Doing Business 2013 Report: Ten years of analysis and data on business regulatory reforms

Edition 9 - November 2012
DBNews, published semiannually, is a platform for exchanging information and ideas among the ever-growing community of Doing Business contributors across the world. Thank you Contributors! Thank you for contributing your expertise and time to the Doing Business 2013 report.  We also appreciate your responsiveness to our follow-up questions via telephone and email.   Many of you have been research partners with the World Bank and IFC for the past 10 years and we look forward to continuing this important relationship with you as we work toward our common goal of enabling local entrepreneurs in your economy and globally. Doing Business 2013 launched on October 23, 2012 The new report is live! Doing Business website crossed 1 million page views in October. Please visit www.doingbusiness.org to see the results of your work on the Doing Business surveys incorporated into the report, data and analysis.  You may expect to receive your copy of the report and certificate of appreciation for your Doing Business 2013 contribution by January. Click on the banner below to view the Doing Business Infograph: Doing Business 2013 Key Findings This year’s report marks the 10th edition of the Doing Business series. Over the past decade, these reports have recorded nearly 2,000 regulatory reforms implemented by 180 economies. The reforms have yielded major benefits for local entrepreneurs across the globe. For example: Since 2005, the average time to start a business has fallen from 50 days to 30—and in low income economies the average has been reduced by half. In the past eight years, the average time to transfer property fell by 35 days, from 90 to 55, and the average cost by 1.2 percentage points—from 7.1 percent of the property value to 5.9 percent. In the past eight years, improvements to simplify tax compliance have reduced the time required annually to comply with the three major taxes measured (profit, labor, and consumption taxes) by 54 hours on average. Report findings for your region are available on the press page of the website: www.doingbusiness.org/press How You Make an Impact You may enjoy sharing this Doing Business video and infograph with your networks to show how the research you contribute to is making it easier to do business around the world. Media Coverage Doing Business 2013 generated over 3,500 media citations globally in the first week.  Notable articles include: Getting Better, The Economist, 10/27/12 (Print Edition) Une compétitivité qui s'améliore en dépit de la crise de la dette, Les Echos, 10/24/12  Doing Business 2013 : l'Afrique peut encore mieux faire !, Jeune Afrique, 10/23/12 País intenta colarse en primeros 100 puestos del ‘Doing Business,’ La Nación, 10/24/12  Singapore tops in "doing business" rankings for 7th year, Xinhua News, 10/23/12  Key Reforms Improve Business Climate in Middle East region, Daily Star Online, 10/23/12  Doing Business 2013 news and findings went viral on social media channels with 2,884,366 total views of the #DoingBiz hashtag on Twitter within 2 days of launch. World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Database Launched on October 23rd, the World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Database is updated every two years, and is based on the only global survey of formal entrepreneurship that can be compared across countries and over time.  Data on new firm registration are collected directly from business registries in 130 economies.  In 2011, more than 60 percent of the world’s economies saw a faster pace of new firm registration than in the year before. Doing Business offers three other new datasets this year: Distance to Frontier shows how economies have improved over time. Good Practices identifies economies with processes making it easy to do business. Transparency in Business Regulations provides data on the accessibility of regulatory information. Subnational News Sub-national and sub-regional Doing Business reports capture differences in business regulations and their enforcement across locations within a single country or region. Recent reports include: Doing Business in Italy 2013: Launched on November 14 in Rome, Italy, this report benchmarks business regulations across thirteen Italian cities across four indicators: Starting a Business, Dealing with Construction Permits, Registering Property, and Enforcing Contracts. The report also measures the Doing Business Trading Across Borders indicator in seven strategic ports. Doing Business in Hargeisa 2012: Launched in October, this report provides the first micro-level data for business regulatory framework for domestic small and medium businesses in Hargeisa, the largest economic center in Somaliland. Doing Business in Kenya 2012: Launched in June, this report is the second in a series that analyses the ease of doing business in 13 Kenyan cities.  All 13 cities have improved business registration processes over the last two years and two cities expedited the approval of construction permits. Doing Business in Russia 2012: Launched in June, the report is the second in a series analyzing four areas of business regulation across 30 Russian cities. Overall, it is easier to start a business, deal with construction permits, get electricity and register property in Ulyanovsk and Saransk. Doing Business in the Arab World 2012: Launched in May, this report draws on data from the annual global Doing Business study and finds that 13 of 20 economies in the Arab world adopted a total of 20 business regulatory reforms, mostly focused on making it easier to start a business or improving credit information systems. Special Thanks We extend our appreciation to the firms that have completed multiple surveys in their various offices around the world. Global Contributors: Advocates for International Development, Allen & Overy LLP, American Bar Association-Section of International Law, Baker & McKenzie, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Ernst & Young, Ius Laboris - Alliance of Labor, Employment, Benefits and Pensions Law Firms, KPMG, Law Society of England and Wales, Lex Mundi, Association of Independent Law Firms, Panalpina, PwC, Raposo Bernardo & Associados, Russell Bedford International, SDV International Logistics, Security Cargo Network Regional Contributors:  A.P. Moller - Maersk Group, Association of Consumer Credit Information Suppliers (ACCIS), Cabinet John W. Ffooks & Co., Globalink Transportation & Logistics Worldwide LLP, Grata Law Firm, Jones Lang LaSalle, Salans International Law Firm, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Legal (TAG-Legal), TransUnion International Events Upcoming Events: Law, Justice and Development Week at the World Bank, December 10-14 (Washington, DC). Doing Business 2013 contributors are eligible for a special discounted rate at this event. Please contact dbnews@worldbank.org for more information. DB presentation at Georgetown University, December 6 (Washington D.C.) DB presentation at IESE, December 12 (Madrid, Spain)  Past Events: Paying Taxes 2013 report launch, November 21 (Singapore) DB presentation at CEFTA Week 2012, November 7 (Tirana, Albania) DB presentation hosted by the American Bar Association at Hughes, Hubbard & Reed law firm, November 13 (Washington, DC) DB Presentation at Caribbean Association of Banks, 39th Annual General Meeting & Conference, November 14-17 (Montego Bay, Jamaica) Special Notice You may have received an email from an organization called "Acquisition International Magazine". Please kindly note we are not affiliated with them. Women, Business and the Law The same department that produces the Doing Business reports is currently collecting data on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees.  Thank you to the many Doing Business contributors who also contribute to this gender project. If you wish to become a contributor to Women, Business and the Law, please email: dbnews@worldbank.org. For more information please visit: wbl.worldbank.org Doing Business 2013 for the iPhone Use it for research, client meetings, or even casual debate amongst friends about where it's easiest to do business. The updated app for Doing Business 2013 data will be available by mid December. Available for download on iTunes. For more information visit: doingbusiness.org/special-features/iphone Feedback If you will like to learn about any Doing Business events in your region, or provide us with any feedback or contact information updates, please email: DBNews@worldbank.org. Stay Connected ! #DoingBiz

