Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Economy Profile Equatorial Guinea Page 1 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Economy Profile of Equatorial Guinea Doing Business 2020 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction permits Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, and the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time, total tax and contribution rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as postfiling processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Employing workers Flexibility in employment regulation and redundancy cost Page 2 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local firms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of employing workers. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the employing workers indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more efficient regulation; offers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business offers detailed subnational studies, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in different cities and regions within a nation. These studies provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The first Doing Business study, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s study covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has benefited from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. To learn more about Doing Business please visit doingbusiness.org Page 3 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Ease of Doing Business in DB RANK DB SCORE Region Sub-Saharan Africa Equatorial Guinea Income Category Upper middle income Population 1,308,974 41.1 178 City Covered Malabo Rankings on Doing Business topics - Equatorial Guinea 105 132 155 162 163 162 168 179 175 183 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Topic Scores 61.0 55.0 54.3 44.4 40.0 26.0 41.5 32.0 56.2 0.0 Starting a Business (rank) 183 Getting Credit (rank) 132 Trading across Borders (rank) 175 Score of starting a business (0-100) 61.0 Score of getting credit (0-100) 40.0 Score of trading across borders (0-100) 32.0 Procedures (number) 16 Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Time to export Time (days) 33 Depth of credit information index (0-8) 2 Documentary compliance (hours) 154 Cost (number) 59.1 Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 10.8 Border compliance (hours) 132 Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 22.8 Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0.0 Cost to export Documentary compliance (USD) 85 Dealing with Construction Permits (rank) 162 Protecting Minority Investors (rank) 162 Border compliance (USD) 760 Score of dealing with construction permits (0-100) 55.0 Score of protecting minority investors (0-100) 26.0 Time to export Procedures (number) 13 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 Documentary compliance (hours) 240 Time (days) 144 Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 Border compliance (hours) 240 Cost (% of warehouse value) 4.1 Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 Cost to export Building quality control index (0-15) 1.0 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 0.0 Documentary compliance (USD) 70 Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 0.0 Border compliance (USD) 985 Getting Electricity (rank) 155 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 0.0 Score of getting electricity (0-100) 54.3 Enforcing Contracts (rank) 105 Procedures (number) 5 Paying Taxes (rank) 179 Score of enforcing contracts (0-100) 56.2 Time (days) 106 Score of paying taxes (0-100) 41.5 Time (days) 475 Cost (% of income per capita) 892.0 Payments (number per year) 46 Cost (% of claim value) 19.5 Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 Time (hours per year) 492 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5 Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 79.4 Registering Property (rank) 163 Postfiling index (0-100) 93.1 Resolving Insolvency (rank) 168 Score of registering property (0-100) 44.4 Score of resolving insolvency (0-100) 0.0 Procedures (number) 6 Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) No Time (days) 23 Practice Cost (% of property value) 12.5 Time (years) No Practice Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 4.0 Cost (% of estate) No Practice Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as 0 going concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0- No 16) Practice Page 4 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Starting a Business This topic measures the number of procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital requirement for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in each economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times the income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and formally operate a company To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the (number) procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay no bribes. • Preregistration (for example, name verification or reservation, notarization) The business: • Registration in the economy’s largest business city -Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than one type of limited • Postregistration (for example, social security registration, liability company in the economy, the limited liability form most common among domestic firms is company seal) chosen. Information on the most common form is obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical office. • Obtaining approval from spouse to start a business or to leave -Operates in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the home to register the company the second largest business city. • Obtaining any gender specific document for company -Performs general industrial or commercial activities such as the production or sale to the public of registration and operation or national identification card goods or services. The business does not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It is not using heavily Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) polluting production processes. • Does not include time spent gathering information -Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special benefits. -Is 100% domestically owned. • Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 procedures cannot -Has five business owners, none of whom is a legal entity. One business owner holds 30% of the start on the same day) company shares, two owners have 20% of shares each, and two owners have 15% of shares • Procedures fully completed online are recorded as ½ day each. -Is managed by one local director. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is received -Has between 10 and 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of them domestic nationals. • No prior contact with officials -Has start-up capital of 10 times income per capita. -Has an estimated turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per -Leases the commercial plant or offices and is not a proprietor of real estate. capita) -Has an annual lease for the office space equivalent to one income per capita. • Official costs only, no bribes -Is in an office space of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). -Has a company deed that is 10 pages long. • No professional fees unless services required by law or commonly used in practice The owners: Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) -Have reached the legal age of majority and are capable of making decisions as an adult. If there • Funds deposited in a bank or with third party before registration is no legal age of majority, they are assumed to be 30 years old. or up to 3 months after incorporation -Are in good health and have no criminal record. -Are married, the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. -Where the answer differs according to the legal system applicable to the woman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where there is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the majority of the population. Page 5 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Starting a Business - Equatorial Guinea Standardized Company Legal form Limited Liability Company (SARL) Paid-in minimum capital requirement XAF 1,000,000 City Covered Malabo Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Procedure – Men (number) 16 7.4 4.9 1 (2 Economies) Time – Men (days) 33 21.5 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 59.1 36.3 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies) Procedure – Women (number) 16 7.5 4.9 1 (2 Economies) Time – Women (days) 33 21.6 9.2 0.5 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 59.1 36.3 3.0 0.0 (2 Economies) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 22.8 9.3 7.6 0.0 (120 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Equatorial Guinea – Score 11.8 67.3 70.5 94.3 Procedures Time Cost Paid-in min. capital Figure – Starting a Business in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Starting a Business Score 0 100 91.6: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 54) 86.3: Cameroon (Rank: 104) 80.1: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 65.8: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 179) 63.2: Central African Republic (Rank: 180) 61.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 183) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 6 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Starting a Business in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 25 30 Cost (% of income per capita) 20 25 Time (days) 20 15 15 10 10 5 5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 *6 *7 *8 9 * 10 * 11 * 12 * 13 * 14 * 15 * 16 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 7 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Starting a Business in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Notarize the company's articles of association 9 days on average 1% of the company's Agency : Notary or One-Stop-Shop capital Although it is not required by law, in practice lawyers prepare company statutes. By law, however, a public notary must legalize the statutes and execute the public deed. There is one notary in Malabo (capital city, insular region), that works at the Malabo Notary’s office and at the VUE in Malabo, and one in Bata (mainland). 2 Register the company at the Commercial Registry 2 days on average CFA 1,000,000 Agency : Commercial Registry (Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil) For registration, the entrepreneur must provide the notarized copies of the articles of association. By law, the company must use a unique company name, but in practice, they do not verify the name beforehand. The registry simply refuses the application if the name already exists. Per Art. 261 of the OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies, a notice of company incorporation shall be published at a legal journal within 15 days of registration. This is usually not complied with in practice. 3 Open a bank account and obtain a bank certificate (atestación de solvencia bancaria) 1 day no charge Agency : Bank Legally, the company must deposit the minimum capital before company registration. However, this is not possible in practice because copies of the legalized statutes and the registration certificate are required to open a bank account. 