That was revealed this Tuesday by the Doing Business 2010 report of the World Bank, which tracks the way of doing business in 183 countries. According to that report, our country went up 16 positions in the world’s ranking during the last year.

Bogota, September 8 (SP). For the first time since the World Bank created the Doing Business report, Colombia is the best country to do business in Latin America, as it went up 16 positions during the last year (from rank 53 to tank 37) in the world classification that tracks 183 countries.

From China, where Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Luis Guillermo Plata is making a tour to look for new investors for the country, he highlighted the importance of the fact that Colombia was able to went up 42 positions in that rankings in the past three years.

“Colombian economy have been a leader of the region, for three consecutive years now, in the implementation of regulation reforms in order to do business in an easier way, which leaves the country with a positive scenario to attract foreign capitals” the Minister said.

According to his explanation, the Doing Business 2010 report shows that Colombia is still amongst the first ten countries of the world that have promoted more reforms and is on the seventh place between the 183 economies that were tracked.

Minister Plata catalogued as “very important the results obtained in the Doing Business report, not only for being recognition for the country but for the positive message about Colombia that sends to the investors of the world”.

According to the report, one of the significant progresses of Colombia is the reduction of the time to start a business, which went from 36 days to 20, due to the creation of the public-private Health Services Business (EPS in Spanish), which replaced the Social Security Institute (ISS).

Colombia also progressed in the field of constructions permissions, where the country went up 22 positions.

As for the tax paying indicator, reforms were made as well, which allowed an improvement of 26 positions. In that field strengthen of the Muisca program was highlighted, which was created to a mechanism to diminish tax evasion.

The Minister also pointed that the ‘Investors Protection’ indicator shows that Colombia went up from the 24th place to the 5th, thanks to the regulations issued to clarify the duties of the administrators of a society, especially in reference to everything related to interest’s conflicts. 

In line with credit access, there was an important step with the Habeas Data Law implementation, which allows the citizen to know, update and rectify financial and credit information.

The Minister of Trade thanked the constant support that Colombia has received from the World Bank, “that contribution has been very valuable to define priorities in our actions”.