1. Doing Business: Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Svetlana Bagaudinova
Senior Private Sector Development Specialist
September 9, 2009

2. What does Doing Business measure?
Doing Business indicators:
Focus on regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small to medium-sized domestic business.
Are built on standardized case scenarios.
Are measured for the most populous city in each country.
Are focused on the formal sector.
DO NOT measure all aspects of the business environment such as macroeconomic stability, corruption, level of labor skills, proximity to markets, of regulation specific to foreign investment or financial markets.

3. Why do rankings change? # 1 reason: reforms
DB2010 recorded 287 reforms in 131 economies.
Ranking can change because the economy reformed – OR others did.
Changes to the methodology
Only one change in DB2010 to methodology of Employing Workers indicator.
New economy additions
Since 2004, Doing Business added 50 economies to the sample (from 133 to 183).
Data revisions
Correction rate for DB10 was 5.5%.
Note: data for previous years are recalculated in case of revisions. Comparable rankings are published side by side in report.

4. What's new in Doing Business 2010?
2007
175 economies
2008
178 economies
2009
181 economies
2010
183 economies
Starting a business
Dealing with construction permits
Employing workers
Registering property
Getting credit
Protecting investors
Paying taxes
Trading across borders
Enforcing contracts
Closing a business
Update of 2007
Add 3 countries
Reformer’s Club, and 16 case studies
New “About DB” chapter
Trends analysis DB04-DB09
Most popular reforms
Most effective reforms
Lessons learned
Add 3 new countries (Bahamas, Bahrain, Qatar)
Methodology change in Getting Credit (Legal Rights)
Business regulation and reform in the context of the global crisis
EWI and social protection
Researching ILO core labor standards
Piloting a new infrastructure indicator
New insights on gender
Add Cyprus, Kosovo

5. Top 30 on the ease of Doing Business 2008/09
1. Singapore
16. Finland
2. New Zealand
17. Mauritius
3. Hong Kong, China
18. Sweden
4. United States
19. Korea, Rep.
5. United Kingdom
20. Bahrain
6. Denmark
21. Switzerland
7. Ireland
22. Belgium
8. Canada
23. Malaysia
9. Australia
24. Estonia
10. Norway
25. Germany
11. Georgia
26. Lithuania
12. Thailand
27. Latvia
13. Saudi Arabia
28. Austria
14. Iceland
29. Israel
15. Japan
30. Netherlands
Should Israel be highlighted?!

6. Key findings in this year’s report
Worldwide the pace of reform picks up to reach a new record: 287 reforms in 131 countries; 20% more than in the year before.
Developing economies lead in DB reforms: Two-thirds of reforms in low- and lower- middle-income economies.
Rwanda is the top reformer: Jumped 76 places in the aggregate rankings, from 143 to Reforms in 7 of the 10 areas.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the fastest reforming region six years in a row: 26 of 27 economies reformed. Reform in ECA is spreading eastward: Albania, Belarus, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Montenegro and Tajikistan continued reforming.
5 of the 10 top reformers are from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The Middle East and North Africa region sees the largest surge in reforms: 17 of 19 economies reformed in 2008/09.
Top reformers have been consistent, comprehensive, and committed to reform— often implemented within long term strategies.
Finding/Message #1
Worldwide the pace of reform picks up to reach a new record: Despite the many challenges, in 2008/09 more governments implemented regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business than in any year since 2004, when Doing Business started to track reforms through its indicators. Doing Business recorded 287 reforms in 131 economies between June 2008 and May 2009, 20% more than in the year before. At least 60% of economies reformed in every region.
Finding/Message #2
Developing economies lead in DB reforms: Developing economy governments across the world are taking action to make the local regulatory environment more conducive to doing business. Two-thirds of reforms recorded by Doing Business in 2008/09 took place in low- and lower-middle-income economies. Most reforms in developing economies still focus on cutting red tape and simplifying bureaucratic formalities. Over the past 6 years 80% of reforms in low- and low-middle-income economies focused on easing business start-up and trade.
Finding/Message #3
Rwanda is the top reformer—meaning the pace and impact of regulatory reforms was greater in Rwanda than anywhere else in the world. Rwanda was the first sub-Saharan African to become top reformer. This led to a jump of 76 places in the aggregate rankings, from 143 to 67. Rwanda reformed in 7 of the 10 areas studied by Doing Business. [see below for response on how top reformers are identified, and what Rwanda reformed in]
Finding/Message #4
Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the fastest reforming region for the sixth year in a row: Economies in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the region among those most affected by the crisis, reformed the most. Twenty-six of the region’s 27 economies reformed business regulation in at least one area covered by Doing Business

