Taiwan is the world's 18th-best place to do business through the next five years, and the third best in Asia behind Singapore and Hong Kong, according to the latest business environment rankings released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) last week. Taiwan's ranking nudged up by two places from the previous five years covering 2000 through last year.
Denmark pushed aside Canada to take the number one spot among the 60 countries that were surveyed, followed by the US at number three, Singapore at four and Hong Kong at fifth.
Responding to the rankings, a government official said the improved ranking demonstrates the international community's acknowledgment of Taiwan's efforts to reform the finance and business environment, the Central News Agency reported yesterday, citing Thomas Yeh (葉明峰), vice chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development.
To resolve structural problems, the government has been implementing a series of reforms, including the establishment of a financial supervisory authority, promotion of independent board members and superintendents to strengthen corporate governance and transparency and a relaxation of financial regulations, Yeh said.
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East Asia will remain the most attractive region for investment among the emerging markets, as most countries in the region either consolidate or further improve their strong positions, the EIU poll said.
The survey showed that South Korea and China rated the 26th and the 41st best places to do business, up from 30 and 45, while Japan slipped to 28 from 26.
Denmark assumed the top spot for the first time in the wake of its liberalizing policies of recent years that have created a flexible and educated workforce, improvements in the transparency of its tax regime and the reform of local government to increase efficiency and reduce pressure on the central government, the survey said.
"Denmark's financial system is transparent and diversified, with a strong banking sector and an efficient stock exchange in Copenhagen," the EIU's country analyst Ania Thiemann said in a statement. "The transport network is among the best in the world, with further improvements expected, especially in and around the capital."
The survey applied to the world's 60 largest countries, which account for more than 95 percent of global output, trade and foreign direct investment. Each country was rated in six categories: political and institutional environment, macroeconomic stability, policy towards private enterprise, foreign investment policy and financing and infrastructure.
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