Tirana, February 19, 2008 – IFC and World Bank representatives from the Doing Business Reform Project are in Tirana this week to meet with Albanian senior government officials. The Albanian Government requested the meetings to discuss regulatory reforms to improve the environment for doing business in Albania and to gain insights into successful reforms worldwide.
IFC and World Bank reform advisers will discuss ongoing reforms to improve business regulation in the 10 areas studied by the global Doing Business report: business registration, construction licenses, property registration, labor laws, paying taxes, access to credit, investor protection, trade, court efficiency and business closure. Participants in the meetings include senior officials from the ministries of economy, justice, public works, labor, the financial supervisory authority and business leaders.
“Better rankings on the ease of doing business are associated with growth, additional jobs, and a smaller informal sector. Albania’s efforts to create more business-friendly regulations is a positive step towards a stronger private sector”, said Marialisa Motta, manager of the Doing Business Reform Unit.
Camille Nuamah, World Bank Country Manager in Albania, said, “The World Bank Group is encouraged by the efforts made by the Albanian Government to improve the environment for private investment. We look forward to responding, through our various advisory services and in collaboration with other development partners, to the priorities identified from the ongoing analysis.”
This year’s global Doing Business 2008 report found that Albania ranked 136 out of 178 economies on the ease of doing business. On the individual indicators, its rankings ranged from 48th on getting credit to 165th and 178th on protecting investors and closing a business, respectively.
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Doing Business 2008 ranks 178 economies on the ease of doing business. 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 contributed to more than 100 reforms around the world. The Doing Business project is based on the efforts of more than 5,000 local experts – business consultants, lawyers, accountants, government officials, and leading academics around the world, who provided methodological support and review. The data, methodology, and the names of contributors are publicly available online at www.doingbusiness.org.
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