 84.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.86 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 26 Time (hours per year) 140 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 192 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business INDIA South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 1, 570 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 142 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 53.97 Population (m 1, 252.1 Starting a business (rank) 158 Registering property (rank) 121 Trading across borders (rank) 126 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.42 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60 40 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 65.47 Procedures (number) 11.9 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 28.4 Time (days) 47 Time to export (days) 17.1 Cost(%of income per capita) 12.2 Cost(%of property value) 7. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 332 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 111.2 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 21.1 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 184 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 462 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 30.89 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 25.4 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 186 Time (days) 185.9 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 22.4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 25.81 Cost (%of warehouse value) 28.2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 1, 420 Getting electricity (rank) 137 Protecting minority investors (rank) 7 Cost(%of claim) 39.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.06 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 72.50 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency rank) 137 Time (days) 105.7 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 32.60 Cost(%of income per capita) 487.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 7. 3 Time (years) 4. 3 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 156 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 25.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 55.53 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 243 Total tax rate(%of profit) 61.7 INDONESIA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3 580 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 114 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.15 Population (m) 249.9 Starting a business (rank) 155 Registering property (rank) 117 Trading across borders (rank) 62 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.84 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.74 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 77.46 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 52.5 Time (days) 27.4 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita ) 21.1 Cost(%of property value) 10.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 572 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 35.5 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit rank) 71 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 153 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 647 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100 ) 59.03 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 172 Time (days) 211 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 37.28 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 3 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 46.4 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 471 Getting electricity (rank) 78 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost(%of claim) 115.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.90 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 75 Time (days) 90.7 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 46.75 Cost(%of income per capita) 353.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 1 Time (years) 1 . 9 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 160 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 31.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 53.66 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 65 Time (hours per year) 253.5 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.4 IRAN ISLAMIC REP. Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 5, 780 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 130 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100 ) 56.51 Population (m) 77.4 Starting a business (rank) 62 Registering property (rank) 161 Trading across borders (rank) 148 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.37 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 48.78 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 56.81 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 35 Time to export (days) 25 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 1 Cost(%of property value) 10.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 350 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 37 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 172 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 555 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 49.72 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 66 Time (days) 318.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 33.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.35 Cost (%of warehouse value) 5. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 45.0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 505 Getting electricity (rank) 107 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 17.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 71.22 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 41.67 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 138 Time (days) 77 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 32.38 Cost(%of income per capita) 865.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 2 Time (years) 4. 5 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 124 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 19.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.78 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 20 Time (hours per year) 344 Total tax rate(%of profit) 44.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 193 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business IRAQ Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 6, 710 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 156 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 50.36 Population (m) 33.4 Starting a business (rank) 142 Registering property (rank) 109 Trading across borders (rank) 178 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.03 DTF score for registering property (0 100 62.62 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 20.48 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 29 Time (days) 51 Time to export (days) 80 Cost(%of income per capita ) 38.2 Cost(%of property value) 8. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3, 550 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 12.8 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 180 Time to import (days) 82 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 9 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 5. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3 650 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 86.65 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 141 Time (days) 119 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 47.32 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 51 Time (days) 520 Getting electricity (rank) 36 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 28.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 84.95 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 77 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 228.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 52 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.09 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 13 Time (hours per year) 312 Total tax rate (%of profit) 27.8 IRELAND OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 39 110 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 13 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.07 Population (m) 4. 6 Starting a business (rank) 19 Registering property (rank) 50 Trading across borders (rank) 5 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.17 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.34 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 93.01 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 2 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 31.5 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) 2. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 160 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 2 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 128 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 121 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 65.61 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 18 Time (days) 150 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.47 Cost (%of warehouse value) 9. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 21 Time (days) 650 Getting electricity (rank) 67 Protecting minority investors rank) 6 Cost(%of claim) 26.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.84 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 73.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 21 Time (days) 85 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 76.90 Cost(%of income per capita) 83.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7. 3 Time (years) 0. 4 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 6 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 87.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 95.07 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 80 Total tax rate(%of profit) 25.9 ISRAEL OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 34,120 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 40 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.25 Population (m) 8. 1 Starting a business (rank) 53 Registering property (rank) 135 Trading across borders (rank) 12 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.54 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 57.12 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 89.39 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 81 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 5 Cost(%of property value) 7. 3 Cost to export US$ per container) 620 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 4 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 121 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 565 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.45 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 111 Time (days) 209 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 54.93 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 890 Getting electricity (rank) 109 Protecting minority investors (rank) 11 Cost (%of claim) 25.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 71.11 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 70.83 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 24 Time (days) 102 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 75.21 Cost(%of income per capita) 11.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7 . 1 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 23 Paying taxes (rank) 97 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 61.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.88 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 235 Total tax rate(%of profit) 30.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 194 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ITALY OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 34,400 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 56 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 68.48 Population (m) 59.8 Starting a business (rank) 46 Registering property (rank) 41 Trading across borders (rank) 37 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.22 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 79 44 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 83.44 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 16 Time to export (days) 19 Cost (%of income per capita) 14.1 Cost(%of property value) 4. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 195 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 18 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 116 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 145 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.35 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 147 Time (days) 233 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 45.61 Cost (%of warehouse value) 3. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 24.6 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 1, 185 Getting electricity (rank) 102 Protecting minority investors (rank) 21 Cost(%of claim) 23.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.65 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 66.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 29 Time (days) 124 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 71.29 Cost(%of income per capita) 212.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 7 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 141 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 62.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 62.13 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 15 Time (hours per year) 269 Total tax rate(%of profit) 65.4 JAMAICA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 5 220 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 58 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 67.79 Population (m) 2. 7 Starting a business (rank) 20 Registering property (rank) 126 Trading across borders (rank) 115 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.13 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 59.36 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.22 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 36 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita) 6. 0 Cost(%of property value) 9. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 580 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 12 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 26 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 80.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 180 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.17 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 117 Time (days) 135 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 10.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 53.74 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 655 Getting electricity (rank) 111 Protecting minority investors rank) 71 Cost(%of claim) 45.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 70.36 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 56.67 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 59 Time (days) 96 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 53.29 Cost(%of income per capita) 406.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 7 Time (years) 1. 1 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 147 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 64.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 59.01 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 36 Time hours per year) 368 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.3 JAPAN OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 46,140 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 29 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 74.80 Population (m) 127.3 Starting a business (rank) 83 Registering property (rank) 73 Trading across borders (rank) 20 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.21 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.33 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 87.23 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 10.7 Time (days) 13 Time to export (days) 11 Cost(%of income per capita) 7. 5 Cost(%of property value) 5. 8 Cost to export US$ per container) 829 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank ) 71 Time to import (days) 11 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 83 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 021 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.30 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 26 Time (days) 197 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.95 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 360 Getting electricity (rank) 28 Protecting minority investors (rank) 35 Cost(%of claim) 32.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 86.51 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 62.50 Procedures (number) 3. 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 2 Time (days) 97.7 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 93.74 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 3 Time (years) 0. 6 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 122 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 92.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 67.19 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14 Payments number per year) 14 Time (hours per year) 330 Total tax rate(%of profit) 51.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 195 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business JORDAN Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 4, 950 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 117 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.40 Population (m) 6. 5 Starting a business (rank) 86 Registering property (rank) 107 Trading across borders (rank) 54 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.61 DTF score for registering property (0 100 63.45 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.92 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 21 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 21.4 Cost(%of property value) 7. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 825 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 185 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 126 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 0. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 235 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.02 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 114 Time (days) 63 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 54.04 Cost(%of warehouse value) 9. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 2 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 689 Getting electricity (rank) 44 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 31.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 82.95 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 41.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 145 Time days) 50 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 30.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 315.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 2 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 45 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 81.19 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 25 Time (hours per year) 151 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.0 KAZAKHSTAN Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 11 380 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 77 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.59 Population (m) 17.0 Starting a business (rank) 55 Registering property (rank) 14 Trading across borders (rank) 185 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.19 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 89.83 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 7. 87 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 11 Time to export (days) 79 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 5 Cost(%of property value) 0. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5 285 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 67 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 154 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 5, 265 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 58.39 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 25 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 30 Time (days) 156 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 51.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.33 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 370 Getting electricity (rank) 97 Protecting minority investors rank) 25 Cost(%of claim) 22.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.96 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 65.83 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 63 Time (days) 88 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 51.45 Cost(%of income per capita) 56.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 6 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 17 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 43.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 90.04 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 6 Time hours per year) 188 Total tax rate(%of profit) 28.6 KENYA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 930 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 136 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.98 Population (m) 44.4 Starting a business (rank) 143 Registering property (rank) 136 Trading across borders (rank) 153 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.02 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 56.88 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 54.49 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 30 Time (days) 72 Time to export (days) 26 Cost(%of income per capita) 42.7 Cost (%of property value) 4. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 255 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 95 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 350 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.02 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 137 Time (days) 125 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 4. 9 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 48.96 Cost(%of warehouse value) 9. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 465 Getting electricity (rank) 151 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 47.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 58.85 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 134 Time (days) 158 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.31 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 020.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 4. 5 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 102 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 71.49 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 201.5 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 196 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business KIRIBATI East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 2, 620 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 134 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 55.48 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 122 Registering property (rank) 139 Trading across borders (rank) 81 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 79.74 DTF score for registering property (0 100 55.48 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.76 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 31 Time (days) 513 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita) 20.5 Cost(%of property value) 0. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 870 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 19.5 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 160 Time to import (days) 21 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 65 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 20.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 910 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.71 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 60 Time (days) 149 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.15 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 660 Getting electricity (rank) 167 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 25.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 52.26 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 41.67 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 97 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 4 768.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 2 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 14 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 91.03 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 120 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.7 KOREA, REP. OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 25,920 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 5 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 83.40 Population (m) 50.2 Starting a business (rank) 17 Registering property (rank) 79 Trading across borders (rank) 3 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.36 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 70.99 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 93.45 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 4 Time (days) 7 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 14.5 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 670 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 12 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 695 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.89 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 4 Time (days) 29 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 81.71 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 230 Getting electricity (rank) 1 Protecting minority investors (rank) 21 Cost(%of claim) 10.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 99.83 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 66.67 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7 . 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 5 Time (days) 18 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 90.06 Cost(%of income per capita) 41.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 7 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 25 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 83.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 86.09 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14.5 Payments (number per year) 10 Time (hours per year) 187 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.4 KOSOVO Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 3, 890 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 75 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.76 Population (m 1. 8 Starting a business (rank) 42 Registering property (rank) 34 Trading across borders (rank) 118 DTF score for starting a business (0 100 91.33 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 81.32 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 67.70 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 27 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 2 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 695 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 135 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 730 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 63.36 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 138 Time (days) 152 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 48.59 Cost(%of warehouse value) 6. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 22.8 Procedures (number) 53 Time (days) 330 Getting electricity (rank) 112 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 33.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 70.34 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 164 Time days) 46 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 19.63 Cost(%of income per capita) 822.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 63 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 36.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.87 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 155 Total tax rate(%of profit) 15.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 197 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business KUWAIT Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 47,639 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 86 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.11 Population (m) 3 . 4 Starting a business (rank) 150 Registering property (rank) 69 Trading across borders (rank) 117 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 71.30 DTF score for registering property (0 100 72.10 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.00 Procedures (number) 12 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 31 Time (days) 47 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 9 Cost(%of property value) 0. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 085 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 74.0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 98 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 250 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 70.60 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 20 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 131 Time (days) 96 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 32.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 50.59 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 50 Time (days) 566 Getting electricity (rank) 93 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost(%of claim) 18.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.13 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 127 Time days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.02 Cost(%of income per capita) 42.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 1 Time (years) 4. 2 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 11 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 32.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 92.48 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 12 Time (hours per year) 98 Total tax rate(%of profit) 12.8 KYRGYZ REPUBLIC Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 1 200 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 102 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.74 Population (m) 5. 7 Starting a business (rank) 9 Registering property (rank) 6 Trading across borders (rank) 183 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.35 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 93.25 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 9. 70 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 5 Time to export (days) 63 Cost (%of income per capita) 2. 4 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 4 760 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 73 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 42 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 6, 000 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.80 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 56 Time (days) 141 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 38.2 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.63 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 260 Getting electricity (rank) 168 Protecting minority investors rank) 35 Cost(%of claim) 37.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 49.64 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 62.50 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 157 Time (days) 159 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 24.38 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 872.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 3 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 136 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 19.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 63.15 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 4. 5 Payments (number per year 52 Time (hours per year) 210 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.0 LAO PDR East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 1, 460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 148 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 51.45 Population (m) 6. 8 Starting a business (rank) 154 Registering property (rank) 77 Trading across borders (rank) 156 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.95 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.06 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 52.96 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 92 Time (days) 98 Time to export (days ) 23 Cost(%of income per capita) 5. 7 Cost(%of property value) 1. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 950 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 107 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 910 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 68.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 22 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 99 Time (days) 107 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.49 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 5 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 443 Getting electricity (rank) 128 Protecting minority investors (rank) 178 Cost(%of claim) 31.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 65.29 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 29.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 134 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 650.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 9 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 129 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.10 Strength of insolvency framework index 0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 362 Total tax rate(%of profit) 25.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 198 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business LATVIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 15,280 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 23 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 76.73 Population (m) 2 . 0 Starting a business (rank) 36 Registering property (rank) 32 Trading across borders (rank) 28 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.12 DTF score for registering property (0 100 81.69 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 85.36 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 12.5 Time (days) 18 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 6 Cost(%of property value) 2. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 600 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days ) 11 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 47 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 801 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.38 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 9 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 16 Time (days) 149 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.59 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0 . 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 76.8 Procedures (number) 27 Time (days) 469 Getting electricity (rank) 89 Protecting minority investors (rank) 49 Cost(%of claim) 23.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.58 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 40 Time (days) 108 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 63.42 Cost(%of income per capita) 308.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 0 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 24 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar ) 48.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 86.19 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 193 Total tax rate(%of profit) 35.0 LEBANON Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 9, 870 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 104 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.61 Population (m) 4. 5 Starting a business (rank) 119 Registering property (rank) 106 Trading across borders (rank) 97 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 80.80 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 63.69 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 71.96 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 25 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 73.0 Cost(%of property value) 5. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 080 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 33.0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 164 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 365 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 54.38 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 110 Time (days) 244 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 55.40 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 20.3 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 721 Getting electricity (rank) 57 Protecting minority investors (rank) 106 Cost(%of claim) 30.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.24 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 49.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 136 Time days) 75 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.03 Cost(%of income per capita) 93.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 9 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 40 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 32.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.44 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 183 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.9 LESOTHO Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 550 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 128 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 56.64 Population (m) 2. 1 Starting a business (rank) 108 Registering property (rank) 93 Trading across borders (rank) 147 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 82.84 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 66.36 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 57.86 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 29 Time (days) 43 Time to export (days) 31 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 4 Cost(%of property value) 8. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 795 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 33 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 161 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 045 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 55.79 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 115 Time (days) 179 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 53.94 Cost(%of warehouse value) 13.7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 615 Getting electricity (rank) 117 Protecting minority investors rank) 106 Cost(%of claim) 31.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 68.20 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 49.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 120 Time (days) 114 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 37.51 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 647.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 9 Time (years) 2. 6 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 109 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 29.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 69.72 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 32 Time (hours per year) 324 Total tax rate(%of profit) 13.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 199 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business LIBERIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 410 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 174 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 46.61 Population (m) 4. 