UNCTAD Review of Maritime Transport 2012 launched

The latest issue of UNCTAD’s annual Review of Maritime Transport is on-line today: www.unctad.org/rmt2012

As highlighted by the Secretary General of UNCTAD in his foreword, “[m]aritime transport is the backbone of international trade and a key engine driving globalization. Around 80 per cent of global trade by volume and over 70 per cent by value is carried by sea and is handled by ports worldwide; these shares are even higher in the case of most developing countries.”

“In common with previous issues, the 2012 Review contains critical analysis and a wealth of unique data, including long-term data series on seaborne trade, fleet capacity, shipping services and port handling activities. This year’s Review notes that world seaborne trade crew by 4 per cent in 2011, whereas the tonnage of the world fleet grew at a greater rate, by almost 10 per cent, as shipowners took delivery of vessels that had been ordered before the economic crisis began. With supply outstripping demand, freight rates fell even further, to unprofitable levels for most shipping companies. For importers and exporters, however, the low freight rates helped to reduce the transaction costs, which is important for helping to revive global trade.”

“As freight traffic continues to grow, the question of how to ensure the long-term sustainability of such growth is playing an increasingly important part in the policy debate on globalization, trade and development, environmental sustainability, energy security and climate change. Reflecting these new realities, this year’s Review of Maritime Transport addresses a range of relevant issues in this context and includes a special chapter on sustainable freight transport.”

With best regards

The team of the Trade Logistics Branch

PS. Why not collect your very own printed hard copy of the 176 page book for free at our meeting next week (12/12/12) in Geneva on Assessing Port Performance (http://unctad.org/en/Pages/MeetingDetails.aspx?meetingid=175) - email florence.hudry@unctad.org for registration details.

Trade Logistics Branch
Division on Technology and Logistics
UNCTAD, Geneva