Specifically, this year’s report highlighted significant improvements in 2 indicators, namely Registering Property which improved by 76 ranks to 107th; Trading Across Border at 35th improving by 17 ranks compared to the previous report. Two indicators showed modest improvements, namely Enforcing Contract which improved 8 ranks to 151 and Paying Taxes, improving by 2 ranks to occupy the 20th rank worldwide. The report also published the adjusted 2011ranking for Brunei Darussalam (86) taking into consideration the additional topic (Getting Electricity) and reflecting data corrections.
Brunei Darussalam also ranks well in Getting Electricity (28) a newly re-introduced indicator for 2012 report. However 5 indicators slide from the 2011 rankings namely Starting a Business from 133 to 136; Dealing with Construction Permit sliding 9 ranks from 74 to 83; Protecting Investors down by 2 ranks to 122 and Resolving Insolvency (Closing a Business) also down by 2 ranks to 44th.
As the Chairman of the Ease of Doing Business Steering Committee, Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yahya Bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Haji Bakar, the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources welcomes the overall improvement on Brunei Darussalam’s overall ranking and reiterated that the improvements recognised in the Doing Business 2012: Doing business in a more transparent world report are the results of concerted efforts of all agencies responsible for regulating business environment in Brunei Darussalam. He further stressed that various reforms and improvements are work in progress and the results will only be reflected in future reports.
The formation of Ease of Doing Business Steering Committee and Working Committee earlier this year is testament to the commitment of His Majesty’s government to continuously address business fundamentals in the country. It has enabled and will continuously provide a platform for a more focus and coordinated efforts among government agencies to improve the doing business environment in Brunei Darussalam, and convert reform plans into effective, measurable and practical actions that benefit the business community and the SMEs.
Brunei Darussalam is now 4th among the ASEAN countries behind Singapore which holds the top ranking for the 5th consecutive years, Thailand (17) and Malaysia (18). The Doing Business 2012 report also highlighted that for the period of 2010/2011, 125 countries implemented 245 institutional and regulatory reforms, 13% higher than previously and this seems to be the trend for the future. Therefore at 83rd Brunei Darussalam need to continuously strive to improve its business regulatory environment as guided by the proxy indicators used by the World Bank if it wants to provide a highly conducive environment for local and international businesses to operate in, as well as create competitive and respectable position in the ease of doing business.
Ultimately the real impact of ease of doing business can be best shown through constant growth in businesses and foreign direct investors from international companies who successfully started and thrive in a pro-business environment. Implementation of regulatory and institutional reforms also showed better results and wider impacts with full engagement of the stakeholders, in particular the private sector/ business community. Therefore the Ease of Doing Business Working Committee in collaboration with the World Bank will be conducting a World Bank Workshop on Doing Business in Brunei Darussalam from 15 – 17 November 2011, at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.
The following are the tabled summary of Brunei Darussalam individual indicator rankings attainment compared to 2011 report and position compared to other ASEAN countries.