3 Starting a business (rank) 30 Registering property (rank) 177 Trading across borders (rank) 149 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.41 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 39.57 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 56.40 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 10 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 4. 5 Time (days) 44 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 17.4 Cost (%of property value) 12.9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 320 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 160 Time to import (days) 29 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 143 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 20.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 320 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 22 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 174 Time (days) 74 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 35.43 Cost(%of warehouse value) 6. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 7 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 1, 280 Getting electricity (rank) 166 Protecting minority investors (rank) 181 Cost(%of claim) 35.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 52.61 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 28.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 169 Time (days) 465 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 4. 60 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 065.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 8 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 43 Paying taxes (rank) 77 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 8 . 6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 74.75 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 150.5 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.3 LIBYA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 11 046 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 188 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 33.35 Population (m) 6. 2 Starting a business (rank) 144 Registering property (rank) 189 Trading across borders (rank) 139 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 73.50 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 0. 00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 61.72 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 35 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Time to export (days) 23 Cost (%of income per capita) 19.9 Cost(%of property value) NO PRACTICE Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 140 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 33.8 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 185 Time to import (days) 37 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 189 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 0. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 255 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 0. 00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 126 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100 ) 51.42 Cost(%of warehouse value) NO PRACTICE Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 5 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 690 Getting electricity (rank) 65 Protecting minority investors (rank) 188 Cost(%of claim) 27.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.10 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 12.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 118 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 0. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 206.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 1. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 157 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 55.25 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 889 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.5 LITHUANIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 14,900 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 24 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 76.31 Population (m) 3. 0 Starting a business (rank) 11 Registering property (rank) 9 Trading across borders (rank) 21 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.22 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 92.39 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 87.21 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 3. 5 Time (days) 2. 5 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 7 Cost(%of property value 0. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 750 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 15 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 800 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.27 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 14 Time (days) 91 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 97.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.85 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 28.8 Procedures (number) 31 Time (days) 300 Getting electricity (rank) 105 Protecting minority investors (rank) 78 Cost(%of claim) 23.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 71.46 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 67 Time (days) 137 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 48.47 Cost(%of income per capita) 45.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 5 Time (years) 2. 3 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 44 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar ) 43.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 81.24 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 8 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 175 Total tax rate(%of profit) 42.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 200 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business LUXEMBOURG OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 71,810 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 59 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 67.60 Population (m) 0. 5 Starting a business (rank) 82 Registering property (rank) 137 Trading across borders (rank) 35 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.47 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 56 75 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 83.58 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 18.5 Time (days) 26.5 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 2. 0 Cost(%of property value) 10.1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 425 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 22.5 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 50 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 420 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.22 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 2 Time (days) 157 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 85.70 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 26 Time (days) 321 Getting electricity (rank) 42 Protecting minority investors (rank) 117 Cost(%of claim) 9. 7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 83.22 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 46.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 62 Time days ) 56 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 51.83 Cost(%of income per capita) 40.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 7 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 20 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 44.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 88.58 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 23 Time (hours per year) 55 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 20.2 MACEDONIA, FYR Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 4 800 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 30 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 74.11 Population (m) 2. 1 Starting a business (rank) 3 Registering property (rank) 74 Trading across borders (rank) 85 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 98.08 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.27 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.43 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 2 Time (days) 31 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 6 Cost(%of property value) 3. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 376 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 11 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 89 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 380 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 72.30 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 87 Time (days) 89 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 83.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.31 Cost (%of warehouse value) 8. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 36.4 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 604 Getting electricity (rank) 88 Protecting minority investors rank) 21 Cost(%of claim) 28.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.94 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 66.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 35 Time (days) 107 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 65.93 Cost(%of income per capita) 255.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 7 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 7 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 44.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 94.17 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 119 Total tax rate(%of profit) 7. 4 MADAGASCAR Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 440 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 163 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.25 Population (m) 22.9 Starting a business (rank) 37 Registering property (rank) 153 Trading across borders (rank) 109 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.02 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 51.72 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.98 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 74 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 13.5 Cost (%of property value) 10.2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 195 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 180 Time to import (days) 21 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 177 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 5. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 555 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 46.68 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 146 Time (days) 123 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 45.91 Cost(%of warehouse value) 20.8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 2 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 871 Getting electricity (rank) 189 Protecting minority investors (rank) 87 Cost(%of claim) 42.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 16.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 53.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 129 Time (days) 450 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 34.43 Cost(%of income per capita) 8, 583.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 30 Paying taxes (rank) 65 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 11.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.78 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 23 Time (hours per year) 183 Total tax rate(%of profit) 35.1 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 201 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MALAWI Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 270 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 164 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.20 Population (m) 16.4 Starting a business (rank) 157 Registering property (rank) 76 Trading across borders (rank ) 170 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.53 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.07 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 37.40 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 38 Time (days) 69 Time to export (days) 34 Cost(%of income per capita) 94.1 Cost(%of property value ) 1. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 200 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 39 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 72 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 895 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.09 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 154 Time (days) 153 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 43.73 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 432 Getting electricity (rank) 181 Protecting minority investors (rank) 132 Cost(%of claim) 69.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 35.78 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.00 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 166 Time days) 172 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 18.99 Cost(%of income per capita) 6, 131.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 5 Time (years) 2. 6 Cost(%of estate) 25 Paying taxes (rank) 103 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 12.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.37 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 4 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 174.5 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 35.5 MALAYSIA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 10 400 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 18 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 78.83 Population (m) 29.7 Starting a business (rank) 13 Registering property (rank) 75 Trading across borders (rank) 11 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.90 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.16 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 89.94 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 5. 5 Time (days) 13.5 Time to export (days) 11 Cost(%of income per capita) 7. 2 Cost(%of property value) 3. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 525 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 4 Getting credit rank) 23 Time to import (days) 8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 28 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 560 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 82.49 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 29 Time (days) 74 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 78.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.39 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 56.2 Procedures (number) 29 Time (days) 425 Getting electricity (rank) 27 Protecting minority investors (rank) 5 Cost(%of claim ) 37.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 86.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 74.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 36 Time (days) 32 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 65.61 Cost(%of income per capita) 46.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7. 4 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 32 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 81.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 83.95 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 13 Time (hours per year) 133 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.2 MALDIVES South Asia GNI per capita US$) 5, 600 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 116 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.73 Population (m) 0. 3 Starting a business (rank) 50 Registering property (rank) 169 Trading across borders (rank) 132 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.07 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 43.85 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 63.63 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 57 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 6. 2 Cost(%of property value) 16.2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 625 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 2. 3 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 24 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 610 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.45 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 9 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 91 Time (days) 140 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.13 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 17.3 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 665 Getting electricity (rank) 108 Protecting minority investors rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 16.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 71.14 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 135 Time (days) 91 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.12 Cost(%of income per capita) 391.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 134 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 49.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 63.76 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 2 Payments (number per year) 30 Time hours per year) 413 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 202 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MALI Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 670 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 146 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 52.59 Population (m) 15.3 Starting a business (rank) 169 Registering property (rank ) 133 Trading across borders (rank) 163 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 62.92 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 57.63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 46.33 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 29 Time to export (days) 26 Cost(%of income per capita) 78.1 Cost(%of property value) 12.1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 440 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 300.7 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 34 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 97 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 540 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 70.84 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 128 Time (days) 119 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 51.25 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 6 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 620 Getting electricity (rank) 132 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 52.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.88 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 108 Time days) 120 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 40.35 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 833.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 3. 6 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 145 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 22.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 60.16 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 48.3 MALTA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 20 980 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 94 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.11 Population (m) 0. 4 Starting a business (rank) 136 Registering property (rank) 83 Trading across borders (rank) 43 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 75.29 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 69.86 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 81.56 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 34.5 Time (days) 15 Time to export (days) 11 Cost(%of income per capita) 11.0 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 855 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 1. 5 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank 171 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 109 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 970 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 68.39 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 107 Time (days) 167 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 56.27 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 505 Getting electricity (rank) 114 Protecting minority investors (rank) 51 Cost (%of claim) 35.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 69.98 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 59.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 86 Time (days) 136 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6 . 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 44.78 Cost(%of income per capita) 440.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 9 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 26 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 85.81 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7. 5 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 139 Total tax rate(%of profit) 41.6 MARSHALL ISLANDS East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 4, 200 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 139 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.72 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 70 Registering property (rank) 189 Trading across borders (rank) 68 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.37 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 0. 00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 76.97 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 17 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Time to export (days ) 23 Cost(%of income per capita) 12.8 Cost(%of property value) NO PRACTICE Cost to export (US$ per container) 695 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 5 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 10 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 720 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 86.33 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 58 Time (days) 42 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.41 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 476 Getting electricity (rank) 68 Protecting minority investors (rank) 183 Cost(%of claim) 27.4 DTF score for getting electricity 0 100) 78.83 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 26.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 168 Time (days) 67 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 9. 19 Cost(%of income per capita) 719.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 7 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 128 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.38 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 21 Time (hours per year) 128 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 64.8 Note For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 203 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MAURITANIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 060 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 176 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 44.21 Population (m) 3. 9 Starting a business (rank) 164 Registering property (rank) 66 Trading across borders (rank) 151 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 65.83 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 73.57 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 55.49 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 49 Time to export (days) 31 Cost(%of income per capita) 19.8 Cost(%of property value) 4. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 640 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 331.8 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 38 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 77 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 523 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.30 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 86 Time (days) 104 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.47 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 4. 6 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 370 Getting electricity (rank) 169 Protecting minority investors (rank) 166 Cost(%of claim) 23.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 48.39 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 38.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 75 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 7, 833.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 8 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 187 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 17.71 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 49 Time (hours per year) 734 Total tax rate(%of profit) 71.3 MAURITIUS Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 9 300 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 28 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 74.81 Population (m 1. 3 Starting a business (rank) 29 Registering property (rank) 98 Trading across borders (rank) 17 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.47 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 66.00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 87.74 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 14 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita ) 2. 1 Cost(%of property value) 10.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 675 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 117 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 710 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.17 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 44 Time (days) 245 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 66.22 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 71.9 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 519 Getting electricity (rank) 41 Protecting minority investors (rank) 28 Cost(%of claim) 25.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 83.74 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 65.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 43 Time (days) 84 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 62.81 Cost(%of income per capita) 277.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 5 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 13 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 67.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 91.92 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 152 Total tax rate(%of profit) 24.5 MEXICO Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 9, 940 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 39 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.53 Population (m) 122.3 Starting a business (rank) 67 Registering property (rank) 110 Trading across borders (rank) 44 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.85 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 62.45 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 81.26 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6. 8 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 6. 3 Time (days) 63.7 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 18.6 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 499 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 12 Time to import (days) 11.2 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 108 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 80.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 888 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 68.43 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 11.3 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 57 Time (days) 87.6 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.61 Cost (%of warehouse value) 10.3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36.8 Time (days) 389 Getting electricity (rank 116 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 30.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 68.47 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 6. 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 27 Time (days) 78.9 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 72.59 Cost(%of income per capita) 346.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 105 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 68.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 71.17 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 5 Payments (number per year) 6 Time (hours per year) 334 Total tax rate(%of profit) 51.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 204 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MICRONESIA, FED. STS. East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3, 430 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 145 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 53.07 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 151 Registering property (rank) 189 Trading across borders (rank) 106 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 69.63 DTF score for registering property 0 100) 0. 00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 69.42 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 16 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Time to export (days) 30 Cost(%of income per capita) 141.2 Cost(%of property value) NO PRACTICE Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 045 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 31 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 37 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 045 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 80.10 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 11 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 162 Time (days) 99 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 40.85 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 885 Getting electricity (rank) 30 Protecting minority investors (rank) 186 Cost(%of claim) 66.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.89 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 23.33 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 118 Time days) 105 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 37.74 Cost(%of income per capita) 363.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 3 Time (years) 5. 3 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 114 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 3. 3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.78 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 21 Time (hours per year) 128 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 60.5 MOLDOVA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 2 460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 63 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.60 Population (m) 3. 6 Starting a business (rank) 35 Registering property (rank) 22 Trading across borders (rank) 152 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.16 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 86.10 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 54.97 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 5. 5 Time to export (days) 23 Cost (%of income per capita) 4. 6 Cost(%of property value) 0. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 510 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 27 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 175 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 870 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 48.11 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 27 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 42 Time (days) 247 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 8. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 66.68 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 31 Time (days) 567 Getting electricity (rank) 149 Protecting minority investors rank) 56 Cost(%of claim) 28.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 59.73 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 58.33 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 58 Time (days) 118 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 53.32 Cost(%of income per capita) 865.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 8 Time (years) 2. 8 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 70 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 29.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 76.57 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 21 Time hours per year) 185 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.7 MONGOLIA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3, 770 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 72 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 65.02 Population (m) 2. 8 Starting a business (rank) 42 Registering property (rank) 30 Trading across borders (rank) 173 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.33 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 82.76 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 30.18 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 10.5 Time to export (days) 44 Cost (%of income per capita) 1. 2 Cost(%of property value) 2. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 745 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 45 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 74 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 950 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.62 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 24 Time (days) 137 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 70.17 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 32.7 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 374 Getting electricity rank) 142 Protecting minority investors (rank) 17 Cost(%of claim) 30.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 60.91 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 67.50 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 90 Time (days) 79 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.93 Cost(%of income per capita) 600.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 8 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 84 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.79 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments number per year) 41 Time (hours per year) 148 Total tax rate(%of profit) 24.4 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 205 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MONTENEGRO Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 7, 260 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 36 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 72.02 Population (m) 0. 6 Starting a business (rank) 56 Registering property (rank) 87 Trading across borders (rank) 52 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.05 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 68 29 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 79.37 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 69 Time to export (days) 14 Cost (%of income per capita) 1. 6 Cost(%of property value) 3. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 985 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 4 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 138 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 90.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 985 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.92 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 12 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 136 Time (days) 158 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 49.62 Cost(%of warehouse value) 12.2 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 26.0 Procedures (number) 49 Time (days) 545 Getting electricity (rank) 63 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost(%of claim) 25.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 33 Time (days) 71 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 68.22 Cost(%of income per capita) 467.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6 . 1 Time (years) 1. 4 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 98 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 48.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.59 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 29 Time (hours per year) 320 Total tax rate(%of profit) 22.3 MOROCCO Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 3, 030 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 71 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 65.06 Population (m) 33.0 Starting a business (rank) 54 Registering property (rank) 115 Trading across borders (rank) 31 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.33 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 61.26 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 84.64 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 40 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 2 Cost(%of property value) 5. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 595 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 6 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 54 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 970 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 77.89 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 81 Time (days) 94 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 21.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 60.14 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 510 Getting electricity (rank) 91 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost (%of claim) 25.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.39 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 113 Time (days) 62 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4 . 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 38.47 Cost(%of income per capita 1, 974.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 6 Time (years) 3. 5 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 66 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.69 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7. 5 Payments (number per year) 6 Time (hours per year) 232 Total tax rate(%of profit) 49.3 MOZAMBIQUE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 590 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 127 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 56.92 Population (m ) 25.8 Starting a business (rank) 107 Registering property (rank) 101 Trading across borders (rank) 129 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 82.96 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 64.51 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 64.76 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 40 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 17.1 Cost(%of property value) 6. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 100 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 84 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 600 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.29 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 164 Time (days) 144 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 39.81 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 5. 7 Procedures (number) 30 Time (days) 760 Getting electricity (rank) 164 Protecting minority investors (rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 119.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 54.65 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 107 Time days) 107 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 40.75 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 484.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 2 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 123 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 17.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.85 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 37 Time (hours per year) 230 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 36.