Oman ranked 71 for ease of doing business

Oman was ranked 71 in the World Bank rankings Ease of Doing Business in 2018 among 190 countries. In the key annual report released on Tuesday, the country has been ranked 31 under starting a business, 60 for dealing with construction permits, 61 for getting electricity, 54 for registering property, 133 for getting credit, 124 for protection of minority investors, 11 for paying taxes, 72 for trading across borders and 67 for enforcing contracts and 98 for resolving insolvency.

For other countries in the GCC, UAE has been ranked 21, Bahrain 66, Qatar 83, Saudi Arabia 92 and Kuwait 96. The report says, it takes six man days to start a business in Oman, compared to 18.6 days on average in Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

For dealing with construction permits in Oman, it takes 172 days compared to 132.1 days in MENA and 27.5 days in Korea. For getting electricity it takes 62 days against 81.4 days in MENA and 10 days in UAE.

For registering property it takes, 16 days in Oman compared to 30.3 days in MENA and single day in some three economies. With regards to time taken for paying taxes, it takes 68 hours in Oman, compared to 203.4 hours in MENA and 55 hours in Luxemburg.

It takes 52 hours in Oman for export across border, compared to 62.6 in MENA and 70 hours in Oman for import across border, compared to 112.3 hours in MENA.

In Oman, it takes 598 days to resolve a dispute, counted from the moment the plaintiff files the lawsuit in court until payment. This includes both the days when actions take place and the waiting periods between. In MENA, it takes 638.5 days to enforce a contract. Among the main highlights of the report for 2018, New Zealand has been ranked first on ease of doing business for the second consecutive year.

Vinod Nair