10 September 2009

Mauritius ranks 17th in Overall Ease of Doing Business 2010

Mauritius ranks 17th in global rankings on Overall Ease of Doing Business 2010 and tops Sub-Saharan economies for the 2nd consecutive year, according to the World Bank group's Doing Business 2010 Report: Reforming Through Difficult Times, launched yesterday at the World Bank Office in Port Louis.

Mauritius climbed seven steps from its previous global ranking at 24 in the Doing Business 2009 report and moved into the top twenty economies on the overall ease of doing business out of the 183 economies rated by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank. This is attributed mostly to the continuous reforms upon which the country has embarked thus transforming and improving the business climate into a more globally competitive one. Reforms have also made the investment procedures significantly easier for people to do business and at the same enabled firms to withstand the global recession with less difficulty.

Areas of reform in Mauritius pertain mainly to employing workers, registering property, getting credit information, trading across borders, closing a business and enforcing contracts. The country has adopted a new insolvency law, established a specialized commercial division within the court towards improving contract enforcement, eased property transfers by setting a limit of 15 days to obtain final property titles from the land registry and expedited trade processes with the introduction of electronic submissions of customs declarations and bills of lading.

According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa is reforming at a fast pace with 67 reforms recorded in 29 Sub-Saharan Africa's 46 economies. On the ease of doing business rankings, Mauritius preceded South Africa placed at the 34th position, whilst Rwanda is the top reformer worldwide jumping 76 places in the global ratings from 143 to 67 followed by Liberia the second most active reformer in the region. The World Bank group furthermore points out in its report that there are still many opportunities for improvement, and several good practices in the region to learn from.

Doing Business 2010 is the seventh in an annual series of reports issued by the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank and ranking 183 economies on the overall ease of doing business. The ratings are based on ten indicators namely, starting a business, dealing with construction permits, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business.

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