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 206 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business MYANMAR East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 869 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 177 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 43.55 Population (m) 53.3 Starting a business (rank) 189 Registering property (rank) 151 Trading across borders (rank) 103 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 22.85 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 52 26 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 70.02 Procedures (number) 11 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 72 Time (days) 113 Time to export (days) 20 Cost(%of income per capita) 155.9 Cost(%of property value) 7. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 620 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 6, 190.1 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 22 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 130 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 610 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 64.93 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 185 Time (days) 128 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 27.31 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 45 Time (days ) 1, 160 Getting electricity (rank) 121 Protecting minority investors (rank) 178 Cost(%of claim) 51.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 66.78 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 29.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 160 Time (days) 91 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 23.51 Cost(%of income per capita) 2, 801 7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 9 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank ) 116 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 14.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.64 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 31 Time (hours per year) 154.5 Total tax rate(%of profit) 47.7 NAMIBIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 5, 840 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 88 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100 ) 62.81 Population (m) 2. 3 Starting a business (rank) 156 Registering property (rank) 173 Trading across borders (rank) 136 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 68.67 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 41.85 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 63.17 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 66 Time (days) 52 Time to export (days) 24 Cost(%of income per capita) 13.1 Cost(%of property value) 13.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 650 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 25 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 805 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.22 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 53 Time (days) 122 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 64.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.82 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 460 Getting electricity (rank) 66 Protecting minority investors (rank) 87 Cost(%of claim) 35.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.97 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 53.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 81 Time days) 37 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 45.53 Cost(%of income per capita) 391.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 3 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 85 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 35.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.57 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 26 Time (hours per year) 314 Total tax rate(%of profit) 20.7 NEPAL South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 730 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 108 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.33 Population (m) 27.8 Starting a business rank) 104 Registering property (rank) 27 Trading across borders (rank) 171 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.01 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 83.08 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 36.08 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 17 Time (days) 5 Time to export (days) 40 Cost(%of income per capita) 32.2 Cost(%of property value) 4. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 545 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 39 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 91 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 650 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.83 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 134 Time (days) 86 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 1. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 49.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 9. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 910 Getting electricity (rank) 85 Protecting minority investors (rank) 71 Cost(%of claim) 26.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.07 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 56.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank 82 Time (days) 70 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 45.41 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 284.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 7 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 126 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 43.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.52 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 34 Time (hours per year) 334 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 207 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business NETHERLANDS OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 47,440 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 27 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 75.01 Population (m) 16.8 Starting a business (rank) 21 Registering property (rank) 58 Trading across borders (rank) 13 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.08 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 75.02 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 89.22 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 4 Time (days) 2. 5 Time to export (days) 7 Cost(%of income per capita) 5 . 0 Cost(%of property value) 6. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 915 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 100 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 975 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100 ) 70.11 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 19 Time (days) 161 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 79.4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.10 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults ) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 26 Time (days) 514 Getting electricity (rank) 90 Protecting minority investors (rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 23.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 74.40 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 12 Time (days) 117 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 83.77 Cost(%of income per capita) 33.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 2 Time (years) 1. 1 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 23 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 88.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 86.76 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 123 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.0 NEW ZEALAND OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 40,481 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 2 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 86.91 Population (m) 4. 5 Starting a business (rank) 1 Registering property (rank ) 2 Trading across borders (rank) 27 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 99.96 DTF score for registering property 0 100) 97.05 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 85.41 Procedures (number 1 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 0. 5 Time (days) 1 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) 0. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 870 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 6 Getting credit (rank) 1 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 13 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 100.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 825 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.67 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 12 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 9 Time (days) 93 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 77.84 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 30 Time (days) 216 Getting electricity (rank) 48 Protecting minority investors (rank) 1 Cost(%of claim ) 27.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 81.90 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 81.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 9. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 28 Time (days) 64 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 71.56 Cost(%of income per capita 78.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 8. 2 Time (years) 1. 3 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 22 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 83.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 88.04 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 152 Total tax rate(%of profit) 34.4 NICARAGUA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 1, 780 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 119 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.09 Population (m) 6. 1 Starting a business (rank) 120 Registering property (rank) 134 Trading across borders (rank) 74 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 80.27 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 57.58 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 75.84 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 58 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 73.9 Cost(%of property value) 5. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 140 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 134 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 245 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 63.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 70 Time (days) 207 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 40.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 62.42 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 16.2 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 519 Getting electricity (rank) 95 Protecting minority investors (rank) 172 Cost(%of claim) 26.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 73.84 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 33.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 110 Time days) 55 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 39.64 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 003.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 3. 3 Time (years) 2. 2 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 164 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 33.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 49.51 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 43 Time (hours per year) 207 Total tax rate(%of profit) 65.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 208 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business NIGER Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 410 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 168 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 47.63 Population (m) 17.8 Starting a business (rank) 177 Registering property (rank ) 95 Trading across borders (rank) 179 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 54.41 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 66.20 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 19.66 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 35 Time to export (days) 56 Cost(%of income per capita) 76.7 Cost(%of property value) 9. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 4, 475 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 492.0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 61 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 119 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 500 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.90 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 132 Time (days) 130 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 49.95 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 545 Getting electricity (rank) 165 Protecting minority investors (rank) 146 Cost(%of claim) 52.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 53.65 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 42.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 128 Time days) 115 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.01 Cost(%of income per capita) 6, 497.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 155 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 14.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 57.07 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 41 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 47.8 NIGERIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 2 760 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 170 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 47.33 Population (m) 173.6 Starting a business (rank) 129 Registering property (rank) 185 Trading across borders (rank) 159 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.13 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 26.56 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 50.12 Procedures (number) 8. 7 Procedures (number) 12.1 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 30.8 Time (days) 69.6 Time to export (days) 22.9 Cost(%of income per capita) 31.6 Cost(%of property value) 18.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 564 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 13 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 33.9 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 171 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 960 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 50.00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 140 Time (days) 105.9 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 5. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 47.71 Cost(%of warehouse value) 26.4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 1 Procedures (number) 40.2 Time (days) 509.8 Getting electricity (rank 187 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 57.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 31.37 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 9 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 131 Time (days) 257.2 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.76 Cost(%of income per capita) 478.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 179 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 39.15 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments number per year) 47 Time (hours per year) 907.9 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.7 NORWAY OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 102,610 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 6 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 82.40 Population (m) 5. 1 Starting a business (rank) 22 Registering property (rank ) 5 Trading across borders (rank) 24 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.03 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 94.12 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 85.56 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number 1 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 5 Time (days) 3 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 0 . 9 Cost(%of property value 2. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 265 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 5. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 27 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 140 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.05 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 8 Time (days) 122.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 78.41 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 280 Getting electricity (rank) 25 Protecting minority investors (rank) 12 Cost(%of claim) 9. 9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 87.44 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 70.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 8 Time (days) 66 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 7. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 85.62 Cost(%of income per capita) 11.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 7. 0 Time (years) 0. 9 Cost(%of estate) 1 Paying taxes (rank) 15 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 92.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 90.80 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 4 Time (hours per year) 83 Total tax rate(%of profit) 40.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 209 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business OMAN Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 25,289 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 66 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.39 Population (m) 3 . 6 Starting a business (rank) 123 Registering property (rank) 19 Trading across borders (rank) 60 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 79.29 DTF score for registering property (0 100 88.16 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.05 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 7 Time (days) 16 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 2. 4 Cost(%of property value) 3. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 765 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 206.3 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 49 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 700 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.27 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 130 Time (days ) 157 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 50.67 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults ) 20.6 Procedures (number) 51 Time (days) 598 Getting electricity (rank) 79 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 13.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.76 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 112 Time (days) 62 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 39.02 Cost(%of income per capita) 48.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 10 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 92.91 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 14 Time (hours per year) 68 Total tax rate(%of profit) 23.0 PAKISTAN South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 1, 380 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 128 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 56.64 Population (m) 182.1 Starting a business (rank) 116 Registering property (rank) 114 Trading across borders (rank) 108 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 80.92 DTF score for registering property (0 100 61.48 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 69.05 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 19 Time (days) 50 Time to export (days) 20.7 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 6 Cost(%of property value) 7. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 765 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank ) 131 Time to import (days) 18.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 125 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 005 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.07 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 3 Enforcing contracts (rank) 161 Time (days) 249.4 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 4. 5 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 41.53 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 7. 3 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 993.2 Getting electricity (rank) 146 Protecting minority investors (rank) 21 Cost(%of claim) 23.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 60.10 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 66.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank 78 Time (days) 178.3 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 46.18 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 353.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 7 Time (years) 2. 7 Cost(%of estate) 6 Paying taxes (rank) 172 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 44.46 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8 Payments (number per year) 47 Time (hours per year) 594 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 32.6 PALAU East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 10 970 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 113 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.50 Population (m) 0. 0 Starting a business (rank) 111 Registering property (rank) 21 Trading across borders (rank) 105 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 81.83 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 86.25 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 69.49 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 28 Time (days) 14 Time to export (days) 26 Cost(%of income per capita) 3. 3 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 720 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 8. 8 Documents to import (number ) 9 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 66 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 680 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.64 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 19 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 127 Time (days) 72 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 51.28 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 810 Getting electricity (rank) 98 Protecting minority investors (rank) 183 Cost(%of claim) 35.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.91 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 26.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 167 Time (days) 125 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 16.28 Cost(%of income per capita) 115.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 2. 7 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 23 Paying taxes (rank) 132 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 64.65 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 142 Total tax rate(%of profit) 75.4 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 210 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business PANAMA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 10,700 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 52 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 69.22 Population (m) 3 . 9 Starting a business (rank) 38 Registering property (rank) 61 Trading across borders (rank) 9 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.93 DTF score for registering property (0 100 74.65 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 91.25 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 22.5 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 6. 4 Cost(%of property value) 2. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 665 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 17 Time to import (days ) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 63 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 030 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.97 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 84 Time (days) 101 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 63.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.87 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 686 Getting electricity (rank) 29 Protecting minority investors (rank) 76 Cost(%of claim) 38.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 86.39 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 132 Time days) 35 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.66 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 6 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 25 Paying taxes (rank) 166 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 48.60 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 52 Time (hours per year) 417 Total tax rate(%of profit) 37.2 PAPUA NEW GUINEA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 2 010 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 133 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 55.78 Population (m) 7. 3 Starting a business (rank) 130 Registering property (rank) 85 Trading across borders (rank) 138 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.03 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 69.03 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 62.61 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 53 Time (days) 72 Time to export (days) 23 Cost(%of income per capita) 19.4 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 335 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 141 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 350 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 181 Time (days) 217 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 3. 6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 31.92 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 591 Getting electricity (rank) 26 Protecting minority investors rank) 94 Cost(%of claim) 110.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 87.27 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 51.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 141 Time (days) 66 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4 . 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 31.64 Cost(%of income per capita) 54.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 2 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 23 Paying taxes (rank) 110 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 24.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 69.50 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 32 Time hours per year) 207 Total tax rate(%of profit) 39.3 PARAGUAY Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 4, 040 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 92 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.50 Population (m) 6. 8 Starting a business (rank) 126 Registering property (rank) 60 Trading across borders (rank) 150 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.52 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 74.73 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 55.92 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 35 Time (days) 46 Time to export (days) 29 Cost (%of income per capita) 39.9 Cost(%of property value) 1. 9 Cost to export US$ per container) 1, 850 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 30 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 43 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 275 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.79 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 90 Time (days) 136 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 45.5 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.21 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 22.8 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 591 Getting electricity (rank 51 Protecting minority investors (rank) 166 Cost(%of claim) 30.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 81.13 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 38.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 106 Time (days) 67 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 40.87 Cost(%of income per capita) 160.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 3. 8 Time (years) 3. 9 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 111 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 20.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 69.45 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments number per year) 20 Time (hours per year) 378 Total tax rate(%of profit) 35.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 211 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business PERU Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 6, 390 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 35 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 72.11 Population (m) 30.4 Starting a business (rank) 89 Registering property (rank) 26 Trading across borders (rank) 55 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.10 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 83 48 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.81 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 26 Time (days) 6. 5 Time to export (days) 12 Cost (%of income per capita) 9. 2 Cost(%of property value) 3. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 890 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 12 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 87 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 80.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 010 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 72.91 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 100 Time (days) 174 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.46 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 33.5 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 426 Getting electricity (rank) 86 Protecting minority investors (rank) 40 Cost(%of claim) 35.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 75.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 61.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 76 Time days) 100 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 46.57 Cost(%of income per capita) 325.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6 . 2 Time (years) 3. 1 Cost(%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 57 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 79.43 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 9 Time (hours per year) 293 Total tax rate(%of profit) 36.0 PHILIPPINES East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3 270 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 95 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.08 Population (m) 98.4 Starting a business (rank) 161 Registering property (rank) 108 Trading across borders (rank) 65 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 67.23 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 62.81 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 77.23 Procedures (number) 16 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 34 Time (days) 35 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita ) 16.6 Cost(%of property value) 4. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 755 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 3. 6 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 124 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 915 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.08 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 24 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 124 Time (days) 94 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 11.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 52.02 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 842 Getting electricity (rank) 16 Protecting minority investors (rank) 154 Cost(%of claim) 31.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 90.59 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 41.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 50 Time (days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 56.74 Cost(%of income per capita) 90.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 2 Time (years) 2. 7 Cost(%of estate) 32 Paying taxes (rank) 127 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 21.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 66.46 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14.5 Payments (number per year) 36 Time (hours per year) 193 Total tax rate(%of profit) 42.5 POLAND OECD high income GNI per capita US$) 12,960 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 32 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 73.56 Population (m) 38.5 Starting a business (rank) 85 Registering property (rank) 39 Trading across borders (rank) 41 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.79 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 80.30 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 81.80 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 30 Time (days) 33 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 12.9 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 050 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 12.3 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 17 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 137 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 025 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.97 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 19 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 52 Time (days) 212 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 84.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.83 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 685 Getting electricity (rank) 64 Protecting minority investors rank) 35 Cost(%of claim) 19.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.19 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 62.50 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 32 Time (days) 161 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 69.73 Cost(%of income per capita) 20.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 3 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 87 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 57.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 73.51 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12.5 Payments (number per year) 18 Time (hours per year) 286 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 212 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business PORTUGAL OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 20,670 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 25 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 76.03 Population (m) 10.5 Starting a business (rank) 10 Registering property (rank) 25 Trading across borders (rank) 29 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.27 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 83 67 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 85.20 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number 1 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 2. 5 Time (days) 1 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 2. 3 Cost(%of property value) 7. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 780 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days ) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 58 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 925 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 77.31 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 27 Time (days) 113 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 23.4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 100.0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 547 Getting electricity (rank) 47 Protecting minority investors (rank) 51 Cost(%of claim) 13.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 82.00 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 59.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 10 Time (days) 64 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 84.19 Cost(%of income per capita) 52.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 9 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 64 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 72.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.84 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14.5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 275 Total tax rate(%of profit) 42.4 PUERTO RICO (U s.)Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 19,210 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 47 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 70.35 Population (m) 3. 6 Starting a business (rank) 48 Registering property (rank) 163 Trading across borders (rank) 84 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.17 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 47.90 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.53 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 6 Time (days ) 193.5 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 8 Cost(%of property value) 0. 9 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 300 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 7 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 158 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 85.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 350 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 56.28 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 20 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 92 Time (days) 165 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.03 Cost (%of warehouse value) 6. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 620 Getting electricity (rank) 32 Protecting minority investors (rank) 78 Cost(%of claim) 25.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.41 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 7 Time days) 32 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 86.37 Cost(%of income per capita) 352.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 5 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 133 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 73.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 63.83 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 15 Payments (number per year) 16 Time (hours per year) 218 Total tax rate(%of profit) 66.0 QATAR Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 85 550 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 50 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 69.96 Population (m) 2. 2 Starting a business (rank) 103 Registering property (rank) 36 Trading across borders (rank) 61 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.14 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 80.86 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 77.79 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 8. 5 Time (days) 13 Time to export (days) 15 Cost (%of income per capita) 5. 2 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 927 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 62.6 Documents to import (number ) 7 Getting credit (rank 131 Time to import (days) 16 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 23 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 050 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.61 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 104 Time (days) 57.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 56.73 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 23.3 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 570 Getting electricity (rank) 40 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 21.6 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 83.97 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 47 Time (days) 90 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 58.27 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 2. 8 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 1 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 56.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 99.44 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 4 Time (hours per year) 41 Total tax rate(%of profit) 11.3 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 213 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ROMANIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 9, 060 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 48 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 70.22 Population (m) 20.0 Starting a business (rank) 38 Registering property (rank) 63 Trading across borders (rank) 65 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.93 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 74 39 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 77.23 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 19 Time to export (days) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 2. 