The city state of Singapore has come in for high praise in a report recently published by the World Bank, looking at the various aspects of doing business for entrepreneurs in 183 world economies.

In 'Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs', Singapore was afforded the overall top ranking in terms of ease of doing business, based on a poll conducted across the economies in question, and administered by local experts and business service providers, such as accountants, lawyers, and advisory firms.

Commenting generally on the results, the World Bank observed that doing business generally has been, and remains, easiest in the high-income economies of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and most difficult in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

However, it suggested that developing economies are "increasingly active", with 66% in the last year having reformed business regulation, an increase on the 34% that were reported to have done so six years earlier.

It went on to suggest that in the countries that were studied for the survey, "more than half the regulatory changes recorded in the past year eased business start-up, trade, and the payment of taxes".

However, for the fifth consecutive year, Singapore topped the ranks, with Hong Kong, New Zealand, the UK, the US, Denmark, Canada, Norway, Ireland, and Australia occupying the remaining slots in the top ten.

The survey pointed to a number of factors that increase the ease of doing business for both small and large firms. These included: highly developed e-government processes, and the development of one-stop online portals, the streamlining of business processes and the focussing of resources where they are most needed, the accountability of public servants (for example in the legal system) via performance related targets, and strong property rights protections, among other criteria.

In all of these areas, the poll found that Singapore performed well, also coming second in the rankings in terms of investor protections, in dealing with construction permits, and in ease of closing a business, and first in terms of ease of trading across borders.

The jurisdiction did not score so well with regard to ease of obtaining credit, occupying ninth place in the rankings, but in terms of ease of paying taxes, and relatively low overall tax burden, it was found to be among the top economies.

Overall, the Asia Pacific region was well-represented in the report, with Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia all making frequent appearances in the top five spots.