Pakistan improves 28 places in global ease of doing business ranking.

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's position has improved by 28 places and rose to a rank of 108 in the global ease of Doing Business rankings after the enactment of six regulatory reforms.

'The enactment of six regulatory reforms has landed Pakistan among the world's top 10 business climate improvers,' the World Bank Group's Doing Business 2020 study said. Due to a concerted improvement in business regulation, Pakistan climbed 28 places and rose to a rank of 108 in the global ease of Doing Business rankings this year from 136 the previous year.

Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed the confidence that Pakistan will become one of the top places for investment before the end of next year. He said the government has fulfilled another of its manifesto commitments by showing improvement in the ease of doing business. In a tweet on Thursday, he said Pakistan has achieved the biggest improvement in its history in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings. He said over the last decade Pakistan's ranking had slipped more than fifty places. Now, we have improved twenty eight places from 136 to 108.

According to the World Bank, the reforms that helped the country improve its ranking are significant. The country has made starting a business easier by expanding the functionalities of the online one-stop-shop. This reduced the number of procedures required to set up a business from 10 to five and improved the economy's score for starting a business. Additionally, in Lahore, the Labor Department registration fee was abolished.

Pakistan made the approval process for obtaining a construction permit easier and faster in both Karachi and Lahore. In Karachi, the process was also made safer by ensuring that building quality inspections take place regularly. Pakistan also eased the process for paying taxes by introducing online payment modules for value added taxes and corporate income taxes. The government also lowered the corporate income tax rate for the 2018 fiscal year. This reform reduced the number of payments from 47 to 34 and the total number of hours required complying with tax requirements per year from 294 to 283.

Pakistan also made it easier to get electricity and register property. Karachi and Lahore enforced service delivery time frames and launched an online portal for new applications. In addition, the country increased the transparency of electricity tariff changes. Karachi made property registration faster by making it easier to execute and...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT