Bhutan slips further on doing business ranking
Bhutan’s ranking on ease of doing business has further worsened this year – that has been the trend for last several years according to new report by the World Bank. The former government led by PDP had pledged to take the country’s ranking to the top 50.
The report is based on finding between May 2018 to 2019 and covers only Thimphu city.
The Ease of Doing Business report, 2020, which compares business regulation in 190 economies, placed Bhutan in the 89th position. Bhutan was in 81st position last year and 73rd in 2018. However, Bhutan is second best in South Asia after India, which is placed on 63rd position.
All other countries in the region have improved their scores this year compared to their previous position in the report.
A high ranking on ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate scores on 10 parameters, each consisting of several indicators.
Among the ten parameters, Bhutan’s top ranking was in a parameter that records trading across border, enforcing contracts and tax payments. In terms of paying tax, Bhutan ranks 15 among 190 economies.
In other two parameters, trading across the border and enforcing contract, Bhutan ranks 30th and 29th respectively.
Doing Business, according to the World Bank, 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 macroeconomic stability, development of the financial system, market size, the incidence of bribery and corruption or the quality of the labour force. Ease of doing business advocates for both regulatory quality and efficiency since its launch in 2002.
Full report click here and Bhutan’s profile click here