Creating an environment conducive to entrepreneurs

Chile has moved up in World Bank rankings proving it is up to the challenge of creating one the world’s most business-friendly environments.

Cristián Bastián KPMG Senior Partner

Cristián Bastián
KPMG Senior Partner

The new report from the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) shows that economies are still adopting reforms that promote transparency and access to information, improving the ability of local firms to do business.

The facts speak for themselves. In the latest World Bank “Doing Business” rankings, Chile advanced two places from 41st to 39th place out of 183 economies. In Latin American, this advance puts us in first place for ease of doing business.

The Ministry of Economy bears primary responsibility for this improved assessment. The Ministry promoted the adoption of new technologies and changes in processes associated with the creation of companies. These changes were the result in part of the enactment of Law 20.494, passed in March 2011, which streamlined business creation procedures.

It is through these efforts and reforms that we are achieving positive results. These are measurable and comparable with those of more developed countries. This improvement makes us proud. It reverses a trend of decline in Chile’s international rankings in competitiveness and clearly demonstrates that the life of entrepreneurs in our country is improving.

Nevertheless, according to the World Bank ranking, Chile is weak in two variables: training and plant closings. But thanks to recent reforms we have reduced the barriers to reforming these weaknesses, which also helps to explain why we have progressed in the ranking.

However, the process of reform is very slow and inefficient. That is why the Ministry of Economy is working to reform another area impacting businesses, the bankruptcy system. Therefore, the Ministry has proposed measures that will reduce the overall complexities and constraints of the current processes of bankruptcy.

We understand how important it is to improve the lives entrepreneurs in Chile. We believe it is a key and fundamental task for the development of our country to generate a favorable environment for entrepreneurs with real opportunities and business regulations adapted to the 21st Century.

Indeed, our country is on track to achieving this goal. It is an honor to be the first country in South America to become a member of the OECD. We must continue to work efficiently to overcome our weaknesses and attain the level of our peers among the developed nations of the world. It is a challenge, that’s true, but a challenge we are certain to overcome.

Ranking Chile’s top companies

america-500For executives and entrepreneurs interested in doing business in Chile or other Latin American countries, AméricaEconomía magazine is a comprehensive source of information about the region. AméricaEconomía was created in 1986 and is published monthly in Spanish and Portuguese. The 25th anniversary issue of the magazine, published July 2011, focuses on Chile and provides in-depth analysis and rankings on all aspects of Chile’s business, economic and financial climate. The centerpiece of the issue is a detailed ranking of Chile’s top 500 companies based on 2010 revenues. The ranking provides more than 20 indicators about each company’s health such as annual profits, ROI and number of employees.