The best place to start a business is…

Hong Kong, China (CNN) – Although the news media focuses on the GMs, Microsofts and Wal-Marts of the world, it’s really Mom-and-Pop shops that make the world economy go round.



Most jobs in any economy are created and sustained by small and medium-sized businesses. And the seeds of recovery are often sown through the entrepreneurial blood of laid-off workers.


Indeed, some trace the tech entrepreneurial boom in the 1990s to the round of layoffs that occurred in the U.S. after the 1987 stock market crash. Entrepreneurship – and the South Korean economy – soared in the years following the devastating 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis.  So in the aftermath of the greatest world recession since World War II, it’s worth watching which countries are doing the most to help foster entrepreneurial growth.


By that measure, East Asia is ahead of the pack. According to a ranking released Thursday by the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation, the economies of East Asia are doing the most to foster entrepreneurship.


“For the first time in eight years, the economies of East Asia and the Pacific were among the most active,” the report said.


“Eighteen of 24 reformed business regulations and institutions in the past year—more than in any other region.


“Emerging-market economies such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam took the lead, easing business start-up, permitting, and property registration, and improving credit information sharing,” the report said.


The report examined ease of starting a business, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and other factors that help pave the way for new businesses.


Global rankings on ease of doing business:


1) Singapore


2) Hong Kong SAR, China


3) New Zealand


4) United Kingdom


5) United States


6) Denmark


7) Canada


8)  Norway


9) Ireland


10) Australia


11) Saudi Arabia


12) Georgia


13) Finland


14) Sweden


15) Iceland


16) South Korea


17) Estonia


18) Japan


19) Thailand


20) Mauritius


Do you agree with the World Bank? What issues do you encounter starting your own business?