The UAE moved up 10 spots to 11th overall this year in the World Bank’s global Ease of Doing Business rankings, creating a world-class business-friendly environment and enabling the country to vie with the best worldwide, a media report said.

The UAE is the best-performing country in the Mena region, said Emirates news agency Wam, citing the World Bank report.

 The country made getting electricity easier by eliminating all costs for commercial and industrial connections of up to 150 kVA. It ranked first in the getting electricity subcategory and has also taken measures to modernise its judiciary with training for improved efficiency.

The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. Among the ten topics, the UAE scored very high on factors such as getting electricity connection (with top score of 1), paying taxes (2), dealing with construction permits (5) registering property (7), enforcing of contracts (9) and protection of minority investors (15).

The report ranks 190 economies based on how easy it is to do business there, taking into account trading regulations, property rights, contract enforcement, investment laws, the availability of credit and a number of other factors.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has affirmed that the UAE has become a global hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and investment thanks to the significant efforts made by the Federal Government and other local departments.

"The besetting challenges will add to the government’s determination to introduce significant improvements into services and legislation, as these improvements are essential for the country to secure advanced rankings across all global competiveness indices," Sheikh Mohammed added.