South Korea ranked fifth in terms of business environment among 190 countries this year thanks to high scores in electricity supply and legal settlement and administrative systems for starting a business and taxation, a report by the World Bank showed Wednesday (Korean time).

According to the organization's annual "Doing Business 2017" ranking report, the country received 84.07 points in total, slightly up from the previous year's 83.88, but fell one notch from a year earlier.


Every year, the World Bank analyzes 189 countries' business environments by breaking them down into 10 broad categories in accordance with the business life cycle from start to closure.

The report checks legal and administrative rules and practices, as well as feedback from experts and businessmen from related fields, and is designed to provide the best practice benchmarks that can be followed by developing countries.

New Zealand stood at the top for providing the best business environment, followed by Singapore and Denmark. Hong Kong advanced to fourth this year, with Norway, Britain, the United States, Sweden and Macedonia making up the top 10 roster.

Broken down by sector, South Korea moved up the rating ladder in four sectors and lost ground in four areas.

In terms of legal settlement, the country rose one step to finish first, outperforming other 189 countries in the world, while its ranking for the environment for starting a business jumped to 11th place from 23rd.

The country also saw its standings rise to 23rd and 39th in tax payment and property registering, respectively.

Seoul's ranking in regards to providing electricity to companies stood at the top of all countries surveyed, retaining the highest position for three years in a row. In the field of solving insolvency, it stayed at fourth place.

On the downside, however, South Korea slid from eighth place to 13th in protection offered to minor investors, while its ranking in dealing with construction permits dropped from 28th to 31st place.

It also backtracked on getting credit and administrative procedures on cross-border trading.

The finance ministry here said that South Korea has become an attractive place for doing business globally and it will keep up its efforts to enhance the overall regulations and system to help people start businesses and protect minor investors. (Yonhap)