Region Pro le of East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Doing Business 2018 Indicators Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Region Pro le of East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Doing Business 2018 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and permits safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the Page 2   second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework Doing Business 2018 forASIA EAST AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) insolvency About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) The Business Environment For policy makers, knowing where their economy stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business is useful. Also useful is to know how it ranks compared with other economies in the region and compared with the regional average. Another perspective is provided by the regional average rankings on the topics included in the ease of doing business ranking and the distance to frontier scores. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of doing business Singapore (Rank 2) 84.57 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 5) 83.44 Taiwan, China (Rank 15) 80.07 Malaysia (Rank 24) 78.43 Thailand (Rank 26) 77.44 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 56) 70.60 Mongolia (Rank 62) 69.03 Vietnam (Rank 68) 67.93 Indonesia (Rank 72) 66.47 Page 3   world. More Doingabout 2018 (PDF, Doing Business Business 5MB) EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) The Business Environment For policy makers, knowing where their economy stands in the aggregate ranking on the ease of doing business is useful. Also useful is to know how it ranks compared with other economies in the region and compared with the regional average. Another perspective is provided by the regional average rankings on the topics included in the ease of doing business ranking and the distance to frontier scores. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of doing business Singapore (Rank 2) 84.57 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 5) 83.44 Taiwan, China (Rank 15) 80.07 Malaysia (Rank 24) 78.43 Thailand (Rank 26) 77.44 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 56) 70.60 Mongolia (Rank 62) 69.03 Vietnam (Rank 68) 67.93 Indonesia (Rank 72) 66.47 China (Rank 78) 65.29 Samoa (Rank 87) 63.89 Tonga (Rank 89) 63.43 Vanuatu (Rank 90) 63.08 Fiji (Rank 101) 60.74 Papua New Guinea (Rank 109) 59.04 Philippines (Rank 113) 58.74 Solomon Islands (Rank 116) 58.13 Palau (Rank 130) 55.58 Cambodia (Rank 135) 54.47 Lao PDR (Rank 141) 53.01 Marshall Islands (Rank 149) 51.45 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 155) 48.99 Kiribati (Rank 157) 48.74 Myanmar (Rank 171) 44.21 Timor-Leste (Rank 178) 40.62 Regional Average (Rank 93) 62.70 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Note: Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. 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. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2017. The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Source: Doing Business database Page 4   Rankings on Doing Business topics - East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Doing Source: Business Doing 2018 Business EAST database ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Rankings on Doing Business topics - East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Starting a Business (103) Resolving Insolvency (101) 0 Dealing with Construction Permits (77) 38 76 114 Enforcing Contracts (102) Getting Electricity (82) 152 190 Trading across Borders (102) Registering Property (97) Paying Taxes (89) Getting Credit (75) Protecting Minority Investors (94) Regional average ranking (Scale: Rank 190 center, Rank 1 outer edge) Source: Doing Business database. Distance to frontier scores on Doing Business topics - East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Starting a Business (82.32) Resolving Insolvency (40.78) 100 Dealing with Construction Permits (69.60) 80 60 40 Enforcing Contracts (53.09) Getting Electricity (72.23) 20 0 Trading across Borders (69.97) Registering Property (57.21) Paying Taxes (72.42) Getting Credit (57.00) Protecting Minority Investors (52.33) (Scale: Score 0 center, Score 100 outer edge) Note: Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. 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. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2017. The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Source: Doing Business database Starting a Business This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium- sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in economy’s largest business city. Page 5   lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Doing Source: Business Doing 2018 Business EAST database ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Rankings on Doing Business topics - East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Starting a Business (103) Resolving Insolvency (101) 0 Dealing with Construction Permits (77) 38 76 114 Enforcing Contracts (102) Getting Electricity (82) 152 190 Trading across Borders (102) Registering Property (97) Paying Taxes (89) Getting Credit (75) Protecting Minority Investors (94) Regional average ranking (Scale: Rank 190 center, Rank 1 outer edge) Source: Doing Business database. Distance to frontier scores on Doing Business topics - East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Starting a Business (82.32) Resolving Insolvency (40.78) 100 Dealing with Construction Permits (69.60) 80 60 40 Enforcing Contracts (53.09) Getting Electricity (72.23) 20 0 Trading across Borders (69.97) Registering Property (57.21) Paying Taxes (72.42) Getting Credit (57.00) Protecting Minority Investors (52.33) (Scale: Score 0 center, Score 100 outer edge) Note: Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. 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. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2017. The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Source: Doing Business database Starting a Business This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium- sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in economy’s largest business city. Page 6   best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. Source: Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Doing database Business Starting a Business This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium- sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and operate a To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions company (number) about the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will Pre-registration (for example, name verification or pay no bribes. reservation, notarization) Registration in economy’s largest business city The business: Post-registration (for example, social security - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited liability company in the economy, the most registration, company seal) common among domestic rms is chosen. Information on the most Obtaining approval from spouse to start business common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical or leave home to register company o ce. Obtaining any gender-specific permission that can - Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire o ce impact company registration, company operations space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 and process of getting national identity card economies the data are also collected for the second largest business Time required to complete each procedure city. (calendar days) - Is 100% domestically owned and has ve owners, none of whom is a Does not include time spent gathering information legal entity; and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 has a turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the procedures cannot start on the same day) production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does Procedures fully completed online are recorded as not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products ½ day subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not Procedure is considered completed once final use heavily polluting production processes. document is received - Leases the commercial plant or o ces and is not a proprietor of real No prior contact with officials estate and the amount of the annual lease for the o ce space is Cost required to complete each procedure (% equivalent to 1 times income per capita. of income per capita) - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special bene ts. Official costs only, no bribes - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. No professional fees unless services required by - Has a company deed 10 pages long. law or commonly used in practice Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per The owners: capita) - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. Funds deposited in a bank or with third party - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. before registration or up to 3 months after - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the incorporation authorities. - Where the answer di ers according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. Starting a Business Page 7   there is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to Doing Business 2018 the majority EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC of the population. (EAP) Starting a Business Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy is it for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to start a business? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of starting a business suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of starting a business Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 3) 98.14 Singapore (Rank 6) 96.49 Taiwan, China (Rank 16) 94.43 Samoa (Rank 33) 92.54 Thailand (Rank 36) 92.34 Tonga (Rank 53) 90.81 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 58) 90.23 Mongolia (Rank 59) 90.08 Marshall Islands (Rank 72) 88.49 China (Rank 93) 85.47 Solomon Islands (Rank 94) 85.42 Malaysia (Rank 111) 83.78 Vietnam (Rank 123) 82.02 Palau (Rank 124) 81.96 Vanuatu (Rank 128) 81.23 Papua New Guinea (Rank 129) 81.04 Indonesia (Rank 144) 77.93 Kiribati (Rank 147) 77.47 Timor-Leste (Rank 151) 76.60 Myanmar (Rank 155) 75.42 Fiji (Rank 160) 73.26 Lao PDR (Rank 164) 72.56 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 170) 69.56 Philippines (Rank 173) 68.88 Cambodia (Rank 183) 51.91 Regional Average (Rank 103) 82.32 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to start a business in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time, the cost and the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 8   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to start a business in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time, the cost and the paid-in minimum capital requirement. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to start a business in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Procedure – Men (number) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 8.4 South Asia (SA) 7.9 Regional Average 7.0 European Union (EU) 5.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 5.2 OECD High Income 4.9 Philippines 16.0 Myanmar 12.0 Indonesia 11.2 Fiji 11.0 Cambodia 9.0 Vietnam 9.0 Lao PDR 8.0 Malaysia 8.0 Palau 8.0 China 7.0 Kiribati 7.0 Micronesia 7.0 Solomon Islands 7.0 Vanuatu 7.0 Mongolia 6.0 Papua New Guinea 6.0 Brunei 5.0 Marshall Islands 5.0 Thailand 5.0 Samoa 4.0 Timor-Leste 4.0 Tonga 4.0 Singapore 3.0 Taiwan, China 3.0 Hong Kong, China 2.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Page 9   Time – Men (days) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Time – Men (days) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 31.7 Regional Average 22.7 South Asia (SA) 15.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 10.1 European Union (EU) 10.0 OECD High Income 8.5 Cambodia 99.0 Lao PDR 67.0 Papua New Guinea 41.0 Fiji 40.0 Kiribati 31.0 Palau 28.0 Philippines 28.0 Indonesia 23.1 China 22.9 Vietnam 22.0 Malaysia 18.0 Vanuatu 18.0 Marshall Islands 17.0 Micronesia 16.0 Tonga 16.0 Myanmar 14.0 Brunei 12.0 Mongolia 10.0 Taiwan, China 10.0 Samoa 9.0 Solomon Islands 9.0 Timor-Leste 9.0 Thailand 4.5 Singapore 2.5 Hong Kong, China 1.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Cost – Men (% of income per capita) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 37.5 South Asia (SA) 21.4 Regional Average 18.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 4.4 Page 10   0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Cost – Men (% of income per capita) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 37.5 South Asia (SA) 21.4 Regional Average 18.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 4.4 European Union (EU) 3.4 OECD High Income 3.1 Micronesia 141.7 Cambodia 51.3 Vanuatu 44.4 Kiribati 40.2 Myanmar 40.1 Solomon Islands 28.9 Fiji 16.9 Philippines 15.8 Marshall Islands 11.9 Papua New Guinea 11.5 Indonesia 10.9 Samoa 7.3 Tonga 7.1 Vietnam 6.5 Thailand 6.2 Malaysia 5.4 Lao PDR 3.5 Palau 2.9 Taiwan, China 2.0 Mongolia 1.4 Brunei 1.1 Hong Kong, China 1.1 China 0.6 Singapore 0.5 Timor-Leste 0.5 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) Regional Average 15.1 European Union (EU) 10.1 OECD High Income 8.7 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 3.4 Page 11   0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Starting a Business Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) Regional Average 15.1 European Union (EU) 10.1 OECD High Income 8.7 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 3.4 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 2.1 South Asia (SA) 0.2 Timor-Leste 268.6 Cambodia 82.5 Kiribati 16.2 Palau 7.7 Philippines 3.0 Brunei 0.0 China 0.0 Fiji 0.0 Hong Kong, China 0.0 Indonesia 0.0 Lao PDR 0.0 Malaysia 0.0 Marshall Islands 0.0 Micronesia 0.0 Mongolia 0.0 Myanmar 0.0 Papua New Guinea 0.0 Samoa 0.0 Singapore 0.0 Solomon Islands 0.0 Taiwan, China 0.0 Thailand 0.0 Tonga 0.0 Vanuatu 0.0 Vietnam 0.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information Page 12   What the indicators measure Case study assumptions 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Doing Business 2018 Source: Doing Business database. EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (number) about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and The construction company (BuildCo): certificates - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the Submitting all required notifications and receiving economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. all necessary inspections - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of Obtaining utility connections for water and whom is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, sewerage both registered with the local association of architects or engineers. Registering and selling the warehouse after its BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical completion or licensed experts, such as geological or topographical experts. Time required to complete each procedure - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the (calendar days) warehouse upon its completion. Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day—though The warehouse: procedures that can be fully completed online are - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. an exception to this rule - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area Procedure is considered completed once final of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor document is received will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot No prior contact with officials of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% Cost required to complete each procedure (% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per of warehouse value) capita. Official costs only, no bribes - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a Building quality control index (0-15) licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external Sum of the scores of six component indices: agencies, these are counted as procedures. Quality of building regulations (0-2) - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to Quality control before construction (0-1) administrative and regulatory requirements). Quality control during construction (0-3) The water and sewerage connections: Quality control after construction (0-3) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a Professional certifications (0-4) borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater ow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Dealing with Construction Permits Where do the region’s economies stand today? Page 13   How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to legally build a warehouse? The global rankings throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection Doing Business 2018 and 4 inches EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC in diameter for the sewerage connection. (EAP) Dealing with Construction Permits Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to legally build a warehouse? