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tarting a business in Indonesia has been made easier thanks to a series of economic reforms implemented over the past several years, according to a recent report by the World Bank (WB).

Indonesia jumped three slots in this year'€™s rankings, finishing 114th out of the 189 nations assessed by the Washington-based global financial institution in a report titled '€œDoing Business 2015: Going beyond Efficiency'€.

'€œIndonesia made starting a business easier by allowing the Law and Human Rights Ministry to electronically issue the approval letter for the deed of establishment,'€ the report said.

Another significant improvement was the removal of multiple certificates guaranteeing the safety of internal installations by electrical contractors, allowing a firm to connect to electricity faster, it added.

The WB also highlighted ongoing shortcomings such as registering property (down five places), getting credit (down four places) and resolving insolvency (down four places).

The WB'€™s assessment is consistent with a separate study carried out by the Geneva-based business group, the World Economic Forum (WEF), which in September also upgraded Indonesia'€™s position by four notches to 34th place out of 144 countries in its global competitiveness index survey.

Consistent improvements in ease of doing business will be help Indonesia attract more investment, a key driver of economic expansion in Southeast Asia'€™s largest economy, following domestic consumption.

In the first three quarters of this year, direct investment has surged by 16.84 percent to Rp 342 trillion (US$28.17 billion), providing a much-needed boost to an economy growing at its slowest pace
since 2009.

According to the report, globally, Singapore retained its status as the nation with the most-business friendly regulatory environment, followed by New Zealand and Hong Kong.

Despite Indonesia'€™s improvement, it still lagged far behind its peers in Southeast Asia like Malaysia (18th), Thailand (26th), Vietnam (78th) and the Philippines (95th), the report said.

In response, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) deputy chairman for monetary, fiscal and public policy Hariyadi Sukamdani said that he appreciated the progress acknowledged by the WB. However, he added that policy makers needed to remain vigilant and expand efforts to make the overall business climate more conducive to growth.

'€œFor example, we can check the true condition by asking whether the one-stop service [at the Investment Coordinating Board] really works effectively?'€ he said, adding that many more reforms were needed beyond the indicators cited in the report.