 WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2008 – Albania ranked second among countries which undertook reforms during 2007-08 to make doing business easier, according to Doing Business 2009—the sixth report in an annual series published by the World Bank and IFC.
In four of the 10 areas assessed by the report between June 2007 and June 2008, Albania saw key reforms that have simplified and eased regulations. Its overall rank on the ease of doing business index climbed to 86 from 135, putting Albania on par with other countries in the sub-region.
Albania made getting credit easier by establishing a public credit registry, and strengthened investor and shareholder protections with a new company law. Starting a business has become easier with the consolidation of several procedures under the National Registration Center and a reduction in registration fees.
Other reforms that are recognized by the report include the reduction in corporate tax rates from 20 percent to 10 percent and the introduction of e-filing of corporate taxes for large businesses.
“The Doing Business 2009 confirms the remarkable progress that Albania has made, since the onset of transition, in putting together the rules for a functioning market economy", said Camille Nuamah, Country Manager for World Bank Office in Albania. “The country needs to build on this by ensuring that “new rules” become “good rules” – ones that are implemented transparently, efficiently, and even-handedly, and that facilitate, rather than get in the way of, good investments and good jobs.” In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 23 of the region’s 25 countries implemented 62 regulatory reforms, accounting for more than a quarter of the worldwide total. Four of the 10 economies making the most regulatory reforms are in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The top 10 are, in order, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Belarus, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt.
“Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia continue to lead the world in easing the regulatory burden on business, and in sustaining their reform agendas,” said Svetlana Bagaudinova, a coauthor of the report. “Albania has this year joined the ranks of top reforming countries making it easier for entrepreneurs to do business and create jobs.” she added.
Singapore leads the global rankings on the overall regulatory ease of doing business for a third consecutive year. New Zealand is runner-up, and the United States is in third place. High-ranking countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are Georgia (15), Estonia (22), Lithuania (28), Latvia (29), and Azerbaijan (33).
Doing Business 2009 ranks 181 economies on the overall ease of doing business based on 10 indicators of business regulation that record the time and cost to meet government requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates.
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