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of dealing with construction permits Taiwan, China (Rank 4) 86.32 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 5) 84.86 Malaysia (Rank 11) 82.19 Tonga (Rank 13) 80.86 Singapore (Rank 16) 80.26 Vietnam (Rank 20) 79.03 Mongolia (Rank 23) 78.19 Lao PDR (Rank 40) 75.25 Thailand (Rank 43) 74.58 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 48) 73.62 Solomon Islands (Rank 57) 72.74 Marshall Islands (Rank 71) 70.93 Myanmar (Rank 73) 70.33 Samoa (Rank 83) 68.68 Palau (Rank 85) 68.38 Fiji (Rank 92) 67.69 Philippines (Rank 101) 66.84 Indonesia (Rank 108) 66.08 Kiribati (Rank 111) 65.72 Papua New Guinea (Rank 117) 64.42 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 137) 61.05 Vanuatu (Rank 151) 57.58 Timor-Leste (Rank 159) 55.29 China (Rank 172) 47.28 Cambodia (Rank 179) 41.73 Regional Average (Rank 77) 69.60 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 14   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to comply with formalities to build a warehouse in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Time (days) South Asia (SA) 193.9 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 191.8 European Union (EU) 174.0 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 168.3 OECD High Income 154.6 Regional Average 138.2 Cambodia 652.0 China 247.1 Papua New Guinea 217.0 Timor-Leste 207.0 Indonesia 200.2 Vietnam 166.0 Kiribati 150.0 Fiji 141.0 Mongolia 137.0 Vanuatu 124.0 Philippines 122.0 Thailand 104.0 Solomon Islands 98.0 Myanmar 95.0 Taiwan, China 93.0 Micronesia 86.0 Brunei 83.0 Lao PDR 83.0 Malaysia 78.0 Tonga 77.0 Hong Kong, China 72.0 Palau 72.0 Samoa 58.0 Singapore 54.0 Marshall Islands 38.0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits Page 15   Cost (% of warehouse value) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits Cost (% of warehouse value) South Asia (SA) 17.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 4.0 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 3.2 Regional Average 2.2 European Union (EU) 2.0 OECD High Income 1.6 China 7.8 Vanuatu 7.8 Singapore 6.2 Cambodia 5.3 Indonesia 4.8 Myanmar 3.8 Philippines 2.6 Marshall Islands 2.3 Tonga 2.0 Brunei 1.8 Malaysia 1.4 Solomon Islands 1.3 Papua New Guinea 1.2 Palau 0.8 Samoa 0.8 Hong Kong, China 0.7 Vietnam 0.7 Fiji 0.6 Micronesia 0.5 Timor-Leste 0.5 Lao PDR 0.4 Taiwan, China 0.4 Kiribati 0.3 Mongolia 0.1 Thailand 0.1 0 5 10 15 20 Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits Building quality control index (0-15) European Union (EU) 11.6 OECD High Income 11.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 11.3 Regional Average 8.9 Page 16   0 5 10 15 20 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Dealing with Construction Permits Building quality control index (0-15) European Union (EU) 11.6 OECD High Income 11.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 11.3 Regional Average 8.9 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 8.8 South Asia (SA) 8.7 Mongolia 14.0 Indonesia 13.0 Malaysia 13.0 Taiwan, China 13.0 Brunei 12.0 Hong Kong, China 12.0 Philippines 12.0 Singapore 12.0 Tonga 12.0 Vietnam 12.0 Thailand 11.0 Papua New Guinea 10.0 China 9.6 Myanmar 9.0 Cambodia 8.0 Solomon Islands 7.5 Fiji 7.0 Palau 7.0 Lao PDR 6.5 Kiribati 6.0 Samoa 6.0 Vanuatu 5.0 Timor-Leste 3.0 Marshall Islands 1.0 Micronesia 0.0 0 3 6 9 12 15 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. In addition to assessing e ciency of connection process, Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index measures reliability of power supply and transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection Page 17   To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions 0 3 6 9 12 15 Doing Business 2018 Source: Doing Business database. EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Getting Electricity This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. In addition to assessing e ciency of connection process, Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index measures reliability of power supply and transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (number) are used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all The warehouse: necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. Completing all required notifications and receiving - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the all necessary inspections data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and purchasing material for these works is in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is Concluding any necessary supply contract and not near a railway. obtaining final supply - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rst Time required to complete each procedure time. (calendar days) - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is Is at least 1 calendar day 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering information The electricity connection: Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow- - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a up and no prior contact with officials subscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of Cost required to complete each procedure (% 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). of income per capita) - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or Official costs only, no bribes medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the Value added tax excluded warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a The reliability of supply and transparency of 10- meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all tari s index (0-8) carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) property because the warehouse has access to a road. Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. Tools to restore power supply (0–1) This has already been completed up to and including the customer’s Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0– service panel or switchboard and the meter base. 1) Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) The monthly consumption: Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for Price based on monthly bill for commercial simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 warehouse in case study kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. *Note: Doing Business measures the price of - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the electricity, but it is not included in the distance to cheapest supplier. frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of - Tari s e ective in March of the current year are used for calculation of getting electricity. the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although March has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used. Getting Electricity Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to connect a warehouse to electricity? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of getting electricity suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. Page 18   getting electricity. the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although March has 31 days, Doing Business 2018 for calculation EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) purposes only 30 days are used. Getting Electricity Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to connect a warehouse to electricity? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of getting electricity suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of getting electricity Taiwan, China (Rank 3) 99.45 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 4) 99.02 Malaysia (Rank 8) 94.33 Singapore (Rank 12) 91.33 Thailand (Rank 13) 90.99 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 24) 86.46 Philippines (Rank 31) 84.31 Indonesia (Rank 38) 83.87 Samoa (Rank 60) 79.70 Vietnam (Rank 64) 78.69 Tonga (Rank 74) 76.28 Fiji (Rank 84) 72.19 Vanuatu (Rank 86) 72.01 China (Rank 98) 68.83 Papua New Guinea (Rank 107) 65.53 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 109) 64.48 Solomon Islands (Rank 113) 63.10 Timor-Leste (Rank 114) 62.96 Marshall Islands (Rank 126) 59.26 Cambodia (Rank 137) 56.56 Mongolia (Rank 139) 55.00 Palau (Rank 140) 54.84 Lao PDR (Rank 149) 52.65 Myanmar (Rank 151) 52.52 Kiribati (Rank 168) 41.50 Regional Average (Rank 82) 72.23 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to get a new electricity connection in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 19   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to get a new electricity connection in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to get an electricity connection in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Procedures (number) South Asia (SA) 5.7 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 5.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 5.4 European Union (EU) 5.0 OECD High Income 4.7 Regional Average 4.5 Mongolia 8.0 Kiribati 6.0 Lao PDR 6.0 Myanmar 6.0 China 5.5 Brunei 5.0 Marshall Islands 5.0 Palau 5.0 Tonga 5.0 Vietnam 5.0 Cambodia 4.0 Fiji 4.0 Indonesia 4.0 Malaysia 4.0 Papua New Guinea 4.0 Philippines 4.0 Samoa 4.0 Singapore 4.0 Solomon Islands 4.0 Thailand 4.0 Vanuatu 4.0 Hong Kong, China 3.0 Micronesia 3.0 Taiwan, China 3.0 Timor-Leste 3.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Time (days) Page 20   0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Time (days) South Asia (SA) 136.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 113.7 European Union (EU) 96.3 OECD High Income 79.1 Regional Average 71.6 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 66.0 Cambodia 179.0 China 143.2 Lao PDR 134.0 Palau 125.0 Vanuatu 120.0 Micronesia 105.0 Kiribati 97.0 Timor-Leste 93.0 Fiji 81.0 Mongolia 79.0 Myanmar 77.0 Marshall Islands 67.0 Papua New Guinea 66.0 Solomon Islands 53.0 Vietnam 46.0 Tonga 42.0 Philippines 37.0 Brunei 36.0 Indonesia 34.0 Samoa 34.0 Thailand 32.0 Malaysia 31.0 Singapore 30.0 Hong Kong, China 27.0 Taiwan, China 22.0 0 50 100 150 200 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Cost (% of income per capita) South Asia (SA) 1163.2 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 927.4 Regional Average 712.0 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 344.3 Page 21   0 50 100 150 200 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Cost (% of income per capita) South Asia (SA) 1163.2 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 927.4 Regional Average 712.0 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 344.3 European Union (EU) 118.7 OECD High Income 63.0 Kiribati 4022.3 Cambodia 1993.2 Fiji 1391.9 Solomon Islands 1273.7 Timor-Leste 1258.0 Vietnam 1191.8 Myanmar 1155.3 Lao PDR 1132.5 Vanuatu 1090.4 Marshall Islands 675.4 Mongolia 618.9 Samoa 615.2 China 356.0 Micronesia 343.2 Indonesia 276.1 Tonga 89.9 Palau 64.7 Thailand 63.1 Brunei 41.5 Taiwan, China 38.9 Malaysia 28.0 Papua New Guinea 27.2 Philippines 25.3 Singapore 25.3 Hong Kong, China 1.4 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) European Union (EU) 7.4 OECD High Income 7.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 5.3 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 4.2 Page 22   0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Electricity Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) European Union (EU) 7.4 OECD High Income 7.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 5.3 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 4.2 Regional Average 3.7 South Asia (SA) 2.1 Hong Kong, China 8.0 Malaysia 8.0 Taiwan, China 8.0 Brunei 7.0 Singapore 7.0 Thailand 7.0 China 6.0 Vietnam 6.0 Indonesia 5.0 Philippines 5.0 Vanuatu 5.0 Fiji 4.0 Samoa 4.0 Tonga 4.0 Cambodia 3.0 Mongolia 3.0 Lao PDR 2.0 Kiribati 0.0 Marshall Islands 0.0 Micronesia 0.0 Myanmar 0.0 Palau 0.0 Papua New Guinea 0.0 Solomon Islands 0.0 Timor-Leste 0.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Page 23   What the indicators measure Case study assumptions 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Doing Business 2018 Source: Doing Business database. EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions immovable property (number) about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, paying The parties (buyer and seller): property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). Registration procedures in the economy's largest - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business business citya. city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest Postregistration procedures (for example, filling business city. title with municipality) - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. Time required to complete each procedure - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities. Does not include time spent gathering information Each procedure starts on a separate day - though The property (fully owned by the seller): procedures that can be fully completed online are - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. - Is fully owned by the seller. an exception to this rule - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for Procedure is considered completed once final the past 10 years. document is received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title No prior contact with officials disputes. Cost required to complete each procedure (% - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. of property value) - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 Official costs only (such as administrative fees, square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in duties and taxes). good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, payments are excluded consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its entirety. Quality of land administration index (0-30) - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical Transparency of information index (0–6) monuments of any kind. Geographic coverage index (0–8) - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for Land dispute resolution index (0–8) residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) agricultural activities, are required. - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Registering Property Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to transfer property? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of registering property suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of registering property Page 24   Taiwan, China (Rank 18) 83.89 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Registering Property Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for entrepreneurs in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to transfer property? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of registering property suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of registering property Taiwan, China (Rank 18) 83.89 Singapore (Rank 19) 83.57 China (Rank 41) 76.15 Malaysia (Rank 42) 76.06 Palau (Rank 43) 75.16 Mongolia (Rank 50) 74.18 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 55) 73.54 Fiji (Rank 58) 71.86 Vietnam (Rank 63) 70.61 Lao PDR (Rank 65) 69.55 Samoa (Rank 66) 69.51 Thailand (Rank 68) 68.75 Vanuatu (Rank 80) 65.63 Indonesia (Rank 106) 59.01 Philippines (Rank 114) 57.55 Papua New Guinea (Rank 122) 55.38 Cambodia (Rank 123) 55.00 Myanmar (Rank 134) 52.30 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 136) 51.48 Kiribati (Rank 146) 49.12 Solomon Islands (Rank 152) 47.37 Tonga (Rank 160) 44.64 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 187) 0.00 Timor-Leste (Rank 187) 0.00 Marshall Islands (Rank 187) 0.00 Regional Average (Rank 97) 57.21 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to complete a property transfer in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 25   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to complete a property transfer in each economy in the region: the number of procedures, the time and the cost. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to register property in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Procedures (number) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 7.2 South Asia (SA) 6.8 Regional Average 5.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 5.3 European Union (EU) 5.0 OECD High Income 4.7 Solomon Islands 10.0 Philippines 9.0 Malaysia 8.0 Brunei 7.0 Cambodia 7.0 Myanmar 6.0 Singapore 6.0 Hong Kong, China 5.0 Indonesia 5.0 Kiribati 5.0 Mongolia 5.0 Palau 5.0 Samoa 5.0 Thailand 5.0 Vietnam 5.0 China 4.0 Fiji 4.0 Lao PDR 4.0 Papua New Guinea 4.0 Tonga 4.0 Vanuatu 4.0 Taiwan, China 3.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Time (days) Page 26   0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Time (days) South Asia (SA) 111.6 Regional Average 74.