China was a standout in regulatory reform from 2006 to 2007 for introducing protection of private property rights and a new bankruptcy law, according to an annual report released Wednesday by the World Bank (WB) and its private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The Property Law and the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law contributed to an improvement in the ease of doing business in China, said the Doing Business 2008, the fifth in the annual report series of the WB and the IFC.

China's new property law, due to come into effect from October 1, puts private property rights on equal footing with state property rights, while the new bankruptcy law, which took effect on June 1, gives secured creditors priority to the proceeds from their collateral.

Construction in China also became easier, with the time approval of electronic processing on building permits reducing by two weeks, said the report.

According to the report, Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the leading reformers among all regions. Led by India, South Asia has also picked up speed in reform, outpacing East Asia and the Pacific.

According to statistics of the report, 200 reforms in 98 economies were introduced between April 2006 and June 2007, and the top 10 reformers worldwide are China, Egypt, Croatia, Ghana, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Bulgaria.

The report finds that equity returns are highest in countries that are reforming the most, said Michael Klein, World Bank/IFC vice president for financial and private sector development.

Doing Business 2008 ranks 178 economies on the ease of doing business. East Asia and the Pacific accounts for two of the top 10, with Singapore ranking the first and China's Hong Kong the fourth.

The top 25 in the rankings are, in order, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Iceland, Norway, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Thailand, Switzerland, Estonia, Georgia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Latvia, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Austria.

The rankings are based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track the time and cost to meet government requirements in business start-up, operation, trade, taxation, and closure.