Bishkek, September 22, 2008 — Today, findings of the Doing Business 2009 — the sixth report in an annual series published by the World Bank and IFC – were presented in Bishkek.
According to this report, the Kyrgyz Republic is a global leader in regulatory reforms to make doing business easier. The Kyrgyz Republic reformed in three of the 10 areas studied by the report between June 2007 and June 2008. It ranked third among the global top 10 regulatory reformers. Its overall rank on the ease of doing business rose to 68 from 99.
The Kyrgyz Republic strengthened investor protections by amending a law to allow minority investors to take legal actions as shareholders. The country also eased business start-ups by simplifying registration procedure. Kyrgyz Republic also introduced a one-stop shop for obtaining construction permits, merging the functions of several agencies.
“This is a wonderful result and the Government and all those that have helped in the reform effort are to be congratulated. It shows what can be done if there is the political will to bring about change. It also shows what more can be achieved in future years” – said World Bank Country Manager in the Kyrgyz Republic Roger J. Robinson.
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. “Many countries that made improvements this year looked to earlier pacesetters for ideas on how to reform their regulations. The Kyrgyz Republic has set reform to business regulation as a priority, and we are now measuring the initial results,” 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.
The Doing Business project is based on the efforts of more than 6,700 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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