A report by the World Bank and International Finance Corporation has identified Sri Lanka as an easier place to do business.
The report assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 183 economies and ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, resolving insolvency and trading across borders.
The survey found that Sri Lanka implemented the most reforms of any of the eight economies in South Asia, helping to create a better environment for entrepreneurs. It rose nine places in the global ranking to 89, partly by strengthening investor protections and reducing taxes on business. Among the region’s economies, the low- and lower-middle-income economies of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, and Nepal also improved business regulations for local firms, the report noted.
“...Sri Lanka implemented the most reforms of any of the eight economies in South Asia, helping to create a better environment for entrepreneurs,” World Bank and IFC said in a statement releasing the Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World.
Sri Lanka made paying taxes less costly for businesses by abolishing the turnover tax and social security contribution and by reducing corporate income tax, value added tax and national building tax rates. Sri Lanka strengthened investor protections by requiring greater corporate disclosure on transactions between interested parties. Sri Lanka’s has adopted a conscious strategy to moving up in doing business rankings, the report adds.
The report goes on to state that in South Asia the pace of regulatory reform remained steady over the past year. Sri Lanka and Bhutan were the most active. Sri Lanka implemented tax changes and tightened disclosure requirements for transactions involving a conflict of interest. Bhutan launched a public credit registry and streamlined business start-up.