What's New?

Recent updates to World Bank Group financial and private sector development websites are highlighted below. Direct links to these sites are provided to the right.

Doing Business in India
Doing Business in India: A new report finds it is now easier to start and operate a business in India compared to three years ago. Doing Business in India 2009 shows how government regulations and practices enhance or restrain business activity in 17 cities including some of India’s largest. The report records significant reforms at the national, state and municipal levels of government as 14 cities reformed in at least one area benchmarked over the last three years. Learn more...
Download report (PDF, 3.2MB)
Press release: English (PDF, 98KB)

Investment Promotion Benchmarking
Global Investment Promotion Benchmarking 2009: The publication surveys the performance of national and subnational Investment Promotion Intermediaries in 181 countries. The report assesses the effectiveness of their facilitation services assisting a potential foreign investor. The report finds that over 70% of these intermediaries may be missing foreign investment leads.
Learn more...


Remittances
Remittances Prices Worldwide: This website is now available in French, Italian and Spanish! Discover the cost of sending and receiving small amounts of money from one country to another. The money received is an important source of family (and national) income in many developing economies, representing in some cases a very relevant percentage of the GDP of the receiving countries.


Business Planet: Entrepreneurship data from 70 countries now available
Enterprise Surveys: Updated data coverage for 23 Eastern Europe and Central Asia countries, plus Afghanistan
Doing Business in Veneto: The report examine the city of Padua, Italy based on the Doing Business indicators
Public Policy Journal: Privatization Trends: A record year for initial public offerings in 2007
Paper: The unfolding crisis - Implications for financial systems and their oversight (PDF, 104KB)
Doing Business 2009: The full French (PDF, 5.5MB) and Spanish (PDF,4.6MB) reports are avialable for download
Remittance Prices Worldwide: Provides data on 14 sending and 72 receiving countries
More features...

Online Resources

Crisis Talk blog aims to provide the latest information on the financial crisis, both on specific countries and sectors, as well as on the global response.

Remittance Prices Worldwide provides data on the cost of sending and receiving small amounts of money from one country to another.

Doing Business provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 181 economies. Also visit the Doing Business blog and Facebook page.

Privatization database provides information on privatization transactions of at least US$1 million in developing countries from 2000 to 2007.

Enterprise Surveys provides data on the investment climate in 112 countries, based on surveys of 99,000 firms.

Infrastructure Projects Database includes data on 4,100 private sector projects in 141 low- and middle-income countries.

Book Sales

Doing Business 2009Doing Business 2009 is the sixth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulations in 181 countries. Place your order today.

Doing Business 2008 + 2009 set.
Celebrating Reform 2007