What are the Best Places for Doing Business in the Caribbean?

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The World Bank has released its 2016 Doing Business report, and there’s a familiar place at the top of the Caribbean region: Puerto Rico.

The US Caribbean territory is ranked 57th in the world for ease of doing business, ahead of Costa Rica and just behind Mongolia.

Among independent Caribbean countries, Jamaica is the leader, ranked 64th in the world for ease of doing business, followed by St Lucia at 77th, Trinidad and Tobago at 88th in the world and Dominica at 91st in the world.

It should be noted that the report looks at regulations affecting 11 areas in the life of a business, not the state of the economy.

Puerto Rico’s high rating came in large part to strong ratings in areas including resolving insolvency, getting credit and starting a business. It scored poorly in areas including registering property, dealing with construction permits and paying taxes.

The factors include starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency, among others.

That means the ranking reflects Puerto Rico’s regulatory environment, not its debt-riddled economy.

Note: the World Bank’s report did not cover British Overseas Territories, Dutch Caribbean countries or French Caribbean departments.

Here are the full Caribbean rankings below: