2017年-世界发展银行全球_Economy_Profile_of_Bahamas_68页_1mb

Summary of Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs

Core Content

The Doing Business 2018 report, published by the World Bank Group, provides an in-depth analysis of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies. The report focuses on creating a conducive environment for business by measuring and comparing the regulatory landscape for domestic firms. It evaluates various indicators that reflect 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. It also includes labor market regulation features.

Main Objectives

• To offer objective, measurable benchmarks for reform.
• To encourage economies to improve regulatory efficiency.
• To serve as a resource for researchers, policymakers, and private sector stakeholders.
• To provide detailed subnational reports for cities and regions within each economy.

Key Indicators and Metrics

The report uses a Distance to Frontier (DTF) score, which measures how close an economy is to the best performance observed across all economies for each indicator. The score ranges from 0 (lowest performance) to 100 (frontier performance). Based on this score, economies are ranked from 1 (easiest) to 190 (most difficult) in terms of ease of doing business.

Economy Profile: Bahamas

• Region: Latin America & Caribbean
• Income Category: High income
• Population: 391,232
• GNI per Capita (US$): 21,020
• City Covered: Nassau

Main Topics Covered in the Report

1. Starting a Business

• Procedures: 7 procedures for both men and women.
• Time: 21.5 days for men, 21.5 days for women.
• Cost: 13.8% of income per capita for men, 13.8% for women.
• Minimum Paid-in Capital: 0.0% of income per capita (no minimum capital required).
• DTF Score: 66.0 (Bahamas) vs. 68.5 (Latin America & Caribbean), 83.0 (OECD high income), and 100 (Overall Best Performer - New Zealand).
• Ranking: 114th in the ease of starting a business.

Procedures in Detail

1. Search for a company name and reserve the proposed name online
   • Time: <1 day
   • Cost: BSD 25
2. A lawyer prepares and notarizes the company documents
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: BSD 650 (BSD 100 to public treasury + BSD 550 register of company)
3. Stamp duty on the memorandum paid to the Public Treasury
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: BSD 100 for the first BSD 5,000 authorized capital, BSD 5 for every additional BSD 1,000.
4. File the company documents at the Companies Registry
   • Time: 3 days
   • Cost: BSD 1,000 for incorporation, BSD 50 for certified copy.
5. Obtain the National Insurance Number from the National Insurance Board
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
6. Register the company for a business license and VAT
   • Time: 15 days
   • Cost: BSD 100 (flat fee)
7. Obtain a company seal
   • Time: 2 days (simultaneous with previous procedure)
   • Cost: BSD 35

2. Dealing with Construction Permits

• Procedures: 16 procedures.
• Time: 180 days.
• Cost: 1.0% of warehouse value.
• Building Quality Control Index: 10.0 (Bahamas) vs. 8.8 (Latin America & Caribbean), 11.4 (OECD high income), and 15.0 (Overall Best Performer - Denmark).
• DTF Score: 66.0 (Bahamas) vs. 68.5 (Latin America & Caribbean), 83.0 (OECD high income), and 100 (Overall Best Performer).
• Ranking: 124th in the ease of dealing with construction permits.

Procedures in Detail

1. Request and obtain "approval in principle" (planning permission)
   • Time: 30 days
   • Cost: No charge
2. Request and obtain building permit
   • Time: 120 days
   • Cost: BSD 4,900
3. Request and receive plumbing permit
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: BSD 3,500
4. Receive "rough-in" plumbing inspection
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
5. Receive stand pipe inspection by the Fire Branch
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
6. Receive inspection of floors
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
7. Receive inspection of walls
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
8. Receive inspection of roofing
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
9. File notice of completion of the plumbing works
   • Time: 1 day
   • Cost: No charge
10. File notice of completion of the electrical works
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge
11. File notice of completion of the structural works
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge
12. File notice of completion of the building works
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge
13. Obtain connection to water and sewerage
    • Time: 2 days
    • Cost: No charge
14. Register the warehouse
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge
15. Sell the warehouse
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge
16. Obtain occupancy certificate
    • Time: 1 day
    • Cost: No charge

Key Findings

• The Bahamas has a relatively efficient business environment, with a DTF score of 66.0.
• It ranks 114th for starting a business and 124th for dealing with construction permits.
• The country's business regulations are aligned with international standards, particularly in areas like company registration and licensing.
• The report highlights that the Bahamas has no minimum paid-in capital requirement for starting a business, which is a significant advantage.
• The procedures for construction permits are extensive, with a focus on quality control and safety, reflecting the country's regulatory rigor.

Methodology Overview

• The report uses a standardized business model for all economies.
• For the Bahamas, the business is assumed to be a limited liability company (LLC) with 5 domestic owners.
• The procedures are based on a set of assumptions, including the use of online services, no bribes, and the availability of required documents.
• The DTF score is calculated as the average of the scores for each component indicator.

Conclusion

The Doing Business 2018 report underscores the importance of regulatory reform in fostering economic growth and job creation. The Bahamas, while not among the top performers, has a clear path for improvement in areas such as construction permit procedures and labor market flexibility. The report serves as a valuable tool for policymakers to benchmark and reform their regulatory environments.