Cambodia Moves Up in World Bank Report

Cambodia rose five places to rank 133rd out of 185 countries in the World Bank’s annual Doing Business report released yesterday, with the bank attributing the rise for the most part to the successful launch of the country’s credit bureau. Compared to other countries in the region, Cambodia lagged behind Vietnam and Thailand, which finished in 99th and 18th positions respectively, but finished ahead of Laos, which was in 163rd place. Singapore finished in first place. The report ranks countries in 10 categories that measure the ease of doing business, and Cambodia leaped 45 spots to number 53 in the world in the category measuring access to credit. The World Bank said that since March, acquiring a loan has become easier, as banks are able to access the credit histories of 1.1 million individual borrowers. .. Peter Brimble, senior economist at the Asian Development Bank, said that the report does not necessarily reflect the actual levels of progress made in the business environment. …