ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has placed Pakistan in the fourth quintile – ie, the group of economies which grapple with a challenging business environment characterized by relatively weak regulatory frameworks and public services, which constrains the operational efficiency of their businesses.

The bank released a new report, Business Ready (B-READY)— a new data collection and analysis project of the World Bank Group to assess the business and investment climate worldwide, accompanied by an annual corporate flagship report. It replaces and improves upon the World Bank Group’s earlier Doing Business project and the first edition of Business Ready covers only 50 economies.

As a new project, B-READY is in a three-year rollout phase, spanning 2024 to 2026. During this period, the project will grow in geographic coverage and refine its process and methodology. This 2024 report is the first of three during the rollout.

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With respect to operational efficiency, Pakistan with a score of 65.90 is placed in the third quintile i.e. these economies exhibit a mix of strengths and weaknesses in their business environment.

According to the report, eight economies (Botswana, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lesotho, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, and the Seychelles) score in the top quintile in any one topic, while two economies (Hungary, Singapore) score in 8 topics.

Pakistan scored 91.50 on business entry, 54.25 on business location, 59.21 on utility services, 53.45 on labor, 67.97 on financial services, 45.71 on international trade, 57.48 on taxation, 41.99 on dispute resolution on 46.24 on market competition and 48.79 on business insolvency.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024