4 Obtain a certificate of solvency from the Ministry of Finance 2 days CFA 10,000 – 15,000 Agency : Ministry of Finance (stamps) A certificate of solvency must be obtained at the Ministry of Finance. 5 Apply for registration with the Department of Business and Private Investment at the 1 day CFA 100,000 Ministry of Commerce Agency : Ministry of Commerce Entrepreneurs must register a company at the Department of Business and Private Investment at the Ministry of Commerce. An annual fee is charged and it varies by company. Additional registrations with other Ministries are required depending on the company's sector of activity. 6 Apply for registration with the Department of Commerce at the Ministry of Commerce 1 day (simultaneous with CFA 150,000 Agency : Ministry of Commerce previous procedure) Entrepreneurs must register a company at the Department of Commerce at the Ministry of Commerce. This annual fee varies by company. 7 Apply for tax registration 1 day (simultaneous with 2% of the company's Agency : Public Treasury or One-Stop-Shop previous procedure) share capital capital Companies must be registered with the Tax Authorities. Registration with the Tax authorities is also available at the One-Stop-Shop. The documents required to apply for tax registration include the notarized statutes. The fees are paid at the bank into an account of the Public Treasury. After obtaining the Treasury’s confirmation of receipt of payment, the applicant returns to the tax authorities to obtain the tax identification number. To save time, the applicant (or a designated agent) would first visit all agencies (tax administration, labor, social security, etc.) to apply for the respective authorization or document, make all bank payments, and obtain the confirmation from the Treasury. The applicant would then visit all agencies again to obtain the final authorization. 8 Apply for registration with the Ministry of Labor 1 day (simultaneous with CFA 300 (form) + CFA Agency : Ministry of Labor previous procedure) 6,750 (for registration of Fees for registering with the Ministry of Labor are paid to the Treasury through a private bank. small enterprises) or CFA Upon application, the employer obtains an inspection book and labor calendar. Once operational, 12,500 (medium-sized the employer pays 1% of salaries to the Workers Protection Fund (Fondo de Protección del enterprises) Trabajador). Employees pay 0.5% of their salary. Although the indicated fees are official fees, fees might be higher in practice. 9 Pay fees to the Treasury’s bank account 1 day included in procedures 7 Agency : Bank and 8 All payments to public institutions, including Ministries, must be made directly to the Public Treasury’s bank account through any commercial bank. The bank slip issued by the bank showing that payment was made is taken to the Public Treasury’s office for acknowledgment of receipt. The Public Treasury’s acknowledgment of receipt is taken, after its issuance, to the relevant authorities to obtain the corresponding license/certificate of registration. Obtain a confirmation from Treasury for receipt of payment 4 days on average no charge 10 Agency : Public Treasury (simultaneous with All new businesses must obtain a confirmation from the Treasury for receipt of payment in order to previous procedure) obtain a license from the Ministry of Commerce. Page 8 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea 11 Provide a confirmation of payment and obtain a license from the Department of Business 14 days (simultaneous no charge and Private Investment at the Ministry of Commerce with previous procedure) Agency : Ministry of Commerce All new businesses must provide a confirmation of payment and obtain a license from Department of Business and Private Investment. Provide a confirmation of payment and obtain a license from the Department of Commerce 14 days (simultaneous no charge 12 at the Ministry of Commerce with previous procedure) Agency : Ministry of Commerce All new businesses must provide a confirmation of payment and obtain a license from the Department of Commerce. Obtain the tax identification number (NIF) 2 days (simultaneous included in procedure 7 13 Agency : Ministry of Finance or One-Stop-Shop with previous procedure) The company must obtain a tax identification number (NIF) at the Ministry of Finance. Obtain a registration number from the Ministry of Labor 1 day (simultaneous with included in procedure 8 14 Agency : Ministry of Labor previous procedure) All new businesses must obtain their registration number at the Ministry of Labor. Obtain a Social Security number for the company's employees 1 day (simultaneous with no charge 15 Agency : Social Security Institute (INSESO) previous procedure) All new businesses must ensure that their employees have their social security numbers. Register the company's employees with Social Security 1 day (simultaneous with CFA 300 per page 16 Agency : Social Security Institute (INSESO) previous procedure) The company must register its employees for social security in the first month that the employees receive a salary. Social security payments are 21.5% of salary for the employer and 4.5% for the employee. To register for social security, the company must purchase special forms to list all employees. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 9 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required notifications, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certification requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility connections are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): • Submitting all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the economy’s largest inspections business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. • Obtaining utility connections for water and sewerage - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has five owners, none of whom is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both registered with the local association of architects • Registering and selling the warehouse after its completion or engineers. BuildCo is not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) experts, such as geological or topographical experts. - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its • Does not include time spent gathering information completion. • Each procedure starts on a separate day—though procedures that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule The warehouse: • Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or stationery. received - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each floor will be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be • No prior contact with officials located on a land plot of approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a licensed architect. If capita) preparation of the plans requires such steps as obtaining further documentation or getting prior • Official costs only, no bribes approvals from external agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative and regulatory Building quality control index (0-15) requirements). • Quality of building regulations (0-2) The water and sewerage connections: • Quality control before construction (0-1) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer tap. If there is no water • Quality control during construction (0-3) delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole will be dug. If there is no sewerage • Quality control after construction (0-3) infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an average wastewater flow • Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and • Professional certifications (0-4) a peak wastewater flow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater flow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Page 10 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Dealing with Construction Permits - Equatorial Guinea Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse XAF 219,012,780 City Covered Malabo Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 13 15.1 12.7 None in 2018/19 Time (days) 144 145.4 152.3 None in 2018/19 Cost (% of warehouse value) 4.1 8.9 1.5 None in 2018/19 Building quality control index (0-15) 1.0 8.9 11.6 15.0 (6 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea – Score 68.0 66.0 79.4 6.7 Procedures Time Cost Building quality control index Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Dealing with Construction Permits Score 0 100 61.3: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 134) 59.5: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 144) 58.5: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 56.5: Cameroon (Rank: 154) 55.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 162) 34.1: Central African Republic (Rank: 184) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 11 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of warehouse value) 3.5 140 3 120 Cost (% of warehouse value) 100 2.5 Time (days) 80 2 60 1.5 40 1 20 0.5 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 *8 9 10 11 12 13 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 12 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 14 13.0 12 10.0 9.5 Index score 10 8.9 8 6.0 6 4 2 1.0 0 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Buy stamped paper 1 day XAF 4,000 Agency : Municipality Building permit and water connection applications to the Municipality must be made on stamped paper. 2 Request authorization for building permit at the Municipality 15 days no charge Agency : Municipality The permit application includes all architectural and building plans, measurements, and cost assessments. The application must be submitted on stamped paper. The file is forwarded for review to the Technical Office and subsequently passed to the mayor for signature. If the Technical Office has doubts that the proposed project budget fits the project size and nature, a site visit might be undertaken. This can only be done with the stamped paper. 3 Pay fees at the bank and obtain payment receipt 1 day XAF 2,190,128 Agency : Commercial Bank Payment can be made only after the approval of the dossier. 4 Deposit payment receipt at the Municipality 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality After the payment is done, the voucher should be presented at the Municipality. 5 Obtain building permit 30 days no charge Agency : Municipality After the Municipality receives the payment receipt, the dossier is authorized again and finally signed by the mayor. 6 Receive inspection from the Municipality 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality Inspections are random and occur during construction. A final inspection or occupancy permit is not required. However, it is important to stress that this can only happen during the construction period, once the building permit was granted. 7 Request authorization for water connection 14 days XAF 75,000 Agency : Municipality The water connection is undertaken by the Municipality. As with the building permit application, the application must be made on stamped paper. This request is done once the construction is finalized. 8 Pay for water connection 1 day no charge Agency : Commercial Bank A payment receipt is required to obtain authorization for the water connection. This procedure is enabled whenever the request has been made. It can be paid at a commercial bank, not at the Municipality. 