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KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled Al-Roudhan said his ministry was working on a set of business climate improvement laws, primarily a bankruptcy and insolvency bill. Roudhan, who doubles as Acting Minister of State for Youth Affairs, made the remark during a press conference on the occasion of Kuwait's recent advance in Ease of Doing Business Index 2018 (DB 2018).
The fresh package is chiefly pertinent to companies, auditors and exchange of information, the minister said. Kuwait's advance to the 96th position in the index is not enough since the ministry is seeking to put the State of Kuwait in the first third of this list in just less than five years, he added.
The Permanent Committee for Streamlining Business Environment; Enhancing Competitiveness in the State of Kuwait, led by Director-General of Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) Sheikh Meshaal Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, is working hard in this regard and has already revised many laws in order to streamline the process of establishing companies, he noted.
The Kuwaiti government has recently taken a package of reform steps with a view to improving the business climate in the country, the minister boasted. On his part, Executive Director and Dean of the Board at the World Bank Group Merza Hussain commended the recent efforts by the Kuwaiti government to improve the business climate in the country.
He also hailed Kuwait's advance in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index 2018 (DB 2018), pointing to a close link between the investment and business atmosphere quality and economic growth.
He noted that job creation in any country is mainly based on small and medium-sized enterprises, which are mainly related to the investment atmosphere and business climate. Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) had announced that the country witnessed improvement in its position in the Ease of Doing Business Index 2018 (DB 2018), released by the World Bank Group, and in its Distance to Frontier (DTF) score as well.
Kuwait's rank in the Ease of Doing Index 2018 (DB2018), composes of ten topics that measure various regulatory aspects of the lifecycle of business, advanced by six places to 96 out of 190 included in this year's report, compared to 102 in DB2017, holding the eighth rank within the Arab countries, and maintaining a leading sixth rank in the 'Paying Taxes' topic. - KUNA