Post-coup Thailand barely retained its position among the World Bank’s top 50 economies worldwide and has ranked third among Asean countries on the ease of doing business during the past year.
In its annual Doing Business 2016: Measuring Quality and Efficiency survey, Thailand fell three places from the bank's 2014 survey - which covered the period before the last year's coup -- to 49th out of 189 economies surveyed, barely hanging on to its Top 50 honour.
In the Asean region, the kingdom placed behind Singapore and Malaysia, with Singapore retaining the world's top ranking for the 10th consecutive year.
"Thailand is an attractive place to do business for Thai and foreign investors," said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank country director for Thailand. "In the future, Thailand will have the opportunity to improve its business environment through reforms such as improving the quality of land administration index by digitising and publishing the land registry. Such reforms can help improve Thailand's competitiveness compared with other advanced middle-income countries that have pursued investment climate reforms vigorously in recent years."
In its detailed rankings, Thailand ranked 97th worldwide in getting credit, 96th for ease of starting a business, 70th in paying taxes, 39th in dealing with construction permits, 57th in registering property and enforcing contracts, 56th in trading across borders, 36th for protecting minority investors, and 49th in resolving insolvency.
The bank said the majority of economies in East Asia and the Pacific regions are undertaking reforms to further improve the regulatory environment for small and medium-sized enterprises. During the past year, 52% of the region's 25 economies implemented 27 reforms to make it easier to do business.
Economies across all income-groups carried out reforms, with Vietnam (5 reforms), Hong Kong (4), and Indonesia (3) leading the way. In Indonesia, for instance, an online system was introduced for paying social-security contributions, facilitating tax payments.
Reforms in Vietnam included guaranteeing borrowers' right to inspect their credit data and the newly-established credit bureau expanded borrower coverage. A small business in Vietnam with a good financial history is now more likely to get credit as financial institutions can properly assess its creditworthiness.
The largest number of reforms recorded in the past year was in the area of starting a business. Myanmar made the most improvement globally by eliminating the minimum capital requirement for local companies and by streamlining incorporation procedures, helping small enterprises save valuable time and resources.
However, the bank noted, obstacles remain. In East Asia, more reforms are needed in resolving insolvency, enforcing contracts and registering property, it said. For example, it takes an average 74 days for an entrepreneur in East Asia and the Pacific to complete a property transfer, compared to the global average of 48 days.