DUSHANBE, September 28, Asia-Plus — Thanks to reforms of business regulation, more businesses are starting up, finds Doing Business 2008 – the fifth in an annual report series issued by the World Bank and IFC.
According to the report, countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union reformed the most in 2006/07—along with a large group of emerging markets, including China and India.
In Tajikistan, conditions of doing business deteriorated in 2007, and the country was ranked 153rd among 178 countries ranked by the Doing Business 2008 report, while last year, Tajikistan was 150th among 175 countries.
This rank is explained by imperfect legal foundation, rigorous control private business, slowing down of reforms in this sphere compared to the majority of countries, as well as high taxation rates.
Press release issued by the Word Bank cited Michael Klein, World Bank/IFC Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development, as saying, “The report finds that equity returns are highest in countries that are reforming the most.” “Investors are looking for upside potential, and they find it in economies that are reforming—regardless of their starting point,” he added. Large emerging markets are reforming fast: China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and Vietnam all improved in the ease of doing business.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, as a region, surpassed East Asia this year in the ease of doing business. Several of the region”s countries have even passed many economies of Western Europe on this score. Croatia, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Hungary are among the region”s top reformers. Estonia, the most business-friendly country of the former socialist bloc, ranks 17th on the ease of doing business. Georgia and Latvia are also in the top 25. “The results show that as governments ease regulations for doing business, more entrepreneurs go into business,” said Simeon Djankov, lead author of the report. “Eastern Europe has witnessed a boom in new business entry that rivals the rapid growth in East Asia in the past,” he said.
Doing Business 2008 ranks 178 economies on the ease of doing business. The top 25, in order, are Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong (China), 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. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. Since 2003 Doing Business has inspired or informed more than 113 reforms around the world.
