Good Regulatory Practices to Support Small and Medium Enterprises in Southeast Asia
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can find it challenging to cope and comply with regulations and adapt regulatory changes. Good regulatory practice (GRP) helps create a stable and enabling regulatory environment for investment, trade, and entrepreneurhsip, and thus supports healthy economies and regional competitiveness. This report is the first comprehensive stock-taking of GRP implementation in Southeast Asia to support local SMEs and their integration into global value chains. For each of the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the report provides examples of GRP tools and approaches in areas such as administrative burden reduction, e-government, regulatory impact assessment, ex post evaluation, and stakeholder consultation. The report also includes an overview of collective efforts pursued at the ASEAN level to promote the GRP agenda across the region.
Brunei Darussalam
Brunei acknowledges the importance of regulatory reform in increasing its opportunities at home and abroad. It has also made significant efforts in recent years to make government services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) available and accessible through online one-stop shops. Regular review and evaluation of regulations are undertaken by the government to ensure that these do not deviate from pre-agreed targets or impose specific burdens on citizens or businesses. As a way to enhance regulatory effectiveness, Brunei has focused on improving its civil service by introducing a number of initiatives that aim to improve the governance and management of the public sector. The use of regulatory impact assessments (RIA) has not yet been formally practiced in Brunei; nonetheless, it has proactively used post-implementation reviews to improve the stock of regulations in the country and improve the country’s business environment.