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Vietnam drops a place in global Doing Business Rankings
Vietnam has dropped to 92nd place in the Doing Business 2009 report launched by the World Bank in Hanoi on September 10. Experts explain that even though Vietnam made a great effort to improve its business environment, other countries have made a quantum leap in the field.
WB experts acknowledged Vietnam’s progress in the Getting Credits category, placing the country 43rd in the rankings compared to China (59th), Thailand (68th) and Indonesia (109th). According to the WB, Vietnam’s public credit registry now keeps information on record longer, providing financial institutions with more data on the repayment history and debt capacity of potential borrowers.
However, domestic economic experts did not agreed with WB calculations. Senior expert Pham Chi Lan said that the report did not reflect the true picture of Vietnam’s business environment. She explained that even though Vietnam was placed high in some categories such as 37th in Registering Property, 43rd in Getting Credits and 42nd in Enforcing Contracts, its small and medium-sized businesses have faced a lot of difficulties in getting access to credits.
She went on to say that the report did not mention the most important factors of the business environment that affect daily business activities, including the stability of the macro economy, the fight against corruption, labour and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Tran Huu Huynh, head of the Legal Department under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, asked the report drafting group to consider figures in the Paying Taxes category, which indicate that it takes Vietnamese businesses 1,050 hours to fulfil their obligations every year. He pointed out that over the past years Vietnam has made progress in tax reform, including shortening the tax paying time and simplifying procedures.
Rita Ramalho, member of the report drafting group, said that the report was based on figures released in 2007 and Vietnam’s progress would be added to the Doing Business 2010 Report.
Doing Business ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, registering property, trading across borders, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, paying taxes, protecting investors, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.
Singapore led the global rankings on the overall regulatory ease of doing business for a third consecutive year. Two runners-up were New Zealand and the United States. Hong Kong (China) retained fourth place, while Thailand advanced to 13 and Malaysia to 20.
VOV
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