Business | Banking
Saudi Arabia up 15 spots in World Bank rankings
A recent report released by the World Bank noted that Saudi Arabia is now among the world's fastest reformers in terms of providing better business climates.
- By Mariam Al Hakeem, Correspondent
- Published: 00:00 September 28, 2007
Riyadh: A recent report released by the World Bank noted that Saudi Arabia is now among the world's fastest reformers in terms of providing better business climates.
The World Bank's Doing Business 2008 report, said that Saudi Arabia jumped 15 places in the overall rankings to number 23, added the report, released through the bank's arm International Finance Corp.
Saudi Arabia, the runner-up reformer in the region, meanwhile eliminated the minimum capital requirement of 1,057 per cent of income per capita and reduced the days needed for company start-up from 39 to 15, the report said.
The World Bank rankings are based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation, trade, taxation, and closure. They do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.
Commenting on the report, the Saudi Arabia fin-ance minister Dr Ebrahim Al Assaf attributed the development, among other factors, to what the report said that the Kingdom is the world's only country with free of charge real estate ownership registration services.
He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has made great strides in paying taxes, and improving measures to reduce time spent in finalising transactions at its ports. He added that the Kingdom has improved the environment for domestic and foreign investments, hoping that it would further improve its rating.
Business Editor's choice
-
Two Europe banks to inject new cash
Bank of England to pump £50b into UK as ecb mulls second credit offer
-
Nokia cuts 4,000 jobs in 3 countries
Company is struggling to make inroads in the smartphone market
