Hong Kong has second friendliest regulatory environment

Hong Kong came in behind Singapore as having the world's most business-friendly regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs.

A new report from the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation also said Hong Kong is the global leader in making it easy to deal with construction permits.

"With this reform and others in the past, Hong Kong has shown that top economies keep reforming even when they are performing well. Hong Kong should pick up its reform efforts again,” said Christine Bowers, East Asia and the Pacific Investment Climate specialist for IFC, the World Bank Group unit focused on private sector development.

The report titled “Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises” said 23 economies in East Asia and the Pacific have made their regulatory environment more business-friendly since 2005.

The Doing Business 2013 report covers the period from June 2011 to June 2012 and uses data for indicators that measure regulation affecting 10 key areas in the life cycle of local businesses. It found that Hong Kong did not implement a business-regulatory reform during those 12 months, but it is the world's easiest economy among them to deal with construction permits.