Belarus 63rd in Doing Business 2014 ranking

Belarus ranks 63rd among 189 countries in the annual report of the World Bank Group and the International Finance Corporation Doing Business 2014.

The global rating was published on the Doing Business project website on 29 October.

In the Doing Business 2013 report Belarus, following a traditional review of the rating, changed its 58th position to 64th. Thus, the country improved its rating in the report by one point comparing with its standing last year. The revision of the last year’s rating was directly related to data corrections and the addition of several new countries.

Experts of the international organizations paid attention to positive changes in doing business conditions recently introduced by Belarus. Thus, Belarus made starting a business easier by reducing the registration fees and eliminating the requirement got an initial capital deposit at a bank before registration. Belarus made getting electricity easier by speeding up the process of issuing technical specifications and excavation permits and by reducing the time needed to connect to the electricity network.

Besides, according to experts, Belarus made transferring property easier by introducing a fast-track procedure for property registration. The country improved its insolvency process through a new insolvency law that, among other things, changes the appointment process for insolvency administrators and encourages the sale of assets in insolvency.

With this, WB Regional Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine Qimiao Fan takes note of considerable setbacks that are still in place in the regulatory framework of entrepreneurial business and the activity of small and medium-size enterprises.

Singapore tops the World Bank Doing Business 2014 report. The top ten rating of the nations includes Hong Kong, China, New Zealand, the U.S., Denmark, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Georgia, Norway and Great Britain.

Among the countries that made the greatest progress with reforms are Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Kosovo, Djibouti, Cote d’Ivoire, Burundi, Macedonia and Guatemala.

The annual Doing Business report investigates the norms regulating business activity in countries including starting and running a business, trading across borders, paying taxes and resolving insolvency. The aggregate rating on the ease of doing business is based on the assessment of ten indicators and covers 189 countries. Doing Business 2014 is the 11th in a series of annual reports.