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 63.3 European Union (EU) 24.5 OECD High Income 22.3 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 20.4 Kiribati 513.0 Brunei 298.5 Tonga 112.0 Solomon Islands 86.5 Myanmar 85.0 Papua New Guinea 72.0 Fiji 69.0 Vanuatu 58.0 Vietnam 57.5 Cambodia 56.0 Lao PDR 53.0 Philippines 35.0 Indonesia 27.6 Hong Kong, China 27.5 China 19.5 Samoa 15.0 Palau 14.0 Malaysia 13.0 Mongolia 10.5 Thailand 7.0 Singapore 4.5 Taiwan, China 4.0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Cost (% of property value) South Asia (SA) 7.0 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 5.8 European Union (EU) 4.8 Page 27   Regional Average 4.3 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Cost (% of property value) South Asia (SA) 7.0 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 5.8 European Union (EU) 4.8 Regional Average 4.3 OECD High Income 4.2 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 2.5 Tonga 15.1 Indonesia 8.3 Hong Kong, China 7.7 Thailand 7.3 Vanuatu 7.0 Taiwan, China 6.2 Papua New Guinea 5.2 Solomon Islands 4.7 Cambodia 4.3 Philippines 4.3 Myanmar 4.1 Samoa 3.8 Malaysia 3.5 China 3.4 Fiji 3.0 Singapore 2.9 Mongolia 2.1 Lao PDR 1.0 Brunei 0.6 Vietnam 0.6 Palau 0.2 Kiribati 0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Quality of the land administration index (0-30) European Union (EU) 22.7 OECD High Income 22.7 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 19.8 Page 28   Regional Average 15.8 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Registering Property Quality of the land administration index (0-30) European Union (EU) 22.7 OECD High Income 22.7 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 19.8 Regional Average 15.8 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 12.0 South Asia (SA) 8.0 Singapore 29.0 Taiwan, China 28.5 Hong Kong, China 27.5 Malaysia 27.5 Fiji 19.5 Vanuatu 18.5 China 18.3 Brunei 18.0 Thailand 18.0 Tonga 17.0 Mongolia 14.5 Vietnam 14.0 Samoa 13.0 Palau 12.5 Philippines 12.5 Indonesia 11.3 Solomon Islands 11.0 Lao PDR 10.5 Kiribati 9.0 Cambodia 7.5 Myanmar 5.5 Papua New Guinea 4.5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions Page 29   Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index laws (0-10) measures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope and Protection of secured creditors’ rights through accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a bankruptcy laws (0-2) credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to Depth of credit information index (0–8) which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and Scope and accessibility of credit information lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first distributed by credit bureaus and credit registries determined whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then (0-8) two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory security interest is created, publicized and enforced Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) according to the law. Special emphasis is given to how the collateral Number of individuals and firms listed in largest registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The credit bureau as a percentage of adult population case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a secured Credit registry coverage (% of adults) lender, BizBank. Number of individuals and firms listed in credit In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will registry as a percentage of adult population allow only case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer- of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Getting Credit Where do the region’s economies stand today? How well do the credit information systems and collateral and bankruptcy laws in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) facilitate access to credit? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of getting credit suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of getting credit Page 30   ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as Doing Business 2018 possible). EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. (EAP) Getting Credit Where do the region’s economies stand today? How well do the credit information systems and collateral and bankruptcy laws in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) facilitate access to credit? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of getting credit suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of getting credit Brunei Darussalam (Rank 2) 95.00 Mongolia (Rank 20) 80.00 Malaysia (Rank 20) 80.00 Cambodia (Rank 20) 80.00 Vietnam (Rank 29) 75.00 Vanuatu (Rank 29) 75.00 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 29) 75.00 Singapore (Rank 29) 75.00 Tonga (Rank 42) 70.00 Thailand (Rank 42) 70.00 Papua New Guinea (Rank 42) 70.00 Indonesia (Rank 55) 65.00 China (Rank 68) 60.00 Lao PDR (Rank 77) 55.00 Palau (Rank 90) 50.00 Solomon Islands (Rank 90) 50.00 Taiwan, China (Rank 90) 50.00 Marshall Islands (Rank 90) 50.00 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 90) 50.00 Samoa (Rank 105) 45.00 Philippines (Rank 142) 30.00 Fiji (Rank 159) 25.00 Kiribati (Rank 170) 20.00 Timor-Leste (Rank 170) 20.00 Myanmar (Rank 177) 10.00 Regional Average (Rank 75) 57.00 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit Another way to assess how well regulations and institutions support lending and borrowing in the region is to see where the region stands in the distribution of scores across regions. The rst gure highlights the score on the strength of legal rights index in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) and comparator regions. The second gure shows the same thing for the depth of credit information index. Page 31   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit Another way to assess how well regulations and institutions support lending and borrowing in the region is to see where the region stands in the distribution of scores across regions. The rst gure highlights the score on the strength of legal rights index in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) and comparator regions. The second gure shows the same thing for the depth of credit information index. How strong are legal rights for borrowers and lenders Strength of legal rights index (0-12) Regional Average 7.2 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 6.6 OECD High Income 6.0 European Union (EU) 5.6 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 5.3 South Asia (SA) 5.3 Brunei 12.0 Vanuatu 11.0 Cambodia 10.0 Marshall Islands 10.0 Micronesia 10.0 Palau 10.0 Solomon Islands 10.0 Tonga 10.0 Mongolia 9.0 Papua New Guinea 9.0 Samoa 9.0 Hong Kong, China 8.0 Malaysia 8.0 Singapore 8.0 Vietnam 8.0 Thailand 7.0 Indonesia 6.0 Lao PDR 6.0 Fiji 5.0 China 4.0 Kiribati 4.0 Myanmar 2.0 Taiwan, China 2.0 Philippines 1.0 Timor-Leste 0.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit Page 32   Depth of credit information index (0-8) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Getting Credit Depth of credit information index (0-8) OECD High Income 6.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 6.3 European Union (EU) 6.3 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 4.8 Regional Average 4.2 South Asia (SA) 4.0 China 8.0 Malaysia 8.0 Taiwan, China 8.0 Brunei 7.0 Hong Kong, China 7.0 Indonesia 7.0 Mongolia 7.0 Singapore 7.0 Thailand 7.0 Vietnam 7.0 Cambodia 6.0 Lao PDR 5.0 Papua New Guinea 5.0 Philippines 5.0 Timor-Leste 4.0 Tonga 4.0 Vanuatu 4.0 Fiji 0.0 Kiribati 0.0 Marshall Islands 0.0 Micronesia 0.0 Myanmar 0.0 Palau 0.0 Samoa 0.0 Solomon Islands 0.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and Page 33   To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses approval requirements for related-party several assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related- party transactions The business (Buyer): - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on minority shareholders to sue and hold interested that exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the directors liable for prejudicial related-party economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, multiple shareholders. disgorgement of profits, fines, imprisonment, - Has a board of directors and a chief executive o cer (CEO) who may rescission of the transaction) legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): Access to speci cally required by law. internal corporate documents; Evidence obtainable - Has a supervisory board (applicable to economies with a two-tier board during trial and allocation of legal expenses system) on which 60% of the shareholder-elected members have been Extent of conflict of interest regulation index appointed by Mr. James, who is Buyer’s controlling shareholder and a (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, member of Buyer’s board of directors. extent of director liability and ease of shareholder - Has not adopted any bylaws or articles of association that di er from indices default minimum standards and does not follow any nonmandatory codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines relating to corporate Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): governance. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. decisions Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): The transaction involves the following details: Governance safeguards protecting shareholders - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer and elected two directors to Buyer’s ve- from undue board control and entrenchment member board. Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its compensation, audits and financial prospects stores. Extent of shareholder governance index (0–10): - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused eet of trucks Simple average of the extent of shareholders to expand Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which rights, extent of ownership and control and extent Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. of corporate transparency indices - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s ordinary course of Strength of minority investor protection index business and is not outside the authority of the company. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, interest regulation and extent of shareholder and all required disclosures made (that is, the transaction is not governance indices fraudulent). - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the other parties that approved the transaction. Protecting Minority Investors Where do the region’s economies stand today? How strong are investor protections against self-dealing in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the strength of investor protection index suggest an answer. While the indicator does not measure all aspects related to the protection of minority investors, a higher ranking does indicate that an economy’s regulations o er stronger investor protections against self-dealing in the areas measured. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of protecting minority investors Page 34   - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James Doing Business 2018 and the other EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) parties that approved the transaction. Protecting Minority Investors Where do the region’s economies stand today? How strong are investor protections against self-dealing in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the strength of investor protection index suggest an answer. While the indicator does not measure all aspects related to the protection of minority investors, a higher ranking does indicate that an economy’s regulations o er stronger investor protections against self-dealing in the areas measured. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of protecting minority investors Malaysia (Rank 4) 80.00 Singapore (Rank 4) 80.00 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 9) 76.67 Thailand (Rank 16) 73.33 Taiwan, China (Rank 24) 70.00 Mongolia (Rank 33) 66.67 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 40) 65.00 Indonesia (Rank 43) 63.33 Samoa (Rank 76) 56.67 Vietnam (Rank 81) 55.00 Timor-Leste (Rank 81) 55.00 Papua New Guinea (Rank 89) 53.33 Fiji (Rank 96) 51.67 Cambodia (Rank 108) 50.00 Solomon Islands (Rank 108) 50.00 Vanuatu (Rank 108) 50.00 China (Rank 119) 48.33 Kiribati (Rank 124) 46.67 Tonga (Rank 138) 41.67 Philippines (Rank 146) 40.00 Lao PDR (Rank 172) 31.67 Marshall Islands (Rank 177) 26.67 Palau (Rank 177) 26.67 Myanmar (Rank 183) 25.00 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 183) 25.00 Regional Average (Rank 94) 52.33 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors The strength of minority investor protection index is the average of the extent of con ict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. The index ranges from 0 to 10, rounded to the nearest decimal place, with higher Page 35   values indicating stronger minority investor protections. The following two gures highlight the scores on the various minority 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors The strength of minority investor protection index is the average of the extent of con ict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. The index ranges from 0 to 10, rounded to the nearest decimal place, with higher values indicating stronger minority investor protections. The following two gures highlight the scores on the various minority investor protection indices in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP). Comparing the scores across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. How extensive are con ict of interest regulations Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-10) OECD High Income 6.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 6.3 European Union (EU) 6.0 Regional Average 5.7 South Asia (SA) 5.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 5.3 Singapore 9.3 Hong Kong, China 9.0 Malaysia 8.7 Thailand 8.3 Mongolia 7.3 Brunei 6.7 Cambodia 6.7 Samoa 6.7 Taiwan, China 6.7 Kiribati 6.3 Papua New Guinea 6.3 Solomon Islands 6.3 Fiji 5.7 Indonesia 5.7 Vanuatu 5.3 China 5.0 Tonga 5.0 Timor-Leste 4.7 Vietnam 4.3 Philippines 4.0 Lao PDR 3.3 Marshall Islands 3.3 Micronesia 2.7 Palau 2.3 Myanmar 2.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors Page 36   0 2 4 6 8 10 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Protecting Minority Investors Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 6.6 European Union (EU) 6.5 OECD High Income 6.4 South Asia (SA) 5.3 Regional Average 4.8 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 4.1 Malaysia 7.3 Taiwan, China 7.3 Indonesia 7.0 Singapore 6.7 Vietnam 6.7 Brunei 6.3 Hong Kong, China 6.3 Thailand 6.3 Timor-Leste 6.3 Mongolia 6.0 China 4.7 Fiji 4.7 Samoa 4.7 Vanuatu 4.7 Papua New Guinea 4.3 Philippines 4.0 Solomon Islands 3.7 Cambodia 3.3 Tonga 3.3 Kiribati 3.0 Lao PDR 3.0 Myanmar 3.0 Palau 3.0 Micronesia 2.3 Marshall Islands 2.0 0 2 4 6 8 10 Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post- ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax Page 37   compliance cost 0 2 4 6 8 10 Doing Business 2018 Source: Doing Business database. EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post- ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax compliance cost across economies. The new section covers both the legal framework and the administrative burden on businesses to comply with post- ling processes. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory 2016 (number per year adjusted for electronic contributions a medium size company must pay in a year, and measures and joint ling and payment) the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with post ling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of ling Total number of taxes and contributions paid, and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales with the requirements of post ling processes and time waiting. tax or goods and service tax) Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are Time required to comply with 3 major taxes used: (hours per year) - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2015. It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at Collecting information, computing tax payable retail. All taxes and contributions recorded are paid in the second year of Completing tax return, filing with agencies operation (calendar year 2016). Taxes and mandatory contributions are Arranging payment or withholding measured at all levels of government. Preparing separate tax accounting books, if required The VAT refund process: Total tax and contribution rate (% of pro t - In June 2016, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of before all taxes) the machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) Profit or corporate income tax and cost of goods sold are equally expensed per month (875 times Social contributions, labor taxes paid by employer income per capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for Property and property transfer taxes VAT and excess input VAT incurred in June will be fully recovered after Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions taxes four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, sales and Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will Post ling Index exceed Output VAT in June 2016. Time to comply with a VAT refund The corporate income tax audit process: Time to receive a VAT refund - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of Time to comply with a corporate income tax audit incorrect tax depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax Time to complete a corporate income tax audit deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily noti ed the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. Paying Taxes Where do the region’s economies stand today? What is the administrative burden of complying with taxes in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) —and how much do rms pay in taxes? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of paying taxes o er useful information for assessing the tax compliance burden for businesses. The average ranking of the region provides a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of paying taxes Page 38   submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the Doing Business 2018 annual tax EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC return, but within the tax assessment period. (EAP) Paying Taxes Where do the region’s economies stand today? What is the administrative burden of complying with taxes in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) —and how much do rms pay in taxes? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of paying taxes o er useful information for assessing the tax compliance burden for businesses. The average ranking of the region provides a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of paying taxes Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 3) 98.82 Singapore (Rank 7) 91.58 Solomon Islands (Rank 37) 83.81 Taiwan, China (Rank 56) 77.96 Vanuatu (Rank 57) 77.85 Mongolia (Rank 62) 77.32 Samoa (Rank 64) 77.04 Thailand (Rank 67) 76.73 Malaysia (Rank 73) 76.07 Marshall Islands (Rank 83) 73.45 Vietnam (Rank 86) 72.77 Papua New Guinea (Rank 91) 71.71 Kiribati (Rank 94) 71.42 Tonga (Rank 98) 70.56 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 104) 69.41 Philippines (Rank 105) 69.27 Palau (Rank 107) 69.22 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 110) 68.78 Indonesia (Rank 114) 68.04 Fiji (Rank 120) 66.00 Myanmar (Rank 125) 63.94 China (Rank 130) 62.90 Cambodia (Rank 136) 61.28 Timor-Leste (Rank 139) 60.32 Lao PDR (Rank 156) 54.18 Regional Average (Rank 89) 72.42 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with tax regulations in each economy in the region—the number of payments per year and the time required to prepare, and le and pay taxes the 3 major taxes (corporate income tax, VAT or sales tax and labor taxes and mandatory contributions)—as well Page 39   as the total tax rate. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to comply with tax regulations in each economy in the region—the number of payments per year and the time required to prepare, and le and pay taxes the 3 major taxes (corporate income tax, VAT or sales tax and labor taxes and mandatory contributions)—as well as the total tax rate. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. How easy is it to pay taxes in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) - and what are the total tax rates Payments (number per year) South Asia (SA) 28.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 28.0 Regional Average 21.8 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 16.5 European Union (EU) 11.5 OECD High Income 10.9 Indonesia 43.0 Cambodia 40.0 Fiji 38.0 Samoa 37.0 Lao PDR 35.0 Solomon Islands 34.0 Papua New Guinea 32.0 Myanmar 31.0 Vanuatu 31.0 Tonga 30.0 Micronesia 21.0 Thailand 21.0 Philippines 20.0 Mongolia 19.0 Timor-Leste 18.0 Brunei 15.0 Vietnam 14.0 Kiribati 11.0 Palau 11.0 Taiwan, China 11.0 China 9.0 Marshall Islands 9.0 Malaysia 8.0 Singapore 5.0 Hong Kong, China 3.0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Page 40   0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Time (hours per year) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 332.1 South Asia (SA) 277.3 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 218.4 Regional Average 189.2 European Union (EU) 171.4 OECD High Income 160.7 Vietnam 498.0 Lao PDR 362.0 Myanmar 282.0 Timor-Leste 276.0 Thailand 262.0 Fiji 247.0 Samoa 224.0 Taiwan, China 221.0 Indonesia 207.5 China 207.0 Tonga 200.0 Papua New Guinea 199.0 Malaysia 188.0 Philippines 182.0 Cambodia 173.0 Kiribati 168.0 Mongolia 134.0 Micronesia 128.0 Marshall Islands 120.0 Vanuatu 120.0 Solomon Islands 80.0 Hong Kong, China 72.0 Brunei 64.2 Singapore 64.0 Palau 52.0 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 46.6 South Asia (SA) 43.0 European Union (EU) 40.6 OECD High Income 40.1 Page 41   0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 46.6 South Asia (SA) 43.0 European Union (EU) 40.6 OECD High Income 40.1 Regional Average 33.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 33.1 Palau 75.5 China 67.3 Marshall Islands 64.8 Micronesia 60.5 Philippines 42.9 Papua New Guinea 39.3 Malaysia 39.2 Vietnam 38.1 Taiwan, China 34.3 Fiji 33.0 Kiribati 32.7 Solomon Islands 32.0 Myanmar 31.2 Indonesia 30.0 Thailand 28.7 Tonga 27.5 Lao PDR 26.2 Mongolia 24.7 Hong Kong, China 22.9 Cambodia 21.7 Singapore 20.3 Samoa 19.3 Timor-Leste 11.2 Vanuatu 8.5 Brunei 8.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Postfiling index (0-100) OECD High Income 83.5 European Union (EU) 82.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 65.2 Page 42   Regional Average 56.5 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Paying Taxes Postfiling index (0-100) OECD High Income 83.5 European Union (EU) 82.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 65.2 Regional Average 56.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 47.5 South Asia (SA) 41.0 Solomon Islands 100.0 Hong Kong, China 98.8 Vietnam 95.7 Samoa 91.9 Papua New Guinea 77.1 Thailand 73.4 Singapore 72.0 Vanuatu 69.0 Indonesia 68.8 Taiwan, China 63.2 Fiji 62.6 Malaysia 52.6 Tonga 52.5 Philippines 50.0 China 49.1 Mongolia 49.1 Myanmar 45.5 Kiribati 26.7 Cambodia 26.0 Lao PDR 18.6 Timor-Leste 1.4 Brunei 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tari s) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptionsPage 43   are made about the traded goods and the transactions: 0 20 40 60 80 100 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tari s) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port or Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 border handling in origin economy days are recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are required by destination economy and any transit submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance Covers all documents required by law and in would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. practice, including electronic submissions of information as well as non-shipment-specific Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued documents necessary to complete the trade are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Border compliance Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on Customs clearance and inspections the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more are informed about exchange rates. than 10% of shipments) Port or border handling Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Processing of documents during clearance, Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in the largest inspections and port or border handling. business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the Domestic transport largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) Loading and unloading of shipment at warehouse, from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the dry port or border largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each Transport by most widely used mode between economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (defined by the warehouse and terminal or dry port largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the Traffic delays and road police checks while largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the shipment is en route chosen export or import product and the trading partner, as is the seaport, or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport, airport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Trading across Borders Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for businesses in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to export and import goods? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of trading across borders suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of trading across borders Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 31) 93.56 Page 44   of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Trading across Borders Where do the region’s economies stand today? How easy it is for businesses in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) to export and import goods? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of trading across borders suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of trading across borders Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 31) 93.56 Singapore (Rank 42) 89.57 Taiwan, China (Rank 55) 84.94 Thailand (Rank 57) 84.10 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 58) 84.00 Malaysia (Rank 61) 82.75 Marshall Islands (Rank 67) 80.59 Fiji (Rank 75) 77.57 Vietnam (Rank 94) 70.83 China (Rank 97) 69.91 Timor-Leste (Rank 98) 69.90 Philippines (Rank 99) 69.39 Tonga (Rank 103) 68.20 Cambodia (Rank 108) 67.28 Mongolia (Rank 110) 66.89 Indonesia (Rank 112) 66.59 Lao PDR (Rank 124) 62.98 Kiribati (Rank 127) 62.08 Palau (Rank 133) 60.98 Papua New Guinea (Rank 137) 60.47 Vanuatu (Rank 143) 59.13 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 144) 58.70 Samoa (Rank 148) 57.81 Solomon Islands (Rank 156) 53.45 Myanmar (Rank 163) 47.67 Regional Average (Rank 102) 69.97 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders The indicators reported here are for trading a shipment of goods by the most widely used mode of transport (whether sea, land, air or some combination of these). The information on the time and cost to complete export and import is collected from local freight forwarders, customs brokers and traders. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 45   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders The indicators reported here are for trading a shipment of goods by the most widely used mode of transport (whether sea, land, air or some combination of these). The information on the time and cost to complete export and import is collected from local freight forwarders, customs brokers and traders. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to trade across borders in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Time to export: Border compliance (hours) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 62.5 South Asia (SA) 59.4 Regional Average 55.9 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 28.0 OECD High Income 12.7 European Union (EU) 8.1 Myanmar 142.0 Brunei 117.0 Solomon Islands 110.0 Palau 102.0 Timor-Leste 96.0 Kiribati 72.0 Mongolia 62.0 Marshall Islands 60.0 Fiji 56.0 Vietnam 55.0 Indonesia 53.3 Tonga 52.0 Samoa 51.0 Thailand 51.0 Cambodia 48.0 Malaysia 45.0 Papua New Guinea 42.0 Philippines 42.0 Vanuatu 38.0 Micronesia 36.0 China 25.9 Taiwan, China 17.0 Lao PDR 12.0 Singapore 10.0 Hong Kong, China 2.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Page 46   Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 526.6 Regional Average 387.6 South Asia (SA) 369.8 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 191.4 OECD High Income 149.9 European Union (EU) 85.2 Samoa 1400.0 Vanuatu 709.0 Papua New Guinea 660.0 Solomon Islands 630.0 Palau 505.0 China 484.1 Philippines 456.0 Myanmar 432.0 Kiribati 420.0 Cambodia 375.0 Timor-Leste 350.0 Brunei 340.0 Singapore 335.0 Taiwan, China 335.0 Malaysia 321.0 Fiji 317.0 Vietnam 290.0 Indonesia 253.7 Thailand 223.0 Marshall Islands 220.0 Tonga 201.0 Mongolia 191.0 Micronesia 168.0 Lao PDR 73.0 Hong Kong, China 0.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 77.0 Regional Average 68.1 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 53.3 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 28.0 Page 47   0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 77.0 Regional Average 68.1 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 53.3 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 28.0 OECD High Income 2.6 European Union (EU) 1.4 Lao PDR 216.0 Mongolia 168.0 Tonga 168.0 Brunei 155.0 Myanmar 144.0 Cambodia 132.0 Papua New Guinea 96.0 Palau 72.0 Philippines 72.0 Vanuatu 72.0 Indonesia 61.3 Solomon Islands 60.0 Fiji 56.0 Vietnam 50.0 Timor-Leste 33.0 Micronesia 26.0 Kiribati 24.0 Marshall Islands 24.0 Samoa 24.0 China 21.2 Thailand 11.0 Malaysia 10.0 Taiwan, China 5.0 Singapore 2.0 Hong Kong, China 1.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) South Asia (SA) 179.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 113.9 Regional Average 112.1 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 110.5 Page 48   0 50 100 150 200 250 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) South Asia (SA) 179.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 113.9 Regional Average 112.1 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 110.5 OECD High Income 35.5 European Union (EU) 17.0 Kiribati 310.0 Solomon Islands 257.0 Lao PDR 235.0 Vanuatu 190.0 Samoa 180.0 Myanmar 140.0 Vietnam 139.0 Indonesia 138.8 Cambodia 100.0 Palau 100.0 Timor-Leste 100.0 Thailand 97.0 Brunei 90.0 China 84.6 Taiwan, China 84.0 Fiji 76.0 Papua New Guinea 75.0 Tonga 70.0 Mongolia 64.0 Micronesia 60.0 Hong Kong, China 57.0 Philippines 53.0 Malaysia 45.0 Singapore 37.0 Marshall Islands 20.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to import: Border compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 113.8 Regional Average 70.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 64.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 25.9 Page 49   0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to import: Border compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 113.8 Regional Average 70.5 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 64.4 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 25.9 OECD High Income 8.7 European Union (EU) 1.7 Myanmar 230.0 Vanuatu 126.0 Solomon Islands 108.0 Timor-Leste 100.0 Indonesia 99.4 Kiribati 96.0 China 92.3 Marshall Islands 84.0 Palau 84.0 Samoa 84.0 Papua New Guinea 72.0 Philippines 72.0 Malaysia 69.0 Micronesia 56.0 Vietnam 56.0 Thailand 50.0 Brunei 48.0 Mongolia 48.0 Taiwan, China 47.0 Fiji 42.0 Singapore 33.0 Tonga 26.0 Hong Kong, China 19.0 Lao PDR 14.0 Cambodia 8.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 684.0 South Asia (SA) 638.1 Regional Average 431.1 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 185.1 Page 50   0 50 100 150 200 250 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 684.0 South Asia (SA) 638.1 Regional Average 431.1 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 185.1 OECD High Income 111.6 European Union (EU) 29.2 Samoa 900.0 Papua New Guinea 790.0 China 745.0 Solomon Islands 740.0 Kiribati 685.0 Vanuatu 681.0 Palau 605.0 Philippines 580.0 Myanmar 457.0 Timor-Leste 410.0 Brunei 395.0 Indonesia 382.6 Vietnam 373.0 Taiwan, China 340.0 Tonga 330.0 Malaysia 321.0 Fiji 320.0 Hong Kong, China 266.0 Cambodia 240.0 Thailand 233.0 Marshall Islands 220.0 Singapore 220.0 Mongolia 210.0 Micronesia 180.0 Lao PDR 153.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 104.7 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 79.9 Regional Average 65.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 27.4 Page 51   0 200 400 600 800 1000 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) South Asia (SA) 104.7 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 79.9 Regional Average 65.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 27.4 OECD High Income 3.9 European Union (EU) 1.1 Lao PDR 216.0 Brunei 132.0 Cambodia 132.0 Papua New Guinea 120.0 Indonesia 119.2 Mongolia 115.0 Palau 96.0 Philippines 96.0 Vietnam 76.0 Tonga 72.0 China 65.7 Marshall Islands 60.0 Kiribati 48.0 Myanmar 48.0 Vanuatu 48.0 Timor-Leste 44.0 Solomon Islands 37.0 Micronesia 35.0 Fiji 34.0 Samoa 25.0 Malaysia 10.0 Taiwan, China 4.0 Thailand 4.0 Singapore 3.0 Hong Kong, China 1.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) South Asia (SA) 341.6 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 119.6 Regional Average 111.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 94.7 Page 52   0 50 100 150 200 250 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Trading across Borders Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) South Asia (SA) 341.6 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 119.6 Regional Average 111.5 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 94.7 OECD High Income 25.7 European Union (EU) 4.5 Samoa 230.0 Solomon Islands 215.0 Myanmar 210.0 Vanuatu 183.0 Vietnam 183.0 China 170.9 Indonesia 164.4 Tonga 148.0 Cambodia 120.0 Kiribati 120.0 Lao PDR 115.0 Timor-Leste 115.0 Palau 100.0 Papua New Guinea 85.0 Mongolia 83.0 Micronesia 80.0 Taiwan, China 65.0 Malaysia 60.0 Fiji 58.0 Hong Kong, China 57.0 Brunei 50.0 Philippines 50.0 Marshall Islands 43.0 Thailand 43.0 Singapore 40.0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through Page 53   The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract the courts (calendar days) between 2 domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes Time to file and serve the case the case from simple debt enforcement. Time for trial and to obtain the judgment Time to enforce the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses Cost required to enforce a contract through several assumptions about the case: the courts (% of claim) - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. Attorney fees For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest Court fees business city. Enforcement fees - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay. Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over Case management (0-6) commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. Court automation (0-4) - The seller requests a pretrial attachment to secure the claim. Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable assets. Enforcing Contracts Where do the region’s economies stand today? How e cient is the process of resolving a commercial dispute through the courts in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of enforcing contracts suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of enforcing contracts Singapore (Rank 2) 83.61 China (Rank 5) 78.23 Taiwan, China (Rank 10) 75.11 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 28) 69.13 Thailand (Rank 34) 67.91 Malaysia (Rank 44) 66.61 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 61) 60.95 Vietnam (Rank 66) 60.22 Samoa (Rank 86) 58.59 Mongolia (Rank 88) 58.48 Fiji (Rank 89) 58.44 Tonga (Rank 94) 57.32 Page 54   Lao PDR (Rank 97) 56.22 - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s Doing Business 2018 assets. movable(EAP) EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Enforcing Contracts Where do the region’s economies stand today? How e cient is the process of resolving a commercial dispute through the courts in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of enforcing contracts suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of enforcing contracts Singapore (Rank 2) 83.61 China (Rank 5) 78.23 Taiwan, China (Rank 10) 75.11 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 28) 69.13 Thailand (Rank 34) 67.91 Malaysia (Rank 44) 66.61 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 61) 60.95 Vietnam (Rank 66) 60.22 Samoa (Rank 86) 58.59 Mongolia (Rank 88) 58.48 Fiji (Rank 89) 58.44 Tonga (Rank 94) 57.32 Lao PDR (Rank 97) 56.22 Marshall Islands (Rank 99) 55.93 Kiribati (Rank 121) 53.39 Palau (Rank 126) 52.21 Vanuatu (Rank 135) 49.27 Indonesia (Rank 145) 47.23 Philippines (Rank 149) 45.96 Solomon Islands (Rank 156) 43.49 Papua New Guinea (Rank 171) 36.21 Cambodia (Rank 179) 32.67 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 183) 29.39 Myanmar (Rank 188) 24.53 Timor-Leste (Rank 190) 6.13 Regional Average (Rank 102) 53.09 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts The indicators underlying the rankings may also be revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to enforce a contract through the courts in each economy in the region: the time, the cost and quality of judicial processes index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 55   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts The indicators underlying the rankings may also be revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show what it takes to enforce a contract through the courts in each economy in the region: the time, the cost and quality of judicial processes index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. What it takes to enforce a contract through the courts in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Time (days) South Asia (SA) 1101.7 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 767.2 European Union (EU) 621.0 OECD High Income 577.8 Regional Average 565.7 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 489.9 Timor-Leste 1285.0 Myanmar 1160.0 Philippines 962.0 Micronesia 885.0 Palau 810.0 Kiribati 660.0 Marshall Islands 616.0 Papua New Guinea 591.0 Brunei 540.0 Taiwan, China 510.0 Solomon Islands 497.0 China 496.3 Cambodia 483.0 Samoa 455.0 Lao PDR 443.0 Vanuatu 430.0 Malaysia 425.0 Thailand 420.0 Indonesia 403.2 Vietnam 400.0 Fiji 397.0 Hong Kong, China 385.0 Mongolia 374.0 Tonga 350.0 Singapore 164.0 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts Cost (% of claim value) Page 56   0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts Cost (% of claim value) Regional Average 47.3 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 31.4 South Asia (SA) 29.6 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 26.2 OECD High Income 21.6 European Union (EU) 21.3 Timor-Leste 163.2 Papua New Guinea 110.3 Cambodia 103.4 Solomon Islands 78.9 Indonesia 70.3 Micronesia 66.0 Vanuatu 56.0 Myanmar 51.5 Fiji 38.9 Malaysia 37.3 Brunei 36.6 Palau 35.3 Marshall Islands 32.1 Lao PDR 31.6 Philippines 31.0 Mongolia 30.6 Tonga 30.5 Vietnam 29.0 Kiribati 25.8 Singapore 25.8 Samoa 24.4 Hong Kong, China 23.6 Taiwan, China 18.3 Thailand 16.9 China 16.2 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Source: Doing Business database. Enforcing Contracts Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) European Union (EU) 11.2 OECD High Income 11.0 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 10.0 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 8.4 Page 57   0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Doing Business 2018 Source: Doing Business database. EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Enforcing Contracts Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) European Union (EU) 11.2 OECD High Income 11.0 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 10.0 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 8.4 Regional Average 7.9 South Asia (SA) 7.0 China 15.1 Singapore 15.0 Taiwan, China 14.0 Malaysia 12.0 Brunei 10.5 Hong Kong, China 10.0 Palau 9.5 Solomon Islands 9.0 Papua New Guinea 8.5 Thailand 8.5 Marshall Islands 8.0 Indonesia 7.9 Fiji 7.5 Philippines 7.5 Vanuatu 6.5 Vietnam 6.5 Kiribati 6.0 Lao PDR 5.5 Mongolia 5.5 Samoa 5.5 Cambodia 5.0 Micronesia 4.5 Tonga 4.5 Myanmar 3.0 Timor-Leste 2.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Source: Doing Business database. Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Page 58   0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are Measured in calendar years used: Appeals and requests for extension are included Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 estate) suppliers. The hotel experiences nancial di culties. - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the Measured as percentage of estate value equivalent in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. Court fees - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over Fees of insolvency administrators the hotel’s real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes Lawyers’ fees enough money to operate otherwise. Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees In addition, Doing Business evaluates the adequacy and integrity of the Other related fees existing legal framework applicable to liquidation and reorganization Outcome proceedings through the strength of insolvency framework index. The Whether business continues operating as a going index tests whether economies adopted internationally accepted good concern or business assets are sold piecemeal practices in four areas: commencement of proceedings, management of Recovery rate for creditors debtor’s assets, reorganization proceedings and creditor participation. Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted Depreciation of furniture is taken into account Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) Sum of the scores of four component indices: Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Resolving Insolvency Where do the region’s economies stand today? How e cient are insolvency proceedings in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of resolving insolvency suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark for assessing the e ciency of insolvency proceedings. Speed, low costs and continuation of viable businesses characterize the top performing economies. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of resolving insolvency Taiwan, China (Rank 20) 78.63 Page 59   Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Doing Business Creditor 2018 participation EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) index (0-4) Resolving Insolvency Where do the region’s economies stand today? How e cient are insolvency proceedings in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP)? The global rankings of these economies on the ease of resolving insolvency suggest an answer. The average ranking of the region and comparator regions provide a useful benchmark for assessing the e ciency of insolvency proceedings. Speed, low costs and continuation of viable businesses characterize the top performing economies. How economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) rank on the ease of resolving insolvency Taiwan, China (Rank 20) 78.63 Thailand (Rank 26) 75.64 Singapore (Rank 27) 74.31 Indonesia (Rank 38) 67.61 Hong Kong SAR, China (Rank 43) 65.69 Malaysia (Rank 46) 62.51 China (Rank 56) 55.82 Philippines (Rank 59) 55.22 Brunei Darussalam (Rank 60) 55.11 Cambodia (Rank 74) 48.25 Fiji (Rank 92) 43.72 Mongolia (Rank 93) 43.54 Vanuatu (Rank 96) 43.04 Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Rank 119) 37.67 Vietnam (Rank 129) 35.16 Tonga (Rank 136) 33.97 Samoa (Rank 137) 33.38 Papua New Guinea (Rank 141) 32.31 Solomon Islands (Rank 143) 31.95 Myanmar (Rank 164) 20.39 Palau (Rank 166) 16.38 Marshall Islands (Rank 167) 9.19 Lao PDR (Rank 168) 0.00 Kiribati (Rank 168) 0.00 Timor-Leste (Rank 168) 0.00 Regional Average (Rank 101) 40.78 0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Source: Doing Business database. Resolving Insolvency The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show the average recovery rate and the average strength of insolvency framework index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. Page 60   0 20 40 60 80 100 Distance to frontier score Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Resolving Insolvency The indicators underlying the rankings may be more revealing. Data collected by Doing Business show the average recovery rate and the average strength of insolvency framework index. Comparing these indicators across the region and with averages both for the region and for comparator regions can provide useful insights. How e cient is the insolvency process in economies in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) OECD High Income 71.2 European Union (EU) 63.2 Europe and Central Asia (ECA) 38.0 Regional Average 35.4 South Asia (SA) 32.7 Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) 30.8 Singapore 88.7 Hong Kong, China 87.2 Taiwan, China 82.2 Malaysia 81.3 Thailand 68.0 Indonesia 64.7 Brunei 47.2 Fiji 46.4 Vanuatu 45.1 China 36.9 Palau 30.4 Tonga 28.3 Papua New Guinea 25.2 Solomon Islands 24.5 Vietnam 21.8 Philippines 21.3 Samoa 18.5 Marshall Islands 17.1 Mongolia 17.0 Myanmar 14.7 Cambodia 14.2 Micronesia 3.2 Kiribati 0.0 Lao PDR 0.0 Timor-Leste 0.0 0 20 40 60 80 100 Source: Doing Business database. Business Reforms Starting a Business Page 61   In the year ending June 1, 2017, 137 economies implemented 283 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing 0 20 40 60 80 100 Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) Source: Doing Business database. Business Reforms Starting a Business In the year ending June 1, 2017, 137 economies implemented 283 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing Business, an increase of over 20% from last year. Doing Business has recorded more than 2,900 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are the reforms implemented in East Asia and the Paci c (EAP) since Doing Business 2008. DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made starting a business faster by removing post- DB2018 Brunei Darussalam incorporation procedures. China made starting a business easier by streamlining registration procedures. DB2018 China This reform applies to both Beijing and Shanghai. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business more expensive by DB2018 Hong Kong SAR, China reintroducing the business tax fee. Indonesia made starting a business less costly by reducing the start-up fees for DB2018 Indonesia limited liability companies. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Thailand made starting a business easier by abolishing the requirement to obtain DB2018 Thailand a company’s seal and eliminating the need for approval from the Labor Department of company work regulations. Myanmar made starting a business easier by reducing the cost to register a company. It also simplified the process by removing the requirement to submit a DB2017 Myanmar reference letter and a criminal history certificate in order to incorporate a company. Vietnam made starting a business more difficult by requiring entrepreneurs to DB2017 Vietnam receive approval of the seal sample before using it. Vanuatu made starting a business easier by removing registration requirements DB2017 Vanuatu and digitizing the company register. Thailand made starting a business easier by creating a single window for DB2017 Thailand registration payment and reducing the time to obtain a company seal. Papua New Guinea reduced the time required to start a business by streamlining DB2017 Papua New Guinea business registration at the Investment Promotion Agency (IPA). Malaysia made starting a business more difficult by requiring that companies DB2017 Malaysia with an annual revenue of more than MYR 500,000 register as a GST payer. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic made the process of starting a business DB2017 Lao PDR faster by implementing simplified procedures for obtaining a license and a registered company seal. Indonesia made starting a business easier by creating a single form to apply for the company registration certificate and trading license. This reform applies to Jakarta. Indonesia also made starting a business easier by abolishing the DB2017 Indonesia minimum capital requirement for small and medium-size enterprises and by encouraging the use of an online system to reserve company names. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business less costly by reducing the DB2017 Hong Kong SAR, China business registration fee. Page 62   DB2017 Indonesia minimum capital requirement for small and medium-size enterprises and by Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC encouraging (EAP) the use of an online system to reserve company names. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business less costly by reducing the DB2017 Hong Kong SAR, China business registration fee. Fiji made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to start a DB2017 Fiji business. Fiji also made starting a business less costly by reducing fees at the business registrar. China made starting a business easier by introducing a single form to obtain a DB2017 China business license, organization code and tax registration. This reform applies to both Shanghai and Beijing. Cambodia made starting a business more difficult by increasing the time DB2017 Cambodia required to register and by requiring companies to submit evidence of capital deposit after registration. Brunei Darussalam made starting a business easier by improving online DB2016 Brunei Darussalam procedures and simplifying registration and post registration requirements. Cambodia made starting a business easier by simplifying company name checks, DB2016 Cambodia streamlining tax registration and eliminating the requirement to publish information on the new company’s incorporation in the official gazette. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business easier by eliminating the DB2016 Hong Kong SAR, China requirement for a company seal. Indonesia made starting a business in Jakarta easier by reducing the time DB2016 Indonesia needed to register with the Ministry of Manpower. Mongolia made starting a business easier by reducing the number of days DB2016 Mongolia required to register a new company. The Philippines made starting a business easier by streamlining communications between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Social Security DB2016 Philippines System and thereby expediting the process of issuing an employer registration number. Vietnam made starting a business easier by reducing the time required to get DB2016 Vietnam the company seal engraved and registered. Myanmar made starting a business easier by eliminating the minimum capital DB2016 Myanmar requirement for local companies and streamlining incorporation procedures. DB2015 Timor-Leste Timor-Leste made starting a business easier by creating a one-stop shop. Indonesia made starting a business easier by allowing the Ministry of Law and DB2015 Indonesia Human Rights to electronically issue the approval letter for the deed of establishment. