Zim slips on ‘Doing Business’ index

paying taxes, protecting investors, getting credit, registering property and dealing with construction permits.
But it did well to move up the rankings in four of the key indicators — getting electricity, starting a business, trading across borders and enforcement of contracts.
The annual survey, done jointly by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank’s Doing Business, focuses on the regulations that apply to small and medium domestic enterprises.
Out of the 185 economies surveyed, Zimbabwe was ranked 143 on starting business, 111 enforcing contracts, 157 getting electricity, 85 registering property, 129 getting credit and 167 trading across borders.
It came in at number 128 on protecting investors, 134 paying taxes, 170 dealing with construction permits and 169 on resolving insolvency.
There has not been any gain on overall rankings, despite the country introducing the on-stop shop investment centre concept to improve the ease of doing business.
As a result, Zimbabwe still lags behind in attracting foreign investment, which, although it improved significantly last year, far lags behind other countries in the region.
Zimbabwe realised US$105 million Foreign Direct Investment in 2010, compared with US$9 billion that went to Angola, but saw the FDI more than triple to US$365 million in 2011.
The World Bank’s Doing Business report found that out of the 50 economies that made the most improvement in business regulations for domestic firms since 2005, 17 are in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This year’s report marks the 10th edition of the global Doing Business report series and over the life of the report; Africa has consistently recorded a high number of reforms. Rwanda, particularly, stands out as having consistently improved since 2005.
“We are very encouraged that so many economies in Africa are among the 50 that have made the most improvement since 2005, as captured by the Doing Business indicators,” WB said in a statement.
Yet despite those achievements, much more can be done to enable African economies to build a strong and competitive private sector.
The region’s average ranking on the ease of doing business is 140 out of 185. Mauritius and South Africa are the only African economies among the top 40 in the global rankings.
From June 2011 to June 2012, 28 of 46 governments in Sub-Saharan Africa implemented at least one regulatory reform out of a total of 44, making it easier to do business.
Burundi, with four reforms, ranks among the 10 economies worldwide that improved the most in the past year across three or more areas.
Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year.
On the list of the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulations are Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand, United States, Denmark, Norway, United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Georgia and Australia.