1 Cost(%of property value) 1. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 485 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 7 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 7 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 140 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 85.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 495 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 62.17 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 51 Time (days) 255 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 46.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.95 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 12.3 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 512 Getting electricity (rank) 171 Protecting minority investors (rank) 40 Cost(%of claim) 28.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 46.03 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 61.67 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 46 Time days) 223 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 58.70 Cost(%of income per capita) 496.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6 . 2 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 11 Paying taxes (rank) 52 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 30.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.09 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 14 Time (hours per year) 159 Total tax rate(%of profit) 43.2 RUSSIAN FEDERATION Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 13 860 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 62 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.66 Population (m) 143.5 Starting a business (rank) 34 Registering property (rank) 12 Trading across borders (rank) 155 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.17 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 91.27 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 53.58 Procedures (number) 4. 4 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 9 Time (days) 11.2 Time (days) 19 Time to export (days) 21.1 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 2 Cost(%of property value) 0. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2 401 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 19.4 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 156 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 595 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 56.70 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 19.8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 14 Time (days) 238.4 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 64.6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 75.85 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 267 Getting electricity (rank) 143 Protecting minority investors (rank) 100 Cost(%of claim) 14.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 60.89 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.83 Procedures (number) 5. 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 65 Time (days) 179.1 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 49.69 Cost(%of income per capita) 321.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5 . 1 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 49 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 43.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.63 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 168 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.9 RWANDA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 620 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 46 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 70.47 Population (m) 11.8 Starting a business (rank) 112 Registering property (rank) 15 Trading across borders (rank) 164 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 81.66 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 89.20 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 44.67 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 6. 5 Time (days) 32 Time to export (days) 26 Cost(%of income per capita) 52.3 Cost(%of property value 0. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3, 245 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 4 Time to import (days) 27 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 34 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 90.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 4, 990 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 81.55 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 11 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 62 Time (days) 77 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 15.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 63.94 Cost (%of warehouse value) 4. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 4 Procedures (number) 23 Time days) 230 Getting electricity (rank) 62 Protecting minority investors (rank) 117 Cost(%of claim) 82.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.48 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 46.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 101 Time (days) 34 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3 . 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.77 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 073.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 7 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate) 29 Paying taxes (rank) 27 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 19.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 85.79 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 17 Time (hours per year) 107 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 214 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SAMOA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3, 430 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 67 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 66.17 Population (m) 0. 2 Starting a business (rank) 33 Registering property (rank) 48 Trading across borders (rank) 80 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.28 DTF score for registering property (0 100 78.38 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.78 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 15 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 4 Cost(%of property value) 3. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 490 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 28 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 57 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 615 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 77.57 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index 0 8 ) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 83 Time (days) 61 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 59.54 Cost(%of warehouse value ) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 455 Getting electricity (rank) 20 Protecting minority investors (rank) 71 Cost(%of claim) 19.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 89.10 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 56.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 124 Time (days ) 34 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 36.31 Cost(%of income per capita) 735.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 7 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 96 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 72.10 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 37 Time (hours per year) 224 Total tax rate(%of profit) 18.4 SAN MARINO Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 57,301 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 93 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100 ) 62.44 Population (m) 0. 0 Starting a business (rank) 132 Registering property (rank) 111 Trading across borders (rank) 59 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 76.81 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 61.99 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 78.27 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 40 Time (days) 42.5 Time to export (days) 15 Cost(%of income per capita) 9. 0 Cost(%of property value) 4. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 , 900 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 29.5 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 180 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 112 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 5. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 890 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.67 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 33 Time (days) 145.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.85 Cost(%of warehouse value) 5. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 34 Time (days) 575 Getting electricity (rank) 6 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 13.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 95.84 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 111 Time (days) 45 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 39.11 Cost(%of income per capita) 59.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 2. 3 Cost(%of estate) 5 Paying taxes (rank) 34 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 46.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 83.33 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 4. 5 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 52 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 42.2 SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 470 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 153 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 50.75 Population (m) 0. 2 Starting a business (rank) 23 Registering property (rank) 148 Trading across borders (rank) 111 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 93.99 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 53.71 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.73 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 4 Time (days) 62 Time to export (days) 26 Cost(%of income per capita) 17.5 Cost(%of property value) 9. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 690 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 185 Time to import (days) 28 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 46 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 0. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 577 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.47 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 179 Time (days) 104 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 32.37 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 1 065 Getting electricity (rank) 57 Protecting minority investors (rank) 183 Cost(%of claim) 50.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 80.24 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 26.67 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 162 Time (days) 89 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 21.70 Cost(%of income per capita) 951.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 7 Time (years) 6. 2 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 162 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 5. 5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 51.65 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 45 Time (hours per year) 424 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.2 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 215 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SAUDI ARABIA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 26,200 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 49 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 69.99 Population (m) 28.8 Starting a business (rank) 109 Registering property (rank) 20 Trading across borders (rank) 92 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 82.71 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 87.77 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 73.01 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 20.5 Time (days) 8 Time to export (days ) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 4. 0 Cost(%of property value) 0. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 285 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 21 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 309 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 84.07 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 108 Time (days) 102 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 47.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 55.86 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 635 Getting electricity (rank) 22 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 27.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 88.11 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 163 Time days) 61 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 21.67 Cost(%of income per capita) 25.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 8 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 3 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 99.23 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 2 Payments (number per year) 3 Time (hours per year) 64 Total tax rate(%of profit) 14.5 SENEGAL Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 070 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 161 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.37 Population (m) 14.1 Starting a business (rank) 90 Registering property (rank) 167 Trading across borders (rank) 79 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.04 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 44.39 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 75.08 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 71 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita ) 63.8 Cost(%of property value) 15.2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 225 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 19.0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 151 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 940 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 59.85 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 142 Time (days) 200 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 46.53 Cost(%of warehouse value) 7. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 0 Procedures (number) 43 Time (days) 740 Getting electricity (rank) 183 Protecting minority investors rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 36.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 34.18 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 99 Time (days) 114 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.86 Cost(%of income per capita) 5, 862.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 183 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 25.5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 30.94 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 58 Time (hours per year) 620 Total tax rate(%of profit) 45.1 SERBIA Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 5, 730 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 91 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 62.57 Population (m) 7. 2 Starting a business (rank) 66 Registering property (rank) 72 Trading across borders (rank) 96 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.91 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71.64 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 72.13 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 54 Time to export (days) 12 Cost (%of income per capita) 6. 8 Cost(%of property value) 2. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 635 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 15 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 186 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 910 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 29.14 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 96 Time (days) 264 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.59 Cost (%of warehouse value) 25.7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 635 Getting electricity rank) 84 Protecting minority investors (rank) 32 Cost(%of claim) 34.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.20 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 63.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 48 Time (days) 131 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 7. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 57.90 Cost(%of income per capita) 454.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 3 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 165 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 29.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 48.90 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13.5 Payments (number per year) 67 Time (hours per year) 279 Total tax rate(%of profit) 38.6 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 216 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SEYCHELLES Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 12,530 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 85 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.16 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 127 Registering property (rank) 78 Trading across borders (rank) 42 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.48 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 71 00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 81.65 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 38 Time (days) 33 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 10.7 Cost(%of property value) 7. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 705 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 17 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 48 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 675 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.37 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 103 Time (days) 119 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 56.92 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 915 Getting electricity (rank) 130 Protecting minority investors (rank) 56 Cost(%of claim) 15.4 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 64.22 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 58.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 61 Time (days) 137 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 52.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 454.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 11 Paying taxes (rank) 43 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 81.50 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 28 Time (hours per year) 88 Total tax rate(%of profit) 31.7 SIERRA LEONE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 680 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 140 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.58 Population (m) 6 . 1 Starting a business (rank) 91 Registering property (rank) 158 Trading across borders (rank) 133 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.02 DTF score for registering property (0 100 50.63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 63.61 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 12 Time (days) 56 Time to export (days) 25 Cost(%of income per capita) 37.9 Cost(%of property value) 10.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 185 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 28 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 120 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 575 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 66.80 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 109 Time (days) 166 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 55.68 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 0 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 515 Getting electricity (rank) 172 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 39.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 45.51 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 143 Time days) 82 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 30.68 Cost(%of income per capita) 4, 237.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 3 Cost(%of estate) 42 Paying taxes (rank) 130 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 10.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 65.39 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 353 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 31.0 SINGAPORE East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 54 040 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 1 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 88.27 Population (m) 5. 4 Starting a business (rank) 6 Registering property (rank) 24 Trading across borders (rank) 1 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 96.48 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 84.78 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 96.47 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 2. 5 Time (days) 4. 5 Time to export (days) 6 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 6 Cost(%of property value) 2. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 460 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit rank) 17 Time to import (days) 4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 2 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 440 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 92.84 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8 ) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 1 Time (days) 26 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 50.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 89.54 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0 . 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 21 Time (days) 150 Getting electricity (rank) 11 Protecting minority investors (rank ) 3 Cost(%of claim) 25.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 92.45 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 80.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 9. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 19 Time (days) 31 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 6. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 77.94 Cost(%of income per capita) 26.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 8. 0 Time (years) 0. 8 Cost(%of estate) 3 Paying taxes (rank) 5 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 89.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 97.19 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 5 Time (hours per year) 82 Total tax rate(%of profit) 18.4 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 217 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SLOVAK REPUBLIC OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 17,390 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 37 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.83 Population (m) 5. 4 Starting a business (rank) 77 Registering property (rank) 11 Trading across borders (rank) 71 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 87.02 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 91 88 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 76.49 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 11.5 Time (days) 16.5 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 5 Cost(%of property value) 0. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 525 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 19.2 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 16 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 110 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 505 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 68.19 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 55 Time (days) 286 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 65.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 64.68 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 2. 8 Procedures (number) 33 Time (days) 545 Getting electricity (rank) 100 Protecting minority investors (rank) 100 Cost(%of claim) 30.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.71 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.83 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 31 Time days) 128 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 69.93 Cost(%of income per capita) 56.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 1 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 100 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 54.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.57 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 13 Payments (number per year) 20 Time (hours per year) 207 Total tax rate(%of profit) 48.6 SLOVENIA OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 22 750 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 51 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 69.87 Population (m) 2. 1 Starting a business (rank) 15 Registering property (rank) 90 Trading across borders (rank) 53 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.39 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 67.04 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 79.29 Procedures (number) 2 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 109.5 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Cost(%of property value) 2. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 745 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 44.1 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank 116 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 90 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 830 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 71.91 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 4 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 122 Time (days) 212.5 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 52.40 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 2 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 1 270 Getting electricity (rank) 31 Protecting minority investors (rank) 14 Cost(%of claim) 12.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.50 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 68.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 42 Time (days) 38 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 62.91 Cost(%of income per capita) 119.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 42 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 50.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 81.94 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 ) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 260 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 1, 610 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 87 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.08 Population (m) 0. 6 Starting a business (rank) 93 Registering property (rank) 156 Trading across borders (rank) 87 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 84.60 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 50.84 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.24 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Documents to export (number ) 7 Time (days) 9 Time (days) 86.5 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita 35.5 Cost(%of property value) 4. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 840 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 71 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 36 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 50.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 785 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 80.73 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 150 Time (days) 98 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 44.63 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 455 Getting electricity (rank) 45 Protecting minority investors (rank) 92 Cost(%of claim) 78.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 82.94 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 52.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank ) 139 Time (days) 53 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 31.87 Cost (%of income per capita) 1, 562.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 58 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 24.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 78.42 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 34 Time (hours per year) 80 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 218 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SOUTH AFRICA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 7, 190 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 43 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 71.08 Population (m) 53.0 Starting a business (rank) 61 Registering property (rank) 97 Trading across borders (rank) 100 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.43 DTF score for registering property (0 100 66.02 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 71.05 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 19 Time (days) 23 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita ) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) 6. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 830 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 21 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 32 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 080 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 81.65 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 46 Time (days) 48 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 55.4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 66.14 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 29 Time (days) 600 Getting electricity (rank) 158 Protecting minority investors (rank) 17 Cost(%of claim) 33.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 55.74 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 67.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 39 Time days) 226 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 64.51 Cost(%of income per capita) 729.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 18 Paying taxes (rank) 19 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 35.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 88.73 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 14.5 Payments (number per year) 7 Time (hours per year) 200 Total tax rate(%of profit) 28.8 SOUTH SUDAN Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 120 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 186 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 35.72 Population (m) 11.3 Starting a business (rank) 178 Registering property (rank) 180 Trading across borders (rank) 187 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 53.96 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 36.63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 5. 70 Procedures (number) 13 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 10 Time (days) 14 Time (days) 50 Time to export (days) 55 Cost(%of income per capita) 242.4 Cost(%of property value) 15.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5 335 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 130 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 167 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 9, 285 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 52.41 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 23 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 94 Time (days) 124 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.71 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 48 Time (days) 228 Getting electricity (rank) 179 Protecting minority investors rank) 173 Cost(%of claim) 30.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 36.68 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 32.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 468 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3 . 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 236.9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 98 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 71.59 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year 36 Time (hours per year) 218 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.1 SPAIN OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 29,180 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 33 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 73.17 Population (m) 46.6 Starting a business (rank) 74 Registering property (rank) 66 Trading across borders (rank) 30 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.08 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 73.57 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 84.68 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 12 Time to export (days ) 10 Cost(%of income per capita) 4. 6 Cost(%of property value) 6. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 310 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 13.8 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 9 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 105 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 400 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 69.18 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 69 Time (days) 229 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 15.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 62.65 Cost (%of warehouse value) 5. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 50.0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 510 Getting electricity rank) 74 Protecting minority investors (rank) 30 Cost(%of claim) 18.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.18 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 64.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 23 Time (days) 85 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 75.89 Cost(%of income per capita) 242.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 4 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 11 Paying taxes (rank) 76 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 71.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 75.25 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 167 Total tax rate(%of profit) 58.2 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 219 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SRI LANKA South Asia GNI per capita (US$) 3, 170 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 99 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.36 Population (m) 20.5 Starting a business (rank) 104 Registering property (rank) 131 Trading across borders (rank) 69 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.01 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 58.45 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 76.94 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 51 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita ) 20.7 Cost(%of property value) 5. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 560 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 60 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 690 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 76.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 165 Time (days) 169 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 44.5 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 38.96 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 1, 318 Getting electricity (rank) 100 Protecting minority investors (rank) 51 Cost(%of claim) 22.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 72.71 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 59.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 72 Time (days) 104 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 47.81 Cost(%of income per capita) 901.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 9 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 158 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 55.00 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8 Payments (number per year) 47 Time (hours per year) 167 Total tax rate(%of profit) 55.6 ST KITTS AND NEVIS Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 13,460 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 121 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 58.00 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 87 Registering property (rank ) 170 Trading across borders (rank) 67 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 85.56 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 43.74 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 77.22 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 18.5 Time (days) 82 Time to export (days) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 8 . 7 Cost(%of property value) 13.3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 805 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank ) 151 Time to import (days) 12 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 16 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 615 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.24 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 116 Time (days) 104 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 53.80 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 578 Getting electricity (rank) 10 Protecting minority investors (rank) 87 Cost(%of claim) 20.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 93.25 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 53.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 18 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 291.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 137 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 62.85 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 35 Time (hours per year) 203 Total tax rate (%of profit) 49.8 ST LUCIA Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 7 090 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 100 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.35 Population (m) 0. 2 Starting a business (rank) 72 Registering property (rank) 132 Trading across borders (rank) 122 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.24 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 58.38 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 66.44 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 15 Time (days) 17 Time to export (days) 14 Cost(%of income per capita) 17.8 Cost(%of property value) 7. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 935 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 39 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 280 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 79.64 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 145 Time (days) 115 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 45.94 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 46 Time (days) 635 Getting electricity (rank) 23 Protecting minority investors (rank) 141 Cost(%of claim) 37.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 87.95 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 43.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 100 Time (days) 19 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 2. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.82 Cost(%of income per capita) 191.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 3 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 69 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 76.71 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 32 Time (hours per year) 110 Total tax rate(%of profit) 34.