The best place to do business is Singapore, says a World Bank index which ranks economies on their ease of doing business.
Among others in the Top 10 are Hong Kong, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Ireland and Australia, says the report titled Doing Business 2011.
Overall, doing business remains easiest in the high-income economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and most difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The World Bank index averages the country's percentile rankings on nine topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. Doing Business 2011 covered the period June 2009 to May 2010. The sortable rankings (based on region, income and population) can be accessed here.
The elements that were taken into account to assess an economy were: Ease of Doing Business, Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Registering Property, Getting Credit, Protecting Investors, Paying Taxes, Trading Across Borders, Enforcing Contracts, Closing a Business.
Governments in 117 economies implemented 216 business regulation reforms 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 those policy changes eased start-up, trade and the payment of taxes. Kazakhstan emerged as the topmost reformer.
