2016年-世界发展银行全球_Enterprise_Surveys___Swaziland_Country_Profile_2016_12页_535kb

Enterprise Surveys: Swaziland 2016 Summary

Core Content

The Enterprise Surveys (ES) conducted by the World Bank Group aim to evaluate the business environment and its impact on firm performance across different sectors and firm sizes. This report provides a detailed overview of the business environment in Swaziland (2016), comparing it with Sub-Saharan Africa and Lower Middle Income economies.

Key Business Environment Indicators

The survey included responses from 150 firms, with interviews conducted in August and November 2016. The survey focused on non-agricultural, formal, private firms and covered the following sectors:

• Manufacturing (all subsectors)
• Construction
• Retail
• Wholesale
• Motor vehicles sales and repair
• Hotels and restaurants
• Transportation, storage, communications, and IT

Sectors such as agriculture, public utilities, government services, health care, and financial services were excluded.

Main Topics Covered

The survey included the following key areas:

• Firm Characteristics
• Workforce
• Firm Performance
• Physical Infrastructure
• International Trade
• Access to Finance
• Crime and Informality
• Regulations, Permits, and Taxes
• Corruption
• Business Environment Obstacles

Firm Characteristics

• Average age of firms in Swaziland is 18.4 years, with small firms averaging 14.7 years, medium firms 24.0 years, and large firms 24.4 years.
• Female participation in ownership is 36.0%, with small firms at 30.6%, medium firms at 47.7%, and large firms at 31.4%.
• Female top managers account for 27.4% of firms, with small firms at 31.3%, medium firms at 23.0%, and large firms at 14.6%.
• Female permanent full-time workers make up 40.5% of the workforce, with small firms at 42.6%, medium firms at 40.2%, and large firms at 24.7%.
• Percentage of female non-production workers is 31.1%, with small firms at 32.1%, medium firms at 25.6%, and large firms at 41.9%.
• Percentage of female production workers is 38.1%, with small firms at 47.1%, medium firms at 38.2%, and large firms at 23.1%.

Workforce

• Formal training is offered by 36.1% of firms, with small firms at 23.2%, medium firms at 56.1%, and large firms at 51.2%.
• Proportion of workers offered formal training is 56.0%, with small firms at 73.3%, medium firms at 57.2%, and large firms at 45.6%.
• Top manager experience in the firm's sector averages 12.7 years, with small firms at 11.4 years, medium firms at 14.7 years, and large firms at 15.1 years.

Firm Performance

• Real annual sales growth is 1.1%, with small firms at -3.8%, medium firms at 8.6%, and large firms at 11.8%.
• Annual employment growth is 7.0%, with small firms at 6.0%, medium firms at 8.9%, and large firms at 8.0%.

Physical Infrastructure

• Average number of electrical outages in a typical month is 3.7, with small firms at 3.8, medium firms at 4.2, and large firms at 1.2.
• Losses due to electrical outages are 4.7% of annual sales, with small firms at 4.1%, medium firms at 6.3%, and large firms at 2.0%.
• Days to obtain an electrical connection is 11.3, with small firms at 4.0, medium firms at 22.4, and large firms at 9.5.
• Water insufficiencies in a typical month average 2.5, with small firms at 5.0, medium firms at 1.5, and large firms at 0.9.

International Trade

• Direct exports through customs take an average of 4.1 days, with small firms at 4.1, medium firms at 3.1, and large firms at 4.8.
• Percentage of firms exporting directly or indirectly is 14.6%, with small firms at 10.9%, medium firms at 12.4%, and large firms at 60.6%.
• Days to clear imports from customs average 4.5, with small firms at 7.9, medium firms at 3.3, and large firms at 2.0.
• Percentage of firms using foreign inputs is 62.2%, with small firms at 43.1%, medium firms at 64.0%, and large firms at 84.5%.

Access to Finance

• Percentage of firms with checking or savings accounts is 91.5%, with small firms at 88.8%, medium firms at 94.8%, and large firms at 100.0%.
• Percentage of firms with a bank loan or line of credit is 26.7%, with small firms at 18.3%, medium firms at 32.2%, and large firms at 74.7%.
• Internal investment proportion is 56.2%, with small firms at 49.0%, medium firms at 63.6%, and large firms at 60.7%.
• Investment financed by banks is 12.7%, with small firms at 9.3%, medium firms at 12.7%, and large firms at 27.9%.
• Investment financed by supplier credit is 6.1%, with small firms at 1.8%, medium firms at 11.4%, and large firms at 5.0%.
• Investment financed by equity or stock sales is 6.9%, with small firms at 4.1%, medium firms at 11.2%, and large firms at 2.7%.

Crime and Informality

• Security costs as a percentage of annual sales is 7.2%, with small firms at 5.6%, medium firms at 7.2%, and large firms at 21.8%.
• Losses due to theft and vandalism are 2.8% of annual sales, with small firms at 2.8%, medium firms at 2.8%, and large firms at 3.0%.
• Percentage of firms competing against informal firms is 73.5%, with small firms at 73.8%, medium firms at 75.6%, and large firms at 61.6%.
• Percentage of firms formally registered at start-up is 93.7%, with small firms at 91.5%, medium firms at 96.8%, and large firms at 97.9%.

Regulations, Permits, and Taxes

• Senior management time spent dealing with government regulations is 2.0%, with small firms at 2.2%, medium firms at 1.2%, and large firms at 3.8%.
• Number of visits to tax officials averages 2.4, with small firms at 2.7, medium firms at 2.0, and large firms at 2.0.
• Days to obtain an import license is 4.8, with small firms at 5.0, medium firms at 5.0, and large firms at 4.0.
• Days to obtain a construction-related permit is 26.5, with small firms at 14.0, medium firms at 31.6, and large firms at 14.8.
• Days to obtain an operating license is 5.3, with small firms at 3.9, medium firms at 5.1, and large firms at 10.8.

Corruption

• Bribery incidence is 6.7%, with small firms at 6.1%, medium firms at 6.9%, and large firms at 10.1%.
• Percentage of firms expected to give gifts for a construction permit is 5.8%, with small firms at 0.0%, medium firms at 9.8%, and large firms at 0.0%.
• Percentage of firms expected to give gifts to secure a government contract is 48.4%, with small firms at 49.1%, medium firms at 45.7%, and large firms at 55.9%.
• Percentage of firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials is 6.6%, with small firms at 6.8%, medium firms at 4.8%, and large firms at 11.7%.

Business Environment Obstacles

• Top obstacles for firms include:
  • Access to finance (17.8%)
  • Corruption (13.1%)
  • Crime, theft, and disorder (13.1%)
  • Business licenses and permits (13.1%)
  • Access to land (13.1%)
  • Customs and trade regulations (13.1%)
  • Courts (13.1%)

The data highlights that access to finance, corruption, and crime are the most significant challenges for firms in Swaziland.