Thailand climbs to 13th In World Bank 'Doing Business' Rankings

Doing business in Thailand has become significantly easier than in most countries in the world, according to new information form the world's two top international financial institutions.

Thailand has risen to the 13th position from 19th in the "2009 Doing Business" rankings published by the US-based World Bank and International Finance Corp.

In a report published by the World Bank and International Finance Corp based on information obtained from July 2007 through June this year, Thailand was ranked number 13 out of 181 countries worldwide and the fourth among Asian countries. Singapore retained the top spot for the third consecutive year, followed by New Zealand, the US, Hong Kong, China and Denmark.

Thailand led other reformers in the region with improvements in four areas - Registering Property, Protecting Investors, Paying Taxes, and Trading across Borders, said the report. The report pointed out that Thailand has climbed six places because its government made paying taxes easier by reducing some fees and facilitating online filing and payments. In addition, it now exempts companies with taxable income not exceeding 1.2 million baht (US$34,641) from corporate income tax and applies concessionary 25 per cent rates for newly listed companies.

In addition, the report said, Thailand had succeeded in amending the Securities and Exchange Act to strengthen minority shareholder rights. Provisional reductions of the property transfer fee and specific business tax have lowered the cost to transfer property from 6.3 per cent of the property value to 1.13 per cent. A new internet-based customs clearance system reduced the number of documents that must be submitted in hard copy from 9 to 3 for imports and from seven to four for exports.

Launched in 2003, Doing Business examines 10 indicators of a country's business climate, the ease or difficulty faced by that country's private sector. Doing Business 2009 ranks 181 economies on the overall ease of doing business. The top 25 are, in order, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong (China), Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Japan, Thailand, Finland, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Bahrain, Belgium, Malaysia, Switzerland, Estonia, Korea, Mauritius, and Germany.

Asia Pulse, 11.09.2008

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