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business more difficult by increasing the DB2015 Hong Kong SAR, China registration fee. China made starting a business easier by eliminating both the minimum capital DB2015 China requirement and the requirement to obtain a capital verification report from an auditing firm. This reform applies to both Beijing and Shanghai. Cambodia made starting a business more difficult by introducing a requirement for a company name check at the Department of Intellectual Property and by DB2014 Cambodia increasing the costs both for getting registration documents approved and Page 63   China made starting a business easier by eliminating both the minimum capital Doing DB2015 China EAST ASIA AND Business 2018 THE PACIFIC requirement (EAP) and the requirement to obtain a capital verification report from an auditing firm. This reform applies to both Beijing and Shanghai. Cambodia made starting a business more difficult by introducing a requirement for a company name check at the Department of Intellectual Property and by DB2014 Cambodia increasing the costs both for getting registration documents approved and stamped by the Phnom Penh Tax Department and for completing incorporation with the commercial registrar. Hong Kong SAR, China, made starting a business less costly by abolishing the DB2014 Hong Kong SAR, China capital duty levied on local companies. Malaysia made starting a business less costly by reducing the company DB2014 Malaysia registration fees. Mongolia made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to get DB2014 Mongolia company statutes and charters notarized as well as the requirement to register a new company with the local tax office. Vietnam made starting a business easier by allowing companies to use self- DB2013 Vietnam printed value added tax invoices. Thailand made starting a business easier by allowing the registrar at the DB2013 Thailand Department of Business Development to receive the company’s work regulations. Mongolia made starting a business easier by eliminating the minimum capital DB2013 Mongolia requirement for limited liability companies. Lao PDR made starting a business easier by allowing entrepreneurs to apply for DB2013 Lao PDR tax registration at the time of incorporation. Fiji made starting a business more difficult by requiring new companies applying DB2013 Fiji for a business license to obtain a certificate from the national fire authority and a letter of compliance from the Ministry of Labor. China made starting a business less costly by exempting micro and small DB2013 China companies from paying several administrative fees from January 2012 to December 2014. Fiji made starting a business more difficult by adding a requirement to obtain a DB2012 Fiji tax identification number when registering a new company. Hong Kong SAR (China) made starting a business easier by introducing online DB2012 Hong Kong SAR, China electronic services for company and business registration. Indonesia made starting a business easier by introducing a simplified application DB2012 Indonesia process allowing an applicant to simultaneously obtain both a general trading license and a business registration certificate. Malaysia made starting a business easier by merging company, tax, social DB2012 Malaysia security and employment fund registrations at the one-stop shop and providing same-day registration. The Solomon Islands made starting a business easier by implementing an online DB2012 Solomon Islands registration process. Taiwan (China) made starting a business easier by implementing an online one- DB2012 Taiwan, China stop shop for business registration. DB2012 Thailand Thailand made starting a business easier by introducing a one-stop shop. Page 64   same-day registration. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE The PACIFIC Solomon (EAP) Islands made starting a business easier by implementing an online DB2012 Solomon Islands registration process. Taiwan (China) made starting a business easier by implementing an online one- DB2012 Taiwan, China stop shop for business registration. DB2012 Thailand Thailand made starting a business easier by introducing a one-stop shop. Timor-Leste made starting a business faster by improving the registration DB2012 Timor-Leste process. Tonga made starting a business easier by implementing an electronic system at the registry, which reduced the time required for verification of the uniqueness DB2012 Tonga of the company name and for registration of the company. The costs for the name search, company registration and business license increased, however. Vanuatu made starting a business easier by reducing the time required for DB2012 Vanuatu company registration at the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission and issuing provisional licenses at the Department of Customs. Vietnam eased company start-up by creating a one-stop shop that combines the DB2011 Vietnam processes for obtaining a business license and tax license and by eliminating the need for a seal for company licensing. Taiwan (China) eased business start-up by reducing the time required to check DB2011 Taiwan, China company names, register retirement plans and apply for health, pension and labor insurance. The Philippines eased business startup by setting up a one-stop shop at the DB2011 Philippines municipal level. DB2011 Malaysia Malaysia eased business start-up by introducing more online services. Indonesia eased business start-up by reducing the cost for company name DB2011 Indonesia clearance and reservation and the time required to reserve the name and approve the deed of incorporation. Brunei Darussalam made starting a business easier by improving efficiency at DB2011 Brunei Darussalam the company registrar and implementing an electronic system for name searches. Dealing with Construction Permits DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made dealing with construction permits less cumbersome by DB2018 Brunei Darussalam streamlining the process of obtaining a building permit. Tonga made dealing with construction permits more complex by introducing two DB2017 Tonga new procedures. Singapore made dealing with construction permits easier by streamlining DB2017 Singapore procedures and improving the online one-stop shop. The Philippines made dealing with construction permits easier by increasing the DB2017 Philippines transparency of its building regulations. Thailand made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by DB2015 Thailand introducing a fast-track approval process for building permits for smaller buildings. Page 65   Samoa made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the procedures and improving the online one-stop shop. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE The PACIFIC Philippines (EAP) made dealing with construction permits easier by increasing the DB2017 Philippines transparency of its building regulations. Thailand made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by DB2015 Thailand introducing a fast-track approval process for building permits for smaller buildings. Samoa made dealing with construction permits more costly by increasing the DB2015 Samoa building permit fees. Brunei Darussalam made dealing with construction permits easier by DB2015 Brunei Darussalam consolidating final inspections. Malaysia made dealing with construction permits easier by establishing a one- DB2014 Malaysia stop shop. Mongolia made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the DB2014 Mongolia requirement for a technical review of the building plans by the state for low- and medium-risk construction projects. The Philippines made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the DB2014 Philippines requirement to obtain a health certificate. Vanuatu made obtaining a construction permit more cumbersome by making a DB2013 Vanuatu preliminary environmental assessment mandatory and made it more expensive by increasing the fees. Taiwan, China, made dealing with construction permits easier by introducing a DB2013 Taiwan, China risk-based and self-regulatory inspection system and improving operational features of the one-stop shop for building permits. Malaysia made dealing with construction permits faster by improving the one- DB2013 Malaysia stop center for new buildings and by reducing the time to connect to telephone service. Fiji made obtaining a construction permit more expensive by implementing a fee DB2013 Fiji for the fire department clearance. China simplified the process of obtaining a construction permit by streamlining DB2013 China and centralizing preconstruction approvals. Brunei Darussalam made dealing with construction permits easier by creating a DB2013 Brunei Darussalam one-stop shop for preconstruction approvals. Taiwan (China) made dealing with construction permits easier by creating a one- DB2012 Taiwan, China stop center. Vanuatu made dealing with construction permits more difficult by increasing the DB2012 Vanuatu number of procedures and the cost to obtain a building permit. Vietnam made dealing with construction permits easier by reducing the cost to register newly completed buildings by 50% and transferring the authority to DB2011 Vietnam register buildings from local authorities to the Department of National Resources and Environment. The Philippines made construction permitting more cumbersome through DB2011 Philippines updated electricity connection costs. Getting Electricity DB Year Economy Reform Page 66   Electricity2018 Doing Business Getting EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made getting electricity more difficult by increasing the number of procedures needed to obtain a new connection. At the same time, a DB2018 Brunei Darussalam new compensation scheme was introduced to incentivize the utility to improve reliability. Indonesia made getting electricity less costly by reducing connection and internal DB2018 Indonesia wiring certification fees. In Jakarta, getting electricity was also made easier after the utility streamlined the processing of new connection applications. The Philippines reduced the time to get an electricity connection by DB2018 Philippines implementing a new asset management system and by creating a new scheduling and planning office. Thailand made getting electricity easier by streamlining procedures through the DB2018 Thailand implementation of a geographic information system, eliminating the external site inspection. Vietnam increased the reliability of power supply by rolling out a Supervisory DB2018 Vietnam Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) automatic energy management system for the monitoring of outages and the restoration of service. Lao PDR improved the regulation of outages by beginning to record data for the DB2017 Lao PDR annual system average interruption duration index (SAIDI) and system average interruption frequency index (SAIFI). Indonesia made the process for getting an electricity connection faster by reducing the time for contractors to perform external work thanks to an increase DB2017 Indonesia in the stock of electrical material supplied by the utility. In Surabaya, getting electricity was also made easier after the utility streamlined the process for new connection requests. Hong Kong SAR, China, streamlined the processes of reviewing applications for DB2017 Hong Kong SAR, China new electrical connections and also reduced the time needed to issue an excavation permit. The utility in Brunei Darussalam streamlined the processes of reviewing applications, and the time to issue an excavation permit was reduced. In addition, Brunei Darussalam increased the reliability of power supply by rolling out a DB2017 Brunei Darussalam Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) automatic energy management system for the monitoring of outages and the restoration of service. Cambodia reduced the average frequency and duration of power outages DB2016 Cambodia experienced by a customer over the course of a year in Phnom Penh by increasing power generation capacity. The utility in Hong Kong SAR, China, made getting electricity easier by streamlining the process for reviewing connection applications and for DB2016 Hong Kong SAR, China completing the connection works and meter installation. In addition, the time needed to issue an excavation permit was reduced. The utility in Taiwan, China, reduced the time required for getting an electricity DB2016 Taiwan, China connection through a simplified procedure for obtaining excavation permits from the municipality. The utility in Vietnam reduced the time required for getting an electricity Page 67   connection by reducing delays and increasing efficiency in approving connection The utility in Taiwan, China, reduced the time required for getting an electricity Doing DB2016 Taiwan, EAST Business 2018 China ASIA AND THE PACIFIC connection (EAP) through a simplified procedure for obtaining excavation permits from the municipality. The utility in Vietnam reduced the time required for getting an electricity connection by reducing delays and increasing efficiency in approving connection DB2016 Vietnam applications and designs for connection works. Getting electricity was also made easier by eliminating the need to obtain a substation certification from the Fire Fighters Prevention Department for connections to the medium-voltage grid. The Ministry of Electric Power facilitated the process to obtain a new electricity DB2016 Myanmar connection in Myanmar by reducing delays through fewer approvals. DB2015 Taiwan, China Taiwan, China, made getting electricity easier by eliminating site inspections. The Solomon Islands made getting electricity easier by improving procurement DB2015 Solomon Islands practices for the materials needed to establish new connections. In Indonesia the electricity company in Jakarta made getting electricity easier by eliminating the need for electrical contractors to obtain multiple certificates DB2015 Indonesia guaranteeing the safety of internal installations—though. The utility in Jakarta and Surabaya also increased the cost by introducing a security deposit for new connections. Malaysia made getting electricity easier by increasing the efficiency of internal DB2014 Malaysia processes at the utility and improving its communication and dialogue with contractors. Mongolia made getting electricity easier by increasing the efficiency of the DB2014 Mongolia utility’s internal processes, enforcing time limits at different stages of the connection process and eliminating the fees for testing the installation. Indonesia made getting electricity easier by eliminating the requirement for new DB2013 Indonesia customers applying for an electricity connection to show a neighbor’s electricity bill as a way to help determine their address. Brunei Darussalam made getting electricity easier by establishing a one-stop DB2012 Brunei Darussalam shop and reducing the time required to obtain an excavation permit. Hong Kong SAR (China) made getting electricity easier by increasing the DB2012 Hong Kong SAR, China efficiency of public agencies and streamlining the utility’s procedures with other government agencies. DB2012 Indonesia Indonesia made getting electricity more difficult by increasing connection fees. Tonga made getting electricity faster by implementing a time limit for the safety DB2012 Tonga inspection. Registering Property DB Year Economy Reform Brunei made registering property easier by increasing the transparency of its DB2018 Brunei Darussalam land administration system and by improving the land administration system’s dispute resolution mechanisms. Hong Kong SAR, China, improved the quality of its land administration system by DB2018 Hong Kong SAR, China enhancing its reliability and establishing a complaints mechanism. Indonesia made registering property easier by reducing the transfer tax. This DB2018 Indonesia reform applies to Jakarta and Surabaya. Page 68   Thailand improved the reliability of its land administration system by dispute resolution mechanisms. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE Hong PACIFIC Kong (EAP) SAR, China, improved the quality of its land administration system by DB2018 Hong Kong SAR, China enhancing its reliability and establishing a complaints mechanism. Indonesia made registering property easier by reducing the transfer tax. This DB2018 Indonesia reform applies to Jakarta and Surabaya. Thailand improved the reliability of its land administration system by DB2018 Thailand implementing a geographic information system and by scanning maps for most of Bangkok. DB2018 Myanmar Myanmar made registering property less costly by reducing the stamp duty. Singapore made it easier to transfer a property by introducing an independent DB2017 Singapore mechanism for reporting errors on titles and maps. Indonesia made it easier to register property by digitizing its cadastral records DB2017 Indonesia and setting up a geographic information system. Vanuatu improved the quality of land administration by appointing a land DB2016 Vanuatu ombudsman to deal with complaints relating to the land registry. Vanuatu made property transfers faster by digitizing its land registry system and DB2015 Vanuatu hiring and training new staff. Hong Kong SAR, China, made transferring property more costly by increasing the DB2014 Hong Kong SAR, China stamp duty. Samoa made transferring property more expensive by increasing the stamp DB2014 Samoa duty. Singapore made transferring property easier by introducing an online procedure DB2014 Singapore for property transfers. Malaysia substantially reduced the number of days it takes to register property DB2013 Malaysia transfers. Fiji made transferring property more difficult by requiring parties to a property DB2013 Fiji transaction to obtain a capital gains tax clearance certificate from the Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority. The Solomon Islands made registering property faster by separating the land DB2012 Solomon Islands registry from the business and movable property registries. Thailand made registering property more expensive by increasing the DB2012 Thailand registration fee. DB2012 Tonga Tonga made transferring property more costly. DB2012 Vanuatu Vanuatu made registering property easier by computerizing the land registry. Thailand made registering property more costly by repealing a 2-year temporary DB2011 Thailand tax reduction for property transfers. Samoa shifted from a deed system to a title system and fully computerized its DB2011 Samoa land registry, which reduced the time required to register property by 4 months. Malaysia’s introduction of online stamping reduced the time and cost to transfer DB2011 Malaysia property. DB2011 Lao PDR Lao PDR made resgistering property faster by moving to a title system. Page 69   Getting Credit land registry, which reduced the time required to register property by 4 months. