UK Rises up Ranks in Top Ten Global Markets to Do Business

LONDON - FEBRUARY 25: The sun rises over the City of London on February 25, 2010 in London
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Victoria Friedman

The UK has climbed from ninth to eighth in the World Bank’s list of most friendly countries to do business as the nation prepares to leave the EU.

The country overtook Norway in the rankings, according to The Times, with international trade secretary Liz Truss saying the UK “continues to be one of the best places to do business in the world”.

The World Bank report tracks regulations and barriers to starting up and running businesses. It encourages governments to cut down on excessive bureaucracy to make countries more attractive to international investment.

While the report found that it is quicker and cheaper for a company to get connected to electricity in the UK than in other countries, it did note that the reform forcing employers to fund the new pension scheme was an onerous piece of administration that had “made paying taxes more difficult”.

World Bank president David Malpass said: “Governments can foster market-oriented development and broad-based growth by creating rules that help businesses launch, hire and expand.

“Removing barriers facing entrepreneurs generates better jobs, more tax revenues and higher incomes, all of which are necessary to reduce poverty and raise living standards.”

The report comes after Reuters revealed this month that London remains a financial capital.

Senior bankers told the news wire service that they were not planning on moving the mainland Europe after Brexit, with one saying that he was willing to take a 20 per cent pay cut for the privilege of staying in London.

Senior financial industry professionals also said that London’s financial services sector had experienced growth since the 2016 EU referendum, in part because there is no other “realistic competitor in its timezone”.

The capital remains the largest exporter of financial services in the world and is the top destination for fin-tech.

The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranked London number two in the top global financial centres while Ernst & Young placed the UK as the top destination for investment.

In July, American multinational investment bank Goldman Sachs opened its new £1 billion European headquarters in the English capital.

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