7. Eastern Europe and Central Asia is the second best performing region in 2008/09
Best Rank
Average Rank
Lowest Rank

8. Percentage of countries with at least one positive reform in 2008/09
Eastern Europe and Central Asia reformed the most followed by Middle East and North Africa
Percentage of countries with at least one positive reform in 2008/09
96%
High Income OECD
63%
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
89%
75%
59%
Middle East and North Africa
71%
Tailor message for region please
South Asia
Latin America and Caribbean
63%
East Asia and Pacific
Sub-Saharan Africa

9. Dealing with construction permits Trading across borders
The top 10 reformers in 2008/09 – 4 countries from Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Economy
Starting a business
Dealing with construction permits
Employing workers
Registering property
Getting credit
Protecting investors
Paying taxes
Trading across borders
Enforcing contracts
Closing a business
Rwanda 
Kyrgyz Republic
Macedonia FYR
Belarus
United Arab Emirates
Moldova
Colombia
Tajikistan
Egypt, Arab Rep.
Liberia
Finding/Message 6
The Middle East and North Africa region sees the largest surge in reforms: Seventeen of 19 economies reformed in 2008/09. United Arab Emirates became a top global reform and the top regional reformer moving in the ranks from 47 to 33. Egypt is once again a top global reformer and the regional runner-up reformer, moved in the ranks from 116 to Jordan was also among the most active reformers. Eight of the region’s economies have cut or reduced their minimum capital requirement since Seven economies—Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Yemen—operate one-stop shops for starting a business. Saudi Arabia reaches 13 in the global ease of doing business rankings.
Note: Economies are ranked on the number and impact of reforms. First, Doing Business selects the economies that implemented reforms making it easier to do business in 3 or more of the Doing Business topics. Second, it ranks these economies on the increase in rank on the ease of doing business from the previous year. The larger the improvement, the higher the ranking as a reformer.

10. Eastern Europe and Central Asia rankings on the ease of Doing Business 2008/09
Do we want to highlight Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UAE?

11. 71 reforms in 9 areas in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in 2008/09
Starting a business is the most popular area of reform in the region
Number of reforms by indicator

12. Eastern Europe and Central Asia’s top ranked 2008/09
I checked the top ten in every indicator and we just asked them “What did you do”? - Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egypt’s Minister of Investment
Top 10 by Indicator
Topic
World’s top ranked 2008/09
Eastern Europe and Central Asia’s top ranked 2008/09
Starting a business
New Zealand
Georgia (5)
Macedonia, FYR (6)
Dealing with construction permits
Hong Kong, China
Georgia (7)
Estonia (20)
Employing workers
Australia
Georgia (9)
Belarus (32)
Registering property
Saudi Arabia
Georgia (2)
Lithuania (4)
Getting credit
Malaysia
Bulgaria (4)
Latvia (4)
Serbia (4)
Protecting investors
Kyrgyz Republic (12)
Albania (15)
Paying taxes
Maldives
Macedonia, FYR (26)
Cyprus (37)
Trading across borders
Singapore
Estonia (3)
Cyprus (15)
Enforcing contracts
Luxembourg
Belarus (12)
Latvia (15)
Closing a business
Japan
Cyprus (21)
Kosovo (28)

13. Eastern Europe and Central Asia – top reformer in Closing a business

14. Eastern Europe and Central Asia lead the way in Getting credit reforms with 9 reforms in 2008/09

15. Improvements in the protecting investors indicator in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

16. Online tax filing is now possible in the majority of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

17. Moldova’s performance stands out in Registering property and Enforcing contracts
Lowest 183

18. Moldova eased the tax burden of companies by reducing the total tax rate
Total tax rate (% of profits)
Payments (number per year)
Time (hours per year)
228
Implication: Reduced the total tax rate by % (including a past reform – CIT rate from 15% to 0%), the number of payments by 4, and the required time by 6 hours.
Summary of Reform: Moldova has eased the burden of taxes on business reducing the social security taxes as paid by the employer
Moldova has eased the burden of taxes on business reducing the social security taxes as paid by the employer.

19. Moldova made Starting a business quicker by 5 days
Moldova eased the business start up process by implementing an expedited company registration service.
2008
5 days less
Time (days)
2009
Eliminated 1 procedure

20. Completed reforms inspired and informed by Doing Business
270 completed reforms were inspired by Doing Business
270

21. Thank you. For more information: www.doingbusiness.org