Nigerian's Doing Business Index soars, records 34 improvements (World Bank Report)

(Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment's Report)- The World
Bank's Doing Business in Nigeria 2014 Report has revealed that Nigeria
has recorded significant
improvements in its Doing Business Index within the last
four years.

The years report is the third in a series of reports analyzing
business regulations across Nigeria.
The study, which benchmarked four regulatory areas such as starting a
business; dealing with construction permits; registering property and
enforcing
contracts, also measured the
progress made by the respective States, since January, 2010, when the
last benchmarking exercise was conducted.
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According to the report, from 2010 till date, the country
recorded 34 improvements in its
Ease of Doing Business Index, of
which 13 focused on starting a business, eight on dealing with
construction permits, 10 on registering property, and three
on enforcing contracts.
Specifically, the report stated, For the first time, Doing Business in
Nigeria 2014 recorded reforms
that make it easier to start a business. In nine states, it is now
faster to register a new business
with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Hiring new staff,
computerization, management training, opening a bank desk
within the Corporate Affairs Commission premises, and better
tracking of applications were
some of the measures taken to increase efficiency.
It added, By opening stamp-duty and tax registration offices in
several new locations, the federal tax authority eliminated the need
to travel out of state in Anambra,
Cross River, Edo, Kwara,Nasarawa, Ogun, and Zamfara.
In Anambra, Delta, Lagos and Ogun, registering the business premises
with the State
authorities was streamlined.

The average time required to deal with construction permits in Nigeria
is 63 days significantly faster than the sub-Saharan
Africa average of 171 days.
Speaking during the public presentation of the report in Abuja, on
Monday, the World
Bank Country Director, Nigeria, Ms. Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly,
said 22 states in Nigeria had recorded significant
improvements in their Ease of Doing Business ratings within the period
under review.

The states are: Anambra, Bauchi,
Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa,
Kaduna, Katsina, Lagos,
Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers and Zamfara states.
Out the 22, which recorded significant improvements in their
Doing Business indices, Cross River, Niger, Ogun, Rivers and Ekiti
states made more progress than others.

She said, Since 2005, Sub- National Doing Business Projects
have benchmarked more than 355 locations in 55 countries and have
recorded 389 business
regulatory reforms. They measure progress in four
regulatory areas, such as starting a business, dealing with
construction permits, registering property and enforcing contracts.

Source: www.nigeria.gov.ng/
component/content/article?id=1330