Ease of doing business: Singapore ranks 2nd, Malaysia is 15th globally

The World Bank Doing Business 2019 Report revealed Singapore as #2 in the world for ease of doing business. Amongst the Asian nations, Hong Kong ranks #4; Taiwan ranks #13; Malaysia ranks #15; Thailand ranks #27; Japan, China, India and the Philippines rank #39, #46, #77 and #124 respectively.

Ease of doing business ranking 2019

1. New Zealand 2. Singapore 3. Denmark 4. Hong Kong SAR, China 5. Korea, Rep. 6. Georgia 7. Norway 8. United States 9. United Kingdom 10. Macedonia, FYR

Doing Business, a project of World Bank, measures aspects of business regulation affecting small and medium-sized domestic firms. Indicators for the report are informed by theoretical insights gained from extensive research and the literature on the role of institutions in enabling economic development.

Training as an important aspect

Training is identified as an essential aspect to both civil servants and the public in improving the overall quality of public goods and services provided.

According to the report, companies should not limit training to just managers and supervisors. Instead, land registry staff who interact with the public daily should also be well trained. Training staff about upcoming changes in the company also has a positive impact on the business operating environment.

For the first time this year, Doing Business collected data on the training provided to business and land registry officers and users, in 183 economies. Only 24% of the economies provided for in this set legally require professional training for business registry officers.

In general, mandatory training for business registry officers is associated with higher business registry efficiency while annual training for land registry officers is also associated with higher land registry efficiency.

Training for entrepreneurs 

In Southeast Asia alone, only slightly above 10% of the economies provide registry training to entrepreneurs.

The report revealed that in 2014, about 230 entrepreneurship education and training (ETT) programmes were identified globally. With such programmes, there has been a significant increase in self-employment, household consumption and income two years after.

Training programmes also succeeded in equipping new entrepreneurs with managerial skills useful in operating their businesses. At the same time, training programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises help improve a firm's performance and create jobs, as cited in the report.

Lead photo / 123RF Graphic / World Bank