Pakistan irked by World Bank's decision to end Doing Business Report

Pakistan has been irked with the World Bank's decision to discontinue 'Doing Business Report', which is used to help them decide where to invest money or manufacturing plans or sell products. The country was hopeful that it would rise in ranks in the next report, Dawn reported. Last Week, the global financial organisation said that it would permanently stop ranking countries on their investment climates owing to allegations of data irregularities. Now, the move has left Islamabad disappointed as it was confident to parlay on its recent regulatory reforms and promulgation of commercial courts in Punjab. 

At present, the country is ranked at number 108 regarding the ease of doing business. According to Dawn, the company's registration through Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan ( SECP) has shown 63 per cent growth in the last one year. Pertaining to the same, Fareena Mazhar, Secretary of Pakistan’s Board of Investment (BOI) said that they were hopeful that the work which they were doing in regulatory reforms would give them an edge in terms of future mapping criteria.

What is a Doing Business report? Why's the World Bank under fire?

The Doing Business report is important to several companies and investors across the globe for investment purposes. In a bid to boost their rankings in the report, countries have often pursued substantive policy changes. For instance, introduce laws that would make it easier for businesses to pay taxes, receive loans or enforce the contracts.

However, the World Bank, as per The Associated Press, has been long accused of using a sloppy method to publish the report and also succumbing to political pressure in producing the rankings. Now, WilmerHale has concluded that fudging of data took place to make China look better under Georgieva’s pressure. Then-CEO of the World Bank, Georgieva is now the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Doing Business report was introduced in 2002 with its annual rankings highlighting which nations have adopted the policies that favour businesses. The report also outlines which countries have improved, and how much they have regressed. The bank is known to collect information from tens and thousands of accountants, lawyers and other professionals in 190 nations. Just last year, New Zealand ranked Number 1 and Somalia was the last, 190. 

(Image: AP)