Taiwan was recognized for a relatively strong performance in introducing reforms to help small and medium businesses generate jobs, with the nation ranked the world's 35th easiest country in which to do business, according to a report released by the World Bank Group yesterday.
The report, Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs, which for the first time provides a global ranking of 155 economies on key business regulations and reforms, is co-sponsored by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group.
The report tracks a set of regulatory indicators related to business startup, operation, trade, payment of taxes and closure by measuring the time and costs associated with various government requirements.
New Zealand was ranked as the easiest country in the world in which to do business, followed by Singapore and the US. In Asia, Australia was rated sixth, Hong Kong ranked seventh, and Japan was 10th, the report said.
Among several indicators, Taiwan's weakest point was "dealing with licenses," with the nation ranking 126th, followed by "hiring and firing," in which Taiwan was rated 108th, the report said.
"Obstacles in the two areas have been addressed by foreign business groups here, and the government is trying hard to remove them in order to attract businesses," Emile Chang (張銘斌), deputy secretary-general of the Investment Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said yesterday.
Applying for general business licenses, for example, can be completed online within a day, Chang said. Previously, applicants would have to line up in front of the ministry's Department of Commerce.
After obtaining a license, companies still need to apply for other licenses, such those for their buildings and office space, from local governments, he added.
As different local governments usually have different rules and procedures for issuing licenses, it may take applicants longer to go through the process, Chang said, adding that local governments should make efforts to improve this aspect.
To hire foreign employees in Taiwan, workers need to have a bachelor's degree and at least three years of related work experience overseas to be eligible, Chang said, adding that this rule has been waived for high-tech staff to help ease labor shortages in the segment.
Countries in East Asia were found to impose the fewest regulatory obstacles on entrepreneurs after nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but economies in the region implement reforms more slowly than Eastern European nations, OECD countries, Latin America and the Caribbean, and South Asia, the report said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last