Sri Lanka ranked 105 by Doing Business

“The country has established the vital factors to support business including law and order, political and economic stability as well as the regaining of land and the sea”, said Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. He was speaking a seminar themed, ‘Improving Doing Business ranking of Sri Lanka’ at the Central Bank.

The Minister said that according to the Doing Business 2010 Report prepared by the World Bank the country has been ranked 105 among the 183 countries. At times these indicators are not practical as investors use these indices and hence we have to correct the shortcomings.

The Minister said that if we rectify the shortcomings, the country will not only improve its global rankings but also improve the conditions of our people. Minister Rajapaksa said that laws and state institutions should work together to support the investors and law-abiding citizens and most importantly not to give excuses to delay an issue but always seek a lawful method to solve it to help the investors and public. Sri Lanka should have a minimum number of laws and nobody should be permitted to violate them and if this signal is given to the investors it will help increase the FDI to the country.

The Defence Ministry Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that if the land in the country is pre-qualified to assess for what purpose it could be used and compile a database it will help investors and also reduce the time and money spent each time an investor is in need of land. He said that in the event the Municipality and the Urban Development Authority can work together it will help citizens and the investors.

Cabinet Secretary Sumith Abeysinghe stressed the need to have a greater coordination between the institutions which will help eliminate many of the problems and issues. He said that while it is necessary to rectify our shortcomings we should also inform the World Bank about our true situation. Abeysinghe was confident that with the ICT playing a greater role in the future most of the issues can be sorted out. He said that the Economic Development Minister has proposed to the Cabinet to have a fresh look at the acts which affect investors and if necessary, to change them to suit the present needs.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal said that in the short term,their plan was to come up in the rankings and be within the first 30. He said that by making minor adjustments and eliminating the repetitions when working with different institutions and working together the country can achieve it.

The Governor also said that a committee will make representations on the true situation which will help to position the country at a higher ranking. The Doing Business Index is compiled covering regulations affecting the 10 stages of the life of business which includes starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering a property, getting credit-protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders,enforcing contracts and closing a business.

(S.G.)