KUCHING: IMD announced its annual world competitiveness ranking which looks at several aspects of each country as a place to conduct business.
“A general analysis of the 2015 ranking shows that top countries are going back to the basics,” said Professor Arturo Bris, Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Center.
“Productivity and efficiency are in the driver’s seat of the competitiveness wagon. Companies in those countries are increasing their efforts to minimize their environmental impact and provide a strong organizational structure for workforces to thrive.”
The USA remains at the top of the ranking as a result of its strong business efficiency and financial sector, its innovation drive and the effectiveness of its infrastructure. Hong Kong and Singapore move up overtaking Switzerland, which drops to fourth place. Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Germany remain in the top 10.
Luxembourg moves to the top from 11th place in 2014.
Results for Asia are mixed with Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and Indonesia move down while Taiwan, Republic of Korea and the Philippines slightly rise in the ranking. Most Asian economies in decline have seen a drop in their domestic economies and are impacted by weakening/aging infrastructure.
The ranking highlights one particular commonality among the best ranking countries. Nine countries from the top 10 are also listed in the top 10 of the business efficiency factor.
Business efficiency focuses on the extent to which the national environment encourages enterprises to perform in an innovative, profitable and responsible manner. It is assessed through indicators related to productivity such as the labor market, finance, management practices and the attitudes and values that characterise the business environment.
“Simply put, business efficiency requires greater productivity and the competitiveness of countries is greatly linked to the ability of enterprises to remain profitable over time,” said Bris.
“Increasing productivity remains a fundamental challenge for all countries.”
Long-term business profitability and productivity are difficult to achieve because they are largely underpinned by the strategic efforts of companies striving to maximize positive externalities that originate in economic activities.
The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, which will be published at the end of June, measures how well countries manage all their resources and competencies to facilitate long-term value creation. The overall ranking released today reflects more than 300 criteria, approximately two-thirds of which are based on statistical indicators and one-third on an exclusive IMD survey of 6,234 international executives.