Belgium has the third most improved business environment in the world in the last 12 months, announced the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the Research and Analysis arm of the British media group The Economist, on Thursday.
Only Vietnam and Thailand have improved more than Belgium, which was ranked ahead of Sweden, India and Costa Rica respectively.
“Belgium’s progress reflects a more open policy towards foreign direct investment (FDI), with a new federal mechanism that has seen a clearer regulatory framework in place since January 2023,” the EIU commented in its report. The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, defines FDI as international investment that reflects the intention of an entity resident in one economy to acquire a lasting interest in an enterprise operating in another economy.
“Belgium’s robust institutional framework, business-friendly policy orientation, high-quality infrastructure network and geographical position at the heart of Europe justify its ranking,” added the EIU.
Conversely, the eight states that declined the most were, in order, China, Bahrain, Chile, Slovakia, Kuwait, Colombia, Serbia and Latvia.
China is facing “regulatory changes due to the statist orientation of its economic policy and rising local costs,” according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. It considers that these conditions are “weighing on the business environment and limiting opportunities for foreign investors.”
In total, the analysis screened 82 nations across 91 indicators.
Again according to the EIU, Singapore, Canada and Denmark are the three countries that will have the most favourable business environment over the next five years.
Source: https://www.brusselstimes.com/455456/belgium-has-third-best-growth-rate-in-the-world-of-business
