Except for Dealing for Construction Permits and Registering Property -- the two indicators among nine indicators -- all other indicators have slipped from last year's report.
"Nepal still has room to improve overall business climate," said former chief secretary Dr Bimal Koirala. "Closing business business is still difficult in Nepal," he said, adding that the report analyses three key factors -- starting business, operating business and closing business -- but the report is a quick snapshot of the business environment, though its not a whole picture.
"Despite good ranking, the past five years' trend shows that Nepal has stagnated as the doing business has become more difficult and costly," the report said, adding that the five-year measure of cumultive change reflects that doing business has become easier in India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and even Afghanistan. Nepal ranks fifth among the South Asian countries.
Other economies in South Asia are also improving regulation with faster, transparent, electronic systems. Pakistan -- the region’s highest-ranking economy on the regulatory ease of doing business with a global ranking of 83 among 183 economies -- reduced the time for exporting by improving electronic communication between the Karachi Port authorities and private terminals in the past year.
Similarly, Bangladesh made business start-up easier by enhancing the country’s online registration system.
Doing Business 2011 finds that from June 2009 through May 2010, four of eight economies in South Asia reformed business regulation to expand opportunity for local firms.
But the report has ranked India at 134, Bhutan at 142, Afghanistan at 167, Bangladesh at 107, Sri Lanka at 102, Maldives at 85 and Pakistan at 83.
The report doesnot include security situation, macroeconomic stability, corruption perception giving room to the critics blaming the report being incomplete. However, it helps economies to compare with others for regulatory reforms.
Despite Nepal's adoption to the liberal economy after 1990, the private sector has been hesitant in investment due to Maoists unrest and various policy constriants. "Paying tax is still cubersome," Dr Koirala said, adding that IFC is helping the government improve procedures and reform regulations.
Nepal did not report any reform in the past year, there is significant scope for improvements in selected Doing Business indicators like Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permit, Paying Taxes, Trading Across Border, and Electricity Connection -- the added indicator from this year.
Since 2005, business regulation has become more effective for entrepreneurs worldwide, with about 85 per cent of the world’s economies making it easier for firms to operate, thanks to 1,511 improvements in business regulations. Among the 40 most-improved economies during those five years was India, which made significant changes at a steady pace, according to the Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs -- the eighth in a series of annual reports.
In the past year, governments in 117 economies worldwide carried out 216 business regulation reforms aimed at making it easier to start and operate a business, strengthening transparency and property rights, and improving the efficiency of commercial dispute resolution and bankruptcy procedures. More than half the policy changes eased business start-up, trade, and the payment of taxes.
Doing Business analyses regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. It does not measure all aspects of the business environment -- like security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, skill level, or the strength of financial systems -- that matter to firms and investors.
Its findings have stimulated policy debates in more than 80 economies and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies.
For the fifth year running, Singapore leads in the ease of doing business, followed by Hong Kong SAR China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Among the top 25 economies, 18 made things even easier over the past year.
Among the world's economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year, according to Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs, the eighth in a series of annual reports published by IFC and the World Bank.
Kazakhstan improved conditions for starting a business, obtaining construction permits, protecting investors, and trading across borders. As a result, it moved up 15 places in the rankings on the ease of doing business—to 59 among 183 economies. Two other regional economies, Tajikistan and Hungary, were also among the 10 most-improved economies, climbing 10 places and six places respectively.
This year's list of the 10 most-improved economies also includes three in Sub-Saharan Africa—Rwanda (a consistent reformer of business regulation), Cape Verde, and Zambia—as well as Peru, Vietnam, Grenada, and Brunei Darussalam.
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