More new enterprises launched between 2003 and 2004, World Bank
Regional, Economics, 9/10/2004

The number of enterprises and businesses launched in Morocco in 2004 increased by 21% against 2003 due to simplified investment procedures, said the World Bank and ins International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a report titled "Doing Business in 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth."

According to the document that was made public here Wednesday, "Between 2003 and 2004, Morocco witnessed a jump of 21 percent in new business registrations after simplifying its entry procedures.

"Algeria, Morocco, and Yemen also reduced the number of days necessary to start a business," the same source goes.

The WB also lists Morocco among the 58 countries that reformed business regulation or strengthened the protection of property rights in the last year, of which only seven were in the Middle East.

"Morocco, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Syria "had

highest minimum capital requirement for starting a business."

According to the report, "businesses in poor countries face larger regulatory burdens than those in rich countries. Poor countries impose higher costs on businesses to fire a worker, enforce contracts, or file for registration; they impose more delays in going through insolvency procedures, registering property, and starting a business; and they afford fewer protections in terms of legal rights for borrowers and lenders, contract enforcement, and disclosure requirements. In administrative costs alone, there is a threefold difference between poor and rich nations. The number of administrative procedures and the delays associated with them are twice as high in poor countries.

"The top 20 economies in terms of ease of doing business are New Zealand, United States, Singapore, Hong Kong/China, Australia, Norway, United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Lithuania, Slovakia, Botswana, and Thailand," the document goes.

The Doing Business project is the product of more than 3,000 local experts, business consultants, lawyers, accountants, government officials - and academics, who provide support and review.

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