Kuwait 86th in easy business assessment – WB annual report ranks 189 states

KUWAIT: Kuwait ranks 86th among 189 states, and the 8th at the Arab level, with respect of easy business, according to the World Bank’s “ease of doing business index.” This classification came in the WB’s annual report in 2015, said Sheikh Dr Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Director- General of the Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA), in an interview with KUNA, adding that Kuwait recorded 63.11 points near the highest performance level index. This is slightly higher than the rating of the 2014, registered at 63.05. Also by comparison, Singapore recorded approximately 8.27 points, retaining the top status at the level of easy businesses.

The World Bank makes the assessment in this respect on the basis of ranking the targeted countries between the level zero and 100. Sheikh Meshaal stated in his remarks to KUNA that “start of the improvement in Kuwait’s (business) status, as mentioned in the report between early June 2013 and end of May, came as a result expansion of electronic applications and installment of electronic means for making transactions, thus shortening duration of some procedures by diverse proportions.”

Updated legislations He also indicated that Kuwait has succeeded in elevating level of its rating also due to upgrading and amending relevant legislations by the concerned government authorities that are members in the permanent committee for improving the business environment. Elaborating, the KDIPA chairman noted that Kuwait’s status, in the 2015 report, was negatively affected with hiking the minimum capital and fees on commercial permits. “These two matters will be tackled in an appropriate manner and according to the best practices,” he affirmed.

The KDIPA was established, according to a Cabinet resolution in December 2013, with the members comprising the ministries of commerce, industry, justice, power and water and the municipality. Its formation was in response to drop of Kuwait’s rating to 101 from among 185 states, in the WB’s 2013 report, and to 104 among 189 countries in the 2014 report. Sheikh Meshaal added that the permanent committee focused its efforts, this year, on dealing with practical measures concerning companies’ founding, construction permits’ transactions, securing power and property registration, noting that it had to get involved in these intensive tasks due to the limited duration of time since the commission’s start of its works early April till end of May, 2014, the date set by the WB group for delivering required documents, needed for the assessment. He indicated that the commission would deal with some problems at this level and prepared for the next assessment due for 2016.