Investment Climate. For the purpose of enhancing local, external, and intra-GCC investment levels, and provide an investment climate characterized by transparency and stability, Member States agree to take the following steps:
Investment Climate. 1. The parties undertake to take the necessary measures to create a conducive investment environment. In this regard they agree to the following:
Investment Climate. 1. Reducing firms’ anti-competitive behavior and improving consumer protection through:
Investment Climate. Fostering growth of private-sector investment and trade is important for economic growth and job creation, which would also be reflected in higher tax income and improved fiscal sustainability. The IP covers three critical areas that are expected to support private-sector development and trade: business licensing, trade facilitation and customs. Business Licensing Background and achievements to date: In the last few years, business entry to Afghanistan has been simplified by taking company registration out of the commercial courts and by establishing an Afghan Central Business Registry (ACBR). The registry acts as a one-stop shop, combining company registration, tax registration, and publication in the official gazette, and charges a flat registration fee. While these reforms are a leap forward, registering and operating a business is still hampered by bureaucracy and unnecessary licensing. Presently, all businesses, regardless of sector or risk to public health or the environment, must obtain either a trader’s license from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) or an investment license from the Afghan Investment Support Agency (AISA). This is in addition to sector-specific licenses from respective ministries. Businesses are also instructed to renew their licenses every year, which can take up to several months, with renewal fees ranging from 25-100 percent of the original license fee. Afghanistan performed relatively well in the “starting a business” indicator of the Bank’s 2011 Doing Business Survey (30th out of 183 countries). However, the survey did not examine three critical issues that Afghanistan must resolve if it hopes to make a significant difference in the way businesses navigate through costly administrative processes:
Investment Climate. According to EIU (2013), the real GDP growth will average 6.7% a year in 2014-18, with economic expansion decelerating gradually over the period. Continued strong growth and high infrastructural demands have created a favorable environment for private investment via PPPs. In addition, the central government has a highly pro- active attitude towards the adoption of private investment in infrastruc- ture development, as evident from the before-mentioned statement by Premier Xxxxxxx Xx on the executive meeting of the State Council on July 31 2013. There are no restraints on foreign investment in infrastructure projects, or any rules of guidelines that suggest a preference for companies with local capital or foreign investors in gen- eral. However, closer relationships between state-owned or state-holding enterprises and the government may reflect a greater capability to undertake country-level political and legal risks. In fact, state-owned or state-holding enterprises now have the major market share of PPPs (Ke et al., 2009; Xxxx et al., 2012). The lure of a sizable market and a reasonable operating environment has resulted in a significant level of PPP application in China. The attractive- ness of China’s investment proposition would continue to be critical. However, PPP projects in China come with no guarantee of sustainability because of weak regulatory frameworks and underdeveloped institutions for PPP (EIU, 2012). Weak government effec- tiveness remains a threat to fostering sustainable and efficient PPP infra- structure projects. Therefore, China only scored 51.6 out of 100 in the com- ponent of investment climate. Financial Facilities China obtained 66.7 in the financial facilities. Responsibility for the imple- mentation of infrastructure projects resides primarily with subnational governments. They have insufficient capacity to levy taxes and thereby make extensive use of off-budget financing options for infrastructure. The major- ity of subnational government debt financing is estimated to be financed by bank loans, while the majority of these loans are provided by the state-owned banks. Subnational governments have also been increasing their use of bonds in recent years. Six local governments (Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Zhejiang) now have direct access to bond market finance under pilot schemes (Chong and Poole, 2013). In most PPP projects, private part- ners have the sole responsibility for the financing component, altho...
Investment Climate. 25. Making the investment climate conducive for establishment and operation of industrial undertakings involves simplifying the processes, reducing the timelines and ensuring greater transparency associated with clearances / compliances required for: (i) establishment of new units or expansion, modernization, and diversification of existing units; (ii) operating a business in its normal course; and (iii) exiting a business when capital and labor can be redeployed to more productive uses. These fall under various categories including entrepreneur’s memorandum (EM) I and II; VAT and other tax related; labor related compliances; environmental clearances; power and water connections.
