Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs: Doing Business in Asia

The peer learning workshop, Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs: Doing Business in Asia, was held March 16-17, 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This workshop included high level government officials, lawyers, and other experts, and was co-hosted by the Government of Malaysia, through its agency PEMUDAH, and the World Bank Group.

The objective of the workshop was to enable participating countries to learn from each other and share experiences in enhancing their business environments. Participants discussed how countries in the region have implemented business regulations that have helped open opportunities to small- and medium-size enterprises and enabled them to grow and create jobs.

The workshop included discussions on the topics reported by the World Bank’s Doing Business report which follows specific areas in the life cycle of a business. The topics included: start-up and initial operations, property registration, import and export of goods, and bankruptcy/insolvency procedures. The workshop included on-site visits to the Companies Commission and Land Registry of Malaysia to view recent improvements.