Azerbaijan in Top 20 of Doing Business 2020

28 September 2019 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

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By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijani government has been consistently carrying out reforms to improve the business climate in the country.

The country entered the TOP-20 reformers of the Doing Business 2020 ranking published by the World Bank (WB), Trend reported on September 26, citing the WB.

According to WB experts, it has become easier to do business in four areas in Azerbaijan – in real estate registration, obtaining loans, protecting minority investors, and contractual discipline.

“The process of real estate registration was accelerated following the formal mapping and registration of every privately-held land plot in Baku, improving existing documentation and accelerating real estate procedures. Protection of minority investors was strengthened after the responsibility for colorable transactions between related parties was imposed on directors, “the WB statement said.

According to WB analysts, now, when there are commercial disputes, parties can file summons online and receive financial incentives for pursuing mediation.

The Doing Business project makes it possible to objectively evaluate the legal acts regulating entrepreneurial activity and ensuring their enforcement in 190 countries, as well as in cities at the subnational and regional levels.

Azerbaijan has significantly improved its positions in the ranking.

Azerbaijan ranked 25th among 190 countries in Doing Business 2019, while it was 57th in Doing Business 2018.

The Doing Business project, which began in 2002, is dedicated to the activities of national small and medium-sized enterprises and the assessment of regulations applied to them throughout their life cycle.

Doing Business is a ranking annually published by the World Bank Group, which assesses regulatory standards in entrepreneurial activity.

The project sheds light on how easy or difficult it is for a local entrepreneur to open and run a small to medium-size business when complying with relevant regulations. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the life cycle of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and labor market regulation.