Government eager for new World Bank ranking
An ambitious goal to move Thailand into the top 10 of the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking is achievable under the current government because the administration has a clear agenda to remove investment obstacles, the finance minister says.
The government can move on its agenda unopposed, in particular focusing on sustainability, said Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong.
Thailand ranked 46th in the World Bank’s 2016 Ease of Doing Business report, which measures 190 economies.
This year’s report will be announced next month, and Mr Apisak voiced optimism that Thailand’s ranking would improve.
In the 10 areas the report measures, Thailand apparently improved in four: starting a business, registering property, protecting minority shareholders and resolving insolvency, he said.
The country has abolished the requirement for operators who want to start a business to submit a copy of employment regulations to the Labour Protection and Welfare Department for approval, and it cancelled the use of a stamp on company share certificates.
The Land Department now stores land rights documents in electronic form and has adopted the geographic information system to show information about land plots in Bangkok.
Regulators have made it easier for minority shareholders to sue company directors if there are business damages, while also increasing the rights and roles of shareholders in making decisions in company business.
Moreover, Thailand has changed voting on business rehabilitation plans by barring creditors that are not affected or have been compensated from having a right to vote, Mr Apisak said.
Tossaporn Sirisamphan, secretarygeneral of the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission, said the World Bank will announce its report at the end of October after surveying Thailand in May.
Addressing problems in doing business is the government’s priority and the state has disseminated information to the private sector to let firms better answer the World Bank’s questions in the survey, he said.
Mr Tossaporn expressed hope that Thailand’s ranking this year would reach the top 40.
“Even if our country’s ranking improves, solving problems for the business sector will continue,” he said. “At [yesterday’s] meeting, we considered how to solve some of these obstacles.
“Some issues may be relevant to other ministries, and Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak assigned us to accelerate creating a plan for proposal to the cabinet to let related state agencies solve such problems.”