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 220 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 6, 580 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 103 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 60.66 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 80 Registering property (rank) 155 Trading across borders (rank) 45 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.70 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 51.11 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 81.05 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 38 Time to export (days) 12 Cost(%of income per capita) 16.7 Cost(%of property value) 11.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 585 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 35 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 425 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 81.43 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 14 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 101 Time (days) 92 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.23 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 394 Getting electricity (rank) 8 Protecting minority investors (rank) 71 Cost(%of claim) 30.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 94.67 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 56.67 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 52 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 97.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 7 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 93 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 72.76 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 36 Time (hours per year) 108 Total tax rate (%of profit) 38.6 SUDAN Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 130 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 160 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.55 Population (m) 38.0 Starting a business (rank) 139 Registering property (rank) 46 Trading across borders (rank) 162 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.71 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 78.72 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 46.98 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 36 Time (days) 9 Time to export (days) 32 Cost(%of income per capita ) 25.1 Cost(%of property value) 2. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2 630 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days) 46 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 160 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3, 400 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 55.81 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 163 Time (days) 270 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 1. 3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 40.43 Cost(%of warehouse value) 4. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 53 Time (days) 810 Getting electricity (rank) 136 Protecting minority investors rank) 174 Cost(%of claim) 19.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.30 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 31.67 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 156 Time (days) 70 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 2 . 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 26.54 Cost(%of income per capita) 4, 386.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 2 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 139 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 31.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 62.34 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 3 Payments (number per year) 42 Time (hours per year) 180 Total tax rate(%of profit) 45.4 SURINAME Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 9, 260 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 162 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 49.29 Population (m) 0. 5 Starting a business (rank) 181 Registering property (rank) 178 Trading across borders (rank) 106 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 48.05 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 38.92 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 69.42 Procedures (number) 13 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 84 Time (days) 106 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 106.4 Cost(%of property value) 13.7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 050 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 171 Time to import (days) 19 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 79 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 10.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 190 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 74.13 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 184 Time (days) 223 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 28.84 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 1, 715 Getting electricity (rank) 69 Protecting minority investors (rank) 171 Cost(%of claim) 37.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.68 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 34.17 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 130 Time (days) 113 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 34.27 Cost(%of income per capita) 486.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 4 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 30 Paying taxes (rank) 71 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 8. 5 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 76.45 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 30 Time (hours per year) 199 Total tax rate(%of profit) 27.9 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 221 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SWAZILAND Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 3, 080 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 110 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.77 Population (m 1. 2 Starting a business (rank) 145 Registering property (rank) 129 Trading across borders (rank) 127 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 73.47 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 58.78 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 65.43 Procedures (number) 12 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 30 Time (days) 21 Time to export (days) 17 Cost(%of income per capita ) 23.3 Cost(%of property value) 7. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 980 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 4 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 23 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 55 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2 245 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 77.78 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 173 Time (days) 96 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 42.1 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 36.37 Cost (%of warehouse value) 2. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 956 Getting electricity (rank) 140 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 56.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 61.81 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 80 Time days) 137 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 45.80 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 039.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 74 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 38.7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 75.76 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 110 Total tax rate(%of profit) 35.6 SWEDEN OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 59 130 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 11 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.60 Population (m) 9. 6 Starting a business (rank) 32 Registering property (rank) 18 Trading across borders (rank) 4 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 92.30 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 88.47 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 93.06 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number 1 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 16 Time (days) 14 Time to export (days) 9 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 5 Cost(%of property value) 4. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 725 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 12.8 Documents to import (number) 3 Getting credit (rank) 61 Time to import (days) 6 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 18 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 55.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 735 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 84.73 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 21 Time (days) 116 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 72.43 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 4 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 31 Time (days) 321 Getting electricity (rank) 7 Protecting minority investors (rank) 32 Cost(%of claim) 31.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 94.92 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 63.33 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 17 Time (days) 52 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 78.43 Cost(%of income per capita) 36.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 3 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 35 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 76.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 83.30 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 6 Time (hours per year) 122 Total tax rate(%of profit) 49.4 SWITZERLAND OECD high income GNI per capita (US$ 86,600 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 20 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 77.78 Population (m) 8. 1 Starting a business (rank) 69 Registering property (rank) 16 Trading across borders (rank) 22 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.42 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 88.71 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 86.10 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 16 Time to export (days) 8 Cost (%of income per capita) 2. 0 Cost(%of property value) 0. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 660 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 25.4 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 8 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 45 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 440 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.50 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 22 Time (days) 154 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 26.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 72.20 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 32 Time (days) 390 Getting electricity (rank) 5 Protecting minority investors rank) 78 Cost(%of claim) 24.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 96.71 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.00 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 41 Time (days) 39 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 63.10 Cost(%of income per capita) 59.2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 5 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 18 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 47.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 89.05 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 12 Payments (number per year) 19 Time hours per year) 63 Total tax rate(%of profit) 29.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 222 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 2, 803 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 175 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 46.51 Population (m) 22.8 Starting a business (rank) 152 Registering property (rank) 140 Trading across borders (rank) 146 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 69.23 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 55.46 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 58.57 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 13 Time (days) 19 Time to export (days) 18 Cost(%of income per capita ) 14.4 Cost(%of property value) 27.8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 995 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 272.1 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 165 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 189 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 15.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 410 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 0. 00 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Depth of credit information index (0 8) 2 Enforcing contracts (rank) 175 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100 ) 35.17 Cost(%of warehouse value) NO PRACTICE Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 7. 7 Procedures (number) 55 Time (days) 872 Getting electricity (rank) 76 Protecting minority investors (rank) 78 Cost(%of claim) 29.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 77.91 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank 146 Time (days) 71 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 30.15 Cost(%of income per capita) 801.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 5 Time (years) 4. 1 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 117 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.54 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 19 Time (hours per year) 336 Total tax rate (%of profit) 42.5 TAIWAN, CHINA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 21 620 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 19 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 78.73 Population (m) 22.8 Starting a business (rank) 15 Registering property (rank) 40 Trading across borders (rank) 32 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 94.39 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 80.19 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 84.38 Procedures (number) 3 Procedures (number) 3 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 4 Time to export (days) 10 Cost(%of income per capita ) 2. 2 Cost(%of property value) 6. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 655 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 10 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 11 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 720 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 86.20 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 93 Time (days) 93 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 87.9 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.75 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 45 Time (days) 510 Getting electricity (rank) 2 Protecting minority investors (rank) 30 Cost(%of claim ) 17.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 98.94 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 64.17 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 18 Time (days) 24 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 78.41 Cost(%of income per capita) 45.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 4 Time (years) 1. 9 Cost(%of estate) 4 Paying taxes (rank) 37 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 81.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 82.90 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 221 Total tax rate(%of profit) 34.2 TAJIKISTAN Europe & Central asia GNI per capita US$) 990 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 166 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 48.57 Population (m) 8 . 2 Starting a business (rank) 106 Registering property (rank) 70 Trading across borders (rank) 188 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.00 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 72.06 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 3. 85 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 39 Time (days) 37 Time to export (days ) 71 Cost(%of income per capita) 23.3 Cost(%of property value) 3. 7 Cost to export (US$ per container) 9 050 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 12 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 70 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 168 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 10,650 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 52.13 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 24 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 40 Time (days ) 228 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 7. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 67.42 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults ) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 430 Getting electricity (rank) 178 Protecting minority investors rank) 56 Cost(%of claim) 25.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 38.59 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 58.33 Procedures (number) 9 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 6. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 149 Time (days) 185 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 29.26 Cost(%of income per capita) 942.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 1. 7 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 169 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 36.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 46.06 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 3 Payments (number per year) 31 Time hours per year) 209 Total tax rate(%of profit) 80.9 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 223 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business TANZANIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 630 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 131 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 56.38 Population (m) 49.3 Starting a business (rank) 124 Registering property (rank) 123 Trading across borders (rank ) 137 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 78.85 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 60.10 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 62.96 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 26 Time (days) 67 Time to export (days) 18 Cost(%of income per capita) 23.8 Cost(%of property value ) 4. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 090 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 11 Getting credit (rank) 151 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 169 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 25.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 615 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 52.03 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 45 Time (days) 205 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 6 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 66.17 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 515 Getting electricity (rank) 87 Protecting minority investors (rank) 141 Cost(%of claim) 14.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 75.28 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 43.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 105 Time days) 109 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.12 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 453.0 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 148 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 21.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 58.95 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 49 Time (hours per year) 181 Total tax rate (%of profit) 44.3 THAILAND East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 5 370 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 26 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 75.27 Population (m) 67.0 Starting a business (rank) 75 Registering property (rank) 28 Trading across borders (rank) 36 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 87.98 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 83.04 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 83.57 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 27.5 Time (days) 2 Time to export (days) 14 Cost(%of income per capita ) 6. 6 Cost(%of property value) 6. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 595 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank 89 Time to import (days) 13 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 6 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 760 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 88.77 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 7 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 25 Time (days) 113 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 52.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 70.05 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 440 Getting electricity (rank) 12 Protecting minority investors (rank) 25 Cost(%of claim ) 15.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 91.71 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 65.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 45 Time (days) 35 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 58.73 Cost(%of income per capita) 66.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 6 Time (years) 2. 7 Cost(%of estate) 36 Paying taxes (rank) 62 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 77.99 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11.5 Payments (number per year) 22 Time (hours per year) 264 Total tax rate(%of profit) 26.9 TIMOR-LESTE East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3, 580 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 172 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 46.89 Population (m 1. 2 Starting a business (rank) 96 Registering property (rank) 189 Trading across borders (rank) 94 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.73 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 0. 00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 72.49 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) NO PRACTICE Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 10 Time (days) NO PRACTICE Time to export (days ) 28 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) NO PRACTICE Cost to export (US$ per container) 410 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 127.5 Documents to import (number ) 7 Getting credit (rank) 160 Time to import (days) 26 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 115 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 20.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 415 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.52 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 16 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 4 Enforcing contracts (rank) 189 Time (days) 207 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 3. 59 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 3 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 5. 7 Procedures (number) 51 Time (days) 1 285 Getting electricity (rank) 15 Protecting minority investors (rank) 100 Cost(%of claim) 163.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 90.79 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.83 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time (days) 63 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0 . 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 654.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 1 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 55 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 79.97 Strength of insolvency framework index 0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 18 Time (hours per year) 276 Total tax rate(%of profit) 11.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 224 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business TOGO Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 530 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 149 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 51.29 Population (m) 6. 8 Starting a business (rank) 134 Registering property (rank) 182 Trading across borders (rank) 112 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 76.06 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 34.88 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 68.58 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 10 Time (days) 295 Time to export (days) 24 Cost(%of income per capita ) 94.9 Cost(%of property value) 9. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 015 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 37.5 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 29 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 170 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 190 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 50.57 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 134 Time (days) 165 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 49.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 16.0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 3. 0 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 588 Getting electricity (rank) 134 Protecting minority investors (rank) 122 Cost(%of claim) 47.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.42 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 45.83 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 93 Time days) 74 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.12 Cost(%of income per capita) 5, 567.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 6 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 163 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 50.81 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 50 Time (hours per year) 270 Total tax rate(%of profit) 50.3 TONGA East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 4 490 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 69 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 65.72 Population (m) 0. 1 Starting a business (rank) 51 Registering property (rank) 174 Trading across borders (rank) 78 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 90.74 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 40.63 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 75.49 Procedures (number) 4 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 16 Time (days) 112 Time to export (days) 22 Cost(%of income per capita) 7. 6 Cost(%of property value) 15.1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 515 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 25 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 14 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 500 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.40 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 3 Enforcing contracts (rank ) 48 Time (days) 62 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 12.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 65.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 1. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 37 Time (days) 350 Getting electricity (rank) 35 Protecting minority investors (rank) 161 Cost(%of claim ) 30.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.03 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 40.00 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 133 Time (days) 42 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 33.34 Cost(%of income per capita) 93.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 0 Time (years) 2. 7 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 73 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 75.93 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 29 Time (hours per year) 200 Total tax rate(%of profit) 30.1 TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 15,760 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 79 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.24 Population (m 1. 3 Starting a business (rank) 71 Registering property (rank) 159 Trading across borders (rank) 76 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.33 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 50.00 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 75.55 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 11.5 Time (days) 77 Time to export (days) 11 Cost (%of income per capita) 0. 7 Cost(%of property value) 7. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 843 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number 10 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 113 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 260 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 67.66 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 13 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 180 Time (days) 250 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 67.4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 32.27 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 1 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 42 Time (days) 1 340 Getting electricity (rank) 21 Protecting minority investors (rank) 62 Cost(%of claim) 33.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 88.18 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 57.50 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 66 Time (days) 61 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 48.97 Cost(%of income per capita) 6. 7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 8 Time (years) 2. 5 Cost(%of estate ) 25 Paying taxes (rank) 113 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.1 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.98 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments (number per year) 39 Time (hours per year) 210 Total tax rate(%of profit) 32.0 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 225 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business TUNISIA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 4, 360 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 60 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 67.35 Population (m) 10.9 Starting a business (rank) 100 Registering property (rank) 71 Trading across borders (rank) 50 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 83.60 DTF score for registering property (0 100 72.03 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 80.36 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 11 Time (days) 39 Time to export (days) 16 Cost(%of income per capita ) 4. 2 Cost(%of property value) 6. 1 Cost to export (US$ per container) 805 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 20 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 85 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 910 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100 ) 73.19 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 17 Depth of credit information index 0 8) 5 Enforcing contracts (rank) 78 Time (days) 93 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 60.96 Cost(%of warehouse value) 2. 6 Credit registry coverage (%of adults) 30.2 Procedures (number) 39 Time (days) 565 Getting electricity (rank) 38 Protecting minority investors (rank) 78 Cost(%of claim) 21.8 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 84.59 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 55.00 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 54 Time (days) 65 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 54.71 Cost(%of income per capita) 738.7 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 5 Time (years) 1. 3 Cost(%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 82 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 52.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 74.11 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 8 Time (hours per year) 144 Total tax rate(%of profit) 62.4 TURKEY Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 10,950 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 55 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 68.66 Population (m) 74.9 Starting a business (rank) 79 Registering property (rank) 54 Trading across borders (rank) 90 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 86.86 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 76.38 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 73.26 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 6. 5 Time (days) 6 Time to export (days) 13 Cost(%of income per capita) 16.4 Cost(%of property value) 4. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 990 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 12.1 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 136 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 235 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 63.10 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 3 Procedures (number) 18 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 38 Time (days) 169 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 67.92 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 5 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 63.6 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 420 Getting electricity (rank) 34 Protecting minority investors (rank) 13 Cost(%of claim) 24.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 85.12 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 69.17 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 109 Time days) 70 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 40.00 Cost(%of income per capita) 433.3 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 9 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 56 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 27.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 79.80 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8 Payments (number per year) 11 Time (hours per year) 226 Total tax rate(%of profit) 40.1 UGANDA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 510 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 150 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 51.11 Population (m) 37.6 Starting a business rank) 166 Registering property (rank) 125 Trading across borders (rank) 161 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 63.44 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 59.76 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 48.01 Procedures (number) 15 Procedures (number) 11 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 32 Time (days) 43 Time to export (days) 28 Cost(%of income per capita) 64.4 Cost(%of property value) 2. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 2, 800 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 10 Getting credit (rank) 131 Time to import (days) 31 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 163 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 30.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3, 375 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 54.88 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 6 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 80 Time (days) 154 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 4. 9 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 60.48 Cost (%of warehouse value) 11.7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 490 Getting electricity (rank) 184 Protecting minority investors (rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 31.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 33.48 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 47.50 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank 98 Time (days) 132 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 42.27 Cost(%of income per capita) 11,004. 9 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 2. 2 Cost(%of estate) 30 Paying taxes (rank) 104 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 37.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 71.32 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 31 Time (hours per year) 209 Total tax rate(%of profit) 36.5 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 226 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business UKRAINE Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 3, 960 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 96 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 61.52 Population (m) 45.5 Starting a business (rank) 76 Registering property (rank) 59 Trading across borders (rank) 154 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 87.35 DTF score for registering property (0 100 74.82 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 53.96 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 7 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 21 Time (days) 27 Time to export (days) 29 Cost(%of income per capita ) 1. 2 Cost(%of property value) 2. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 880 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 17 Time to import (days) 28 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 70 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 2, 455 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.29 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 8 Procedures (number) 8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 43 Time (days) 64 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 48.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 66.25 Cost (%of warehouse value) 10.2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 30 Time (days) 378 Getting electricity (rank) 185 Protecting minority investors (rank) 109 Cost(%of claim) 46.3 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 32.65 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100 ) 48.33 Procedures (number) 10 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 142 Time days) 277 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5. 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 31.17 Cost(%of income per capita) 165.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4 . 8 Time (years) 2. 9 Cost(%of estate) 42 Paying taxes (rank) 108 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 8. 6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 70.33 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 8. 5 Payments (number per year) 5 Time (hours per year) 350 Total tax rate(%of profit) 52.9 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 38 620 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 22 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 76.81 Population (m) 9. 3 Starting a business (rank) 58 Registering property (rank) 4 Trading across borders (rank) 8 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.97 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 96.66 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 91.46 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 2 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 8 Time (days) 2 Time to export (days) 7 Cost(%of income per capita) 6. 3 Cost(%of property value) 0. 2 Cost to export (US$ per container) 665 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 5 Getting credit (rank) 89 Time to import (days) 7 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 4 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 45.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 625 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 91.22 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 2 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 121 Time (days) 44 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 28.3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 52.52 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 6. 8 Procedures (number) 49 Time (days) 524 Getting electricity (rank) 4 Protecting minority investors (rank) 43 Cost (%of claim) 19.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 97.44 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 60.83 Procedures (number) 3 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 7. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 92 Time (days) 35 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4 . 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.51 Cost(%of income per capita) 24. 2 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 6. 1 Time (years) 3. 2 Cost(%of estate) 20 Paying taxes (rank) 1 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 28.