2017年-世界发展银行全球_Economy_Profile_of_Lebanon_67页_1mb

Summary of Doing Business 2018: Economy Profile of Lebanon

Core Content

The Doing Business 2018 report, a flagship publication by the World Bank Group, evaluates business regulations and their implementation across 190 economies and selected cities. It focuses on key areas that affect the ease of doing business, including 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. The report also includes labor market regulation indicators, though these are not ranked or included in the overall ease of doing business score.

The primary metric used is the Distance to Frontier (DTF), which measures how far an economy is from the best practices observed globally. A score of 0 indicates the lowest performance, while a score of 100 represents the frontier. The report also provides rankings from 1 to 190 based on DTF scores.

Key Indicators for Lebanon

Main Points and Key Information

• Starting a Business in Lebanon:

  • Procedures: 8 procedures are required for a limited liability company (SARL).
  • Time: 15 calendar days.
  • Cost: 42.0% of income per capita.
  • Minimum Paid-in Capital: 42.3% of income per capita.
  • Special Considerations: There are no differences in procedures or time between men and women, but the cost is the same for both. The report includes a detailed breakdown of procedures, including the need for a lawyer, capital deposit, registration with the Commercial Register, notification to the Ministry of Finance, registration with the National Social Security Fund, filing internal labor regulations, VAT registration, and obtaining a company seal.

• Dealing with Construction Permits in Lebanon:

  • Procedures: 19 procedures are required to obtain a construction permit for a warehouse.
  • Time: 249 calendar days.
  • Cost: 5.6% of the warehouse's value.
  • Building Quality Control Index: 13.0 (out of a maximum of 15).
  • Key Steps:
    • Obtain a geotechnical study (15 days, USD 2,225).
    • Obtain a recent planning certificate (10 days, LBP 24,600).
    • Obtain a topographic study (7 days, USD 500).
    • Hire a technical auditor and get approval of drawings (3 days, USD 5,000).
    • Submit the file to the Order of Engineers (4 days, LBP 1,950,900).
    • Submit building permit application to the Urban Development Department (1 day, no charge).
    • Request and receive pre-approval inspection (40 days, no charge).
    • Pay building permit taxes to the municipality (1 day, LBP 9,593,403).

• Comparative Performance:

  • Lebanon ranks lower than the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region and OECD high-income economies in both indicators.
  • The best performers in the Starting a Business indicator are New Zealand (1.00) and United Kingdom (0.00).
  • The best performer in the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator is Denmark (7.00) and Korea, Rep. (27.5 days).

• Methodology:

  • The report uses standardized scenarios for data collection, ensuring comparability across economies.
  • Procedures that can be completed online are counted as 0.5 days.
  • No bribes or professional fees are included in the cost calculations, only official costs.
  • The data is based on the largest business city in each economy, with exceptions for the 11 largest economies (e.g., India, China, the United States), where data is also collected for the second-largest city and averaged.

• Labor Market Regulation:

  • The report includes details on labor market regulations, such as the requirement for companies with 15 or more employees to file internal labor regulations with the Ministry of Labor.
  • The process for registering with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) is straightforward but includes a delay for confirmation documents.

• Additional Notes:

  • The Doing Business project is designed to encourage regulatory reforms by providing measurable benchmarks and promoting transparency.
  • The project has evolved since its launch in 2002, with the 2018 report covering 11 indicator sets.
  • The report is a valuable resource for academics, journalists, and the private sector to understand and improve the business climate in different economies.

Conclusion

The Doing Business 2018 report provides an in-depth analysis of the regulatory environment in Lebanon, highlighting areas where reforms could improve the ease of doing business. While Lebanon performs relatively well compared to other Middle East and North Africa countries, it lags behind OECD high-income economies and the overall best performers. The report underscores the importance of streamlining procedures, reducing costs, and improving the speed and efficiency of regulatory processes to foster economic growth and job creation.