Trinidad & Tobago among top ‘doing business’ improvers

T&T is among the top ten countries showing the most improvement in the World Bank’s 2015 edition of  the Ease of Doing Business” study due out in November. A new World Bank Group report states: “T&T, among the ten top improvers worldwide in this year’s report, made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a new restructuring proceeding. It also strengthened the rights of secured creditors during reorganisation procedures. And it made starting a business easier by introducing online systems for employer and tax registration. “Such reforms are leading to tangible benefits for entrepreneurs. For example, starting a business now takes 11.5 days for an entrepreneur in Trinidad and Tobago—on par with international best practice—down from 35.5 days in 2013.”

In building anticipation for the November release of its report, Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency,” the World Bank said Caribbean economies have adopted “a record number of reforms improving the business environment,” adding that “room for improvement remains.” Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and T&T were praised in the release for implementing multiple regulatory reforms. “A new World Bank Group report finds that over the past year, 50 per cent of economies in the Caribbean implemented at least one reform making it easier for local entrepreneurs to do business—12 reforms in total, a historical high for the region,” the release said.

Doing Business 2015 found that Jamaica had the region’s biggest improvement in the ease of doing business in the past year, thanks to three reforms in areas measured by the report. Jamaica streamlined requirements for starting a business, reduced the cost of getting an electricity connection, and established new credit bureaus while also adopting a new secured transactions law that broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral. The reports states that Jamaica has the Caribbean’s highest ranking on the ease of doing business: 58 among 189 economies worldwide. “Joining Jamaica in implementing multiple regulatory reforms were the Dominican Republic and T&T,” the World Bank said. he Dominican Republic made cross-border trade easier by reducing the number of documents required to import and export, improved the regulatory framework for credit reporting, and strengthened minority shareholder protections. “Entrepreneurs in the Caribbean continue to see gains in the business environment. With half the region’s economies making regulatory reforms in the past year, the Caribbean continues to move in the right direction,” said Rita Ramalho, Doing Business report lead author at the World Bank Group. “Yet while the region continues to reform, there is still room for further improvement in the business environment.” […]