Iran's Position in Global Business Environment Has Fallen Again

The World Bank has released a new report detailing the business conditions of countries around the world. According to this report, Iran ranks 124th out of 190 countries in terms of the ease of doing business index. Iran's position has dropped four places compared to last year and seven places compared to 2015 and 2016, respectively. The report states that if an individual wants to start a business in Iran, they must go through an average of 8.5 administrative steps and spend 15 days. In contrast, for Iran's neighbor, the UAE, the average is 4.5 steps and 8.5 days. The situation for obtaining a construction permit is even worse, requiring 15 administrative steps and 99 days, while the time required in the UAE is half that of Iran. The building quality control index in Iran is approximately 12.5 on a scale of 0 to 15, while in the UAE it is 15. Recently, Dariush Mohajer, an expert from the Tehran Chamber of Commerce's Business Facilitation Commission, stated that Iran's commercial law is based on a trade law that dates back 200 years. According to the official website of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, he mentioned that despite efforts made, Iran's commercial law has still not been updated. 'Of course, the problems in the business environment are not limited to legal deficiencies; this environment is caught in a chain of problems.' The best business environments in the world are occupied by New Zealand, Singapore, and Denmark, while Somalia, Eritrea, and Venezuela are at the bottom of the list. Iran's worsening situation comes at a time when the World Bank states that globally, the business environment has significantly transformed and improved over the past decade, to the extent that in 65 countries, entrepreneurs can complete all necessary administrative steps online without getting involved in bureaucratic processes. In 2004, only 9 countries provided such facilities for their citizens. The World Bank classifies countries based on their 'business environment' using ten components: starting a business, obtaining construction permits, access to electricity, property registration, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, and bankruptcy.