CCC welcomes SL’s quantum leap; says room for further improvement

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) said yesterday that it was pleased to note that Sri Lanka had seen a quantum leap in its overall ranking in the Doing Business Index of the World Bank.

Sri Lanka has risen nine points from 98/183 in 2011 to become 89/183 in 2012, sending out positive signals for investors and the business community.  

“These achievements on the part of the country indicate that the peace dividend has indeed paid off and the efforts made by the authorities to improve our ranking have borne positive results,” the CCC said.

Whist congratulating the Government on this achievement, the CCC however noted that there were areas that could be further improved such as registering property, getting credit and even starting a business.

“Even though Sri Lanka has declined in the ranks in relation to paying taxes, it has to be noted that recently-introduced tax reforms have not been taken into consideration in the current rating,” the Chamber added.

CCC expressed optimism that the Government would take the necessary action to improve the areas that are lagging so that Sri Lanka could further improve its overall ranking in the future.

There has been a remarkable increase in some key areas such as dealing with construction permits, protecting investors and trading across borders. The country has risen from 169th position to 111th position with regard to dealing with construction permits in 2012 while in protecting investors Sri Lanka is ranked in the 46th position as opposed to the 74th position in 2011. The country also stands at the 53rd position in trading across borders in 2012.