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC Malaysia’s (EAP) introduction of online stamping reduced the time and cost to transfer DB2011 Malaysia property. DB2011 Lao PDR Lao PDR made resgistering property faster by moving to a title system. Getting Credit DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam strengthened access to credit by adopting a new law on secured transactions that establishes a unified legal framework for movable DB2018 Brunei Darussalam assets and creates a modern, notice-based collateral registry. The law also establishes priority rules for secured creditors inside and outside of insolvency proceedings as well as allows for out of court enforcement. Indonesia improved access to credit information by launching a new credit DB2018 Indonesia bureau. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Malaysia strengthened access to credit by adopting a new law that establishes a DB2018 Malaysia modern collateral registry. Mongolia strengthened access to credit by introducing a new Law on Movable and Intangible Property Pledges and by setting up a new collateral registry. The DB2018 Mongolia new law implemented a functional secured transactions system. The collateral registry is operational, unified geographically, searchable by a debtor’s unique identifier, modern, and notice based. Samoa strengthened access to credit with the implementation of the Personal DB2018 Samoa Property Securities Act and by establishing a functional, modern, notice-based collateral registry to register all types of charges and functional equivalents. Thailand strengthened access to credit by adopting new legislation that broadens the scope of assets that can be used as collateral. Thailand now allows a general description of assets granted as collateral and allows the security interest to DB2018 Thailand automatically attach to the proceeds of the original asset. It also establishes clear grounds for relief from a stay for secured creditors during reorganisation procedures and allows out-of-court enforcement of collateral. Vietnam strengthened access to credit by adopting a new civil code that DB2018 Vietnam broadens the scope of assets that can be used as collateral. Myanmar improved access to credit information by adopting a regulation DB2018 Myanmar allowing the establishment of credit bureaus. Myanmar improved its credit information system by enacting a law that allows DB2017 Myanmar the establishment of a new credit bureau. Vanuatu improved access to credit by passing a new law that allows secured DB2017 Vanuatu creditors to realize their assets without being subject to priorities of other creditors. Thailand improved access to credit information by starting to provide credit DB2017 Thailand scores to banks and financial institutions. The Solomon Islands improved access to credit information by establishing a DB2017 Solomon Islands credit bureau. Papua New Guinea strengthened access to credit by adopting a new law on secured transactions that implemented a functional secured transactions system DB2017 Papua New Guinea and established a centralized, notice-based collateral registry. The new law Page 70   broadens the scope of assets that can be used as collateral and allows out-of- scores to banks and financial institutions. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE The PACIFIC Solomon (EAP) Islands improved access to credit information by establishing a DB2017 Solomon Islands credit bureau. Papua New Guinea strengthened access to credit by adopting a new law on secured transactions that implemented a functional secured transactions system DB2017 Papua New Guinea and established a centralized, notice-based collateral registry. The new law broadens the scope of assets that can be used as collateral and allows out-of- court enforcement of collateral. DB2017 Malaysia In Malaysia the credit bureau began to provide consumer credit scores. Indonesia strengthened access to credit by establishing a modern collateral DB2017 Indonesia registry. The credit bureau in Fiji suspended operations making it more difficult to gain DB2017 Fiji access to credit information. China improved access to credit information by starting to report payment DB2017 China histories from utility companies and providing credit scores to banks and financial institutions. This reform applies to both Shanghai and Beijing. In Cambodia the credit bureau started to provide credit scores to banks and DB2017 Cambodia financial institutions, improving access to credit information. Brunei Darussalam strengthened access to credit by adopting a new insolvency law that contemplates protections for secured creditors during an automatic stay DB2017 Brunei Darussalam in reorganization proceedings. Brunei also improved access to credit information by beginning to distribute data from two utility companies. Hong Kong SAR, China, improved access to credit by implementing a modern DB2016 Hong Kong SAR, China collateral registry. Indonesia improved access to credit by enabling searches of the collateral DB2016 Indonesia registry by the debtor’s name. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic improved access to credit information by DB2016 Lao PDR eliminating the threshold for the minimum size of loans to be included in the credit registry’s database and by expanding borrower coverage. In Mongolia the credit registry began distributing data from a utility company, DB2016 Mongolia improving access to credit information. Papua New Guinea improved access to credit information by expanding the DB2016 Papua New Guinea bureau's coverage. Vietnam guaranteed borrowers’ right to inspect their credit data while the new DB2016 Vietnam credit bureau expanded borrower coverage, improving the credit information system. Vietnam improved its credit information system by establishing a new credit DB2015 Vietnam bureau. Taiwan, China, improved access to credit information by beginning to include DB2015 Taiwan, China data from utility companies in credit reports. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic improved access to credit by DB2015 Lao PDR implementing a modern, unified, notice-based collateral registry. Brunei Darussalam improved access to credit information by establishing a DB2014 Brunei Darussalam public credit registry. Page 71   data from utility companies in credit reports. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE The PACIFIC Lao (EAP) People’s Democratic Republic improved access to credit by DB2015 Lao PDR implementing a modern, unified, notice-based collateral registry. Brunei Darussalam improved access to credit information by establishing a DB2014 Brunei Darussalam public credit registry. China improved its credit information system by introducing credit information DB2014 China industry regulations, which guarantee borrowers’ right to inspect their data. Indonesia improved its credit information system through a new regulation DB2014 Indonesia setting up a legal framework for establishing credit bureaus. Palau strengthened its secured transactions system through a new law that establishes a centralized collateral registry, broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral to include future assets, allows a general description in the DB2014 Palau security agreement of debts and obligations as well as assets pledged as collateral, establishes clear priority rules outside bankruptcy for secured creditors and allows out-of-court enforcement of the collateral. The Philippines improved access to credit information by beginning to distribute DB2014 Philippines both positive and negative information and by enacting a data privacy act that guarantees borrowers’ right to access their data. Singapore improved its credit information system by guaranteeing by law DB2014 Singapore borrowers’ right to inspect their own data. Tonga improved access to credit information by establishing a private credit DB2014 Tonga bureau. Vanuatu improved access to credit information by establishing a private credit DB2014 Vanuatu bureau. Vietnam improved its credit information system through a decree setting up a DB2014 Vietnam legal framework for the establishment of private credit bureaus. Mongolia improved access to credit information by adopting a law that provides DB2013 Mongolia for licensing of credit reference bureaus and guarantees borrowers’ right to inspect their personal data. Cambodia improved access to credit information by establishing its first private DB2013 Cambodia credit bureau. Cambodia strengthened its credit information system through a new regulation DB2012 Cambodia allowing credit bureaus to collect and distribute positive as well as negative credit information. Lao PDR improved access to credit information by establishing a public credit DB2012 Lao PDR registry. Mongolia improved its credit information system by eliminating the minimum DB2012 Mongolia threshold for loans included in the database. Timor-Leste improved its credit information system by establishing a public DB2012 Timor-Leste credit registry. Tonga strengthened its secured transactions system by passing a new law that DB2012 Tonga allows a general description of the obligation in the security agreement and gives secured creditors priority outside bankruptcy. Vietnam improved its credit information system by allowing borrowers to DB2011 Vietnam Page 72   examine their own credit report and correct errors. Tonga strengthened its secured transactions system by passing a new law that Doing DB2012 Tonga EAST ASIA AND Business 2018 THE a allows PACIFIC (EAP) general description of the obligation in the security agreement and gives secured creditors priority outside bankruptcy. Vietnam improved its credit information system by allowing borrowers to DB2011 Vietnam examine their own credit report and correct errors. The Solomon Islands strengthened access to credit by passing a new secured transactions law that broadens the range of assets that can be used as collateral, DB2011 Solomon Islands allows a general description of debts and obligations secured by collateral, permits out-of-court enforcement and creates a collateral registry. Singapore improved its credit information system by collecting and distributing DB2011 Singapore information on firms. Operation of a new private credit bureau improved the credit information DB2011 Papua New Guinea system in Papua New Guinea. The Marshall Islands improved access to credit through a new law on secured transactions that establishes a central collateral registry, broadens the range of DB2011 Marshall Islands assets that can be used as collateral, allows a general description of debts and obligations and assets granted as collateral and establishes clear priority rules outside bankruptcy for secured creditors. Protecting Minority Investors DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam strengthened minority investor protections by increasing DB2018 Brunei Darussalam shareholder rights and role in major corporate decisions, clarifying ownership and control structures and requiring greater corporate transparency. Indonesia strengthened minority investor protections by increasing shareholder DB2018 Indonesia rights and role in major corporate decisions and requiring greater corporate transparency. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Malaysia strengthened minority investor protections by requiring greater DB2018 Malaysia corporate transparency. Thailand strengthened minority investor protections by making it easier to sue directors in case of prejudicial related-party transactions, increasing shareholder DB2018 Thailand rights and role in major corporate decisions and clarifying ownership and control structures. Vietnam strengthened minority investor protections by making it easier to sue directors in cases of prejudicial transactions between interested parties, by DB2017 Vietnam increasing shareholder rights and role in major corporate decisions, by strengthening the ownership and control structures of companies and by increasing corporate transparency requirements. Vanuatu strengthened minority investor protections by increasing shareholder DB2017 Vanuatu rights and role in major corporate decisions and clarifying ownership and control structures. Fiji strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater disclosure DB2017 Fiji requirements for related-party transactions. Brunei Darussalam strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying ownership and control structures, making it easier to sue directors in case of DB2017 Brunei Darussalam prejudicial related-party transactions, and allowing the rescission of related-party transactions that harm the company. Page 73   structures. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE Fiji (EAP) investor protections by introducing greater disclosure PACIFIC minority strengthened DB2017 Fiji requirements for related-party transactions. Brunei Darussalam strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying ownership and control structures, making it easier to sue directors in case of DB2017 Brunei Darussalam prejudicial related-party transactions, and allowing the rescission of related-party transactions that harm the company. Mongolia strengthened minority investor protections by introducing a DB2015 Mongolia requirement for public joint stock companies to publicly disclose related-party transactions within 2 business days. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic strengthened minority investor protections by introducing requirements for directors to disclose in detail their DB2015 Lao PDR conflicts of interest to the other board members and for companies to promptly disclose related-party transactions to the Securities Commission and to include the information in their annual reports. Hong Kong SAR, China, strengthened minority investor protections by DB2015 Hong Kong SAR, China introducing requirements for directors to provide more detailed disclosure of conflicts of interest to the other board members. Vietnam strengthened investor protections by introducing greater disclosure DB2014 Vietnam requirements for publicly held companies in cases of related-party transactions. Taiwan, China, strengthened investor protections by increasing disclosure DB2013 Taiwan, China requirements for related-party transactions and improving the liability regime for company directors in cases where such transactions are abusive. Mongolia strengthened investor protections by increasing the disclosure DB2013 Mongolia requirements for related-party transactions. The Solomon Islands strengthened investor protections by increasing DB2012 Solomon Islands shareholder access to corporate information. Vietnam strengthened investor protections by requiring higher standards of DB2012 Vietnam accountability for company directors. Paying Taxes DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for DB2018 Brunei Darussalam filing and paying labor contributions. China made paying taxes easier by introducing several measures for easing DB2018 China compliance. Indonesia made paying taxes easier by promoting the online filing of taxes and by lowering the rate for capital gains tax. Indonesia also increased the ceiling DB2018 Indonesia used in the calculation of health care contribution. These reforms apply to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Mongolia made paying taxes more burdensome by not allowing input VAT DB2018 Mongolia incurred on a business capital expenditure to be deducted as input credit. Palau made paying taxes easier by introducing editable and populated GRT tax DB2018 Palau forms and a system of barcoded payments. The Philippines made paying taxes easier by introducing a new electronic system DB2018 Philippines for payment and collection of the housing development fund contributions.Page 74   incurred on a business capital expenditure to be deducted as input credit. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE Palau PACIFIC made (EAP) paying taxes easier by introducing editable and populated GRT tax DB2018 Palau forms and a system of barcoded payments. The Philippines made paying taxes easier by introducing a new electronic system DB2018 Philippines for payment and collection of the housing development fund contributions. Thailand made paying taxes easier by introducing an automatic risk-based DB2018 Thailand system for selecting companies for a tax audit. It also made paying taxes less costly by reducing the property transfer tax rate. Vietnam made paying taxes easier by abolishing the 12-month mandatory carry DB2018 Vietnam forward period for VAT credit and by introducing an online platform for filing social security contributions. Vietnam made paying taxes easier and less costly by streamlining the DB2017 Vietnam administrative process of complying with tax obligations and abolishing environmental protection fees. Singapore made paying taxes easier by introducing improvements to the online system for filing corporate income tax returns and VAT returns. At the same, the DB2017 Singapore social security contribution rate paid by employers increased and the rebate of 30% on vehicle tax expired. The Philippines made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for DB2017 Philippines filing and paying health contributions and by allowing for the online corporate income tax and VAT returns to be completed offline. Mongolia made paying taxes easier by introducing an electronic system for filing DB2017 Mongolia and payment of taxes. Malaysia made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for filing and DB2017 Malaysia paying the Goods and Services Tax (GST) while also making it is more complex by replacing sales tax with GST. Indonesia made paying taxes easier by introducing an online system for filing and paying health contributions. Indonesia also made paying taxes more costly DB2017 Indonesia by levying a new pension contribution at a rate of 2% paid by employers. These reforms apply to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes easier by fully implementing an electronic DB2017 Brunei Darussalam system for filing and paying corporate income tax. Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by merging contributions for the Employee Provident Fund and the Supplemental DB2016 Brunei Darussalam Pension Fund and increasing the capital allowance for industrial buildings. In addition, it reduced the corporate income tax rate, though it also abolished the partial exemption of income and introduced a flat rate. China made paying taxes less costly for companies in Shanghai by reducing the DB2016 China social security contribution rate. Hong Kong SAR, China, made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by simplifying compliance with the mandatory provident fund obligations and DB2016 Hong Kong SAR, China increasing the allowance for profit tax. At the same time, it increased the maximum contribution to the mandatory provident fund and reduced the property tax waiver. Indonesia made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by introducing an online system for paying social security contributions and by reducing both DB2016 Indonesia the rate paid by employers and the ceiling for the contributions. This reformPage 75   applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. DB2016 Hong Kong SAR, China increasing the allowance for profit tax. At the same time, it increased the Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC maximum (EAP) contribution to the mandatory provident fund and reduced the property tax waiver. Indonesia made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by introducing an online system for paying social security contributions and by reducing both DB2016 Indonesia the rate paid by employers and the ceiling for the contributions. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Malaysia made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by making DB2016 Malaysia electronic filing mandatory and reducing the property tax rate. At the same time, it also increased the capital gains tax. Tonga made paying taxes more complicated for companies by reintroducing the DB2016 Tonga annual fee for a business license. Vietnam made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate income tax rate—and made it easier by reducing the number of procedures and documents for filing VAT and social security contributions, reducing the number DB2016 Vietnam of filings for VAT and replacing quarterly filings of corporate income tax with quarterly advance payments. On the other hand, Vietnam increased the rate for social security contributions paid by employers. Myanmar made paying taxes more costly and complicated for companies by increasing the rate paid by employers and ceiling for social security DB2016 Myanmar contributions, requiring additional documents for commercial tax returns and introducing quarterly preparation, filing and payment of corporate income tax. At the same time, Myanmar increased the rate of allowable depreciation. Vietnam made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate DB2015 Vietnam income tax rate. Taiwan, China, made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an DB2015 Taiwan, China electronic system for paying the vehicle license tax. Mongolia made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic DB2015 Mongolia system for filing corporate income tax, VAT and social security contributions. DB2015 Kiribati Kiribati made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing VAT. Indonesia made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing employers’ DB2015 Indonesia health insurance contribution rate. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. China made paying taxes easier for companies by enhancing the electronic system for filing and paying taxes and adopting new communication channels DB2015 China within its taxpayer service, changes applying to both Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, China made paying taxes less costly for companies in Shanghai by reducing the social security contribution rate. Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes easier for companies by allowing joint filing and payment of supplemental contributory pension and employee DB2015 Brunei Darussalam provident fund contributions and by introducing an online system for paying these 2 contributions. Fiji made paying taxes more complicated for companies by transferring the DB2014 Fiji fringe benefit tax liability from employees to employers and by limiting the deductibility of mandatory contributions. Lao PDR made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate DB2014 Lao PDR income tax rate—though it also introduced a new property transfer tax. Page 76   Fiji made paying taxes more complicated for companies by transferring the Doing DB2014Business 2018 Fiji EAST ASIA AND THEbenefit fringe PACIFIC tax (EAP) liability from employees to employers and by limiting the deductibility of mandatory contributions. Lao PDR made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate DB2014 Lao PDR income tax rate—though it also introduced a new property transfer tax. The Philippines made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an DB2014 Philippines electronic filing and payment system for social security contributions. Thailand made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing employers' DB2014 Thailand social security contribution rate. Tonga made paying taxes more complicated for companies by introducing a DB2014 Tonga superannuation levy—though it also abolished the business license for 2013. Vietnam made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing employers' DB2014 Vietnam social security contribution rate. Myanmar made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the DB2014 Myanmar corporate income tax rate. Thailand made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the profit tax DB2013 Thailand rate. Lao PDR made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the corporate DB2013 Lao PDR income tax rate. Fiji made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the profit tax rate. DB2013 Fiji At the same time, Fiji introduced capital gains tax. DB2013 Cambodia Cambodia introduced a new tax on immovable property. Brunei Darussalam made paying taxes less costly for companies by reducing the DB2013 Brunei Darussalam profit tax rate. Malaysia made paying taxes costlier for firms by reintroducing the real estate DB2012 Malaysia capital gains tax—but also made tax compliance easier by improving electronic systems and the availability of software. The government of Vietnam eased paying taxes by reducing corporate income DB2011 Vietnam tax rate. Tonga simplified the payment of taxes by replacing a 2-tier system with a 25% corporate income tax rate for both domestic and foreign companies and DB2011 Tonga introducing tax incentives with a broad-based capital allowance system to replace tax holidays and other tax concessions. Thailand temporarily lowered taxes on business by reducing its specific business DB2011 Thailand tax for 12 months. Taiwan (China) reduced the corporate income tax rate and simplified tax return DB2011 Taiwan, China forms, rules for assessing corporate income tax and the calculation of interim tax payments. DB2011 Lao PDR Lao PDR replaced the business turnover tax with a new value added tax. DB2011 Indonesia Indonesia reduced its corporate income tax rate. DB2011 Hong Kong SAR, China Hong Kong SAR (China) abolished the fuel tax on diesel. China’s new corporate income tax law unified the tax regimes for domestic and Page 77   DB2011 China foreign enterprises and clarified the calculation of taxable income for corporate DB2011 Indonesia Indonesia reduced its corporate income tax rate. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) DB2011 Hong Kong SAR, China Hong Kong SAR (China) abolished the fuel tax on diesel. China’s new corporate income tax law unified the tax regimes for domestic and DB2011 China foreign enterprises and clarified the calculation of taxable income for corporate income tax purposes. Brunei Darussalam reduced the corporate income tax rate from 23.5% to 22% DB2011 Brunei Darussalam while also introducing a lower tax rate for small businesses, ranging from 5.5% to 11%. Trading across Borders DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made exporting and importing easier by enhancing the DB2018 Brunei Darussalam Brunei Darussalam National Single Window and the customs clearance process. Indonesia made importing faster by introducing an electronic single billing DB2018 Indonesia system. This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Malaysia made importing and exporting easier by improving the infrastructure, DB2018 Malaysia equipment and facilities at Port Klang. Singapore made exporting and importing easier by improving infrastructure and DB2018 Singapore electronic equipment at the port. Taiwan, China made exporting easier by allowing different organizations to DB2018 Taiwan, China electronically issue certificates of origin. Vietnam made exporting and importing easier by upgrading the automated DB2018 Vietnam cargo clearance system and extending the operating hours of the customs department. Myanmar made trading across borders more difficult by experiencing delays and DB2017 Myanmar higher cost at processing incoming cargo at the port of Yangon. Vietnam made exporting and importing easier by implementing electronic DB2017 Vietnam customs clearance system. Indonesia made exporting and importing easier by improving the customs DB2017 Indonesia services and document submission functions of the Indonesia National Single Window. Vanuatu reduced the border compliance time for importing by improving DB2016 Vanuatu infrastructure at the port of Vila. Myanmar made trading across borders easier by reducing the number of DB2015 Myanmar documents required for exports and imports. In the Philippines trading across borders became more difficult because of a new DB2015 Philippines city ordinance restricting truck traffic in Manila. Palau made trading across borders easier by improving the system for DB2015 Palau calculating customs duties and thereby reducing customs clearance time. In Indonesia trading across borders became more difficult because of insufficient DB2015 Indonesia infrastructure at the Tanjung Priok Port Jakarta. This change applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Lao PDR reduced the time to export and import by implementing the ASYCUDA Page 78   DB2013 Lao PDR electronic data interchange system at at the Thanaleng–Friendship Bridge border In Indonesia trading across borders became more difficult because of insufficient Doing DB2015Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND Indonesia THE PACIFIC infrastructure (EAP) at the Tanjung Priok Port Jakarta. This change applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Lao PDR reduced the time to export and import by implementing the ASYCUDA DB2013 Lao PDR electronic data interchange system at at the Thanaleng–Friendship Bridge border crossing. Vanuatu made trading across borders faster by upgrading Port-Vila’s wharf DB2012 Vanuatu infrastructure, which increased the efficiency of port and terminal handling activities. The Philippines reduced the time and cost to trade by improving its electronic DB2011 Philippines customs systems, adding such functions as electronic payments and online submission of declarations. DB2011 Indonesia Indonesia reduced the time to export by launching a single-window service. Fiji made trading easier by opening customer care service centers and improving DB2011 Fiji customs operations. Cambodia eliminated preshipment inspections, reducing the time and number of DB2011 Cambodia documents required for importing and exporting. The introduction of an electronic customs system in Brunei Darussalam made DB2011 Brunei Darussalam trading easier. Enforcing Contracts DB Year Economy Reform Brunei Darussalam made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic DB2018 Brunei Darussalam case management system for the use of judges and lawyers. Taiwan, China, made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing DB2018 Taiwan, China system. Thailand made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a system that allows DB2018 Thailand users to pay court fees electronically. Thailand also reduced enforcement times by increasing the automation and efficiency of enforcement processes. Vietnam made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new code of civil DB2018 Vietnam procedure and by introducing a consolidated law on voluntary mediation. Indonesia made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a dedicated procedure DB2017 Indonesia for small claims that allows for parties’ self-representation.This reform applies to both Jakarta and Surabaya. Brunei Darussalam made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic DB2017 Brunei Darussalam filing system as well as a platform that allows users to pay court fees electronically. Singapore made enforcing contracts easier by introducing a new electronic DB2015 Singapore litigation system that streamlines litigation proceedings. China made enforcing contracts easier by amending its civil procedure code to DB2014 China streamline and speed up all court proceedings. Palau made enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system DB2014 Palau for court users. Malaysia continued to improve the computerization of its courts by introducing a DB2012 Malaysia Page 79   system making it possible to file complaints electronically. streamline and speed up all court proceedings. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE Palau PACIFIC made (EAP) enforcing contracts easier by introducing an electronic filing system DB2014 Palau for court users. Malaysia continued to improve the computerization of its courts by introducing a DB2012 Malaysia system making it possible to file complaints electronically. Timor-Leste increased court efficiency by training and appointing new judges and DB2011 Timor-Leste passing a new civil procedure code. Reforms implemented in the civil justice system of Hong Kong SAR (China) will DB2011 Hong Kong SAR, China help increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of commercial dispute resolution. Resolving Insolvency DB Year Economy Reform Singapore made resolving insolvency easier by establishing a new scheme of arrangement procedure with features of the debtor-in-possession DB2018 Singapore reorganization regime and introducing provisions applicable to prepackaged restructurings. Thailand made resolving insolvency easier by changing the voting procedures for DB2018 Thailand reorganization plans. Vanuatu made resolving insolvency easier by strengthening and modernizing its DB2017 Vanuatu legal framework in relation to liquidation and receivership proceedings. Thailand made resolving insolvency easier by introducing new restructuring for DB2017 Thailand small and medium-size companies and by streamlining provisions related to company liquidation. Brunei Darussalam made resolving insolvency easier by adopting a new insolvency law that introduced a reorganization procedure and facilitated DB2017 Brunei Darussalam continuation of the debtor’s business during insolvency proceedings. Brunei Darussalam also introduced regulations for insolvency practitioners. Vietnam made resolving insolvency easier by clarifying and simplifying provisions on liquidation and reorganization, modifying the standard for commencement of DB2016 Vietnam insolvency proceedings, changing provisions on voidable transactions, regulating the profession of insolvency trustees and establishing the rules for enterprise asset managers. Malaysia established dedicated commercial courts to handle foreclosure DB2012 Malaysia proceedings. The Philippines adopted a new insolvency law that provides a legal framework DB2012 Philippines for liquidation and reorganization of financially distressed companies. DB2012 Solomon Islands The Solomon Islands adopted a new law that simplified insolvency proceedings. Page 80   The Philippines adopted a new insolvency law that provides a legal framework DB2012 Philippines for liquidation and reorganization of financially distressed companies. Doing Business 2018 EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (EAP) DB2012 Solomon Islands The Solomon Islands adopted a new law that simplified insolvency proceedings. Page 81