Contacts: in Washington D.C.
Maria Alexandra Velez Tel: +1 202 458 8789
E-mail: mvelezhenao@ifc.org in Sarajevo: Goran Tinjic Tel: +387 33 251 500
E-mail: gtinjic@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, D.C.,/Sarajevo, September 10, 2008—Reforms to business regulation reached record numbers this year, with Eastern Europe and Central Asia leading among world regions for a fifth consecutive year, according Doing Business 2009—the sixth in an annual series of reports published by IFC and the World Bank. Four of the 10 economies making the most regulatory reforms are in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the trend is moving eastward as newcomers join the list. The top 10 are, in order, Azerbaijan, Albania, the Kyrgyz Republic, Belarus, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt. Doing Business ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that track 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. In the new Doing Business report, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) was ranked 119 on the list that shows the ease of doing business in 181 economies in the world. The ranking of BH remained essentially unchanged compared to last year's Doing Business report when BH was ranked 117th of 178 countries, after adjusting for some new criteria introduced in this year’s report and the addition of three new countries to the list. The report also shows that BH made progress in four out of ten indicators: closing a business, dealing with construction licenses, enforcing contracts, and registering property. Thus, the report recognizes some of the efforts made to create a better business environment in BH. However, it also shows that neighboring countries are making faster and more dynamic changes in improving their business environment and that BH should accelerate reforms in this area if it wants to attract capital and jobs. Countries in BH’s neighborhood were ranked as follows: Hungary (41), Romania (47), Bulgaria (49), FYR Macedonia (71), Albania (86), Montenegro (90), Serbia (91), Croatia (106). “The new Doing Business report recognizes the efforts made to create a better business environment in BH“ - said Marco Mantovanelli, World Bank Country Manager in BH- „The World Bank cooperates with BH authorities to undertake business environment reforms, which will not only improve the country's ranking, but facilitate economic growth and job creation.” The Doing Business project is based on the efforts of more than 6,700 local experts—business consultants, lawyers, accountants, and government officials—and leading academics around the world who provided methodological support and review. The data, methodology, and names of contributors are publicly available online at www.doingbusiness.org. |
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