Below is a list of the 10 most difficult countries to do business in the world according to WB criteria given by CNBC news agency.
10. Argentina
GDP 2010: 388 billion USD
FDI 2010: 6.3 billion USD
Argentina is one of three South American countries on this list.
In 2002, Argentina’s default caused foreign investors to quickly leave the second largest country in South America.
In the first half of 2011, Argentina’s FDI fell by 30% compared to last year.
9. Russia
GDP 2010: 1,500 billion USD
FDI 2010: 41.2 billion USD
Russia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world but also one of the most difficult places in the world to do business.
The biggest difficulty for businesses here is connecting electricity – a process that takes nearly 9.5 months – twice as long as in other Eastern European countries and Central Asian countries.
Lack of capital increases the risk of power outages such as the one in Moscow last Christmas that caused many flights to be delayed and thousands of people to celebrate Christmas in the dark.
Besides, in Russia, the time to export any type of goods is 3 times longer than the average in OECD countries.
8. Brazil
GDP 2010: 2,100 billion USD
FDI 2010: 48.4 billion USD
Brazil is currently the 8th largest economy in the world with 2010 GDP growth of 7.5%.
However, there still exist many major obstacles to business.
Besides, getting a construction permit in Brazil is also very difficult.
Corruption is also one of the problems in Brazil.
7. Indonesia
GDP 2010: 706.6 billion USD
FDI 2010: 13.3 billion USD
Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and is also one of three Asian countries on this list.
The most difficult thing for entrepreneurs here is the procedure for opening a business.
Infrastructure weakness has long been seen as hindering Indonesia’s growth.
Currently, this country is making efforts to attract investment in infrastructure development, with plans to attract at least 150 billion USD into this field in the next 5 years.
6. India
GDP 2010: 1,730 billion USD
FDI 2010: 24.6 billion USD
India is currently the world’s 4th largest country with quarterly growth of 7.5% over the past 10 years.
Besides the widespread corruption problem, the big difficulty for businesses in India is that it takes nearly 4 years to enforce contracts through the courts, while in other South Asian countries it only takes 3 years.
Recently, there have been increasing protests by India’s urban middle class against government corruption and bureaucracy.
Despite having an unfriendly business environment, the world’s second most populous country is still forecast to become one of the 5 most attractive destinations for foreign investors in the period 2010-2012.
5. Nigeria
GDP 2010: 194 billion USD
FDI 2010: 6.1 billion USD
Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer, so it has great appeal to the largest energy companies in the world.
The biggest difficulty for businesses is connecting electricity and registering ownership.
The oil business also fuels violence and corruption in the Niger Delta region.
Despite being an oil-rich country, most of Nigeria’s population lives on less than $2 a day and suffers from dangerous levels of environmental pollution.
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Tuyen Nguyen (according to CNBC)
