In the past year, Viet Nam strengthened investor protection by introducing greater disclosure requirements for listed companies in cases of related-party transactions.

In addition, the country granted the first private credit bureau license following the issuance of a decree in 2010 that laid down the legal framework for establishing such bureaus.

Viet Nam, however, made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing employers’ social security contribution rate.

Across the globe, Singapore continues to provide the world’s most business-friendly regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs, followed by Hong Kong SAR, China.

Over the past year, 15 out of 25 economies in East Asia and Pacific region have conducted at least one regulatory reform making it easier to do business. The Philippines is among 10 regional economies that improved the most in reforming regulations.

The report analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 189 economies.

Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems.

Its findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies.