Overview

Doing Business in China 2008 compares the regulatory environment for business in 30 major cities. It measures 4 key indicators: starting a business, registering property, getting credit (creating and registering collateral), and enforcing contracts. While these indicators are not a full reflection of the local investment climate, they give cities a benchmark on which to build and monitor reforms.

Doing Business in China 2008 found that reforms were underway in all regions. It also noted significant variations in business regulations and their implementation across the country. The report suggests that localities would do well to adopt practices that are working in other Chinese cities.

Main Findings

• Coastal regions scored highest overall on the ease of doing business. Yet there were good performers in the interior provinces, too. Chongqing, for example, had the greatest number of reforms and was in the top 10. 
• If all Chinese cities’ best practices were combined in a single city, its overall ranking would be 63rd out of 178 in the global Doing Business 2008—24 positions higher than China’s ranking of 87th.
• Improving the ease of doing business would give local policy-markers, particularly in poorer regions, a powerful tool to build their private sector. Cities where doing business is easier attract higher levels of investment in China.