MALAYSIA is ranked 24th out of 190 countries in terms of ease of doing business due to its favourable business climate, according to the latest World Bank’s Doing Business report.

The ranking is a drop from last year’s survey where Malaysia was attained the 23rd position in the survey by the World Bank Group. In 2015, Malaysia ranked 18th.

A total of 10 indicators were used, including getting credit, for which Malaysia was ranked 20th, and paying taxes (73rd position). 

Malaysia performed best in protecting minority investors’ interests, obtaining the 4th position. 

The country performed worst in the “ease of starting a business” category, placing 111th.

By comparison, Singapore ranked 2nd place overall. Taking the top spot is New Zealand, which the World Bank said has the best environment for business worldwide. 

The US and UK rank 6th and 7th place respectively, while neighbouring Thailand and Indonesia rank 26th and 72nd place. The Philippines ranks 113th. 

Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the establishment and operation of a local firm. 

The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. – November 1, 2017.