"Indonesia has made some improvements over the last 8 years, and it still strives to further strengthen the predictability and clarity of its regulatory framework" said Stefan Koeberle, World Bank Country Director for Indonesia.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A new IFC and World Bank report finds that in the year from June 2011 to June 2012 Indonesia improved its regulatory environment through a reform making it easier for local entrepreneurs to obtain an electricity connection.

The newly-released IFC report, "Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises" finds that since 2005, Indonesia has implemented a total of 18 institutional or regulatory reforms in nine of 10 areas of business regulation as measured by the annual Doing business report, the World Bank said in a press statement here Tuesday.

In the most recent reform recorded, the utility PT PLN simplified the application process for an electricity connection by eliminating the requirement to bring in a copy of a neighbor's bill to help determine the exact address of the new customer's business.

The report, which covers 185 economies globally, finds that 11 of 24 economies in East Asia and the Pacific improved business regulations in the past year. Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh year straight. Hong Kong SAR, China, holds onto the second spot.

This year`s report also features a case study that explores reform efforts by members of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) using the Doing Business framework.

Indonesia is among the APEC members working within this framework to make it easier to start a business and to improve its system for enforcing contracts.

"Indonesia has made some improvements over the last 8 years, and it still strives to further strengthen the predictability and clarity of its regulatory framework" said Stefan Koeberle, World Bank Country Director for Indonesia.

"However, the pace of change has slowed since significant improvements were made between 2005 and 2009. Strengthening the investment climate for small and medium-size businesses would require sustained efforts in improving infrastructure, tax administration, and the availability of credit," he added.

The report`s global annual ranking on the ease of doing business shows that the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulation are Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Georgia and Australia.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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