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 99.44 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9 Payments (number per year) 4 Time (hours per year) 12 Total tax rate(%of profit) 14.8 UNITED KINGDOM OECD high income GNI per capita US$) 39,110 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 8 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 80.96 Population (m) 64.1 Starting a business (rank) 45 Registering property (rank) 68 Trading across borders (rank) 15 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.23 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 72.55 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 88.32 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 4 Time (days) 6 Time (days) 21.5 Time to export (days) 8 Cost(%of income per capita) 0. 3 Cost(%of property value) 4. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 005 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 4 Getting credit (rank) 17 Time to import (days) 6 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 17 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 75.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 050 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 85.06 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 9 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 36 Time (days) 105 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 68.08 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 29 Time (days) 437 Getting electricity (rank) 70 Protecting minority investors rank) 4 Cost(%of claim) 39.9 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 78.42 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 78.33 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 13 Time (days) 126 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 7. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 82.04 Cost(%of income per capita) 90.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 7. 8 Time (years) 1. 0 Cost(%of estate) 6 Paying taxes (rank) 16 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 88.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100 ) 90.52 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 11 Payments (number per year) 8 Time hours per year) 110 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.7 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 227 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business UNITED STATES OECD high income GNI per capita (US$) 53,670 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 7 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 81.98 Population (m) 316.1 Starting a business (rank) 46 Registering property (rank) 29 Trading across borders (rank) 16 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 91.22 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 82 92 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 88.25 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 4. 4 Documents to export (number) 3 Time (days) 5. 6 Time (days) 15.2 Time to export (days) 6 Cost(%of income per capita) 1. 2 Cost(%of property value) 2. 4 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 224 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 5 Getting credit (rank) 2 Time to import (days) 5. 4 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 41 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 95.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 289 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 78.87 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 11 Procedures (number) 15.8 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 41 Time (days) 78.6 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 67.26 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 0 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 33.6 Time (days) 420 Getting electricity (rank) 61 Protecting minority investors (rank) 25 Cost(%of claim) 30.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 79.52 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 65.83 Procedures (number) 4. 8 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 8. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 4 Time (days) 89.6 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 90.12 Cost(%of income per capita) 25.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 6. 6 Time (years) 1. 5 Cost(%of estate) 8 Paying taxes (rank) 47 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 80.4 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.84 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 15 Payments (number per year) 10.6 Time (hours per year) 175 Total tax rate(%of profit) 43.8 URUGUAY Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 15 180 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 82 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 63.89 Population (m) 3. 4 Starting a business (rank) 60 Registering property (rank) 146 Trading across borders (rank) 83 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.68 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 54.57 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 74.60 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 6. 5 Time (days) 66 Time to export (days) 15 Cost (%of income per capita) 23.4 Cost(%of property value) 7. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 125 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 52 Time to import (days) 14 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 162 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 60.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 440 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 55.69 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 4 Procedures (number) 21 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 8 Enforcing contracts (rank) 106 Time (days) 251 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 100.0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 56.59 Cost (%of warehouse value) 0. 8 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 84.6 Procedures (number) 40 Time (days) 725 Getting electricity (rank) 39 Protecting minority investors rank) 110 Cost(%of claim) 19.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 84.48 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 47.50 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 0 Resolving insolvency (rank) 57 Time (days) 48 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 53.47 Cost(%of income per capita) 14.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 8 Time (years) 1. 8 Cost(%of estate) 7 Paying taxes (rank) 140 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 44.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 62.32 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 9. 5 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 312 Total tax rate(%of profit) 41.8 UZBEKISTAN Europe & Central asia GNI per capita (US$) 1, 900 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 141 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.26 Population (m) 30.2 Starting a business (rank) 65 Registering property (rank) 143 Trading across borders (rank) 189 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 89.00 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 55.21 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 2. 56 Procedures (number) 7 Procedures (number) 13 Documents to export (number) 11 Time (days) 7. 5 Time (days) 55 Time to export (days) 54 Cost (%of income per capita) 3. 3 Cost(%of property value) 1. 3 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5, 090 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 13 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 104 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 149 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 6, 452 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 60.28 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 23 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 28 Time (days) 160 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 17.8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 69.47 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 41 Time (days) 195 Getting electricity (rank) 145 Protecting minority investors (rank) 100 Cost(%of claim) 20.5 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 60.54 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 50.83 Procedures (number) 7 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 77 Time (days) 89 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 4. 8 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 46.45 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 688.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 1 Time (years) 2. 0 Cost(%of estate) 10 Paying taxes (rank) 118 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.9 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 68.30 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16 8 Payments (number per year) 33 Time (hours per year) 192.5 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 42.2 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 228 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business VANUATU East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 3, 130 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 76 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.60 Population (m) 0. 3 Starting a business (rank) 137 Registering property (rank) 91 Trading across borders (rank) 113 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 75.26 DTF score for registering property (0 100 66.95 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 68.50 Procedures (number) 8 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 35 Time (days) 58 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 46.2 Cost(%of property value) 7. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 490 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 7 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 24 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 80 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 440 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 73.92 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 10 Procedures (number) 12 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 3 Enforcing contracts (rank) 77 Time (days) 55 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 6. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 61.20 Cost(%of warehouse value) 8. 4 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 30 Time (days) 430 Getting electricity (rank) 115 Protecting minority investors (rank) 135 Cost(%of claim) 56.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 68.76 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 44.17 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 103 Time days) 122 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.48 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 229.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 4 Time (years) 2. 6 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 48 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.2 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.79 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 6 Payments (number per year) 31 Time (hours per year) 120 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 8. 5 VENEZUELA, RB Latin america & Caribbean GNI per capita (US$) 12 550 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 182 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 41.41 Population (m) 30.4 Starting a business (rank) 182 Registering property (rank) 102 Trading across borders (rank) 176 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 45.23 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 64.12 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 25.55 Procedures (number) 17 Procedures (number) 9 Documents to export (number) 8 Time (days) 144 Time (days) 52 Time to export (days) 56 Cost(%of income per capita ) 49.9 Cost(%of property value) 2. 5 Cost to export (US$ per container) 3 490 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 82 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 152 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 3, 695 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 59.34 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 1 Procedures (number) 9 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 79 Time (days) 380 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 28.7 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 60.89 Cost (%of warehouse value) 1. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 30 Time (days) 610 Getting electricity (rank) 155 Protecting minority investors rank) 178 Cost(%of claim) 43.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 57.21 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 29.17 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 2. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 165 Time (days) 178 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 19.20 Cost(%of income per capita) 714.1 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 2. 9 Time (years) 4. 0 Cost(%of estate) 38 Paying taxes (rank) 188 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 6. 7 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 13.37 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 71 Time hours per year) 792 Total tax rate(%of profit) 65.5 VIETNAM East asia & Pacific GNI per capita (US$) 1, 730 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 78 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 64.42 Population (m) 89.7 Starting a business (rank) 125 Registering property (rank) 33 Trading across borders (rank) 75 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 77.68 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 81.44 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 75.56 Procedures (number) 10 Procedures (number) 4 Documents to export (number) 5 Time (days) 34 Time (days) 57 Time to export (days) 21 Cost(%of income per capita) 5. 3 Cost(%of property value) 0. 6 Cost to export US$ per container) 610 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number ) 8 Getting credit (rank) 36 Time to import (days) 21 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 22 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 65.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 600 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 83.66 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 6 Enforcing contracts (rank) 47 Time (days) 114 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 1. 4 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 65.89 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 41.8 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 400 Getting electricity (rank) 135 Protecting minority investors (rank) 117 Cost (%of claim) 29.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 63.38 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 46.67 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 3. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 104 Time (days) 115 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 5 . 7 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 41.27 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 432.8 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 4. 7 Time (years) 5. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 173 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 18.6 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 43.61 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 10 Payments (number per year) 32 Time (hours per year) 872 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 40.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. COUNTRY TABLES 229 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business WEST BANK AND GAZA Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 665 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 143 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 53.62 Population (m) 4. 2 Starting a business (rank) 162 Registering property (rank) 99 Trading across borders (rank) 130 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 66.53 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 65.08 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 64.43 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 8 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 44 Time (days) 56 Time to export (days) 23 Cost(%of income per capita) 86.2 Cost(%of property value) 3. 0 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1, 750 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 6 Getting credit (rank) 116 Time to import (days) 38 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 173 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 35.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1 425 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 48.62 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 15 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 105 Time (days) 82 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 56.65 Cost(%of warehouse value) 19.6 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 9. 0 Procedures (number) 44 Time (days) 540 Getting electricity (rank) 83 Protecting minority investors (rank) 141 Cost(%of claim) 21.2 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 76.26 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 43.33 Procedures (number) 5 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 189 Time days) 63 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 3. 3 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 0. 00 Cost(%of income per capita) 1, 484.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 4. 3 Time (years) NO PRACTICE Cost(%of estate) NO PRACTICE Paying taxes (rank) 51 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 0. 0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 80.29 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 0 Payments (number per year) 28 Time (hours per year) 162 Total tax rate (%of profit) 15.3 YEMEN, REP. Middle east & North africa GNI per capita (US$) 1 330 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 137 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 54.84 Population (m) 24.4 Starting a business (rank) 140 Registering property (rank) 44 Trading across borders (rank) 134 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 74.43 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 79.17 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100 ) 63.54 Procedures (number) 6 Procedures (number) 6 Documents to export (number) 6 Time (days) 40 Time (days) 19 Time to export (days) 29 Cost(%of income per capita ) 66.3 Cost(%of property value) 1. 8 Cost to export (US$ per container) 1 065 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 9 Getting credit (rank) 185 Time to import (days) 27 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 68 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 0. 00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 1, 560 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 75.40 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 0 Procedures (number) 11 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 0 Enforcing contracts (rank) 85 Time (days) 184 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 58.82 Cost(%of warehouse value) 0. 9 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 1. 2 Procedures (number) 36 Time (days) 645 Getting electricity (rank) 122 Protecting minority investors rank) 162 Cost(%of claim) 30.0 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 66.74 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 39.17 Procedures (number) 4 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 3 Resolving insolvency (rank) 154 Time (days) 110 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 3. 5 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 27.46 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 492.6 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 3. 9 Time (years) 3. 0 Cost(%of estate) 15 Paying taxes (rank) 135 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 22.0 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 63.62 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 5 Payments (number per year) 44 Time (hours per year) 248 Total tax rate(%of profit) 33.3 ZAMBIA Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 1, 480 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 111 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 59.65 Population (m) 14.5 Starting a business (rank) 68 Registering property (rank) 152 Trading across borders (rank) 177 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 88.63 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 51.75 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 20.92 Procedures (number) 5 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 6. 5 Time (days) 45 Time to export (days) 51 Cost (%of income per capita) 31.9 Cost(%of property value) 13.6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 5, 165 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 23 Time to import (days) 53 Dealing with construction permits (rank) 99 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 70.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 7, 060 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 70.45 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 7 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 7 Enforcing contracts (rank) 98 Time (days) 208 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 7. 3 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 57.53 Cost(%of warehouse value) 3. 2 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 35 Time (days) 611 Getting electricity rank) 126 Protecting minority investors (rank) 83 Cost(%of claim) 38.7 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 65.54 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 54.17 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 5. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 95 Time (days) 117 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10 ) 5. 2 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 43.01 Cost(%of income per capita) 837.5 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10 ) 5. 4 Time (years) 2. 4 Cost(%of estate) 9 Paying taxes (rank) 78 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 39.3 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 74.52 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments number per year) 37 Time (hours per year) 177 Total tax rate(%of profit) 14.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. 230 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Reform making it easier to do business Change making it more difficult to do business ZIMBABWE Sub-saharan africa GNI per capita (US$) 820 Ease of doing business rank (1 189) 171 Overall distance to frontier (DTF) score (0 100) 46.95 Population (m) 14.1 Starting a business (rank) 180 Registering property (rank ) 94 Trading across borders (rank) 180 DTF score for starting a business (0 100) 51.42 DTF score for registering property (0 100) 66.32 DTF score for trading across borders (0 100) 19.40 Procedures (number) 9 Procedures (number) 5 Documents to export (number) 7 Time (days) 90 Time (days) 36 Time to export (days) 53 Cost(%of income per capita) 114.6 Cost(%of property value) 7. 6 Cost to export (US$ per container) 4, 265 Minimum capital(%of income per capita) 0. 0 Documents to import (number) 8 Getting credit (rank) 104 Time to import (days) 71 Dealing with construction permits (rank ) 176 DTF score for getting credit (0 100) 40.00 Cost to import (US$ per container) 6, 160 DTF score for dealing with construction permits (0 100) 47.16 Strength of legal rights index (0 12) 5 Procedures (number) 10 Depth of credit information index (0 8) 3 Enforcing contracts (rank) 157 Time (days) 448 Credit bureau coverage(%of adults) 5. 8 DTF score for enforcing contracts (0 100) 43.25 Cost(%of warehouse value) 7. 7 Credit registry coverage(%of adults) 0. 0 Procedures (number) 38 Time (days) 410 Getting electricity (rank) 153 Protecting minority investors (rank) 87 Cost(%of claim) 83.1 DTF score for getting electricity (0 100) 58.00 DTF score for protecting minority investors (0 100) 53.33 Procedures (number) 6 Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0 10) 4. 7 Resolving insolvency (rank) 148 Time days) 106 Extent of shareholder governance index (0 10) 6. 0 DTF score for resolving insolvency (0 100) 29.28 Cost(%of income per capita) 3, 057.4 Strength of minority investor protection index (0 10) 5. 3 Time (years) 3. 3 Cost(%of estate) 22 Paying taxes (rank) 143 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 13.8 DTF score for paying taxes (0 100) 61.39 Strength of insolvency framework index (0 16) 7 Payments (number per year) 49 Time (hours per year) 242 Total tax rate(%of profit ) 32.8 Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. Note: For resolving insolvency, an economy for which no practice is recorded for time and cost receives a score of 0 on the strength of insolvency framework index even if its legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization). Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of an economy, except for 11 economies for which the data are weighted a population average for the 2 largest business cities. See the data notes for more details. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Labor market regulation data Employment regulations are unquestionably necessary. They are needed to protect workers from arbitrary or unfair treatment and to ensure efficient contracting between employers and workers. They increase job stability and can improve productivity through employer-worker cooperation. They benefit both workers and firms. 1 Labor market regulations encompass a wide spectrum, from rules governing individual employee contracts to those relating to collective action, and can have a significant impact on economic growth and competitiveness. 2 That impact can be negative where regulatory interventions are insufficient or excessive, so finding the right balance is essential. The World bank's World Development Report 2013 uses the term plateau to describe that balance, which can differ among economies depending on the economic or political context. Consistent with the plateau effect, regulations that are too loose or too strict can be counterproductive, leading to losses of employment in an economy or to its missing out on job-supporting agglomeration effects and knowledge spillovers. 3 Doing Business measures flexibility in the regulation of employment as it affects the hiring and redundancy of workers and the rigidity of working hours. This year it also covers additional areas of labor market regulation, including social protection schemes and benefits as well as labor disputes. NOTES 1. Pierre and Scarpetta 2007.2. Nataraj and others 2012.3. World bank 2012.232 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Difficulty of hiring Fixed -term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit No limit 12 No limit 60 No limit No limit No limit 60 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 0. 00 209.86 229.42 151.07 570.10 1, 462.19 113.29 2, 397.02 1, 555.92 133.35 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 00 0. 37 0. 35 0. 18 0. 36 1. 00 0. 25 0. 29 0. 26 0. 16 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 7. 0 5. 5 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 25 50 0 25 0 13 30 87.5 17 40 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 50 25 0 100 0 100 100 100 100 150 Major restrictions on night work? Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No Yes No No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 20.0 20.0 22.0 22.0 12.0 18.0 20.0 20.0 25.0 17.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 6. 0 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 6. 0 1. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Yes No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No Yes No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No No Yes No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Priority rules for redundancies? No No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 10.1 4. 3 4. 3 3. 4 7. 2 6 . 0 3. 0 2. 0 8. 7 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 17.3 10.7 13.0 26.7 12.8 23.1 5 . 0 8. 7 0. 0 13.0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme?..Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 233 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Bahamas, The Bahrain Bangladesh (Dhaka) Bangladesh (Chittagong) Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No No No No No No No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit 60 No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit 48 No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 693.33 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 537.50 166.28 2, 368.12 384.79 63.30 66.98 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 25 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 29 0. 21 0. 41 0. 62 0. 52 0. 22 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 50 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 50 0 0 0 100 0 50 0 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No No No Yes No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No No Yes No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 11.7 30.0 17.0 17.0 20.3 18.0 20.0 10.0 24.0 15.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 n. a. 3. 0 0. 0 2. 0 2. 0 6 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No No No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No Yes No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? No No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No Priority rules for reemployment? No No Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 2. 0 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 2. 7 8. 7 19.7 4. 7 4. 3 8. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 10.7 0. 0 26.7 26.7 13.3 13.0 0. 0 8. 3 7. 3 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No 234 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Boliviah Bosnia and herzegovina Botswana Brazil (São paulo) Brazil (Rio de janeiro) Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina faso Burundi Cabo Verde Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 24 24 No limit 24 24 No limit 36 No limit No limit 60 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 164.71 383.26 96.99 437.80 484.24 0. 00 233.18 63.42 2. 50 131.08 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 47 0 . 67 0. 09 0. 31 0. 34 0. 00 0. 27 0. 59 0. 06 0. 28 Rigidity of hours 50 -hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 25 30 0 20 20 0 3 0 35 25 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 20 100 100 100 50 0 0 0 100 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No No No Yes No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 21.7 18.0 15.0 26.0 26.0 13.3 20.0 22.0 21.0 22.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 n. a. 6. 0 2. 0 6. 0 2 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? n. a. No Yes No No No No No No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? n. a. No No No No No No No No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? n. a. Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? n. a. No No No No No No No No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f n. a. Yes No No No No No No No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? n. a. No Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Priority rules for reemployment? n. a. Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d n. a. 2. 0 4. 9 6. 6 6. 6 3. 0 4. 3 4. 3 8. 7 6. 4 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d n. a. 7. 2 16.8 8. 9 8. 9 0. 0 4. 3 6. 1 7. 2 23.1 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 235 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central african republic Chad Chile China (Shanghai) China (Beijing) Colombia Comoros Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No No Yes No No No No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 24 48 No limit 24 48 12 No limit No limit No limit 36 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 0. 00 56.06 1, 889.04 36.63 123.42 427.79 286.29 245.39 331.09 0. 00 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 00 0. 29 0. 30 0. 77 0. 71 0. 23 0. 38 0. 33 0. 35 0. 00 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 30 0 0 0 0 0 39 39 35 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 0 0 50 100 0 100 100 75 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No No No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No Yes No No No No No Yes Paid annual leave (working days) d 19.3 25.0 10.0 25.3 24.7 15.0 6. 7 6. 7 15.0 22.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 1. 0 1. 0 3. 0 2. 0 3. 0 n. a. 6. 0 6. 0 2 . 0 6. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes No No No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No No Yes Yes No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 7. 9 11.6 5. 0 4. 3 7. 2 4. 3 4 . 3 4. 3 0. 0 13.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 11.4 8. 3 5. 0 17.3 5. 8 23.1 23.1 23.1 16.7 23.1 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No Yes No..Yes Yes Yes Yes No Health insurance for permanent employees? No Yes No Yes..Yes Yes Yes Yes No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No Yes No Yes..Yes Yes Yes Yes No 236 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Costa rica Côte d'ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 48 24 12 24 No limit 30 108 No limit 24 No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 65.00 208.86 580.51 114.00 534.87 1, 250.12 544.80 0. 00 0. 00 348.27 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 1. 02 0. 51 0. 51 0. 55 0. 32 0. 42 0. 25 0. 00 0. 00 0. 40 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 25 0 0 38 10 0 10 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 0 100 0 35 0 10 0 0 100 Major restrictions on night work? No No Yes No Yes No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No Yes No No Yes No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 13.0 29.7 12.0 27.4 20.0 20.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 13.3 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 1. 0 4. 0 3. 0 2. 0 6. 0 24.0 3. 0 3. 0 2. 0 6. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes No No No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No No No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No Yes Yes No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 10.3 8. 7 4. 3 5. 8 7. 9 5. 7 8 . 7 0. 0 4. 3 5. 8 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 6. 9 14.4 7. 3 7. 2 0. 0 11.6 0. 0 0. 0 9. 3 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 237 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Dominican republic Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. El salvador Equatorial guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit 24 No limit No limit 24 No limit 120 No limit No limit 60 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 295.71 388.02 0. 00 243.49 767.17 0. 00 457.92 0. 00 339.77 2, 287.55 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 40 0. 54 0. 00 0. 49 0. 38 0. 00 0. 21 0. 00 0. 60 0. 38 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 5. 5 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 25 0 25 25 0 25 0 4 23 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 100 0 100 50 0 0 0 100 100 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? Yes No No Yes Yes No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 14.0 12.0 24.0 11.0 22.0 19.0 24.0 18.3 10.0 30.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 1. 0 3. 0 3. 0 4. 0 1. 5 3. 0 6 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No Yes No Yes No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No No No Yes No No No No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 0 0. 0 10.1 0. 0 4. 3 3. 1 8 . 6 8. 7 4. 3 10.1 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 22.2 31.8 26.7 22.9 34.3 12.3 4. 3 10.5 5. 3 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No Yes No..Yes Yes No No Yes Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 238 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA France Gabon Gambia, The Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No No No No Yes Yes Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 18 48 No limit 30 24 No limit No limit No limit No limit 24 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 1, 922.57 312.55 0. 00 24.25 0 0. 00 64.97 814.75 254.15 369.02 0. 00 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 35 0. 20 0. 00 0. 06 0. 00 0. 26 0. 29 0. 27 0. 73 0. 00 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 7. 0 6. 0 5. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 20 0 0 0 0 0 25 0 0 20 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 20 0 0 0 0 0 75 0 50 0 Major restrictions on night work? Yes No No No No No No No Yes No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes Yes Paid annual leave (working days) d 30.0 24.0 21.0 24.0 24.0 15.0 22.3 13.3 15.0 30.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 4. 0 6. 0 12.0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 12.0 1. 0 2. 0 1. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes No No No Yes No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Retraining or reassignment? f Yes No No No Yes No No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 7. 2 14.4 26.0 4. 3 10.0 3. 6 0. 0 7 . 2 0. 0 2. 1 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 6 4. 3 0. 0 4. 3 11.6 46.2 15.9 5. 3 27.0 5. 8 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 239 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Guinea-bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong kong SAR, China Hungary Iceland India (Mumbai) India (Delhi ) Indonesia (Jakarta) Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 12 No limit No limit 24 No limit 60 24 No limit No limit 36 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 0. 00 166.41 154.48 455.04 794.99 453.74 1, 783.94 125.37 134.82 248.17 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 00 0 . 32 1. 39 1. 51 0. 18 0. 30 0. 32 0. 63 0. 68 0. 55 Rigidity of hours 50 -hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 25 0 50 25 0 15 80 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 50 100 50 100 0 50 80 0 0 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No No No Yes No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 21.0 12.0 13.0 16.7 10.3 21.3 24.0 21.0 15.0 12.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 3. 0 3. 0 0. 0 2. 0 1. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No No Yes No No No No No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No No No No No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Priority rules for reemployment? Yes No No No No No No Yes Yes No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 4. 3 10.1 7. 2 4. 3 6. 2 10.1 4. 3 4. 3 0. 0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 26.0 12.3 0. 0 23.1 1. 4 7 . 2 0. 0 11.4 11.4 57.8 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No No No No Yes Yes No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? No No..Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes 240 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Indonesia (Surabaya) Iran, Islamic Rep. Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan (Tokyo) Japan (Osaka) Jordan Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 36 No limit No limit No limit No limit 36 No limit No limit No limit No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 223.67 466.63 103.30 1, 809.66 1, 145.81 2, 035.74 250.12 1, 785.35 1, 682.62 257.29 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 49 0. 69 0. 10 0. 37 0. 25 0. 46 0. 37 0. 29 0. 27 0. 39 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 35 0 0 14 15 0 25 25 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 40 50 0 50 30 100 35 35 150 Major restrictions on night work? No No Yes No No No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No Yes No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 12.0 24.0 22.0 20.0 18.0 26.0 11.7 15.3 15.3 18.7 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 3. 0 1. 0 3. 0 12.0 n. a. 2. 0 3. 0 n. a n. a. 3. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No No No No No No No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f Yes No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No Priority rules for redundancies? No No No No No Yes No No No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No No No No Yes No No No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0 3. 7 4. 3 4. 5 4. 0 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 57.8 23.1 0. 0 10.7 23.1 0. 0 10.0 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No Yes..Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes..Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes..Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes..Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 241 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Rep. Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR Latvia Lebanon Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No No No No No Yes No Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit No limit 24 No limit No limit 60 No limit 36 24 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 127.87 241.39 0. 00 815.65 172.09 211.40 18.50 74.66 602.77 439.34 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 09 1. 72 0. 00 0. 28 0. 14 0. 04 0. 12 0. 37 0. 32 0. 34 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 50 0 0 50 30 0 50 15 50 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 0 0 50 50 50 100 150 0 50 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes No No No No Yes No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No Yes No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 18.0 21.0 0. 0 17.0 21.0 30.0 20.0 15.0 20.0 15.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 3. 0 12.0 n. a. 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No Yes No No No No Yes No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No Yes No No No No Yes No No Retraining or reassignment? f Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes No Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Yes Priority rules for reemployment? No No No Yes Yes No No No No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 13.0 4 . 3 6. 4 4. 3 8. 7 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 2. 1 0. 0 23.1 7. 2 15.1 13.0 40.7 8. 7 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes No No Yes No..Yes Yes Yes No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes No Yes No..Yes Yes No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No Yes No No No..No No No Yes 242 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia, FYR Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No No No Yes No Yes Yes No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit 48 60 24 60 24 No limit No limit 24 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 158.70 52.00 336.11 382.61 3, 000.18 287.51 49.83 15.72 293.01 0. 00 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 73 0 . 82 0. 24 0. 21 0. 34 0. 51 0. 74 0. 36 0. 23 0. 00 Rigidity of hours 50 -hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 50 0 35 30 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 50 0 100 70 50 40 100 0 50 Major restrictions on night work? Yes No No No No Yes No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No Yes No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 12.0 16.0 30.0 20.7 25.0 20.0 24.0 18.0 13.3 30.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 4. 0 3. 0 1. 0 3. 0 6. 0 6. 0 3. 0 12.0 3. 0 3. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes No No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No No No No Yes No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No Yes No No No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes No Yes No No Yes No No No Priority rules for reemployment? No Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 8. 7 17.3 4. 3 3 . 4 4. 3 6. 7 7. 2 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 10.7 21.3 11.6 15.9 4. 3 8 . 7 8. 9 12.3 17.2 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes..No No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No..No No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes..Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 243 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Mali Malta Marshall islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico (Mexico city) Mexico (Monterrey) Micronesia, Fed. Sts. Moldova Mongolia Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 72 48 No limit 24 24 No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 63.20 952.98 421.63 105.50 241.90 174.50 174.50 357.38 110.72 125.46 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 56 0. 38 0 . 77 0. 68 0. 22 0. 14 0. 14 0. 76 0. 39 0. 28 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 5. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0 50 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 50 100 25 25 0 100 50 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes No No No No Yes No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No No No No Yes No Paid annual leave (working days) d 22.0 24.0 0. 0 18.0 17.0 12.0 12.0 0. 0 20.0 16.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 1. 0 3. 0 1. 0 1. 0 n. a. 0 . 5 6. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No Yes Yes No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No No No Yes Yes No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No No No No Yes No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 7. 3 0. 0 4. 3 4. 3 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0 8. 7 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 9. 3 0. 0 0. 0 6. 1 6. 3 22.0 22.0 0. 0 13.9 4. 3 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Health insurance for permanent employees? No No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes 244 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nepal Netherlands New zealand Nicaragua Niger Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 24 12 72 No limit No limit No limit 36 No limit No limit 48 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 196.66 278.46 139.33 0. 00 0. 00 95.03 1, 036.47 1, 980.93 200.12 57.18 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 22 0. 74 1. 45 0. 00 0. 00 0. 94 0. 17 0. 39 0. 84 0. 79 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 5. 5 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 40 0 25 0 6 0 0 0 0 38 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 0 100 100 100 50 0 0 100 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No No No Yes No Yes No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No Paid annual leave (working days) d 21.0 19.5 24.0 10.0 20.0 18.0 20.0 20.0 30.0 22.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 6. 0 1. 0 3. 0 n. a. 6. 0 12.0 2. 0 3. 0 1. 0 6. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No Yes Yes No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes No No No Yes Yes No No No Retraining or reassignment? f Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes No No Yes Priority rules for reemployment? No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 7. 2 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 8. 7 0. 0 0. 0 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 6. 9 13.5 33.2 15.9 5 . 3 22.9 0. 0 0. 0 14.9 9. 7 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes No No..No No Yes No No..Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes No Yes No No No No Yes No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 245 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Nigeria (Lagos) Nigeria (Kano) Norway Oman Pakistan (Karachi) Pakistan (Lahore) Palau Panama Papua new guinea Paraguay Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit 48 No limit 9 9 No limit 12 No limit No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 111.17 111.17 3, 840.25 847.72 104.53 104.53 551.54 476.59 195.96 409.69 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 26 0. 26 0. 29 0. 30 0. 56 0. 56 0. 39 0. 34 0. 69 0. 76 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 50 0 0 0 13 0 30 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 100 100 100 0 50 0 100 Major restrictions on night work? No No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 6. 0 6. 0 21.0 22.0 14.0 14.0 0. 0 22.0 11.0 20.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 3. 0 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 n. a. 3. 0 n. a. 1. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No No No No No Yes No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 3. 2 3. 2 8. 7 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 0. 0 0. 0 3. 3 7. 5 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 12.2 12.2 0. 0 0. 0 22.9 22.9 0. 0 18.1 9. 2 18.6 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No Yes No No No No No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? No Yes No Yes No No No No No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes..Yes 246 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto rico (U s.)Qatar Romania Russian Federation (Moscow) Russian Federation (St petersburg ) Rwanda Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 60 No limit No limit 66 No limit No limit 60 60 60 No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 275.86 304.93 535.52 754.09 1, 233.43 0. 00 251.28 390.11 274.56 0. 00 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 34 0. 69 0. 35 0. 29 0. 51 0. 00 0. 23 0. 24 0. 17 0. 00 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 7. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 35 10 20 25 0 0 25 20 20 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 30 100 50 100 0 100 100 100 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No No No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No Yes No No No Yes Yes No Paid annual leave (working days) d 13.0 5. 0 22.0 22.0 15.0 22.0 20.0 22.0 22.0 19.3 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 3. 0 6. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No No No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No No No No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 4. 3 10.1 7. 9 0. 0 7. 2 4 . 0 8. 7 8. 7 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 11.4 23.1 8. 7 9. 1 0 . 0 16.0 0. 0 8. 7 8. 7 8. 7 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 247 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Samoa San marino São tomé and Príncipe Saudi arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra leone Singapore Slovak Republic Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit 18 36 No limit 24 12 No limit No limit No limit 24 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 178.65 2, 836.26 0. 00 0. 00 189.28 232.46 421.86 4. 46 0. 00 470.54 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 36 0. 41 0. 00 0. 00 1. 14 0. 34 0. 28 0. 04 0. 00 0. 23 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 35 25 0 38 26 0 15 0 20 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 0 100 50 0 26 100 100 100 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No No No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 10.0 26.0 26.0 20.7 24.3 20.0 21.0 21.3 10.7 25.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 3. 0 1. 6 1. 0 3. 0 2. 0 6. 0 6. 0 n. a. 6. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No Priority rules for reemployment? No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 3. 3 0. 0 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 0. 0 4. 3 8. 7 3. 0 11.6 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 0. 0 26.0 15.2 10.5 7. 7 7. 6 69.6 0. 0 7. 2 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No Yes No No No Yes No No No Yes Health insurance for permanent employees? No Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No 248 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Slovenia Solomon islands South africa South Sudan Spain Sri lanka St kitts and nevis St lucia St vincent and the Grenadines Sudan Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 24 No limit No limit 48 12 No limit No limit 24 No limit 48 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 1, 054.91 120.22 336.46 0. 00 1, 140.02 83.03 517.48 0. 00 239.96 82.42 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0 . 38 0. 51 0. 36 0. 00 0. 31 0. 21 0. 30 0. 00 0. 30 0. 49 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 5. 5 7. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 75 0 0 0 25 0 0 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 50 0 100 0 0 0 0 150 0 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No No No No No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 21.0 15.0 15.0 23.3 22.0 14.0 14.0 21.0 18.7 23.3 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months ) e 6. 0 6. 0 n. a. 3. 0 2. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 6. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No Yes No Yes No No No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f Yes No Yes No No No No No No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes No No No No Yes No No No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No No No No No Yes No Yes No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 5. 3 4. 3 4. 0 4. 3 2. 1 4. 3 8. 7 3. 7 4. 0 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 5. 3 10.7 5. 3 21.7 15.2 54.2 0. 0 9. 3 10.0 21.7 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes No Yes No Yes No..No No No Health insurance for permanent employees? Yes No No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes..Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 249 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, China Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor -Leste Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit 24 120 60 12 No limit No limit No limit 36 Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 0. 00 174.92 0. 00 0. 00 260.64 649.31 50.25 65.73 251.34 104.95 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 00 0. 40 0. 00 0. 00 0. 68 0. 26 0. 37 0. 65 0. 41 0. 18 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 5. 5 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 5 0 25 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 100 0 0 0 100 100 100 100 0 100 Major restrictions on night work? No No No Yes No No Yes No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes Paid annual leave (working days) d 16.0 11.0 25.0 20.0 21.7 12.0 23.3 20.0 6. 0 12.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 2. 0 3. 0 6. 0 3. 0 3. 0 n. a. 3. 0 6. 0 4. 0 1. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No No No Yes No No Yes No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No Priority rules for redundancies? No Yes Yes No No No Yes No No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No Yes No No Yes No No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 5. 9 14.4 10.1 8. 7 3. 8 8. 7 4. 0 4. 3 4. 3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 8. 8 8. 7 0. 0 0. 0 0. 0 18.8 6. 9 5. 3 31.7 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Health insurance for permanent employees? No No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No 250 DOING BUSINESS 2015 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA Togo Tonga Trinidad and tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United arab emirates United kingdom United states (New york city) Difficulty of hiring Fixed -term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes No No No Yes No Yes No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a 48 No limit No limit 48 No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 107.20 0. 00 337.80 280.46 569.33 2. 14 147.69 0. 00 1, 371.67 1, 379.37 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 1. 34 0. 00 0. 18 0. 54 0. 42 0. 02 0. 32 0. 00 0. 27 0. 21 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 200 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 0 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 65 0 100 100 100 0 100 50 0 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No No No Yes No No No No No Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No Yes No No No No Yes Yes No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 30.0 0. 0 10.0 13.0 18.0 21.0 18.0 26.0 28.0 0. 0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 12.0 2. 0 12.0 1. 0 6. 0 6. 0 3 . 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? Yes No No Yes No No Yes No No No Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No Yes No No No No No No Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No Yes No No No No No No Retraining or reassignment? f No No No Yes No No Yes No No No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No No No Priority rules for reemployment? Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes No No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 4. 3 0. 0 6. 4 4. 3 6. 7 8. 7 8. 7 4. 3 5. 3 0. 0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 8. 8 0. 0 14.1 7 . 8 23.1 0. 0 4. 3 0. 0 4. 0 0. 0 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? No No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Health insurance for permanent employees? No Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA 251 LABOR MARKET REGULATION DATA United states (Los angeles) Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, RBH Vietnam West bank and Gaza Yemen, Rep. Zambia Zimbabwe Difficulty of hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Yes Yes No Yes No No No No No Maximum length of fixed-term contracts (months) a No limit No limit 60 No limit 24 72 24 No limit No limit No limit Minimum wage for a full-time worker (US$ /month) b 1, 379.37 610.92 44.88 326.14 622.25 123.02 384.62 87.33 292.99 255.49 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0. 21 0. 31 0. 19 0. 74 0. 39 0. 60 1. 58 0. 45 1. 21 2. 11 Rigidity of hours 50-hour workweek allowed? c Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Maximum working days per week 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 0 6. 0 6. 0 6. 0 5. 5 6. 0 Premium for night work(%of hourly pay) 0 0 50 0 30 30 0 15 4 0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (%of hourly pay) 0 100 100 50 50 0 150 100 100 0 Major restrictions on night work? No No Yes No Yes No Yes No No Yes Major restrictions on weekly holiday work? No No No No Yes No Yes No No No Paid annual leave (working days) d 0. 0 21.0 15.0 17.0 19.3 13.0 12.0 30.0 24.0 22.0 Difficulty of redundancy Maximum length of probationary period (months) e 3. 0 n. a. 3. 0 6. 0 1. 0 1. 0 6. 0 6. 0 n. a . 3. 0 Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party notification if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No n. a. No Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 1 worker is dismissed? No No No No n. a. No No No No Yes Third-party notification if 9 workers are dismissed? No No Yes No n. a. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Third-party approval if 9 workers are dismissed? No No No No n. a. Yes No No No Yes Retraining or reassignment? f No No Yes No n. a. Yes No No No Yes Priority rules for redundancies? No No Yes No n. a. No No No No No Priority rules for reemployment? No No No No n. a. No No Yes No No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 0. 0 8. 7 9. 3 n. a . 0. 0 4. 3 4. 3 4. 3 13.0 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (weeks of salary) d 0. 0 20.8 8. 7 23.1 n. a. 24.6 23.1 23.1 46.2 69.3 Research questionsg Unemployment protection scheme? Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No..No No Health insurance for permanent employees? No No No No No Yes No No No No Courts or court sections specializing in labor disputes? No Yes No No Yes No No Yes Yes Yes a. Including renewals. b. Economies for which 0. 00 is shown have no minimum wage in the private sector. c. For 2 months a year in case of a seasonal increase in production. d. Average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure. e. Some answers are not applicable (n. a.)for economies in which there is no statutory provision for a probationary period. f . Whether compulsory before redundancy. g. No Doing Business data are available(..for some economies. h. Some answers are not applicable (n. a.)for economies where dismissal due to redundancy is disallowed. Source: Doing Business database. Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency Acknowledgments Data collection and analysis for Doing Business 2015 were conducted by a team led by Rita Ramalho (Manager, Doing Business) under the general direction of Augusto Lopez-Claros (Director, Global Indicators Group, Development Economics). Overall guidance for the preparation of the report was provided by Kaushik Basu, Senior vice president and Chief Economist of the World bank. The project was managed with the support of Adrian Gonzalez and Hulya Ulku. Other team members included Nadine Abi Chakra, Jean Arlet, Iana Ashchian, Iryna Bilotserkivska, Erica Bosio, Jiyeon Chang, Edgar Chavez, Maya Choueiri, Catrice Christ, Santiago Croci Downes, Salima Daadouche, Baria Nabil Daye, Christian De la Medina Soto, Marie Lily Delion, Laura Diniz, Caroline Frontigny, Paula García Serna, Dorina Georgieva, Anushavan Hambardzumyan, Michelle-Christine Hanf, Volha Hrytskevich, Joyce Ibrahim, Nan (Charlotte) Jiang Hervé Kaddoura, Klaus Koch Saldarriaga, Olena Koltko, Magdalini Konidari, Roman Kononenko, Demetris Kouris, Khrystyna Kushnir, Joy Lahoud, Fernanda Maretto de Barros, Betty Mensah, Frédéric Meunier, Joanna Nasr, Marie-Jeanne Ndiaye, Nadia Novik, Jiawen Pan, María Antonia Quesada Gámez, Parvina Rakhimova , Morgann Courtney Reeves, Julie Ryan, Valentina Saltane, Tanya Maria Santillan, Ana Maria Santillana Farakos, Melissa Scanlan, Ella Shagabutdinova, Jayashree Srinivasan , Brandon Thompson, Julien Vilquin, Matthew Williger, Marilyne Youbi, Inés Zabalbeitia Múgica and Yasmin Zand. Garam Al Kastalani-Dexter, Clemente Avila Para, Mario Lucio Carvalho Nascimento, Rong Chen, Sarah Fakhry, Nadine Ghobrial, Hernando Grueso Hurtado , Papa Gyan-Baffour Sameh Hassan, Maisha Hyman, Wasiq Ismail, Maksym Markevych, Yuliya Neyman, Nicole Frances Ntungire, Marilyn Ryan, Katrin Schulz, Paula Tavares, Augusto Uribe Bello, Anna Xue Gu and Sonia Zahkarenko assisted in the months before publication. The team would especially like to acknowledge the comments and support of Indermit Gill and Melissa Johns. The online service of the Doing Business database is managed by Andres Baquero Franco, Varun Doiphode, Arun Chakravarthi Nageswaran, Kunal Patel, Mohan Pathapati, Vinod Thottikkatu and Hashim Zia and was under the direction of Preeti Endlaw. The Doing Business 2015 outreach strategy is executed by a communications team led by Nadine Ghannam and including Hyun Kyong Lee and Sushmitha Malini Narsiah, with support from Merrell Tuck-Primdahl and World bank Group communications colleagues around the world. The team is grateful for the valuable comments provided by colleagues in the World bank Group (both on the draft report and on the changes in the methodology) and outside the World bank Group (on the changes in the methodology) and for the guidance provided by World bank Group Executive directors. The team would especially like to acknowledge the comments and guidance ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 253 of Aart C. Kraay. Comments were received also from Gavin Adlington, Gabi George Afram, Ahmad Ahsan, Sultan Ibrahim Alakraf Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa, Inger Andersen, Mihasonirina Andrianaivo, Vadim Andropov, Pedro Antmann, Antonia Custance Baker, Luca Bandiera, Sudeshna Ghosh Banerjee, Najy Benhassine, Alexander Berg, Sanford Berg, Anna M. Bjerde, Genevieve Boyreau, Frédéric Bustelo, Cesar Calderon, Enrico Campagnoli, Cesar Chaparro Yedro, Constantine Chikosi, Julian Latimer Clarke, Edward Cook, Lucia Cordero Ledergerber, Monique Courchesne, Fernando Dancausa Diaz, Jean-paul Decorps, Klaus Deininger , Pasquale Di Benedetta, Raian Divanbeigi, Julia Doherty, Omniah Ebeid, Alejandro Espinosa-Wang, Jorge Familiar Calderon, Francisco H. G. Ferreira, Penelope Fidas, Vivien Foster, Jose Garrido, Tania Ghossein, Willy Giacchino, Raluca Golumbeanu, Flavio Gonzaga, David Michael Gould Heike Gramckow, Tim Green, Cemile Hacibeyoglu, Iva Hamel, Carl Patrick Hanlon, Caroline Heider, Vivian Y. N. Hon, Thea Hilhorst, Neville Howlett, Lin Huang, Alex Hunt, Giuseppe Iarossi, Yoichiro Ishihara, Sebastian S. James, Kaliza Karuretwa, Sunita Kikeri, Markus Kitzmuller, Frederick Krimgold , Arvo Kuddo, Peter Ladegaard, Pascal Lalande, Tony Lamb, Philippe Le Houérou, Annemarie Leroy, Jeffrey D. Lewis, Wendy Liberante, Jonathan Lindsay , Jean Michel Lobet, Gladys Lopez-Acevedo, Jose Lopez Calix, Antony Lythgoe, Oscar Madeddu, Mahamoud Magassouba, Andres Martinez, Martin Melecky, Eva Maria Melis, Antonia Menezes, Julian S. Messina Granovsky, Irit Mevorach, Trimor Mici, Andrei Mikhnev, Nina Pavlova Mocheva María Paulina Mogollón, Komal Mohindra, Alejandro Moreno, Tim Moss, Thomas Moullier, Cyril Muller, Nataliya Mylenko, Emmanuel Noubissie Ngankam, Cecile Niang , Nicolas Nogueroles, Odile Obled, Nuria de Oca, Corey O'hara, Junko Oikawa, Alice Ouedraogo, Madalina Papahagi, Axel R. Peuker, Duc Minh Pham, Nadia Fernanda Piffaretti, Tanya Primiani, Alban Pruthi, Claudio M. Radaelli, Martin Rama, Colin Ewell Wesley Raymond, Melissa Rekas, Paolo Ridolfi, David Robalino, Pilar Salgado Otonel, Pilar Sanchez-Bella, Apurva Sanghi, Massimiliano Santini, Hans Schrader, Jordan Z. Schwartz, Sarmad Shaikh , Katrina Sharkey, Sudhir Shetty, Sylvia Solf, Victoria Stanley, Jevgenijs Steinbuks, Adrian Stone, Jennifer Stradtman, Vinaya Swaroop Vijay Srinivas Tata, Govinda R. Timilsina, Hans Timmer, Marianne Tissier, Alain Traore, Moussa Traoré, Mahesh Uttamchandani, Maria Vagliasindi, Joachim Von Amsberg, George Waggot, Wendy Werner, Everett Theodore Wohlers, Sau Wong, Alessio Zanelli, Stephane Zecevic and members of the Working Party On land Administration (United nations Economic commission for europe. The paying taxes project was conducted in collaboration with Pwc, led by Stef van Weeghel. Alison Strong edited the manuscript. Corporate Visions, Inc. designed the report and the graphs. Doing Business would not be possible without the expertise and generous input of a network of more than 10,700 local partners, including legal experts, business consultants, accountants, freight forwarders, government officials and other professionals routinely administering or advising on the relevant legal and regulatory requirements in the 189 economies covered. Contact details for local partners are available on the Doing Business website at http://www. doingbusiness. org. The names of the local partners wishing to be acknowledged individually are listed below. The global and regional contributors listed are firms that have completed multiple questionnaires in their various offices around the world. 254 DOING BUSINESS 2015 GLOBAL CONTRIBUTORS ADVOCATES FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ALLEN & OVERY LLP AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION, SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW ASHURST LLP BAKER & MCKENZIE CLEARY GOTTLIEB STEEN & HAMILTON LLP DELOITTE DLA PIPER ERNST & YOUNG IUS LABORIS , ALLIANCE OF LABOR, EMPLOYMENT, BENEFITS AND PENSIONS LAW FIRMS KPMG LAW SOCIETY OF ENGLAND AND WALES LEX MUNDI, ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT LAW FIRMS MAYER BROWN PANALPINA PWC1 RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL SDV INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS REGIONAL CONTRIBUTORS A p. MOLLER-MAERSK GROUP ASSOCIATION OF CONSUMER CREDIT INFORMATION SUPPLIERS (ACCIS) CABINET JOHN W . FFOOKS & CO. CMS LEGAL COLIBRI LAW FIRM DENTONS DFDL GIDE LOYRETTE NOUEL MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI GRATA LAW FIRM MIRANDA CORREIA AMENDOEIRA & ASSOCIADOS RAPOSO BERNARDO & ASSOCIADOS SORAINEN TALAL ABU-GHAZALEH LEGAL (TAG-LEGAL) TRANSUNION INTERNATIONAL AFGHANISTAN Farsheed Abdul-Rahman LAW OFFICES OF A. RAHMAN RAHIMGHIYASA-ATTORNEYS AND AGENTS Taqi Ahmad A f. FERGUSON & CO.,CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Hassib Ahmad Amiry MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Mirwais Alami DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Bilal Alsamarrai RIZVI, ISA, AFRIDI AND ANGELL Ziaullah Astana AFGHAN LAND CONSULTING ORGANIZATION (ALCO) Joshua Atkinson MBC CONSTRUCTION Shaheryar Aziz A f. FERGUSON & CO.,CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Mazhar Bangash RIZVI ISA, AFRIDI AND ANGELL Nadia Bazidwal MINISTRY OF FINANCE Suleman Fatimie AFGHANISTAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC Amanda Galton ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP Abdul Wassay Haqiqi HAQIQI AUDITING & CONSULTING CO. Saduddin Haziq AFGHAN UNITED BANK Rashid Ibrahim A f. FERGUSON & CO.,CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, A MEMBER FIRM OF PWC NETWORK Sanzar Kakar AFGHANISTAN HOLDING GROUP Ahmad Jawid Karimzada KABUL MUNICIPALITY Wisal Khan LEGAL ORACLES Mohammed Masood Khwaja DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Gaurav Lekh Raj Kukreja AFGHAN CONTAINER TRANSPORT COMPANY Tali Mohammad AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Siddiqullah Mujadiddi AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Abdul Naser Nazari MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE Shekeeb Nessar DA AFGHANISTAN BRESHNA SHERKAT Gul Pacha AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Tamsil Rashid AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK Abdul Rahim Saeedi MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY Zahid Safi RIZVI ISA, AFRIDI AND ANGELL Khalil Sediq AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK Saeeq Shajjan SHAJJAN & ASSOCIATES Mohammad Ibrahim Shams AFGHANISTAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY Asiyah Sharifi AFGHANISTAN FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC Sharifullah Shirzad DA AFGHANISTAN BANK Haris Syed Raza GERRY'S DNATA (PVT. LTD. Marium Waqar RIZVI, ISA, AFRIDI AND ANGELL Najibullah Wardak MINISTRY OF FINANCE Abdul Rahman Watanwal MBC CONSTRUCTION Mohammadi Khan Yaqoobi DA AFGHANISTAN BANK Mohammad Zarif KABUL MUNICIPALITY Zmarak Zhouand AFGHANISTAN LAWYERS INTERNATIONAL ALBANIA WOLF THEISS Iris Ago ABKONS Marsida Agolli ABKONS Anjola Aliaj OPTIMA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL Artur Asllani TONUCCI & PARTNERS Sabina Baboci KALO & ASSOCIATES Indrit Banka BANK OF ALBANIA Redjan Basha ABKONS Ledia Beçi HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Jonida Beqiri DRAKOPOULOS LAW FIRM Juna Bozdo BANK OF ALBANIA Artan Bozo BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Jori Bregasi HOXHA , MEMI & HOXHA Denada Breshanaj ABKONS Alban Caushi KALO & ASSOCIATES Elfrida Cuku KALO & ASSOCIATES Ina Curri PWC ALBANIA Ilir Daci OPTIMA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL Erinda Duraj BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Sokol Elmazaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Alba Fagu BANK OF ALBANIA Lisjana Fusha ALB BB AUDITING SHPK-CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Lorena Gega PWC ALBANIA Aurela Gjokutaj AL-TAX CENTER Ermira Gjoncaj KUEHNE+NAGEL LTD. Valbona Gjonçari BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Shirli Gorenca KALO & ASSOCIATES Mateo Gosnishti ALB BB AUDITING SHPK-CORRESPONDENT OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Arta Gurabardhi ABKONS Shpati Hoxha HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Elona Hoxhaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Xhet Hushi KALO & ASSOCIATES Ilir Johollari HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Endri Jorgoni KALO & ASSOCIATES Miranda Kapllani BENIMPEX & CO. Avenir Kika KIKA SH. P. K Erlind Kodhelaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Jonela Kuro DRAKOPOULOS LAW FIRM Fatmir Lacej FATMIR LACEJ NOTARY PUBLIC Rudi Laze BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Renata Leka BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Besnik Leskaj ABKONS Ekflodia Leskaj DRAKOPOULOS LAW FIRM Loreta Loli ALBAKONTROLL Marvin Mborja BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Andi Memi HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Aigest Milo KALO & ASSOCIATES Sabina Pasholli AVANNTIVE CONSULTING SH. P. K Loreta Peci PWC ALBANIA Merita Qato OFFICE OF REGISTRATION OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY Laura Qorlaze AVANNTIVE CONSULTING SH. P. K Loriana Robo KALO & ASSOCIATES Mimoza Sadushaj MIMOZA SADUSHAJ Ergis Sefa ERG MANAGERIAL Ardjana Shehi KALO & ASSOCIATES Alban Shehri ALBAKONTROLL Majlinda Sulstarova TONUCCI & PARTNERS Besa Tauzi BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Ketrin Topçiu BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM Elda Toro Shuraja HOXHA MEMI & HOXHA Fioralba Trebicka HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Alketa Uruçi BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Gerhard Velaj BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Elona Xhepa BOGA & ASSOCIATES TIRANA Selena Ymeri HOXHA, MEMI & HOXHA Evis Zaja OPTIMA LEGAL AND FINANCIAL Enida Zeneli BOZO & ASSOCIATES LAW FIRM 1. Pwc refers to the network of member firms of Pricewaterhousecoopers International Limited (Pwcil), or, as the context requires, individual member firms of the Pwc network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity and does not act as agent of Pwcil or any other member firm. Pwcil does not provide any services to clients. Pwcil is not responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any of its member firms nor can it control the exercise of their professional judgment or bind them in any way. No member firm is responsible or liable for the acts or omissions of any other member firm nor can it control the exercise of another member firm's professional judgment or bind another member firm or Pwcil in any way. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 255 ALGERIA DELOITTE ALGÉRIE DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DES DOUANES Salima Aloui LAW FIRM GOUSSANEM & ALOUI Mohammed Tahar Benabid CABINET MOHAMMED TAHAR BENABID Abdelghani Benaired CABINET DU MAÎTRE ABDELGHANI BENAIRED Abdelouahab Benali GLOBAL LOGISTIC PARTNER SARL Samir Benslimane CABINET BENSLIMANE Adnane Bouchaib BOUCHAIB LAW FIRM Ahmed Reda Boudiaf SCP BOUDIAF & BOUDIAF Amin Bouhaddi ENTREPRISE BOUHADDI Ryad Chabouni NSC MAGHREB Arnaud Chastel PWC ALGERIA Said Dib BANQUE D'ALGÉRIE Souhila Djamouh Chaib CABINET DJAMOUH Ahmed Djouadi LAW FIRM HADJ-HAMOU & DJOUADI-ASSOCIATE OFFICE OF DENTONS Khaled Goussanem LAW FIRM GOUSSANEM & ALOUI Bachir Khodja SNC KHODJA ET CIE Raffa Hakim Lakhdar NSC MAGHREB Mohamed Lanouar B L & ASSOCIÉS-MEMBER OF DLA PIPER AFRICA Vincent Lunel LEFÈVRE PELLETIER & ASSOCIÉS Mohamed Mokrane MINISTÈRE DES FINANCES-DIRECTION GÉNÉRALE DU DOMAINE NATIONAL Hamid Ould Hocine STUDIO A Fares Ouzegdouh TRANSPORT PORT LOGISTICS & SOLUTIONS Malika Redouani PWC ALGERIA Mourad Seghir GHELLAL & MEKERBA Robin Souclier LEFÈVRE PELLETIER & ASSOCIÉS Beatriz Torets Ruiz THOMPSON & KNIGHT LLP Hassan Yassine THOMPSON & KNIGHT LLP ANGOLA ANGOLA CUSTOMS NATIONAL DIRECTORATE BANCO NACIONAL DE ANGOLA ERNST & YOUNG Maria Abrantes ANGOLA PRIVATE INVESTMENT AGENCY-ANIP Sika Awoonor GLOBAL CHOICE ANGOLA LDA. Nelson Couto Cabral LAW FIRM CCBS ADVOGADOS Alexandre Caldas Menezes ESTRUCTURAL EMPREENDIMIENTOS IMOBILIARIOS LDA Pedro Calixto PWC ANGOLA Luis Filipe Carvalho VITOR CARVALHO & ASSOCIADOS Vitor Carvalho VITOR CARVALHO & ASSOCIADOS Arlete Conceição ANGOLA PRIVATE INVESTMENT AGENCY-ANIP Hamilton Costa ANGOLA PRIVATE INVESTMENT AGENCY-ANIP Yasmina Costa 3c LAW FIRM Graciete Fernandes LOURDES CAPOSSO FERNANDES & ASSOCIADOS Lourdes Caposso Fernandes LOURDES CAPOSSO FERNANDES & ASSOCIADOS Berta Grilo FBL ADVOGADOS N'Zinga Teixeira Jasse Victor Leonel ORDEM DOS ARQUITECTOS João Machado PWC ANGOLA Sofia Maia do Vale FBL ADVOGADOS Guirec Malfait SDV LOGISTICS Arcelio Matias ARCÉLIO INÁCIO DE ALMEIDA MATIAS ARDJA-PRESTAÇÃO DE SERVIÇOS E CONSULTORIA LDA Harrison Medina LOURDES CAPOSSO FERNANDES & ASSOCIADOS Yuma Munana LOURDES CAPOSSO FERNANDES & ASSOCIADOS Ivan Njinga ANGOLA PRIVATE INVESTMENT AGENCY-ANIP Janota Nzogi EDEL-EP Eduardo Paiva PWC ANGOLA Joaquim Piedade UNICARGAS Luis Filipe Pizarro Gervasio Simao INTEL Beatriz Calcida Soares Catumbela CONSERVATÓRIA DO REGISTRO PREDIAL DE LUANDA (1 SECÇÃO) Cristina Teixeira PWC ANGOLA Ricardo Veloso GPA-GOUVEIA PEREIRA, COSTA FREITAS & ASSOCIADOS , SOCIEDADE DE ADVOGADOS RL ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ANTIGUA PUBLIC UTILITY AUTHORITY MINISTRY OF LABOR Ricki Camacho ANTIGUA & BARBUDA INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & COMMERCE OFFICE (ABIPCO) Neil Coates PWC ANTIGUA Nicolette Doherty NICOLETTE M. DOHERTY ATTORNEY-AT-LAW AND NOTARY PUBLIC Terence Dornellas CONSOLIDATED MARITIME SERVICES Brian D'Ornellas OBM INTERNATIONAL ANTIGUA LTD. John Fuller JOHN E. FULLER & CO. Cecile Hill LAND REGISTRY Lenworth Johnson JOHNSON GARDINER Lisa M. John Weste THOMAS, JOHN & CO. Hugh C. Marshall MARSHALL & CO. Jermaine C. Rhudd RHUDD & ASSOCIATES Septimus A. Rhudd RHUDD & ASSOCIATES Stacy A. Richards-Anjo RICHARDS & CO . Andrea Roberts ROBERTS & CO. Frank Schwartz ANTIGUA MARITIME AGENCIES Denzil Solomon PLAN COM Eleanor R. Solomon CLARKE & CLARKE Frederick Southwell DEVELOPMENT CONTROL AUTHORITY Arthur Thomas THOMAS, JOHN & CO. Oliver Woollard CARIBBEAN CURRENT ARGENTINA Ignacio Acedo GONZALEZ & FERRARO MILA Fernando Aguinaga ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Sebastian Alvarez BRONS & SALAS ABOGADOS Natalia Artmann ALFARO ABOGADOS Ariadna Artopoulos M. & M. BOMCHIL Alejo Baca Castex G. BREUER Vanesa Balda VITALE MANOFF & FEILBOGEN Maria Laura Barbosa ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Fiorella Belsito SEVERGNINI, ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Andrea N. Bermudez LAPRIDA, GOÑI MORENO & GONZÁLEZ URROZ Alfredo Bissero Paratz WIENER SOTO CAPARRÓS Pilar Etcheverry Boneo MARVAL, O'FARRELL & MAIRAL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Ignacio Fernández Borzese LUNA REQUENA & FERNÁNDEZ BORZESE TAX LAW FIRM Iván Burín ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Adriana Paola Caballero WIENER SOTO CAPARRÓS Federico Carenzo LEONHARDT, DIETL, GRAF & VON DER FECHT Mariano E. Carricart BADENI, CANTILO, LAPLACETTE & CARRICART Luciano Cativa LUNA REQUENA & FERNÁNDEZ BORZESE TAX LAW FIRM Pablo L. Cavallaro ESTUDIO CAVALLARO ABOGADOS Roberto H. Crouzel ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA María Amalia Cruz ZANG BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Valeria D'Alessandro MARVAL, O'FARRELL & MAIRAL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Carola Del rio SEVERGNINI, ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Oscar Alberto del Río CENTRAL BANK OF ARGENTINA Santiago D'Eramo G. BREUER Andrés Edelstein PWC ARGENTINA Dana Eizner SEVERGNINI, ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Joaquín Eppens Echague FIORITO MURRAY & DIAZ CORDERO Daniel Escolá LAPRIDA, GOÑI MORENO & GONZÁLEZ URROZ Pablo Ferraro Mila GONZALEZ & FERRARO MILA Diego M. Fissore G. BREUER Arq. Eduardo Galleazzi ARCHITECT Martín Gastaldi ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Javier M. Gattó Bicain CANDIOTI GATTO BICAIN & OCANTOS Giselle Rita Geuna ALFARO ABOGADOS Juan Jose Glusman PWC ARGENTINA Rosalina Goñi Moreno LAPRIDA GOÑI MORENO & GONZÁLEZ URROZ Matías Grinberg SEVERGNINI, ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Sandra S. Guillan DE DIOS & GOYENA ABOGADOS CONSULTORES Sofía Harilaos LAPRIDA, GOÑI MORENO & GONZÁLEZ URROZ Gabriela Hidalgo GABRIELA HIDALGO Daniel Intile RUSSELL BEDFORD ARGENTINA Mariana Labombarda FIORITO MURRAY & DIAZ CORDERO Federico Hernán Laprida LAPRIDA, GOÑI MORENO & GONZÁLEZ URROZ Sofía Leggiero SEVERGNINI, ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Lucas Loviscek ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Alvaro Luna Requena LUNA REQUENA & FERNÁNDEZ BORZESE TAX LAW FIRM Tomás M. Fiorito FIORITO MURRAY & DIAZ CORDERO Juan Manuel Magadan PWC ARGENTINA Alejandro Mao ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS María Lucila Marchini ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Pedro Mazer ALFARO ABOGADOS Julian Melis CANDIOTI GATTO BICAIN & OCANTOS Maria Fernanda Mierez ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA José Oscar Mira CENTRAL BANK OF ARGENTINA Jorge Miranda CLIPPERS SA Pablo Murray FIORITO MURRAY & DIAZ CORDERO Alfredo Miguel O'Farrell MARVAL, O'FARRELL & MAIRAL, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Gabriela E. Orsini SENTIDO COMÚN Alejandro Poletto ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Enrique Prini Estebecorena José Miguel Puccinelli ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA María Clara Pujol WIENER SOTO CAPARRÓS Ignacio Questa Etcheberry ALFARO ABOGADOS Federico José Reibestein REIBESTEIN & ASOCIADOS Armando Ricci ZANG , BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Sebastián Rodrigo ALFARO ABOGADOS Juan Ignacio Ruiz ALFARO ABOGADOS Fernanda Sabbatini WIENER SOTO CAPARRÓS Luz María Salomón J. P. O'FARRELL ABOGADOS 256 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Mariela Alejandra Sas M. & M. BOMCHIL Maria Florencia Sota Vazquez ALFARO ABOGADOS Pablo Staszewski STASZEWSKI & ASSOCIATES Javier Tarasido SEVERGNINI ROBIOLA, GRINBERG & TOMBEUR Adolfo Tombolini RUSSELL BEDFORD ARGENTINA María Paola Trigiani ALFARO ABOGADOS Susana Urresti EDESUR ELECTRICIDAD DISTRIBUIDORA SUR SA Emilio Beccar Varela ESTUDIO BECCAR VARELA Abraham Viera PLANOSNET. COM CONSULTORIA MUNICIPAL Paz Villamil RATTAGAN, MACCHIAVELLO AROCENA & PEÑA ROBIROSA ABOGADOS Roberto Wiman GREEN INGENIERÍA Saúl Zang ZANG, BERGEL & VIÑES ABOGADOS Joaquín Emilio Zappa J. P. O'FARRELL ABOGADOS Carlos Zima PWC ARGENTINA ARMENIA HSBC BANK Ruzan Alaverdyan MINISTRY OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT Arman Arzumanyan LEGAL LAB Sedrak Asatryan Narek Ashughatoyan LEGAL LAB Albert Babayan MINISTRY OF ECONOMY Anush Baghdasaryan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Vahagn Balyan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Irina Belubekyan UNION OF MANUFACTURERS AND BUSINESSMEN (EMPLOYERS ) OF ARMENIA Vardan Bezhanyan LAW FACULTY YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY Abgar Budaghyan PUBLIC SERVICES REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ARMENIA Vahagn Dallakyan Marine Derdzyan KPMG Kristina Dudukchyan KPMG Aikanush Edigaryan TRANS-ALLIANCE Gagik Galstyan HORIZON 95 Ruzanna Gevorgyan GLOBAL SPC Hrant Ghambaryan THE COLLEGIUM OF BUSINESSMANAGERS'BANKRUPTCY-SRO Vahe Ghavalyan PARADIGMA ARMENIA CJSC Arsen Ghazaryan UNION OF MANUFACTURERS AND BUSINESSMEN (EMPLOYERS) OF ARMENIA Hayk Ghazazyan KPMG Suren Gomtsyan CONCERN-DIALOG LAW FIRM Armine Grigoryan THE STATE COMMITTEE OF THE REAL PROPERTY CADASTRE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA Tigran Grigoryan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Vardan Grigoryan ELECTRIC NETWORKS OF ARMENIA Sargis H. Martirosyan TRANS-ALLIANCE Astghik Hakobyan GLOBAL SPC Gevorg Hakobyan CONCERN-DIALOG LAW FIRM Mariam Harutyunyan PARADIGMA ARMENIA CJSC Artak Hovakimyan BIG ENERGO LLC Ani Hovhannisyan GLOBAL SPC Hovhannes Hovhannisyan THE STATE COMMITTEE OF THE REAL PROPERTY CADASTRE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA Isabella Hovhannisyan EBRD BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICE Vahe G. Kakoyan INVESTMENT LAW GROUP LLC Izabella Kantarjyan GLOBAL SPC Andranik Kasaryan REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY David Khachatryan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Georgi Khachatryan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Lilit Khachatryan GLOBAL SPC Karen Khachaturyan THE STATE COMMITTEE OF THE REAL PROPERTY CADASTRE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA Stepan Khzrtian LEGAL LAB Liana Kirakosyan Tigran Kocharyan COMPACT REAL ESTATE AGENCY LLC Stanislav Kolesnikov ELECTRIC NETWORKS OF ARMENIA Arayik Kurdyan REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA YEREVAN MUNICIPALITY Mushegh Manukyan ADR PARTNERS Kamo Margaryan Karen Martirosyan AVENUE CONSULTING GROUP Lilit Matevosyan PWC ARMENIA Arsen Matikyan CMA CGM Robin Mccone PWC GEORGIA Anna Melik-Karamyan GLOBAL SPC Armen Melkumyan FIDELITY CONSULTING CJSC Ashot Musayan THE STATE COMMITTEE OF THE REAL PROPERTY CADASTRE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA Narine Nersisyan PWC ARMENIA Nerses Nersisyan PWC ARMENIA Artur Nikoyan TRANS-ALLIANCE Aram Orbelyan Gohar Petrosyan CONCERN DIALOGUE LAW FIRM Naira Petrosyan PARADIGMA ARMENIA CJSC Aram Poghosyan GRANT THORNTON LLP Hayk Pogosyan ARSARQTEX LLC Nare Sahakyan ARDSHININVESTBANK CJSC David Sargsyan AMERIA GROUP CJSC Ruben Sarukhanyan GLOBAL SPC Ruben Shakhmuradyan COMFORT R&v Gayane Shimshiryan Elena Sorokina TRANS-ALLIANCE Hakob Tadevosyan GRANT THORNTON LLP Tatevik Tadevosyan GLOBAL SPC Arsen Tavadyan TER-TACHATYAN LEGAL AND BUSINESS CONSULTING Albina Tevosyan TETRA TECH ES INC. Tserun Voskanyan ELECTRIC NETWORKS OF ARMENIA Arman Yesayan ALFA SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES Liana Yordanyan TER-TACHATYAN LEGAL AND BUSINESS CONSULTING Samuel Zakarian GLOBAL SPC Aram Zakaryan ACRA CREDIT BUREAU AUSTRALIA AUSGRID SDV LOGISTICS TREASURY OF AUSTRALIA VEDA ADVANTAGE WORLDWIDE LOGISTICS PTY. LTD. Jacinta Bishop MARQUE LAWYERS Harold Bolitho KING & WOOD MALLESONS Lynda Brumm PWC AUSTRALIA David Buda RBHM COMMERCIAL LAWYERS Gaibrielle Cleary GOULD RALPH PTY. LTD. -MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL David Cross NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT Mark Dalby OFFICE OF STATE REVENUE, NSW TREASURY Kristy Dixon MARQUE LAWYERS Laura Groves DLA PIPER Philip Harvey KING & WOOD MALLESONS Owen Hayford CLAYTON UTZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Ian Humphreys ASHURST LLP Jennifer Ingram CLAYTON UTZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Stephen Jauncey HENRY DAVIS YORK John Karantonis CLAYTON UTZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Morgan Kelly FERRIER HODGSON LIMITED Peter Leonard GILBERT+TOBIN LAWYERS John Martin THOMSONS LAWYERS Mitchell Mathas NORTON ROSE FULBRIGHT Nicholas Mavrakis CLAYTON UTZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Rick Mcewen LIPMAN CONSTRUCTION Patricia Muscat PWC AUSTRALIA Maria Nicolof GILBERT+TOBIN LAWYERS Kylie Parker LOGICCA CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS Amanda Phillips FERRIER HODGSON LIMITED Mark Pistilli CLIFFORD CHANCE John reid OFFICE OF STATE REVENUE NSW TREASURY Greg Saunders CONNECT INFRASTRUCTURE PTY. LTD. Dean Schiller FAYMAN INTERNATIONAL PTY. LTD. Ruwan Senanayake O. T s. AUSTRALIA PTY. LTD. Damian Sturzaker MARQUE LAWYERS Simon Truskett CLAYTON UTZ, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Jenae Webb ASHURST LLP Ffion Whaley ASHURST LLP Juliet Wright-Single DLA PIPER Katarina Zlatar GILBERT+TOBIN LAWYERS AUSTRIA KSV 1870 OESTERREICHISCHE NATIONAL BANK Clemens Bärenthaler DLA PIPER WEISS-TESSBACH RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Viktoria Bernt FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER Georg Brandstetter BRANDSTETTER, BAURECHT, PRITZ & PARTNER RECHTSANWÄLTE KG Sonja Bydlinski MINISTRY OF JUSTICE Martin Eckel TAYLORWESSING E N w C NATLACEN WALDERDORFF CANCOLA RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Agnes Eigner BRANDSTETTER BAURECHT, PRITZ & PARTNER RECHTSANWÄLTE KG Tibor Fabian BINDER GRÖSSWANG RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Julian Feichtinger CHSH CERHA HEMPEL SPIEGELFELD HLAWATI, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Martin Foerster GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Ferdinand Graf GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Andreas Hable BINDER GRÖSSWANG RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Friedrich Helml SCWP SCHINDHELM AUSTRIA Alexander Hofmann RA DR. ALEXANDER HOFMANN, LL. M. Armin Immervoll MINISTRY OF FINANCE Alexander Isola GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Rudolf Kaindl KOEHLER, KAINDL, DUERR & PARTNER, CIVIL LAW NOTARIES Alexander Klauser BRAUNEIS KLAUSER PRÄNDL RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Christian Koettl MINISTRY OF FINANCE Rudolf Krickl PWC AUSTRIA Michaela Krist CHSH CERHA HEMPEL SPIEGELFELD HLAWATI MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Sophie Meierhofer FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 257 Gerald Mitteregger INTERNATIONAL LOGISTIC GATEWAY Johannes Mrazek AUSTRIAN REGULATORY AUTHORITY Radovan Mrvos STRABAG SE Gerhard Muggenhuber BEV-FEDERAL OFFICE OF METROLOGY & SURVEYING Elke Napokoj BPV HÜGEL RECHTSANWÄLTE OG Felix Neuwirther FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER Martin Österreicher GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Christian Pöchlinger PWC AUSTRIA Barbara Pogacar BPV HÜGEL RECHTSANWÄLTE OG Stefanie Saghy Moritz Salzgeber BINDER GRÖSSWANG RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Edwin Scharf SCWP SCHINDHELM AUSTRIA Georg Schima KUNZ SCHIMA WALLENTIN RECHTSANWÄLTE OG, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Stephan Schmalzl GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Ernst Schmidt HALPERN & PRINZ Franz Schwarzinger REVISIONSTREUHAND-MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Helmut Sprongl AUSTRIAN REGULATORY AUTHORITY Teresa Steininger GRAF & PITKOWITZ RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Thomas Trettnak CHSH CERHA HEMPEL SPIEGELFELD HLAWATI MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Birgit Vogt-Majarek KUNZ SCHIMA WALLENTIN RECHTSANWÄLTE OG, MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Sabine Waiss KUNZ SCHIMA WALLENTIN RECHTSANWÄLTE OG , MEMBER OF IUS LABORIS Lukas A. Weber BRAUNEIS KLAUSER PRÄNDL RECHTSANWÄLTE GMBH Markus Winkler CHSH CERHA HEMPEL SPIEGELFELD HLAWATI, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Elisabeth Zehetner AUSTRIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Kathrin Zeller AZERBAIJAN STATE COMMITTEE FOR SECURITIES OF AZERBAIJAN REPUBLIC Bahram Abdinov NTD SERVICE Parviz Abdullayev PWC AZERBAIJAN Sabit Abdullayev IJS LAW FIRM Eldar Agayev ERNST & YOUNG Eldar Abuzarovich Aliev AZERBAIJAN STATE AGENCY FOR THE CONTROL OF CONSTRUCTION SAFETY Qabil Aliyev AGEX TRANS Jamil Alizada BAKER & MCKENZIE-CIS LIMITED Nubar Allahguluyeva ERNST & YOUNG Aykhan Asadov BM MORRISON PARTNERS LAW FIRM Iftixar Axundov MINISTRY OF TAXES Jamal Baghirov BM MORRISON PARTNERS LAW FIRM Hikmet Brdaric KN IBRAKOM FZCO. Zaur Fatizadeh MINISTRY OF TAXES Simuzar Feyzullayeva BAKER & MCKENZIE-CIS, LIMITED Abbas Guliyev BAKER & MCKENZIE-CIS, LIMITED Arif Guliyev PWC AZERBAIJAN Elchin Habibov CENTRAL BANK OF AZERBAIJAN Ilgar I. Habiyev THE STATE COMMITTEE ON PROPERTY ISSUES Samir Hadjiyev GRATA LAW FIRM Arzu Hajiyeva ERNST & YOUNG Farid Huseynov EKVITA LEGAL AND TAX Mehti Ilgar EKVITA LEGAL AND TAX Ummi Jalilova GRATA LAW FIRM Emin Karimov Elshad Khanalibayli THE STATE COMMITTEE ON PROPERTY ISSUES Sevda Khanmamedova ARS EXPRESS & LOGISTICS Kamal Mamedzade SALANS FMC SNR DENTON EUROPE (CENTRAL ASIA) LIMITED Elnur Mammadov PWC AZERBAIJAN Nurlan Mammadov BAKER & MCKENZIE-CIS, LIMITED Zaur Mammadov ERNST & YOUNG Mirsalim Mammadzada DELOITTE Saif Mammedov NTD SERVICE Faiq S. 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Luanda Pinto Backheuser DE LUCA, DERENUSSON, SCHUTTOFF E AZEVEDO ADVOGADOS Antonio Claudio Pinto da Fonseca CONSTRUTORA MG LTDA Cassia Pizzotti DEMAREST E ALMEIDA ADVOGADOS Raphael Polito RAYES & FAGUNDES ADVOGADOS Renato Poltronieri DEMAREST E ALMEIDA ADVOGADOS José Ribeiro do Prado Junior MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Aline Prado Silva DE CONTI LAW OFFICE Antonio Celso Pugliese VELLA PUGLIESE BUOSI GUIDONI Dario Rabay SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Ana Paula Rabello LEFOSSE ADVOGADOS Carlos Alberto Ramos de Vasconcelos DEMAREST ADVOGADOS (RIO DE JANEIRO BRANCH) Ronaldo Rayes RAYES & FAGUNDES ADVOGADOS Gabriella Reao ULHÔA CANTO, REZENDE E GUERRA-ADVOGADOS Clarissa Rebello LEFOSSE ADVOGADOS Marília Rennó CHEDIAK, LOPES DA COSTA, CRISTOFARO, MENEZES CÔRTES, RENNÓ E ARAGÃO ADVOGADOS Bruna Rey VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Elisa Rezende VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Andreza Ribeiro SOUZA, CESCON , BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Juliana Ribeiro MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Eliane Ribeiro Gago DUARTE GARCIA, CASELLI GUIMARÃES E TERRA ADVOGADOS Laura Ribeiro Vissotto 1 CARTÓRIO DE NOTAS DE SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS Mariana Rodrigues SOUZA CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Viviane Rodrigues SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Marcos Roriz MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Luis Augusto Roux Azevedo DE LUCA, DERENUSSON, SCHUTTOFF E AZEVEDO ADVOGADOS José Samurai Saiani MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Carolina Santos Costa MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Priscilla Saraiva ULHÔA CANTO, REZENDE E GUERRA-ADVOGADOS Anelise Maria Jircik Sasson AES ELETROPAULO Carolina Schreier KLA-KOURY LOPES ADVOGADOS Edson Schueler VEIRANO ADVOGADOS Sabine Schuttoff DE LUCA, DERENUSSON, SCHUTTOFF E AZEVEDO ADVOGADOS Lucas Seabra MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Gabriel Seijo SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Erik Sernik VELLA PUGLIESE BUOSI GUIDONI Rafael Setoguti Julio Pereira GASPARINI DE CRESCI E NOGUEIRA DE LIMA ADVOGADOS Donizetti A. Silva DAS CONSULTORIA Laiza Silva SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 263 Sydney Simonaggio AES ELETROPAULO Michel Siqueira Batista VIEIRA, REZENDE, BARBOSA E GUERREIRO ADVOGADOS Beatriz Souza SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Walter Stuber WALTER STUBER CONSULTORIA JURÍDICA Daniel Szyfman MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Rodrigo Takano MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Bernardo Teixeira VIEIRA, REZENDE, BARBOSA E GUERREIRO ADVOGADOS Celina Teixeira 18 OFICIO DE NOTAS Maurício Teixeira Dos santos SOUZA , CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Marcelo Tendolini Saciotto RAYES & FAGUNDES ADVOGADOS Marcos Tiraboschi DE LUCA DERENUSSON, SCHUTTOFF E AZEVEDO ADVOGADOS Gisele Trindade VELLA PUGLIESE BUOSI GUIDONI Oswaldo Cesar Trunci de Oliveira MACHADO, MEYER, SENDACZ E OPICE ADVOGADOS Suslei Tufaniuk AES ELETROPAULO Luciana Macedo V. G. da Silva SOUZA, CESCON, BARRIEU & FLESCH ADVOGADOS Bruno Valente PWC BRAZIL Ronaldo C. 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MACEDONIA FYR Igor Aleksandrovski APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Ljubinka Andonovska CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Natasha Andreeva NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Zlatko Antevski LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Emilija Apostolska APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Rubin Atanasoski TIMELPROJECT ENGINEERING Maja Atanasova GEORGI DIMITROV ATTORNEYS Ljupka Avramovic SINKO DOO Benita Beleshkova IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Vera Belkoska CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Dragan Bla ev TIMELPROJECT ENGINEERING Slavica Bogoeva MACEDONIAN CREDIT BUREAU AD SKOPJE Sandra Cakmakova CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Ljupco Cubrinovski ENERGO DIZAJN Dragan Dameski DDK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Georgi Dimitrov GEORGI DIMITROV ATTORNEYS Ana Georgievska DIMA FORWARDERS Dimche Georgievski DIMA FORWARDERS Bojan Georvski IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Katarina Ginoska GEORGI DIMITROV ATTORNEYS Marijana Gjoreska CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Oliver Gjurovski CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Werner Hengst EVN MACEDONIA Aleksandar Ickovski Jasmina Ilieva Jovanovikj DDK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Orce Ivanoski LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Mare Ivanovska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Maja Jakimovska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Vase Jakov MUNICIPALITY OF GAZI BABA-SKOPJE Marija Jankuloska GEORGI DIMITROV ATTORNEYS Svetlana Jovanoska MUNICIPALITY OF GAZI BABA-SKOPJE Aneta Jovanoska Trajanovska LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Stefan Jovanovski PWC MACEDONIA Lenche Karpuzovska EVN MACEDONIA Emilija Kelesoska Sholjakovska DDK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Dejan Knezovic LAW OFFICE KNEZOVIC & ASSOCIATES Vancho Kostadinovski CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA George Kostov TP GJORGE KOSTOV SKOPJE Ivana Kostovska APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Dimitar Kostovski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Irena Lazarova CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Ivana Lekic PWC MACEDONIA Aleksandar Malezanski LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Miroslav Marchev PWC MACEDONIA Mirjana Markovska STOJKOSKA ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Elena Miceva DDK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Oliver Mirchevski EVN MACEDONIA Sladjana Miteva TIVA-AS D. O. O. E. L.-VALANDOVO Irena Mitkovska LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Jovana Mitrovska LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Biljana Mladenovska Dimitrova LAWYERS ANTEVSKI Martin Monevski MONEVSKI LAW FIRM Valerjan Monevski MONEVSKI LAW FIRM Vladimir Naumovski CENTRAL REGISTRY OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Svetlana Neceva LAW OFFICE PEPELJUGOSKI Ilija Nedelkoski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Elena Nikodinovska DDK ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Marina Nikoloska CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Marija Nikolova LAW OFFICE KNEZOVIC & ASSOCIATES Vesna Nikolovska LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Goran Nikolovski LAW OFFICE NIKOLOVSKI Martin Odzaklieski MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS Jasmina Rafajlovska RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D. O. O. Goran Rafajlovski RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D. O. O. Viktor Ristovski CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES Ljubica Ruben MENS LEGIS LAW FIRM Lidija Sarafimova-Danevska NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Simonida Shosholceva-Giannitsakis IKRP ROKAS & PARTNERS Alexander Sipek EVN MACEDONIA Dime Spasov AGENCY FOR REAL ESTATE CADASTRE Ivan Stojanov RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D. O. O. Blagoj Stojevski EVN MACEDONIA Margareta Taseva CAKMAKOVA ADVOCATES ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 289 Dragica Tasevska NATIONAL BANK OF THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA Borjanka Todorovska DONEVSKI LAW FIRM Toni Trajkovski MUNICIPALITY OF GAZI BABA-SKOPJE Svetlana Trendova APOSTOLSKA & ALEKSANDROVSKI Stefan Trost EVN MACEDONIA Natasha Trpenoska Trenchevska LAW FIRM TRPENOSKI Slavce Trspeski AGENCY FOR REAL ESTATE CADASTRE Vladimir Vasilevski BETASPED D. O. O. Pamela Veljanoska LAW OFFICE PEPELJUGOSKI Marija Zekmanovska RAFAJLOVSKI KONSALTING D. O. O. Sonja Zuber ANALYTICA MK MADAGASCAR BANQUE CENTRALE DE MADAGASCAR BUILD CONSULTING ENGINEERS JUDGE NATANAELA RAKOTOMANANA Serge Andretseheno CABINET AS ARCHITECTE Tsiry Andriamisamanana MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Herilova Andriampenomanana PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS TAX AND LEGAL Eddy Ramangason Andrianarisoa AVOCAT AU BARREAU DE MADAGASCAR Yves Duchateau SDV LOGISTICS Raphaël Jakoba MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Hanna Keyserlingk CABINET HK JURIFISC Ravelojaona Marie Albert JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Pascaline R. Rasamoeliarisoa DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Sahondra Rabenarivo MADAGASCAR LAW OFFICES Tahina Rajaona MADAGASCAR LAW OFFICES Pierrette Rajaonarisoa SDV LOGISTICS Mino Tahina Rajaonson JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Serge Lucien Rajoelina JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) Manantsoa Rakoto CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO.,MEMBER OF BOWMAN GILFILLAN AFRICA GROUP Fetrahanta Sylviane Rakotomanana PWC MADAGASCAR Harivola Joan Rakotomanjaka MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Haingotiana Rakotondratsiory PWC MADAGASCAR Heritiana Rakotosalama LEGISLINK CONSULTING Mamisoa Rakotosalama LEGISLINK CONSULTING Lanto Tiana Ralison PWC MADAGASCAR Roland Ramarijaona DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Laingo Ramarimbahoaka MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL Heridja Patrick Ramaroson MINISTÈRE DE LA JUSTICE Heritiana Rambeloson JIRO SY RANO MALAGASY (JIRAMA) William Randrianarivelo PWC MADAGASCAR Fetiarinjara Randrianarivo MADAGASCAR LAW OFFICES Sahondra Rasoarisoa DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Michael Ratrimo MADAGASCAR INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL SERVICES LTD. Théodore Raveloarison JARY-BUREAU D'ÉTUDES ARCHITECTURE INGÉNIERIE Andriamisa Ravelomanana PWC MADAGASCAR Jean Marcel Razafimahenina DELTA AUDIT DELOITTE Louis Sagot CABINET D'AVOCAT LOUIS SAGOT Ida Soamiliarimana MADAGASCAR CONSEIL INTERNATIONAL MALAWI MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. Dino Amritlal Raval WILSON & MORGAN Vincent Chikaonda SAVJANI & CO. Marshal Chilenga TF & PARTNERS Andrew Chimpololo UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI Gautoni D. Kainja KAINJA & DZONZI Griffin Kamanga 2ps CARGO CO. Dannie J. Kamwaza KAMWAZA DESIGN PARTNERSHIP James Masumbu TEMBENU MASUMBU & CO. Raphael Mhone RACANE ASSOCIATES Vyamala Aggriel Moyo PWC MALAWI Misheck Msiska ERNST & YOUNG Charles Mvula DUMA ELECTRICS LTD. -CONTROL SYSTEMS AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT Davis Njobvu SAVJANI & CO. Grant Nyirongo ELEMECH DESIGNS Donns Shawa RD CONSULTANTS Samuel Tembenu TEMBENU, MASUMBU & CO . Shiraz Yusuf ERNST & YOUNG MALAYSIA BANK NEGARA MALAYSIA Parameswaran A. Shanmughanathan TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD Nor Azimah Abdul Aziz COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Halimi Abd Manaf MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Abu Daud Abd Rahim AZMI & ASSOCIATES Ahmad Danial Abdul Rahim AZMI & ASSOCIATES Mohammad Rohaimy Abdul Rahim MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY Sonia Abraham AZMAN, DAVIDSON & CO. Wilfred Abraham ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Noorlida Hanum Ahmad COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Rosli Ahmad COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Azmi Mohs Ali AZMI & ASSOCIATES Andy SUMISO Wan Mohd Azzuddin FOCUS ARCHITECTS Mohd Zakri Baharudin MALAYSIAN EMPLOYERS FEDERATION Anita Balakrishnan SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. Shamsuddin Bardan MALAYSIAN EMPLOYERS FEDERATION Abdul Murad Bin Che Chik ZAIN MEGAT & MURAD Mohd Nawawi bin Hj Said Abdullah TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD Nawawi bin Hj. Said Abdullah ENERGY COMMISSION Ahmad Fuad bin Md Kasim TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD Che Adnan Bin Mohamad NADI CONSULT ERA SDN BHD Tahir bin Mohd Deni TENAGA NASIONAL BERHAD Abdul Aziz Bin Yusoff KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Ria Binti Sachlin DEPARTMENT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF LAND & MINES Chiah Kim Chai MALAYSIA BAR COUNCIL Janet Chai CHOOI & ASSOCIATES Hong Yun Chang TAY & PARTNERS Mary Chin Chee Foong HSBC MALAYSIA David Foo Khar Ching NATIONAL HOUSE BUYERS ASSOCIATION H. Y. Chong AZMAN DAVIDSON & CO. Jack Chor CHRISTOPHER LEE & CO. Eddie Chuah WONG & PARTNERS Tze Keong Chung CTOS DATA SYSTEMS SDN BHD Wong Tat Chung WONG BEH & TOH Melinda Marie D'Angelus AZMI & ASSOCIATES Mohd Naim Daruwish COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Nadesh Ganabaskaran ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Sabariah Ghazali MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY Tiew Hai San MINISTRY OF FEDERAL TERRITORIES AND URBAN WELLBEING Ar. Ezumi Harzani Ismail ARKITEK MAA Zulkurnain Hassan KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Ramli Hazra Izadi LKMD ARCHITECTURE Ivan Yue Chan Ho SHOOK LIN & BOK Hung Hoong SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. Ray Chong Kok Hou SHOOK LIN & BOK Michael Chiam Tow Hui COMMERCIAL EMPLOYERS'ASSOCIATION OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA Sallehuddin Ishah DEPARTMENT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF LAND & MINES Mohamed Zanyuin Ismail COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Rohani Ismail SESSIONS COURT KUALA LUMPUR Rosnani Ismail INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT LEMBAGA HASIL DALAM NEGERI (LHDN) Norhaiza Jemon COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Hj Mohd Nazam Md Kassim FOCUS ARCHITECTS Mohd. Fauzi Abdul Kayum EDARAN IT SERVICES SDN BHD Aishah Abdul Manap Khalid FOCUS ARCHITECTS LOH Kok Leong RUSSELL BEDFORD LC & COMPANY -MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Christopher Lee CHRISTOPHER LEE & CO. Wai Hsian Lian AZMI & ASSOCIATES Joo Ho Lim ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS , ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Koon Huan Lim SKRINE, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI San Peen Lim PWC MALAYSIA Chang Kim Loong NATIONAL HOUSE BUYER ASSOCIATION Ahmad Lufti Abdull Mutalip AZMI & ASSOCIATES Ir. Bashir Ahamed Maideen NADI CONSULT ERA SDN BHD Pari Malaba SUMISO Abd. Shukor Marsuhaida MINISTRY OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY Suzana Mohd Razali COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Zuhaidi Mohd Shahari AZMI & ASSOCIATES Shameen Mohd. Haaziq Pillay WONG & PARTNERS Chew Yin Mok BDO Nur Azwani Hasleem bt Nasrun DEPARTMENT OF DIRECTOR GENERAL OF LAND AND MINES-MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT Marina Nathan COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Connie Ng PANALPINA WORLD TRANSPORT LLP Oy Moon Ng CTOS DATA SYSTEMS SDN BHD Swee Kee Ng SHEARN DELAMORE & CO. Mahadi Ngah KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Allison Ong AZMAN, DAVIDSON & CO. Jal Othman SHOOK LIN & BOK Tan Kar Peng KAMARUDDIN WEE & CO ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS Rospawarna Rabbu PEJABAT TANAH DAN GALIAN SELANGOR Aminah BT Abd. Rahman MINISTRY OF URBAN WELLBEING HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Nirmala Ramadass COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Zulaini Rohani PORT KLANG AUTHORITIES 290 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Siti Zurina Sabarudin AZMI & ASSOCIATES Shaleni Sangaran SKRINE, MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Andy Seo Fiona Sequerah CHRISTOPHER LEE & CO. Hadiman Bin Simin MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT Jagdev Singh PWC MALAYSIA Rishwant Singh ZUL RAFIQUE & PARTNERS, ADVOCATE & SOLICITORS Koh Suan Suan AZMAN, DAVIDSON & CO. Adeline Thor Sue Lyn RUSSELL BEDFORD LC & COMPANY-MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Nor Fajariah Sulaiman CITY HALL OF KUALA LUMPUR Jamilah Haji Mohd Taib COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA Ee Ling Tan TAY & PARTNERS Cindy Thong PANALPINA WORLD TRANSPORT LLP Kenneth Tiong THE ASSOCIATED CHINESE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF MALAYSIA (ACCCIM Sahrom Ujang KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Sue Wan WONG & PARTNERS Wan Rosmawati Wan Ibrahim MALAYAN BANKING BERHAD Chee Lin Wong SKRINE , MEMBER OF LEX MUNDI Justin Wong AZMI & ASSOCIATES Yim Fat Wong THE ASSOCIATED CHINESE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF MALAYSIA (ACCCIM) Wei Kwang Woo WONG & PARTNERS Clifford Eng Hong Yap PWC MALAYSIA Elaine Yap WONG & PARTNERS Henry Yeam NATIONAL HOUSE BUYERS ASSOCIATION Susan Yeo CITY BANK Chui Wen Yong AZMI & ASSOCIATES Ismail Mohd Yusof KUALA LUMPUR CITY HALL Norina Zainol Abidin MALAYSIA DEPARTMENT OF INSOLVENCY Mohamad Hazrin Zakaria PEJABAT TANAH DAN GALIAN SELANGOR Megat Zulazizi B. Fahimudin WESTPORTS MALAYSIA SDN BHD MALDIVES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY MALÉ CITY COUNCIL MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE Mohamed Shahdy Anwar SUOOD ANWAR & CO-ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW Jatindra Bhattray PWC MALDIVES Asma Chan-Rahim SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Fathmath Fazleena Fakir MALDIVES MONETARY AUTHORITY Nuwan Fernando KPMG Aishath Haifa SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Mohamed Hameed ANTRAC MALDIVES PVT. LTD. Dheena Hussain SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Abdul Rasheed Ibrahim CUSTOMS SERVICE Shehan Kurukuththala ERNST & YOUNG Nasiha Malik SHAH, HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Laila Manik ATTORNEY Prasanta Misra PWC MALDIVES Abdulla Muizzu PRAXIS LAW FIRM Ahmed Murad MAZLAN & MURAD LAW ASSOCIATES Ismail Nashid MALDIVES CUSTOMS SERVICE Hussain Nazeer OTIUM GROUP Ismail Rasheed ARCHITECT Gayan Senanyake KPMG Mohamed Shafaz Wajeeh PRAXIS LAW FIRM Shuaib M. Shah SHAH HUSSAIN & CO. BARRISTERS & ATTORNEYS Fathimath Shaheen Upul Shantha KPMG Fathimath Sodhaf MALDIVES CUSTOMS SERVICE Lubna Zahir Hussain THE LAW COMMISSION OF THE MALDIVES MALI CENTRE NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE ET D'EXPÉRIMENTATION EN BÂTIMENT ET TRAVAUX PUBLICS (CNREX-BTP) Bassambie Bationo BCEAO Nianti Bouaré LABOGEC-LABORATOIRE GÉNIE CIVIL Amadou Camara SCP CAMARA TRAORÉ Céline Camara Sib ETUDE ME CELINE CAMARA SIB Boubacar Coulibaly MATRANS Elvis Danon PWC CÔTE D'IVOIRE Sekou Dembele ETUDE MAÎTRE SEKOU DEMBELE Mamadou Diarra CABINET JURI -PARTNER Fatimata Dicko Zouboye Djibril Guindo JURIFIS CONSULT Mahaman Tahir Hamani BCEAO Yacouba Massaman Keïta Gaoussou A g. Konaté AGENCE CADET Abdoul Karim Kone CABINET BERTH-KONE-AVOCATS ASSOCIÉS Siriki Zana Kone CABINET JURI-PARTNER Adeline Messou PWC CÔTE D'IVOIRE Bérenger Y. Meuke JURIFIS CONSULT Vanja Ramanandraitsiory CABINET JOHN W. FFOOKS & CO.,MEMBER OF BOWMAN GILFILLAN AFRICA GROUP Alassane T. Sangaré NOTARY Moussa Sanogo BCEAO Djibril Semega CABINET SEAG CONSEIL Dominique Taty PWC CÔTE D'IVOIRE Boubacar Thiam ASSOCIATION PROFESSIONNELLE DES BANQUES ET ETABLISSEMENT FINANCIERS DU MALI Imirane A. Touré DIRECTION NATIONALE DE L'URBANISME ET DE L'HABITAT Alassane Traoré ICON SARL Fousséni Traoré PWC CÔTE D'IVOIRE Emmanuel Yehouessi BCEAO MALTA ARCHITECTURE PROJECT BANK OF VALLETTA ENEMALTA CORPORATION MECS ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS Leonard Bonello GANADO ADVOCATES Paul Bonello MINISTRY OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF CUSTOMS Kris Borg DR KRIS BORG & ASSOCIATES-ADVOCATES Mario Raymond Borg INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT Nicolai Borg Sant PWC MALTA Ann M. Bugeja CSB ADVOCATES Charles Buhagiar MED DESIGN ASSOCIATES Johann Buttigieg MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (MEPA) Pierre Buttigieg CSB ADVOCATES Simon Camilleri CREDITINFO Joseph Caruana MALTA FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY (MFSA) Kirsten Cassar CAMILLERI PREZIOSI Stephen Ferrito MALTA ENVIRONMENT & PLANNING AUTHORITY (MEPA ) Neville Gatt PWC MALTA Christabelle Gauci CSB ADVOCATES Steve Gingell PWC MALTA Paul Gonzi FENECH & FENECH ADVOCATES Kurt Hyzler CSB ADVOCATES Kevin Loughborough COBRA INSTALLATIONS Henri Mizzi CAMILLERI PREZIOSI John Paris CREDITINFO Matthew Saliba CSB ADVOCATES Lynne Satariano CSB ADVOCATES Abigail Scerri PWC MALTA Ian Stafrace IAN STAFRACE LEGAL Audrey Vassallo LAND REGISTRY Quentin Zahra EUROFREIGHT Andrew J. Zammit CSB ADVOCATES MARSHALL ISLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY-MARSHALL ISLANDS HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE MAJURO WATER AND SEWER COMPANY MARSHALL ISLANDS REGISTRY MARSHALLS ENERGY COMPANY MINISTRY OF PUBLIC WORKS PKF INTERNATIONAL Kenneth Barden ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Tatyana E. Cerullo MARSHALL ISLANDS LAWYERS Raquel De Leon MARSHALL ISLANDS SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Anthony Frazier Avelino R. Gimao Jr. MARSHALL ISLANDS SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Don Hess COLLEGE OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS Jerry Kramer PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL, INC. Donna Lacuesta ROBERT REIMERS ENTERPRISES, INC. James Mccaffrey THE MCCAFFREY FIRM, LTD. Steve Philip CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Michael Slinger CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Scott H. Stege LAW OFFICES OF SCOTT STEGE Charles Stinnett MAJURO STEVEDORE AND TERMINAL COMPANY David M. Strauss CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Itibo Tofinga MARSHALL ISLANDS TAX AUTHORITY MAURITANIA Sid'Ahmed Abeidna SOGECO MAURITANIA Esteit Mohamedou Amane ETUDES RECHERCHES ET MAINTENANCE Tidiane Bal BSD & ASSOCIÉS Maroufa Diabira LAWYER Brahim Ebety LAWYER Hamoud Ismail SMPN Cheikany Jules CHEIKHANY JULES LAW OFFICE Oumar Sada Kelly ASSURIM CONSULTING Mohamed Lemine Salem Ould Béchir EXACO Abdou M'Bodj COMMUNAUTÉ URBAINE DE NOUAKCHOTT Wedou Mohamed MAURIHANDLING Ishagh Ould Ahmed Miské CABINET ISHAGH MISKE Moustapha Ould Bilal TRIBUNAL DE COMMERCE DE NOUAKCHOTT Mohamed Ould Bouddida ETUDE MAÎTRE MOHAMED OULD BOUDDIDA Ahmed Salem Ould Bouhoubeyni CABINET BOUHOUBEYNI Abdellahi Ould Charrouck ATELIER ARCHITECTURE ET DESIGN Abdallahi Ould Gah ETUDE GAH Moulaye El Ghali Ould Moulaye Ely AVOCAT Ahmed Ould Radhi BANQUE CENTRALE DE MAURITANIE Aliou Sall ETUDE ME ALIOU SALL & ASSOCIÉS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 291 Cheikh Sall ETUDE HADY MAOULOUDVALL Aicha Coura Samake BSD & ASSOCIÉS Aissetou Sy BSD & ASSOCIÉS Dominique Taty PWC CÔTE D'IVOIRE Khalidou Traoré COMMUNAUTÉ URBAINE DE NOUAKCHOTT MAURITIUS CONYERS DILL & PEARMAN Shameemah Abdool Raman-Sahebally PWC MAURITIUS Kursline Bégué CEB Latasha Bissessur Jugroo BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Jean-François Boisvenu BLC CHAMBERS Urmila Boolell BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Poonam Calcutteea BLC CHAMBERS Nicolas Carcasse DAGON INGENIEUR CONSEIL LTÉE D. P. Chinien REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES AND BUSINESSES, CORPORATE AND BUSINESS REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT Sandy Chuong GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Chandansingh Chutoori VYYAASS CONSULTING ENGINEER LTD. Roland Constantin ETUDE CONSTANTIN Bert C. Cunningham CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Marc Daruty de Grandpre DARUTY DE GRANDPRE & PARTNERS ARCHITECTS LTD. Rajendra Dassyne CHAMBERS OF NOTARIES OF MAURITIUS Catherine de Rosnay LEGIS & PARTNERS Sufyaan Dosemahamed PWC MAURITIUS Shalinee Dreepaul-Halkhoree JURISTCONSULT CHAMBERS Yannick Fok GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Poonam Geemul BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS Gavin Glover GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN J. Gilbert Gnany THE MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK LIMITED Yandraduth Googoolye BANK OF MAURITIUS Darmalingum Goorriah ETUDE ME DARMALINGUM GOORRIAH Raymond Marie Marc Hein JURISTCONSULT CHAMBERS Rubishwur Hemoo MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND OUTER ISLANDS Elodie Hermelin LEGIS & PARTNERS Nooreena Hosany MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND OUTER ISLANDS Tania Huet GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Reshma Hurday KROSS BORDER TRUST SERVICES LTD. -MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Nitish Hurnaum GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Imalambal Kichenin JURISTAX Poornima Kisto PWC MAURITIUS James John Lenaghan CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DEPARTMENT Anthony Leung Shing PWC MAURITIUS Jayram Luximon CEB Malcolm Moller APPLEBY Ramdas Mootanah ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN LTD. Loganayagan Munian ARTISCO INTERNATIONAL Mushtaq Namdarkhan BLC CHAMBERS Khemila Narraidoo JURISTCONSULT CHAMBERS Daniel Ng Cheong Hin MAURITIUS CARGO COMMUNITY SERVICES LTD Bilshan Nursimulu JURISTCONSULT CHAMBERS Ammar Oozeer JURISTCONSULT CHAMBERS Dheerend Puholoo PWC MAURITIUS Iqbal Rajahbalee BLC CHAMBERS Vivekanand Ramburun MAURITIUS REVENUE AUTHORITY André Robert ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Caroline Samy GEROUDISGLOVER GHURBURRUN Purmessur Sarwansingh MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND OUTER ISLANDS Hurrydeo Seebchurrun CEB Geetanjali Seewoosurrun CEB Gilbert Seeyave BDO FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD. Deviantee Sobarun MINISTRY OF FINANCE & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Mohamad Issa Soormally BANK OF MAURITIUS Oudesh Suddul KROSS BORDER TRUST SERVICES LTD. -MEMBER OF RUSSELL BEDFORD INTERNATIONAL Menzie Sunglee CEB Parikshat Teeluck DAMCO LOGISTICS (MAURITIUS) D. Thakoor BANK OF MAURITIUS Shiam Krisht Thannoo CEB Muhammad R c. Uteem UTEEM CHAMBERS Aynur Visram BANYMANDHUB BOOLELL CHAMBERS MEXICO Francisco Acevedo Ramos INSTALACIONES ELÉCTRICAS EN ALTA Y BAJA TENSIÓN ACEVEDO SA DE CV Beatriz A. Robles Acosta CAF-SIAC CONTADORES Gustavo I. Alarcón Caballero BAKER & MCKENZIE Alejandro Aldrette Aguirre CANALES Y SOCIOS ABOGADOS SC Jaime Alejandro Gutiérrez Vidal INSTITUTO FEDERAL DE ESPECIALISTAS DE CONCURSOS MERCANTILES Gabriel Andrade KPMG José Manuel Arce Ruíz STANDARD GO Francisco Samuel Arias González NOTARY PUBLIC 28 José Alejandro Astorga Hilbert INSTITUTO FEDERAL DE ESPECIALISTAS DE CONCURSOS MERCANTILES Alfonso Azcona Anaya ZITYMERKA SA DE CV Antonio Barrera Ríos SÁNCHEZ DEVANNY ESEVERRI S. C Arturo Ojeda Becerra VISION GLOBAL INTEGRAL (VGI, HUMAN LEGAL & TAX SERVICES) Claudia D. 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Kasonde ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL OF ZAMBIA Walusiku Lisulo LISULO+BWALYA Johan Lombaard MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. 318 DOING BUSINESS 2015 Mumba Makumba PACRA Sylvester Mashamba NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CONSTRUCTION Bonaventure Mbewe BARCLAYS BANK Chosani Mbewe PWC ZAMBIA Harriet Mdala MUSA DUDHIA & COMPANY Jyoti Mistry PWC ZAMBIA Mwape Mondoloka BARCLAYS BANK Mutule Museba CORPUS LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Henry Musonda KIRAN & MUSONDA ASSOCIATES Lloyd Musonda PACRA Francis Mwape NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CONSTRUCTION Nchima Nchito NCHITO AND NCHITO ADVOCATES Kanti Patel CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL COOK & CO . Solly Patel CHRISTOPHER RUSSELL COOK & CO. Rodwyn Peterson CHIBESAKUNDA & COMPANY MEMBER OF DLA PIPER GROUP John Serlemitsos PLATINUM GOLD EQUITY Valerie Sesia CUSTOMIZED CLEARING AND FORWARDING LTD. Sharon K. Sichilongo ZAMBIA DEVELOPMENT AGENCY Mildred Stephenson CREDIT REFERENCE BUREAU AFRICA LTD. Thomas Story PWC ZAMBIA Mephias Triboyi MUSA DUDHIA & COMPANY Enos Zulu PACRA ZIMBABWE ERNST & YOUNG Richard Beattie THE STONE/BEATTIE STUDIO Tim Boulton MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. Peter Cawood PWC ZIMBABWE Antony Chagonda SAWYER & MKUSHI Lindsay Cook ATHERSTONE & COOK Grant Davies MANICA AFRICA PTY. LTD. Beloved Dhlakama DHLAKAMA B. ATTORNEYS Farayi Dyirakumunda EXPERT DECISION SYSTEMS ZIMBABWE Paul Fraser LOFTY & FRASER Daniel Garwe PLANET R. T . Katsande ZIMBABWE ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION COMPANY Abraham Kudzai Maguchu DUBE MANIKAI AND HWACHA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS-DMH COMMERCIAL LAW CHAMBERS Peter Lloyd GILL, GODLONTON & GERRANS Manuel Lopes PWC ZIMBABWE Memory Mafo SCANLEN & HOLDERNESS Faro Mahere GILL, GODLONTON & GERRANS Rita Makarau HIGH COURT ZIMBABWE Zanudeen Makorie COGHLAN, WELSH & GUEST Chris Masimu DIVINE FREIGHT Thembiwe Mazingi COGHLAN, WELSH & GUEST Lloyd Mhishi MHISHI LEGAL PRACTICE H p. Mkushi SAWYER & MKUSHI T. Muringani SPEARTEC Joseph Musariri SFAAZ Eldard Mutasa HIGH COURT ZIMBABWE Ostern Mutero SAWYER & MKUSHI Alec Tafadzwa Muza MAWERE & SIBANDA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Phathisile Paula Ncube MAWERE & SIBANDA LEGAL PRACTITIONERS Duduzile Ndawana GILL GODLONTON & GERRANS Raymond Nembo SAWYER & MKUSHI Maxwell Ngorima BDO TAX & ADVISORY SERVICES PVT. LTD. Oleen Singizi EXPERT DECISION SYSTEMS ZIMBABWE Ruvimbo Zhewe EXPERT DECISION SYSTEMS ZIMBABWE www. doingbusiness. org ISBN 978-1-4648-0351 -2 SKU 210351 9 7 8 1 4 6 4 8 0 3 5 1 2 9 0 0 0 0 2004 2008 2013 2007 2011 2006 2010 COMPARING BUSINESS REGULATIONS FOR DOMESTIC FIRMS IN 185 ECONOMIES 10th EDITION DOING BUSINESS 2013 Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises

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