调查表示英国是开始新贸易的最佳地方

Survey: Britain Seen as Best Place to

Start New Businesses

调查表示英国是开始新贸易的最佳地方

 

The survey measures more than 50 variables, from a country's legal environment to the stability of its exchange rates and the existence of alternative sources of funding, in addition to banks.

 

On most measures, the United Kingdom does very well, says Jim Barth, a senior fellow with the Milken Institute and co-author of the study.

 

Jim Barth: In particular, the UK is a terrific institutional environment. That is, it has a great rule of law. One knows that one can get contracts enforced in the UK. One knows that basically you have all the legal factors in place to contribute to the extension of credit to businesses, both startups and existing firms that want to grow.

 

Report authors say the Asian enclaves of Hong Kong and Singapore have created a business-friendly climate with strong access to capital. They rank second and third in the survey. The United States ranks fourth, rising from sixth place last year because of its growing and more stable equity¹ market.

 

The report covers 121 countries, and co-author Glenn Yago says in some, bond and equity markets provide important new channels of capital for people who want to start or expand a business.

 

Glenn Yago: Just like you need information technology or you need modern technology in medicine, you need modern financial technologies in order grow an economy. And securitization, the ability to diversify² and diffuse³ risk through the financial system and not have it concentrated in key institutions or large banks that can fail easily, is one of the hallmarks of a modern economy.

 

Jim Barth says the expanded use of credits cards, to cite just one example, can be good for business.

 

Jim Barth: In the United States, we find a lot of individuals that want to start a business rely on their own personal credit cards. So other countries can benefit by making credit cards available to individuals that want to start a business. They can actually use their personal credit card and then, ultimately, lenders will eventually provide credit cards for small businesses targeted directly at them.

 

Researcher Glenn Yago says some emerging European economies, such as Estonia, are moving up the list because their governments are working to improve their financial systems. He says New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico and Bulgaria, while far from the top of the index, showed the greatest improvement in the past year.

 

Glenn Yago: And then one of the great areas of concern is if we look at the bottom tier of 120 some-odd countries we have ranked here is the really dismal⁴ performance of African economies, and the real need to build financial infrastructure⁵, just as we build telecommunications and highways, for African countries to be able to grow.

 

The country with one of the world's fastest growing economies, China, ranked 38th on the list. The economists⁷ say it would be higher but for the lack of a well-developed bond market, an important source of capital for business.

 

Mike O'Sullivan, VOA news, Los Angeles.

 

注释：

stability [stE5biliti] n. 稳定

exchange rate 汇率，兑换率

alternative [C:l5tE:nEtiv] adj. 选择性的

co-author [5kEuC:WE(r)] n. 合著者

enclave [5enkleiv] n. 被包围的领土

diffuse [di5fju:z] v. 分散

hallmark [5hC:lmB:k] n. 特点

Estonia [es5tEunjE] n. 爱沙尼亚

dismal [5dizmEl] adj. 低潮的

telecommunication⁶ [5telikEmju:ni5keiFEn] n. 电讯，长途通讯

1 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

2 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

3 diffuse   

v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的

参考例句：

• Direct light is better for reading than diffuse light.直射光比漫射光更有利于阅读。
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point.他的谈话漫无边际，我抓不住他的要点。

4 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 telecommunication   

n.电信，远距离通信

参考例句：

• Telecommunication is an industry of service.电信业是一个服务型的行业。
• I only care about the telecommunication quality and the charge.我只关心通信质量和资费两个方面。

7 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》