In the World Bank’s Doing Business 2010 report, Taiwan’s ranking in the “Ease of Doing Business” index soared 15 places to the 46th among the 183 countries covered. In degree of improvement, this ranked Taiwan the 5th in the world.

The World Bank started its survey of the ease of doing business in economies all over the world seven years ago, looking into the influence of regulation on business activities. Thanks to the high professionalism and objectivity of the report, it has become a major reference for governments in carrying out regulatory reform. The indicators used in the survey are “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.”

The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) explains that the key factor in Taiwan’s strong advancement up the rankings in the latest World Bank survey was economic and financial deregulation, especially through the institution of such measures as abolishment of the minimum capital requirement for company establishment, cancellation of the unified certification system for profit-seeking enterprises, and simplification of procedures for joining the labor and health insurance system by new businesses. These measures reduced the number of procedures for opening a business by two and shortened the time required by 19 days, among other improvements, allowing Taiwan to leap from 119th place on the “Starting a Business” indicator last year to 29th place in the most recent report.

The CEPD points out that in this age of globalization, countries everywhere are doing their best to attract external investment, with governments attempting to provide a more friendly environment for business through regulatory reform and improvement of the economic climate. In the future the CEPD will continue to carry out reforms through such means as revision of the Company Law and Securities Transaction Act to reinforce the responsibilities of directors and the litigation rights of shareholders, and strengthen investor protection. The CEPD will also coordinate implementation of online tax-payment operations so as to reduce the time needed for companies to file and pay taxes. In addition, the CEPD will look into formulating revisions of the Labor Standards Act, Deed Tax Act, and Personal Property Secured Transactions Act, and other regulations with the aim of boosting market dynamism.