9 Deposit proof of payment and obtain final payment receipt from Municipality 1 day no charge Agency : Municipality The payment is made only after the request is made. 10 Obtain authorization for water connection 14 days no charge Agency : Municipality After the fees are paid, the Mayor's office approves the application for water connection. 11 Receive connection to water services 45 days no charge Agency : Municipality Once the authorization is obtained, municipal engineers connect the building to the network. 12 Request and obtain an engineer's assessment of property 14 days XAF 200,000 Agency : Private Engineer An assessment by an external engineer is made once the utilities connection are in place. Page 13 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea 13 Register the building 7 days XAF 6,570,383 Agency : Property Registry Building registration is not required but is advised. Fees refer to official fees, as published in the Law of Fiscal Fees (Ley de Tazas Fiscales). The fee is 3% of the value of warehouse construction. This happens once the assessment has been made. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 14 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 1.0 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 0.0 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Not easily accessible. 0.0 Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly specified in the building regulations or on any Available only on 0.0 accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) request. Quality control before construction index (0-1) 0.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in compliance with existing By law, there is no 0.0 building regulations? (0-1) need to verify plans compliance; Civil servant reviews plans. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 0.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during construction? (0-2) Unscheduled 0.0 inspections. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 0.0 inspections are not always done in practice during construction. Quality control after construction index (0-3) 0.0 Is there a final inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in accordance with the approved Final inspection is not 0.0 plans and regulations? (0-2) required by law. Do legally mandated final inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection does 0.0 not always occur in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 1.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural flaws or problems in the building once it is in use Architect or engineer; 1.0 (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) Professional in charge of the supervision; Construction company; Owner or investor. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover possible structural flaws or No party is required 0.0 problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) by law to obtain insurance . Professional certifications index (0-4) 0.0 What are the qualification requirements for the professional responsible for verifying that the architectural plans There are no specific 0.0 or drawings are in compliance with existing building regulations? (0-2) requirements. What are the qualification requirements for the professional who supervises the construction on the ground? (0- There are no specific 0.0 2) requirements. Page 15 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tariffs and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the warehouse, the electricity connection and the monthly consumption are used. • Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining all necessary clearances and permits The warehouse: • Completing all required notifications and receiving all necessary - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. inspections - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for • Obtaining external installation works and possibly purchasing the second largest business city. material for these works - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not near a railway. • Concluding any necessary supply contract and obtaining final - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the first time. supply - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). • Is at least 1 calendar day The electricity connection: • Each procedure starts on a separate day - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140- • Does not include time spent gathering information kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or medium-voltage distribution • Reflects the time spent in practice, with little follow-up and no network and is either overhead or underground, whichever is more common in the area where the prior contact with officials warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10-meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out on public land. There is no crossing of other Cost required to complete each procedure (% of income per owners’ private property because the warehouse has access to a road. capita) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been • Official costs only, no bribes completed up to and including the customer’s service panel or switchboard and the meter base. • Value added tax excluded The monthly consumption: The reliability of supply and transparency of tariffs index (0-8) - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours • Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity on average and that there are no electricity cuts • Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. • Tools to restore power supply (0–1) - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the cheapest supplier. • Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance (0–1) - Tariffs effective in January of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although January has 31 days, for calculation purposes only 30 days are used. • Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) • Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* • Price based on monthly bill for commercial warehouse in case study *Note: Doing Business measures the price of electricity, but it is not included in the ease of doing business score nor in the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 16 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Getting Electricity - Equatorial Guinea Standardized Connection Name of utility Segesa Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 17.4 City Covered Malabo Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 5 5.2 4.4 3 (28 Economies) Time (days) 106 109.6 74.8 18 (3 Economies) Cost (% of income per capita) 892.0 3,187.5 61.0 0.0 (3 Economies) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 1.6 7.4 8 (26 Economies) Figure – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea – Score 66.7 61.7 89.0 0.0 Reliability of supply and transparency of Procedures Time Cost tariff index Figure – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Getting Electricity Score 0 100 61.3: Cameroon (Rank: 133) 54.3: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 155) 50.4: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 34.7: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 177) 32.7: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 179) 24.6: Central African Republic (Rank: 185) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the scores for all the component indicators except the price of electricity. Figure – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of income per capita) 900 100 800 Cost (% of income per capita) 700 80 600 Time (days) 60 500 400 40 300 200 20 100 0 0 1 2 3 *4 5 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures Page 17 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea reflected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.4 Index score 1.2 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Page 18 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application to Segesa and await external site inspection 45 calendar days XAF 0 Agency : Segesa The owner of the warehouse (the client) applies for a new electricity connection at Segesa’s office and provides a list of all appliances that will be connected to the warehouse. At the same time, the client requests an application for the excavation permit and the utility obtains this excavation permit on behalf of the client. 2 Receive site inspection by Segesa, await estimate and sign contract 14 calendar days XAF 0 Agency : Segesa The engineers from Segesa, accompanied by the client, will conduct a site visit of the warehouse to assess the connection cost. The client will be presented with the estimated cost for the work to be done. The client will discuss in greater details both the estimated cost and the work to be done. The quote is divided as follows: price of materials + 30% for technical works of Segesa + 15% IVA + 8% for maintenance of the equipment in the years to come. The client signs the contract with Segesa. 3 Buy transformer and install transformer post 37 calendar days XAF 35,000,000 Agency : Contractor The client has two options: he can buy the transformer through the utility or buy a transformer from the market. To accelerate the procedure, the client often chooses to buy the transformer himself and to install the transformer post. The transformer needs to be imported. Segesa provides the technical specifications of the transformer. 4 Have transformer tested by Segesa and verify the internal wiring 1 calendar day XAF 0 Agency : Segesa Segesa inspects the transformer to verify that it complies with safety standard. An engineer from Segesa will inspect the internal wiring of the warehouse. If the wiring complies with the safety standards, the engineer will provide a "Certificate of Compliance". 5 Receive external works, meter installation, external inspection and final connection from 10 calendar days XAF 4,071,000 Segesa Agency : Segesa The client will pay for the agreed quote related to the external works. The quote is divided as follows: the price of materials + 30% for technical works of Segesa + 8% for maintenance of the equipment in the years to come. Segesa will do the external works which consist of laying the cables from the transformer to the electrical network. Then Segesa does a final inspection, installs the meter and the electricity starts flowing. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 19 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Getting Electricity in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index (0-8) 0 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 0 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) .. System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) .. What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI N/A Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? No Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 0 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on reliability of supply? No Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face fines by the regulator (or both) if outages exceed a certain cap? No Communication of tariffs and tariff changes (0-1) 0 Are effective tariffs available online? No Link to the website, if available online Are customers notified of a change in tariff ahead of the billing cycle? No Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Page 20 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has five dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable property To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the parties to the (number) transaction, the property and the procedures are used. • Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, The parties (buyer and seller): notarizing sales agreement, paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). • Registration procedures in the economy's largest business city. - Are located in the periurban (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits) • Postregistration procedures (for example, filling title with area of the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the municipality) second largest business city. - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. Time required to complete each procedure (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities. • Does not include time spent gathering information The property (fully owned by the seller): • Each procedure starts on a separate day - though procedures - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. that can be fully completed online are an exception to this rule - Is fully owned by the seller. • Procedure is considered completed once final document is - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for the past 10 years. received - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title disputes. • No prior contact with officials - Is located in a periurban commercial zone (that is, on the outskirts of the city but still within its official limits), and no rezoning is required. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of property - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters (6,000 square feet). A two- value) story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety standards, • Official costs only (such as administrative fees, duties and building codes and legal requirements. The property, consisting of land and building, will be taxes). transferred in its entirety. • Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit payments are - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the purchase. excluded - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical monuments of any kind. - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for residential use, Quality of land administration index (0-30) industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. • Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. • Transparency of information index (0–6) • Geographic coverage index (0–8) • Land dispute resolution index (0–8) • Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Page 21 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Registering Property - Equatorial Guinea Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Procedures (number) 6 6.1 4.7 1 (5 Economies) Time (days) 23 51.6 23.6 1 (2 Economies) Cost (% of property value) 12.5 7.3 4.2 0.0 (Saudi Arabia) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 4.0 9.0 23.2 None in 2018/19 Figure – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea – Score 58.3 89.5 16.7 13.3 Procedures Time Cost Quality of the land administration index Figure – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Registering Property Score 0 100 53.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 46.6: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 159) 44.4: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 163) 42.0: Central African Republic (Rank: 170) 40.6: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 174) 40.1: Cameroon (Rank: 175) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 22 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of property value) 8 20 7 Cost (% of property value) 6 15 Time (days) 5 4 10 3 2 5 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a different procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://doingbusiness.org/en/methodology). For details on the procedures reflected here, see the summary below. Page 23 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 10 9.0 9.0 9 8 7.0 Index score 7 6 5 4.0 4 3.5 3.0 3 2 1 0 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Details – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedures Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Obtain non-encumbrance certificate 7 days XAF 5,000; (Non- Agency : Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil) encumbrance certificate It is common practice to obtain a non-encumbrance certificate and a literal certificate to verify that (3000 XAF) + Literal the property has no charges or liens, and to observe past inscriptions and transactions. The certificate (2000 XAF)) certificates are issued by the Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil 2 Lawyer prepares sales contract 2 days XAF 10,950,639; (5% of Agency : Lawyer the property value (the It is common practice to hire a lawyer to write the contract. The lawyer requires the property title common practice)) (copy) and a copy of the company representative’s passport. In practice, banks hold the property title when granting a mortgage. 3 Notary legalizes the sales contract and prepares the public deed (escritura publica) 7 days 3% of the property value Agency : Notary (Paid in Procedure 4) Parties submit the sale and purchase agreement to the Notary. Notary fees are free negotiated between the parties, being around 2% to 4% of the property value. The fees are usually paid in cash at the Notary, although they can also be paid through stamps from the Treasury. 4 Go to Treasury to buy stamps to pay the notary and registration fees 1 day XAF 16,425,958.5; (3% of Agency : Treasury or Commercial Bank property value (Notary The interested parties have to go to the treasury to buy stamps for paying the notary and the fees) + 4%-5% property registration fees. Both the notary and registration fees can be paid together at this time. With the value (Registration fees)) proof of payment, parties can go back to the notary and to the registry to carry on with the property transfer process. 5 Return to notary to present him the payment stamps 1 day Paid in Procedure 4 Agency : Notary After presenting to the notary the payment stamps, parties receive the public deed. 6 Registration of the public deed at the Property Registry 5 days Paid in Procedure 4 Agency : Land Registry (Registro de la Propiedad y Mercantil) For the final registration of the property transfer, the Land Registry requests the public deed legalized at the Notary and the proof of the payment of the transfer tax (between 4% and 5% of the property value). Once these requirements are accomplished, the Land Registry will study the status of the property and will issue the new title with the updated name and information of the owner. The entire public deed is hand-written into the public registry’s books at this time. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Page 24 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Registering Property in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 4.0 Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0 Type of land registration system in the economy: Deed Registration System What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Property Registry (Registro mercantil y de Propiedad) In what format are past and newly issued land records kept at the immovable property registry of the largest Paper 0.0 business city of the economy —in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there a comprehensive and functional electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, No 0.0 restrictions and the like)? Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Cadastral Office (Oficina de Catastro) In what format are past and newly issued cadastral plans kept at the mapping agency of the largest business Paper 0.0 city of the economy—in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing cadastral information No 0.0 (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the cadastral or mapping agency Separate databases 0.0 kept in a single database, in different but linked databases or in separate databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use the same identification No 0.0 number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 0.0 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of immovable property registration Only intermediaries 0.0 in the largest business city? and interested parties Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction made publicly available– Yes, in person 0.0 and if so, how? Link for online access: Is the applicable fee schedule for any type of property transaction at the agency in charge of immovable property Yes, in person 0.0 registration in the largest business city made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration agency formally commit to deliver a legally No 0.0 binding document that proves property ownership within a specific timeframe –and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a specific and independent mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the agency No 0.0 in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available official statistics tracking the number of transactions at the immovable property No 0.0 registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2018: Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Only intermediaries 0.0 and interested parties Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available—and if so, how? Yes, in person 0.0 Link for online access: Does the cadastral/mapping agency formally specifies the timeframe to deliver an updated cadastral plan—and No 0.0 if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Page 25 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Is there a specific and independent mechanism for filing complaints about a problem that occurred at the No 0.0 cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the immovable property No 0.0 registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable property registry? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 5.0 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable property registry to make Yes 1.5 them opposable to third parties? Legal basis: El Codigo Civil; la Ley Hipotecaria y el Reglamento Hipotecario Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private guarantee? Yes 0.5 Type of guarantee: State guarantee Legal basis: El Codigo Civil; la Ley Hipotecaria y el Reglamento Hipotecario Is there a is a specific, out-of-court compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0 engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certified by the immovable property registry? Legal basis: Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a property transaction (e.g., Yes 0.5 checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar; Lawyer; Does the legal system require verification of the identity of the parties to a property transaction? Yes 0.5 If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Notary; Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of government issued identity documents? No 0.0 What is the Court of first instance in charge of a case involving a standard land dispute between two local Juzgados de Primera businesses over tenure rights for a property worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located Instancia de Malabo in the largest business city? How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the first-instance court for such a case (without Between 1 and 2 2.0 appeal)? years Are there publicly available statistics on the number of land disputes at the economy level in the first instance No 0.0 court? Number of land disputes in the economy in 2018: Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) -1.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? No -1.0 Page 26 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the effectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit • Rights of borrowers and lenders through collateral laws (0-10) information index measures rules and practices affecting the coverage, scope and accessibility of • Protection of secured creditors’ rights through bankruptcy laws credit information available through a credit registry or a credit bureau. The strength of legal rights (0-2) index measures the degree to which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined whether a unitary Depth of credit information index (0–8) secured transactions system exists. Then two case scenarios, case A and case B, are used to • Scope and accessibility of credit information distributed by determine how a nonpossessory security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to credit bureaus and credit registries (0-8) the law. Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a secured borrower, company ABC, and a Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) secured lender, BizBank. • Number of individuals and firms listed in largest credit bureau In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow only case A or case B as a percentage of adult population (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) • Number of individuals and firms listed in credit registry as a Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: percentage of adult population - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Page 27 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Getting Credit - Equatorial Guinea Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 5.1 6.1 12 (5 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 2 3.9 6.8 8 (53 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 10.8 8.3 24.4 100.0 (2 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 0.0 11.0 66.7 100.0 (14 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Equatorial Guinea – Score 40.0 Score - Getting Credit Figure – Getting Credit in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Getting Credit Score 0 100 60.0: Cameroon (Rank: 80) 45.2: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 40.0: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 132) 40.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 132) 35.0: Central African Republic (Rank: 144) 30.0: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 152) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their scores for getting credit. These scores are the sum of the scores for the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Page 28 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Legal Rights in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies 6.2 6 6 6 6 6 6 5.8 Index Score 5.6 5.4 5.2 5.1 5 4.8 4.6 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Page 29 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Legal Rights in Equatorial Guinea Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 6 Does an integrated or unified legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and enforcement of functional equivalents Yes to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without requiring a specific description Yes of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring a specific description of Yes collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds and replacements of the Yes original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and obligations be secured between parties; Yes and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is unified geographically and by asset type, with an No electronic database indexed by debtor's name? Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be performed online by any interested third No party? Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency procedure? No Are secured creditors paid first (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised reorganization procedure? Does the law No protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law allow the secured creditor to sell Yes the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? Figure – Credit Information in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies 7 6 6 Index Score 5 3.9 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Page 30 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Credit Information in Equatorial Guinea Depth of credit information index (0-8) Credit bureau Credit registry Score Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? No Yes 1 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? No No 0 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and No No 0 financial institutions - distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries No No 0 that distribute more than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? No Yes 1 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or No No 0 credit registry? Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online No No 0 (for example, through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help No No 0 banks and financial institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0. Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 0 74,351 Number of firms 0 10,350 Total 0 84,701 Percentage of adult population 0.0 10.8 Page 31 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions • Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Disclosure, review, and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several assumptions about approval requirements for related-party transactions the business and the transaction. • Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of minority shareholders to sue and hold interested directors liable for The business (Buyer): prejudicial related-party transactions; Available legal - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important stock exchange. remedies (damages, disgorgement of profits, disqualification - Has a board of directors and a chief executive officer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of from managerial position(s) for one year or more, rescission of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not specifically required by law. the transaction) - Has a supervisory board in economies with a two-tier board system on which Mr. James • Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): Access to internal appointed 60% of the shareholder-elected members. corporate documents; Evidence obtainable during trial and - Has not adopted bylaws or articles of association that go beyond the minimum requirements. allocation of legal expenses Does not follow codes, principles, recommendations or guidelines that are not mandatory. - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. • Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-30): Sum of the extent of disclosure, extent of director liability and ease of The transaction involves the following details: shareholder suits indices - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer, sits on Buyer’s board of directors and elected two directors to • Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6): Shareholders’ rights Buyer’s five-member board. and role in major corporate decisions - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. • Extent of ownership and control index (0-7): Governance - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused fleet of trucks to expand Buyer’s safeguards protecting shareholders from undue board control distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer agrees. The price is equal to 10% of and entrenchment Buyer’s assets and is higher than the market value. • Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7): Corporate - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s principal activity and is not outside the transparency on ownership stakes, compensation, audits and authority of the company. financial prospects - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, and all required disclosures • Extent of shareholder governance index (0–20): Sum of the made—that is, the transaction was not entered into fraudulently. extent of shareholders rights, extent of ownership and control - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the executives and and extent of corporate transparency indices directors that approved the transaction. • Strength of minority investor protection index (0–50): Sum of the extent of conflict of interest regulation and extent of shareholder governance indices Page 32 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Protecting Minority Investors - Equatorial Guinea Stock exchange information Stock exchange Central African Securities Exchange (BVMAC) Stock exchange URL Listed firms with equity securities 0 City Covered Malabo Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 5.5 6.5 10 (13 Economies) Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 3.5 5.3 10 (3 Economies) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 5.5 7.3 10 (Djibouti) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 0.0 1.8 4.7 6 (19 Economies) Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 0.0 1.4 4.5 7 (9 Economies) Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 0.0 1.5 5.7 7 (13 Economies) Figure – Protecting Minority in Equatorial Guinea – Score 26.0 Score - Protecting Minority Investors Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Protecting Minority Investors Score 0 100 38.5: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 28.0: Cameroon (Rank: 157) 26.0: Central African Republic (Rank: 162) 26.0: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 162) 26.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 162) 22.0: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 176) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the extent of conflict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Page 33 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Equatorial Guinea 0 1 7 0 5 Cameroon 0 1 7 0 6 Central African Republic0 1 7 0 5 Congo, Dem. Rep. 0 1 7 0 3 Congo, Rep. 0 1 7 0 5 OECD high income 5.6 5.6 6.6 4.3 4.5 7.4 Sub-Saharan Africa 1.7 3.6 5.6 1.5 1.9 5.6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) Extent of director liability index (0-10) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) Page 34 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0-30) Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 7.0 Whose decision is sufficient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Shareholders 3.0 excluding interested parties Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James disclose his conflict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Full disclosure of all 2.0 material facts Must Buyer disclose the transaction in periodic filings (e.g. annual reports)? (0-2) Disclosure on the 2.0 transaction and on the conflict of interest Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public? (0-2) No disclosure 0.0 obligation Extent of director liability index (0-10) 1.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue for the damage the transaction caused to Yes 1.0 Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold Mr. James liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-2) Not liable 0.0 Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-2) Not liable 0.0 Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Must Mr. James repay profits made from the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Is Mr. James disqualified upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-1) No 0.0 Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Only in case of fraud 0.0 or bad faith Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 5.0 Before suing, can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the transaction documents? Yes 1.0 (0-1) Can the plaintiff obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plaintiff request categories of documents from the defendant without identifying specific ones? (0-1) No 0.0 Can the plaintiff directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Preapproved 1.0 questions only Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) No 0.0 Can shareholder plaintiffs recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) At the discretion of 0.0 the court Extent of shareholder governance index (0-20) Extent of shareholder rights index (0-6) 0.0 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of shareholders? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? Yes 1.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new shares? No 0.0 Do shareholders elect and dismiss the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the affected shares approve? Yes 1.0 Extent of ownership and control index (0-7) 0.0 Page 35 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chairperson of the board of directors? No 0.0 Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? No 0.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the end of their term? Yes 1.0 Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising board members? No 0.0 Must a potential acquirer make a tender offer to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? No 0.0 Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? Yes 1.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? No 0.0 Extent of corporate transparency index (0-7) 0.0 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect beneficial ownership stakes representing 5%? No 0.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and directorships in other No 0.0 companies? Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general meeting agenda? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer's annual financial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? No 0.0 Page 36 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as the administrative burden of paying taxes and contributions and complying with postfiling procedures (VAT refund and tax audit). The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2018 (January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018). See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in 2018 (number Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory contributions a medium size per year adjusted for electronic and joint filing and payment) company must pay in a year, and measures the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with postfiling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of • Total number of taxes and contributions paid or withheld, filing and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply with the including consumption taxes (value added tax, sales tax or requirements of postfiling processes and time waiting. goods and service tax) • Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January 1, 2017. It produces Time required to comply with 3 major taxes (hours per year) ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes and contributions recorded are paid in the • Collecting information, computing tax payable second year of operation (calendar year 2018). Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. • Preparing separate tax accounting books, if required • Completing tax return, filing with agencies The VAT refund process: - In June 2018, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the machine is 65 times • Arranging payment or withholding income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are equally expensed per month (875 times income Total tax and contribution rate (% of commercial profits) per capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess input VAT incurred • Profit or corporate income tax in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, • Social contributions, labor taxes paid by employer sales and the machine and the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed Output VAT in June 2018. • Property and property transfer taxes • Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions taxes The corporate income tax audit process: - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax depreciation rates, • Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily notified the Postfiling Index tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is 5% of the corporate income tax • Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax return, but within the tax assessment period. • Time to obtain VAT refund (weeks) • Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) • Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) Page 37 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Paying Taxes - Equatorial Guinea Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Payments (number per year) 46 36.6 10.3 3 (2 Economies) Time (hours per year) 492 280.6 158.8 49 (3 Economies) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 79.4 47.3 39.9 26.1 (33 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 93.1 54.7 86.7 None in 2018/19 Figure – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea – Score 28.3 31.5 13.2 93.1 Payments Time Total tax and contribution rate Postfiling index Figure – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Paying Taxes Score 0 100 57.8: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 41.5: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 179) 40.9: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 180) 36.3: Cameroon (Rank: 181) 26.8: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 185) 18.9: Central African Republic (Rank: 187) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their scores for paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators, with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax and contribution rate. The threshold is defined as the total tax and contribution rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax and contribution rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Page 38 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 100 93.1 90 80 Index score 70 60 54.7 49.3 50 40 30 27.1 20 12.3 10 5.1 0 Equatorial Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Sub-Saharan Guinea African Dem. Rep. Africa Republic Rep. Page 39 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea Tax or Payments Notes on Time (hours) Statutory tax Tax base Total tax and Notes on TTCR mandatory (number) Payments rate contribution contribution rate (% of profit) Corporate 1.0 145.0 35% or 3%, taxable profit or 53.03 income tax whichever is previous year's higher turnover Turnover tax 1.0 3% previous year's 53.03 not included (Alternative turnover Minimum Tax) Social security 12.0 160.0 21.5% gross salaries 24.25 contributions Training tax 12.0 1% gross salaries 1.13 Property tax 2.0 1% 40% of the value 0.59 (building and of the land and land) buildings Registration 1.0 fixed fee 0.40 taxes with Ministry of Trade Stamp duty 1.0 0.00 small amount Property tax 2.0 XAF 100 hectare 0.00 (land) Employee paid - 0.0 jointly various rates gross salaries 0.00 withheld Social security contributions Fuel tax 1.0 XAF 277 per liter fuel consumption 0.00 small amount Value added tax 12.0 187.0 15% value added 0.00 not included (VAT) Vehicle tax 1.0 fixed fee 0.00 small amount depending on type of vehicle Totals 46 492 79.4 Page 40 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 53.0 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 25.4 Other taxes (% of profit) 1.0 Page 41 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Paying Taxes in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Postfiling index (0-100) 93.1 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No, industrial machine is exempted from VAT Restrictions on VAT refund process none Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT No VAT Time to obtain VAT refund (weeks) No VAT No VAT Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 0% - 24% Time to comply with a corporate income tax correction (hours) 9.0 86.2 Time to complete a corporate income tax correction (weeks) No tax audit per case 100 study scenario Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, profit tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The postfiling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax correction and time to complete a corporate income tax correction. N/A = Not applicable. Page 42 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tariffs) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port or border handling in Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 days are recorded as origin economy 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, • Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents required by suppose documents are submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and destination economy and any transit economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 hours. • Covers all documents required by law and in practice, including electronic submissions of information Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the Border compliance costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. • Customs clearance and inspections Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and are informed about • Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more than 20% of exchange rates. shipments) Assumptions of the case study: • Handling and inspections that take place at the economy’s port - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in or border the largest business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the largest business city of the importing economy. Domestic transport - It is assumed each economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from • Loading or unloading of the shipment at the warehouse or its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the largest value (price times port/border quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (defined by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is • Transport between warehouse and port/border the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. • Traffic delays and road police checks while shipment is en - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and route the trading partner, as is the seaport or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Page 43 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Trading across Borders - Equatorial Guinea Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 132 97.1 12.7 1 (19 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 760 603.1 136.8 0 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance (hours) 154 71.9 2.3 1 (26 Economies) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 85 172.5 33.4 0 (20 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 240 126.2 8.5 1 (25 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 985 690.6 98.1 0 (28 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance (hours) 240 96.1 3.4 1 (30 Economies) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 70 287.2 23.5 0 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea – Score 17.6 28.3 9.5 78.8 14.3 17.9 0.0 90.0 Time Cost Time Cost Time Cost Time Cost to to to to to to to to export: export: export: export: import: import: import: import: Border Border Documentary Documentary Border Border Documentary Documentary compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance compliance Figure – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Trading Across Borders Score 0 100 53.