Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 31
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Uzbekistan has lost two positions and ranked 76th in the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2019 ranking.
The country ranks 12th in Starting a Business (11th in 2017), 134th in Dealing with Construction Permits (135th), 35th in Getting Electricity (27th), 71st in Registering Property (73rd), 60th in Getting Credit (55th), 64th in Protecting Minority Investors (62nd), 64th in Paying Taxes (78th), 165th in Trading Across Borders (168th), 41st in Enforcing Contracts (39th) and 91st in Resolving Insolvency (87th).
Thus, the country has improved its rating only in four indicators. Uzbekistan climbed one position in Dealing with Construction Permits, two positions in Registering Property, 14 positions in Paying Taxes and three positions in Trading Across Borders.
At the same time, the report emphasizes that Uzbekistan strengthened minority investor protections by clarifying the ownership and control structures of listed companies.
Uzbekistan also made paying taxes less costly by introducing new classification criteria for enterprises. The new classification allows small enterprises to pay a single social contribution at a fixed rate, but not less than 65 percent of the minimum wage for each employee.
The country also made trading across borders faster by introducing an electronic application and payment system for several export certificates, reducing the time for export documentary compliance.
Doing Business 2019 is the 16th in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulation and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 190 economies – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe – and over time. The leader of the world ranking is New Zealand. The top five also includes Singapore, Denmark, Hong Kong (China) and the Republic of Korea.
It was earlier reported that that by 2022, Uzbekistan plans to improve its positions in the Doing Business and get into the top 20 thanks to the creation of favorable conditions and attracting foreign investment.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov