World Bank Report: It's Easier To Do Business in Palestine Than Egypt

It is no secret that Egypt’s bureaucracy is more horrifying than anything you will see this Halloween. Proving what many already know, the World Bank Group’s “Ease of Doing Business” report was released on Tuesday. This year Egypt fell five spots ranking 131^st out of 189 countries.

Constructing the report, the World Bank Groups examined regulations and the process of setting up a business, using measuring factors such as the time it takes to start a business, the ease of registering a property, the ability to access credit, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. 

Here's how we rank compared to the rest of MENA region:

Despite having start-up conferences almost every other month, Egypt fell four spots to 73^rd in the world for starting a business, and fell eight reaching the 79^th place in accessing credit. Even with the passing of new investment laws earlier this year, aimed at making business procedures easy, it seems that they are yet to enforce any improvement, at least in terms of the ranking this year on this annual report.  

Proving to be another hindrance is Egypt’s unpredictable tax policy. In 2014, the income tax ceiling was hiked to 30% in July 2014, only to be reduced to 22.5% earlier this year. At the same time capital gains tax was introduced only to be repealed, highlighting just how unpredictable paying taxes has become.

The only category in which Egypt improved was in terms of “Protecting Minority Investors” climbing 11 spots to rank 122^nd, while remaining in the same spot in terms of “Enforcing Contracts” and “Trading Across Borders.”

Making it to the top of the list is Singapore followed by New Zealand and Denmark. Some will be very skeptical about Egypt’s ranking and even the report, as apparently it is easier to do business in countries like Cambodia (127^th), Nicaragua(125^th), and even war-torn Palestine (129^th).

To see full report click here.