Egypt has fallen to the 128th position worldwide when ranked by the ease of doing business in the country, vs. 108th last year. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has published on Monday the 11th issue of the Doing Business report. The 2014 Doing Business Report – an annual survey of the ease of doing business around the world – finds an uptick in the pace of business regulation reform in the past year, with 114 economies enacting 238 reforms, vs. 108 economies and 201 reforms in 2011-12. The report attributed the decline in Egypt's ranking to several reasons, such as that several MENA countries conducted reforms and thus outpaced Egypt, in addition to the country's current transitional period. However, Egypt recorded the highest rate in MENA at three fields, thanks to the government's reforms in nine economic fields Globally, Egypt stands at 149 in the ranking of 189 economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits. It also stands at 105 on the ease of getting electricity, 105 on the ease of registering property, 86 on the ease of getting credit and 147 on the strength of investor protection index. Egypt also stands at 148 in the ranking of 189 economies on the ease of paying taxes and 83 on the ease of trading across borders. Doing Business sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers.
