BEIRUT: The World Bank/International Finance Corporation Doing Business 2010 report ranked Lebanon in 108th place among 183 countries worldwide, and 12th among 19 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region in terms of ease of doing business, as reported by Leba­non This Week, the economic publication of the Byblos Bank Group. Lebanon also ranked in 31st place among 42 upper-middle income countries. The index is a composite of 10 sub-indices of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation, trade, taxation, and closure. Globally, Lebanon came ahead of Greece, Guatemala and Seychelles and ranked behind the Sri Lanka, Egypt and Ethiopia, while it ranked ahead of Seychelles and Uruguay and behind Grenada and Palau among upper-middle income countries. It also ranked ahead of Algeria and Iran and behind Jordan and Egypt in the MENA region.
Lebanon ranked in 108th place globally, and in 12th place in the MENA region on the Starting a Business Indicator. It ranked ahead of Nigeria and Vanuatu and behind Russia and the Dominican Republic on this indicator. Regionally, it came ahead of Jordan and Syria and behind Qatar and Morocco. Entrepreneurs need five steps to start a business in Leba­non compared to 7.9 in the MENA region and 5.7 procedures in OECD states, and it takes nine days to start a business compared to 20.7 days in the region and 13 days in the OECD.

Also, Lebanon ranked in 125th place globally, and in 14th place in the MENA region on the Dealing with Construction Permits Indicator. It ranked ahead of Haiti and Bhutan, and came be­hind Angola and Senegal on this indicator, while it ranked ahead of Oman and Syria and behind Algeria and Israel in the region. A firm in Lebanon requires 20 procedures and 211 days to build a warehouse, compared to an average of 18.9 procedures and 159.3 days in the MENA region and to 15.1 procedures and 157 days in OECD states.

Also, Lebanon ranked in 66th place globally, and in seventh place in the MENA region on the Employing Workers Indicator. It ranked ahead of Lesotho and Qatar, and came behind Uruguay and Solomon Islands on this indicator, while it ranked ahead of Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Yemen and Kuwait and Bahrain in the region. Hiring in Lebanon is controlled with more rigid regulation than the region and the OECD countries. In fact, Lebanon posted a Difficulty of Hiring index score of 44 which is higher than the MENA region’s average of 21.3 and higher than the OECD average of 26.5.
Also, Lebanon ranked in 111th place globally, and in 14th place in the MENA region on the Registering Property indicator. It ranked ahead of Dominican Republic and Dominica, and came behind Croatia and the Ethiopia on this indicator, while it ranked ahead of Morocco and Djibouti and behind Kuwait and Jordan in the region. A firm in Lebanon requires eight procedures and 25 days to register a property, compared to an average of 6.1 procedures and 36.1 days in the MENA region and to 4.7 procedures and 25 days in OECD countries. Further, registering property in Lebanon costs 5.8 percent of the property value compared to 5.7 percent in the region and 4.6 percent in OECD markets.

Also, Lebanon ranked in 87th place globally, and in the fifth place in the MENA region on the Getting Credit indicator. It tied with 25 countries that include Italy, Brazil, Tanzania and Ecua­dor on indicator, while it ranked ahead of Antigua and Barbuda and Tonga, and came behind Bangladesh and Paraguay. This category measures the legal rights of lenders and borrowers, as well as access and quality of available credit information. Regionally, it tied with Bahrain, Kuwait, Tunisia, and Morocco, ranked ahead of Iran and Oman, and came behind the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Lebanon scored five points on the Credit Information category, better than the 3.3 points for the regional average and 4.9 points for the OECD average.
Also, Lebanon ranked in 93rd place globally, and in ninth place in the MENA region on the Protecting Investors indicator. It ranked ahead of the Netherlands and Slovakia, and came behind Cambodia and Tajikistan, while it ranked ahead of Jordan and Syria and behind Tunisia and Algeria in the region. Investor Protection is stronger in Le­banon than in the MENA region and weaker than in the OECD. In fact, Lebanon’s in­vestor protection index reached 5.0 which is higher than the MENA average of 4.9 and lower than the OECD average of 5.8.

Also, Lebanon ranked in 34th place globally, and in ninth place in the MENA region on the Paying Taxes indicator. It ranked ahead of the Seychelles and Zambia, and came behind Suriname and the Netherlands, while it ranked ahead of Iraq and Djibouti and behind Jordan and West Bank & Gaza in the region. A firm in Lebanon performs 19 tax payments per year compared to 22.9 in the MENA region and 12.8 in the OECD countries. Also, it takes a Lebanese firm 180 hour a year to prepare, file and pay its taxes compared to 204.2 hours in the MENA region and 194.1 hours in the OECD countries. In addition, Lebanese firms income tax payments represent 6.1 percent of their profits, compared to 12.6 percent in the MENA region and 16.1 percent in the OECD countries. Finally, the total tax rates in Lebanon represent 30.2 percent of profits, compared to 32.9 percent in the region and 44.5 percent in the OECD countries.
Also, Lebanon ranked in 95th place globally, and in 12th place in the MENA region on the Trading across Borders indicator. It ranked ahead of Croatia and Colombia, and came behind the Seychelles and India while it ranked ahead of Kuwait & Syria and behind Morocco and West Bank & Gaza in the region. A firm in Lebanon requires five documents and 26 days to export goods across borders, compared to an average of 6.4 documents and 22.5 days in the MENA region and to 4.3 procedures and 10.5 days in OECD countries. Further, the cost to export per container in Lebanon is $1,002 compared to an average $1,034.8 in the MENA region and to an average of $1,089.7 in OECD countries. In parallel, a firm in Lebanon requires seven documents and 35 days to import goods, compared to an average of 7.4 documents and 25.9 days in the region and 4.9 documents and 11 days in the OECD countries. Finally, the cost of import to Lebanon per container is $1,203 compared to an average of $ 1,221.7 in the MENA region and $1,145.9 in the OECD countries.

Also, Lebanon ranked in 121st place globally, and in 11th place in the MENA region on the Enforcing Contracts indicator. It ranked ahead of Nepal and Algeria, and came behind Panama and the Bahamas, while it ranked ahead of Algeria & Jordan and behind Kuwait and Bahrain in the region. A firm in Lebanon requires 37 procedures and 721 days to enforce commercial contracts, compared to an average of 43.4 procedures and 679.9 days in the MENA region and to 30.6 procedures and 462.4 days in OECD countries. Further, enforcing a contract in Lebanon costs 30.8 percent of the claim compared to 23.7 percent in the region and 19.2 percent in OECD markets.

Finally, Lebanon ranked in 124th place globally, and in 14th place in the MENA region on the Closing a Business indicator. It ranked ahead of Uzbekistan and the Maldives, and came behind Gambia and Fiji, while it ranked ahead of Egypt and behind Iran in the region. Closing a business in Lebanon takes four years and costs 22 percent of estate compared to 3.5 years on average for the MENA region and 1.7 years in OECD economies. The recovery rate in Lebanon is 19 cents on the dollar compared to 29.9 cents for the region and 68.6 for the OECD markets.