OREANDA-NEWS  On 11 September was announced, that 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. Between June 2007 and June 2008, 23 of the region’s 25 countries implemented 62 reforms that make it easier to do business —over 25 percent of the total worldwide.

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.

Azerbaijan, the world’s top country in reforming business regulations, rose from 97 to 33 in the global rankings on the ease of doing business. The country undertook reforms in seven of the 10 areas studied by the report—speeding business start-up, contract enforcement, and property registration; easing tax administration burdens and employment restrictions; and strengthening investor protections and credit information.

Albania, the runner-up in reforming regulations, rose from 135 to 86 in the global rankings on the ease of doing business, with reforms in four areas. These made it easier to start a business, eased tax burdens, and strengthened investor protections and credit information.

“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. “We see many of these countries advancing to the top 30 in the overall rankings on the ease of doing business. Many countries that made improvements this year looked to earlier pacesetters for ideas on how to reform their regulations,” she added.

“Economies need rules that are efficient, easy to use, and accessible to all who have to use them. Otherwise, businesses are trapped in the unregulated, informal economy, where they have less access to finance and hire fewer workers, and where workers lack the protection of labor law,” said Michael Klein, World Bank/IFC Vice President for Financial and Private Sector Development. “Doing Business encourages good rules, and good rules are a better basis for healthy business than ‘who you know,’” he 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 third. Top-ranked 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. The top 25 are, in order, Singapore, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong (China), Denmark, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Norway, Iceland, Japan, Thailand, Finland, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Bahrain, Belgium, Malaysia, Switzerland, Estonia, Korea, Mauritius, and Germany.