Saudi Arabia has achieved prominent progress in the World Bank Group's Doing Business 2020 report climbing up 30 places from last year, making it the Top reformer and Top improver among 190 economies around the world.
The Kingdomhas reduced the gap with the best performing economies by 7.7 points—thehighest in the world for any country this year.
Saudi Arabia's progress in the World Bank Group's Doing Business 2020 report is a result of the diverse reforms introduced in laws, regulations and procedures, in cooperation with more than 50 government entities and in coordination with the private sector.
Commenting on the report results, Minister of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majed Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Chairman of the National Competitiveness Center (NCC), explained that Saudi Arabia is today one of the world's most prominent investment destinations, and the business reforms carried out have improved the business environment, enhanced Saudi Arabia's competitiveness and increased its ranking in global reports.
MinisterAl-Qasabi added, "We will continue to work on further improvements in keepingwith our 2030 vision of private-sector transformation to create a world-classbusiness friendly environment and transform the Kingdom into one of 10 mostcompetitive economies in the world."
Dr. Simeon Djankov Founder of the World Bank "Doing Business" report, Senior Director of Research at The World Bank said: "Saudi Arabia has made rapid progress in improving its business climate over the past year. This progress signals the value the government places on nurturing entrepreneurship and the private enterprise for a vibrant economy."
SeveralReforms were identified in the Doing Business Report 2020, which includedstreamlining and automating administrative procedures, and data sharing amongdifferent entities, making it possible for investors and entrepreneurs to starttheir business electronically. The issuance of construction permits has alsobeen reformed through the automation of procedures through Balady Portal.Trading across borders is another area where the Kingdom has also madeimportant progress, by reducing the time required for clearing shipments atseaports to only 24 hours, and pre-arrival clearance for ocean shipping.Additionally, Fasah, a one-stop-shop import and export portal has beendeveloped.
The Kingdomhas also implemented impactful reforms in the area of contract enforcement byallowing filing of cases, registration, referral, notification, and publicationof verdicts' electronically. The duration of commercial court hearings has beenreduced, and the number of adjournments limited to a maximum of 3.
The DoingBusiness report, which was established in 2002, measures the performance of 190countries through 10 indicators.
