2012年-世界发展银行全球_Enterprise_Surveys___St_Lucia_Country_Profile_2010_15页_943kb

St. Lucia Country Profile 2010 Summary

Core Content

The St. Lucia Country Profile 2010 is a comprehensive overview of the business environment and key economic indicators, as analyzed by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) through the Enterprise Surveys. These surveys are conducted across all geographic regions and cover small, medium, and large firms in the non-agricultural formal private economy. The data collected helps to evaluate the business environment, firm productivity, and the effectiveness of economic policies.

Main Viewpoints

• Business Environment Obstacles: The surveys identify the main challenges firms face, including corruption, regulations, taxes, and inefficiencies in infrastructure and trade.
• Accommodating Business Environment: A supportive environment encourages firm efficiency, innovation, and productivity, which are essential for economic growth and development.
• Economic Governance: Effective governance in taxation, regulations, and licensing is critical for fostering a favorable business environment.
• Private Sector Development: The private sector plays a key role in employment, tax contributions, and overall economic growth.
• Cross-Country Comparisons: The Country Profile compares St. Lucia with other countries in the Latin America & Caribbean region and the upper middle income group.

Key Information

General Country Statistics

• Region: Latin America & Caribbean
• Income Group: Upper middle income
• Population: 167,975
• GNI per capita: US$5,530.00

Business Environment Obstacles

• Corruption:
  • 5.8% of firms expect to give gifts to obtain an operating license.
  • 11.9% of firms expect to give gifts in meetings with tax inspectors.
  • 0.0% of firms expect to give gifts to secure a government contract.
• Regulations, Taxes, and Business Licensing:
  • 7.6 days to obtain an import license.
  • 1.9 days to obtain an operating license.
  • 2.2% of firms are open shareholding companies.
  • 18.6% of firms are closed shareholding companies.
  • 70.6% of firms are sole proprietorships.
• Infrastructure:
  • 3.0 power outages per month.
  • 0.0% of sales lost due to power outages.
  • Delays in obtaining electrical connections average 6.3 days.
  • Delays in obtaining telephone connections average 5.4 days.
• Trade:
  • 25.9% of firms are exporters.
  • 55.9% of firms use foreign material inputs or supplies.
  • Average time to clear direct exports through customs is 4.9 days.
  • Average time to clear imports through customs is 7.7 days.
• Crime and Informality:
  • 58.8% of firms believe the court system is fair, impartial, and uncorrupted.
  • Security costs average 0.4% of sales.
  • 0.1% of sales are lost due to theft, robbery, vandalism, and arson.
  • 98.5% of firms are formally registered when they started operations.
• Finance:
  • 76.3% of firms use internal finance for investment.
  • 22.7% of firms use bank finance for investment.
  • 27.5% of firms use external financing for working capital.
  • The value of collateral needed for a loan is 194.5% of the loan amount.
• Innovation and Workforce:
  • 15.4% of firms use their own website.
  • 53.9% of firms use email to communicate with clients/suppliers.
  • 41.5% of firms have full-time female workers.
  • Average number of permanent, full-time workers: 25.4.
  • Average number of temporary workers: 0.4.

Summary of Key Indicators

Infrastructure Indicators

Trade Indicators

Crime and Informality Indicators

Innovation and Workforce Indicators

Notes

• The sample is stratified by industry, firm size, and geographic region.
• Stratification by industry varies based on the size of the economy.
• The data is used to estimate the business environment across different stratification levels and to analyze the overall non-agricultural private economy.
• For more details on the sampling strategy, visit www-enterprisesurveys.org.