•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Balikpapan and Bandung continue to top an International Finance Corporation survey on the ease of doing business.

The result was contained in “Doing Business in Indonesia 2012,” the second city survey by the IFC, which is the investment arm of the Washington-based World Bank.

The report analyzed business-related regulations from the standpoint of Indonesian small and medium enterprises.

IFC analyzed 20 Indonesian cities in the survey. Yogyakarta, a city with special region status, is the easiest to start a business as measured by the number of steps, length of time and cost involved.

IFC said Yogyakarta’s first place showing was due to the fact that, on average, starting a business in the city requires eight steps, takes 29 days and costs 18.5 percent of the nation’s per capita income.

IFC put Indonesia’s income per capita at $2,580, lower than 2010 Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data of $3,005.

Meanwhile, Balikpapan, a city in East Kalimantan, is considered the easiest in which to deal with construction permits. Bandung and Jakarta were the easiest cities in which to register property.

“The ‘Doing Business in Indonesia’ report shows that some cities in Indonesia are moving ahead and have demonstrated best international practices in implementing their business regulation,” Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan said in a statement on Tuesday.

In 2010, the IFC’s first report in the series found those four cities on top. In 2010, it only surveyed 14 cities.

In its overall assessment, the 2012 survey cited “quite encouraging” improvements since 2010.

Augusto Lopez-Claros, director of global indicators and analysis at the IFC, said that while these three indicators may not fully capture the complexity of the business world, “they are important signals.”

“If you have young, very competent, budding entrepreneurs who want to implement the ideas on the ground, the first obstacle he encounters [is] basically the rules and regulations,” he said.

However, compared to other countries in the Asia Pacific, Indonesia still has a lot to work to do, Lopez-Claros said.

He said the average cost of starting a business in Indonesia is 22 percent of gross national income per capita, four times higher than that of Thailand and the highest among APEC nations.

In October, a related global report on ease of doing business saw Indonesia’s rank fall from 126 to 129 out of 183 countries surveyed.