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 52.4: Central African Republic (Rank: 164) 32.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 175) 3.5: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 187) 19.7: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 183) 16.0: Cameroon (Rank: 186) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import. Page 44 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea – Time and Cost Time (hours) Cost (USD) 300 1200 240 985 240 250 1000 Time (hours) 760 Cost (USD) 200 800 154 150 132 600 100 400 50 85 200 70 0 0 Export Export Import Import - - - - Border Documentary Border Documentary Compliance Compliance Compliance Compliance Page 45 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea Characteristics Export Import Product HS 29 : Organic chemicals HS 8708: Parts and accessories of motor vehicles Trade partner France China Border Malabo port Malabo port Distance (km) 7 7 Domestic transport time (hours) 2 2 Domestic transport cost (USD) 345 345 Details – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete (hours) Associated Costs (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by 132.0 100.0 customs authorities Export: Clearance and inspections required by 0.0 0.0 agencies other than customs Export: Port or border handling 132.0 660.0 Import: Clearance and inspections required by 240.0 325.0 customs authorities Import: Clearance and inspections required by 0.0 0.0 agencies other than customs Import: Port or border handling 240.0 660.0 Page 46 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Trading across Borders in Equatorial Guinea – Trade Documents Export Import Bill of lading Bill of lading Certificate of origin Commercial invoice. Commercial invoice Customs Import Declaration. Customs Export Declaration Packing list. Packing list Terminal handling receipt Technical standards certificate. Cargo release order Terminal handling receipt SOLAS certificate SOLAS certificate Page 47 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local first-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and efficiency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the courts The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract between two domestic (calendar days) businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes the case from simple debt enforcement. • Time to file and serve the case • Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data on the time and comparable across economies, several assumptions about the case are used: • Time to enforce the judgment - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller and Buyer), both Cost required to enforce a contract through the courts (% of located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the claim value) second largest business city. - The Buyer orders custom-made furniture, then fails to pay alleging that the goods are not of • Average attorney fees adequate quality. • Court costs - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. • Enforcement costs - The Seller sues the Buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000 whichever is greater. Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) - The Seller requests the pretrial attachment of the defendant’s movable assets to secure the • Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) claim. - The claim is disputed on the merits because of Buyer’s allegation that the quality of the goods • Case management (0-6) was not adequate. • Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. • Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The Seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the Buyer’s movable assets. Page 48 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Enforcing Contracts - Equatorial Guinea Standardized Case Claim value XAF 8,959,018 Court name Malabo First Instance Court City Covered Malabo Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Time (days) 475 654.9 589.6 120 (Singapore) Cost (% of claim value) 19.5 41.6 21.5 0.1 (Bhutan) Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5 6.9 11.7 None in 2018/19 Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea – Score 70.9 78.2 19.4 Time Cost Quality of judicial processes index Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Enforcing Contracts Score 0 100 56.2: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 105) 49.6: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 44.0: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 155) 39.9: Cameroon (Rank: 167) 33.3: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 178) 31.4: Central African Republic (Rank: 183) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the scores for each of the component indicators. Page 49 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea – Time and Cost Time (days) Cost (% of claim value) 900 82.0 90 800 80.6 Cost (% of claim value) 800 80 700 660 654.9 70 610 589.6 Time (days) 600 560 53.2 60 500 46.6 475 50 41.6 400 40 300 30 19.5 21.5 200 20 100 10 0 0 Cameroon Central Congo, Congo, Equatorial OECD Sub-Saharan African Dem. Rep. Guinea high Africa Republic Rep. income Page 50 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Equatorial Guinea 2 0.5 0 1 Cameroon 2.5 0 2.5 Central African Republic 2.5 0 3 Congo, Dem. Rep. 2.5 0.5 0 2.5 Congo, Rep. 2.5 0 2.5 OECD high income 2.5 3.2 2.4 3.6 Sub-Saharan Africa 2.2 1.3 0.3 3.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) Case management (0-6) Court automation (0-4) Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea Indicator Time (days) 475 Filing and service 20 Trial and judgment 365 Enforcement of judgment 90 Cost (% of claim value) 19.5 Attorney fees 10 Court fees 5.5 Enforcement fees 4 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 1.0 Case management (0-6) 0.5 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 Page 51 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Enforcing Contracts in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 3.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 1.0 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? No 0.0 2. Small claims court 0.0 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? No 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? n.a. 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? No 0.0 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 0.5 1. Time standards 0.5 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil case? Yes 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? Yes 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? No 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be granted? No 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) time to disposition report; (ii) No 0.0 clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the competent court? No 0.0 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by judges? No 0.0 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court for use by lawyers? No 0.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.0 1. Can the initial complaint be filed electronically through a dedicated platform within the competent court? No 0.0 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims filed before the competent court? No 0.0 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.0 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the general public No through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme court level made No available to the general public through publication in official gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.0 1. Arbitration 1.5 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or consolidated chapter or Yes section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public order or public policy— No that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes Page 52 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea 2. Mediation/Conciliation 0.5 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? No 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or consolidated chapter or Yes section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects (for example, definition, aim and scope of application, desig 2.c. Are there financial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation (i.e., if mediation or n.a. conciliation is successful, a refund of court filing fees, income tax credits or the like)? Page 53 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are used: • Measured in calendar years • Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 suppliers. The hotel experiences financial difficulties. Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. • Measured as percentage of estate value - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over the hotel’s real estate. • Court fees The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes enough money to operate otherwise. • Fees of insolvency administrators In addition, Doing Business evaluates the quality of legal framework applicable to judicial • Lawyers’ fees liquidation and reorganization proceedings and the extent to which best insolvency practices have • Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees been implemented in each economy covered. • Other related fees Outcome • Whether business continues operating as a going concern or business assets are sold piecemeal Recovery rate for creditors • Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors • Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered • Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted • Depreciation of furniture is taken into account • Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) • Sum of the scores of four component indices: • Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) • Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) • Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) • Creditor participation index (0-4) Page 54 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Resolving Insolvency - Equatorial Guinea Indicator Equatorial Sub-Saharan OECD high Best Regulatory Guinea Africa income Performance Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) No Practice 20.5 70.2 92.9 (Norway) Time (years) No Practice 2.9 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) No Practice 22.8 9.3 1.0 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going concern) 0 .. .. .. Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) No Practice 6.5 11.9 None in 2018/19 Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea – Score 0.0 0.0 Recovery rate Strength of insolvency framework index Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Ranking and Score DB 2020 Resolving Insolvency Score 0 100 38.5: Congo, Rep. (Rank: 119) 36.6: Cameroon (Rank: 129) 31.3: Regional Average (Sub-Saharan Africa) 28.1: Central African Republic (Rank: 155) 0.0: Equatorial Guinea (Rank: 168) 0.0: Congo, Dem. Rep. (Rank: 168) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Page 55 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea – Time and Cost Time (years) Cost (% of estate) 6 76.0 80 Cost (% of estate) 5 4.8 70 Time (years) 60 4 3.3 50 2.8 2.9 3 33.5 40 25.0 1.7 22.8 30 2 20 1 9.3 10 0 0 Cameroon Central No Congo, No OECD Sub-Saharan African Practice Rep. Practice high Africa Republic Congo, Equatorial income Dem. Guinea Rep. Page 56 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Equatorial Guinea 5.5 2 1 0.5 Cameroon 5.5 2 1 0.5 Central African Republic 5.5 2 1 0.5 Congo, Dem. Rep. 5.5 2 1 0.5 Congo, Rep. 5.5 2 1 0.5 OECD high income 5.3 2.8 2.1 1.9 Sub-Saharan Africa 4.1 2.3 1 0.5 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery rate(cents on the dollar) 25 20.5 20 19.4 15.8 15 10 5 0.0 0 No Practice No Practice Equatorial Guinea Cameroon Central African Republic Congo, Dem. Rep. Congo, Rep. Sub-Saharan Africa Page 57 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea Indicator Answer Score Proceeding No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Outcome piecemeal sale According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Time (in years) No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Cost (% of estate) No Practice According to the research conducted by the team, there were no foreclosure, liquidation or reorganization proceedings filed in the country in the last 12 months. Due to this circumstance, it is not possible to assess the time, the cost or the outcome associated with the insolvency scenario described in the case study. Recovery rate No Practice (cents on the dollar) Page 58 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Details – Resolving Insolvency in Equatorial Guinea – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) No Practice Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.0 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency proceedings? (c) Debtor may file for 0.5 reorganization only Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to file for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a creditor 0.5 may file for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the insolvency framework? (a) (a) Debtor is 1.0 Debtor is generally unable to pay its debts as they mature (b) The value of debtor's liabilities exceeds the value generally unable to of its assets pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 5.5 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential goods and services to the Yes 1.0 debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome contracts? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit after commencement of Yes 1.0 insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (a) Yes over all pre- 0.5 commencement creditors, secured or unsecured Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.5 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? (a) All creditors 0.5 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization receive at least as much as No 0.0 what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors divided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization plan, does each class vote No 0.0 separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or appointment of the insolvency No 0.0 representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial assets of the debtor? No 0.0 Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request information from the insolvency No 0.0 representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to decisions accepting or rejecting Yes 1.0 creditors' claims? Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice.” Page 59 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Employing Workers Doing Business presents detailed data for the employing workers indicators on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org). The study does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate ease of doing business score or ranking on the ease of doing business. The most recent round of data collection was completed in May 2019. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the worker and the (i) whether fixed-term contracts are prohibited for permanent business are used. tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of fixed-term contracts; (iii) length of the maximum probationary period; (iv) minimum The worker: wage;(v) ratio of minimum wage to the average value added per - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. worker. - Is a full-time employee. - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. Working hours (i) maximum number of working days allowed per week; (ii) The business: premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). (iii) whether there are restrictions on work at night, work on a - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 weekly rest day and for overtime work; (iv) length of paid annual economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. leave. - Has 60 employees. - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover more than 50% of the Redundancy rules food retail sector and they apply even to firms that are not party to them. (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating workers; (ii) - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more benefits than those whether employer needs to notify and/or get approval from third mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective bargaining agreements. party to terminate 1 redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant workers; (iii) whether the law requires employer to reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments, and (iii) penalties due when terminating a redundant worker. Data on the availability of unemployment protection for a worker with one year of employment is also collected. Page 60 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Employing Workers - Equatorial Guinea Details – Employing Workers in Equatorial Guinea Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? Yes Maximum length of a single fixed-term contract (months) 24.0 Maximum length of fixed-term contracts, including renewals (months) 24.0 Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 604.2 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.6 Maximum length of probationary period (months) 1.0 Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 6.0 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 25.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 50.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 25.0 Restrictions on night work? No Restrictions on weekly holiday? Yes Restrictions on overtime work? No Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 22.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 22.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 22.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 22.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party notification if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party notification if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? Yes Priority rules for reemployment? Yes Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in weeks of salary) 4.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure (weeks of salary) 6.4 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 32.1 Page 61 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary) 64.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in weeks of salary) 34.3 Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No Page 62 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Business Reforms in Equatorial Guinea From May 2, 2018 to May 1, 2019, 115 economies implemented 294 business regulatory reforms across the 10 areas measured by Doing Business. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are reforms implemented since Doing Business 2008. =Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more difficult to do business. DB2020 Starting a Business: Equatorial Guinea made starting a business less expensive by reducing registration fees. Getting Credit: Equatorial Guinea improved access to credit information by establishing the framework through the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa for the licensing and operation of credit bureaus. DB2019 Enforcing Contracts: Equatorial Guinea made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a law that regulates all aspects of mediation as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism. DB2018 Starting a Business: Equatorial Guinea made starting a business easier by eliminating the need to obtain an authorization of establishment from the Office of the Prime Minister to start a business. DB2017 Starting a Business: Equatorial Guinea made the process of starting a business easier by eliminating the need to obtain a copy of the business founders' criminal records. Paying Taxes: Equatorial Guinea made paying taxes more costly by increasing the minimum tax. Resolving Insolvency: Equatorial Guinea made resolving insolvency easier by introducing a new conciliation procedure for companies in financial difficulties and a simplified preventive settlement procedure for small companies. DB2015 Protecting Minority Investors: Equatorial Guinea strengthened minority investor protections by introducing greater requirements for disclosure of related-party transactions to the board of directors and by making it possible for shareholders to inspect the documents pertaining to related-party transactions and to appoint auditors to conduct an inspection of such transactions. DB2012 Getting Credit: Access to credit in Equatorial Guinea was improved through amendments to the OHADA Uniform Act on Secured Transactions that broaden the range of assets that can be used as collateral (including future assets), extend the security interest to the proceeds of the original asset and introduce the possibility of out-of- court enforcement. DB2009 Getting Credit: In Equatorial Guinea and other members of the Central African Monetary Union, the regional public credit registry provided online access to information for banks, simplifying the task of filing and retrieving information in the public registry and allowing expanded coverage of borrowers. Trading across Borders: Equatorial Guinea increased the time for exporting by canceling the conditional release facility. Page 63 Doing Business 2020 Equatorial Guinea Page 64