ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA Monday, October 29, 2012: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has released its latest Doing Business Report. The report shows that Grenada fell in the rankings by three (3) points from an adjusted ranking of 97 to 100. However, Grenada went up by eight (8) points in the Registration of Property and one (1) point in Getting Electricity. Grenada fell by an average of about three (3) points in the seven (7) other variables measured. Of the nine Caribbean territories surveyed, only Trinidad and Tobago, improved its ranking. All other territories fell. While we did not achieve an improvement in the ranking on this occasion, the following factors are however noteworthy: 1. Grenada remains in the top ten in Dealing with Construction permits (ranking: 10). 2. Grenada is coming off an intense period of reforms which landed it in the top ten reformers in 2011. However, it is hard to maintain without legislation, which is what carries the most weight in the Doing Business index. 3. There is global competition, and other countries are also aggressively pushing through reforms. 4. In April 2012, Government implemented of ASYCUDA World (the time saving electronic entry processing system at the Customs), and established a One Stop Facility on the Ports. 5. Grenada has completed the preparation of and commenced the implementation of the Investment Promotion Strategy. Impressive global awards were received by the GIDC for Business Facilitation and by the Immigration Department. There were also vastly improved testing capabilities at the Bureau of Standards. Some of these measures have not yet been captured in the IFC review. The Government of Grenada is in the process of reviewing its Doing Business Reform Agenda and will continue the process of engaging the key players in Civil Society, including users of Government service as we consolidate our drive towards competitiveness and the setting of new benchmarks of efficiency in business facilitation.