Taiwan jumped nine notches to 16th in the "Ease of Doing Business" rankings, according to the Doing Business 2013 report released today by the World Bank Group. In its best showing ever, Taiwan placed ahead of advanced nations such as Canada, Germany and Japan.
Vice Premier Jiang Yi-huah, who also leads the Executive Yuan task force on business reform, said Taiwan's efforts to improve the business environment have been recognized by the international community. The government will continue endeavoring on this front with the goal of advancing into the top 10.
The Doing Business report assesses the impact of regulations on the ease of doing business in countries around the world and ranks the economies in 10 areas. This year's report tracked 201 regulatory reforms implemented in 108 economies from June 2011 through May 2012.
Taiwan placed 61st in the 2008 report, 46th in 2009, 33rd in 2010 and 25th in 2011.
The United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Scandinavian countries remained in the top 20 this year. Asian economies also drew attention for impressive reforms: Singapore and Hong Kong held on to the first two spots while South Korea and Malaysia respectively ranked eighth and 12th. Taiwan, coming in ahead of Thailand (18th) and Japan (24th), was 5th among Asian economies.
The vice premier noted that business streamlining and transparency are the bedrock not only for building an attractive investment environment but also for the integration of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies. Hence, bringing business regulations in line with world standards is key to promoting Taiwan's internationalization and participation in regional organizations.
The Executive Yuan task force on business reform, created in 2008, consists of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Council of Labor Affairs. Annual meetings are convened by the vice premier to push for needed adjustments to business regulations. This year's meeting was held on April 17 by Vice Premier Jiang and set the direction for upcoming reforms.