Azernews.Az

Azerbaijan ranked number one in implementing business reforms in 2008, according to the World Bank.
The South Caucasus republic, which carried out the most regulatory reforms in 2008, ranks 33rd in the category `regulatory ease of doing business,` a leap from the country`s 96th ranking last year, says Doing Business 2009, a joint publication of the WB and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which ranked 181 economies and reported on reforms in 113 of those economies.
Azerbaijan implemented efficient reforms on seven out of ten assessed indicators. The government streamlined the procedures on business startup, property registration and allocation of loans. Moreover, the protection of investor rights has been improved.
The country set up a one-stop shop for business startup in January, halving the time, cost, and number of steps required to start a business. As a result, business registrations increased by 40% in the first six months of its operation.
Transferring property now takes 11 days, as opposed to the 61 days it took before, thanks to a unified property registry for land and real estate transactions. Taxpayers can also fill out and pay taxes online, saving, on average, 500 hours per year in dealing with paperwork, the WB said.
World Bank experts said such results have never been reported before, explaining the success being due to economic reforms carried out and improvements made in the business climate.
The one-stop shop, also referred to as the "One window" system, allows businessmen to launch operations in Azerbaijan within just three days, after registering with a single government agency - the Ministry of Taxes, instead of the previous 15 bodies. The transition was implemented on the basis of international experience, in particular, that of Latvia, with the aid of German, Dutch and Turkish companies. Foreign experts say the "One window" system boosted small enterprise and promoted opening jobs in Azerbaijan. The new regulations, reflected in President Ilham Aliyev`s decree issued several months beforehand, represented the speediest registration procedure, not only in the Commonwealth of Independent States, but also in Europe.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Mikayil Jabbarov, has said Azerbaijan`s leadership was achieved due to the introduction of the new system, the government`s steps aiming to protect property, changes made to the Labor Code, proper protection of investor rights, as well as the credit policy pursued by the central bank and reforms in the taxation system.
He said Azerbaijan`s WB rating would boost the influx of investment in the national economy. Although economic reforms are not being pursued merely in order to improve reports, two major projects to be implemented in 2009 -- dealing with simplifying regulations on authorizations for construction work and closing a business - will improve the rating, the deputy minister added.
A presentation of the Doing Business report was held in Baku on Friday and attended by WB and IFC representatives, as well as senior Azerbaijani officials who have made a contribution to achieving such a high rating by international financial institutions.
Shahbaz Mavaddat, IFC Director for Southern Europe and Central Asia, said in his remarks that the simplified system of registration, licensing and granting permits will allow small and medium businesses operating in Azerbaijan to save up to $100 million annually.
At the same time, Mavaddat said there was still a need for improvements in the country`s legislation on business regulation.
He went on to laud the government`s efforts. "In the past two years, the Azerbaijani leadership has shown great interest in eliminating problems impeding entrepreneurial development. Certain workloads have already been accomplished, and I can say with confidence that the government will continue pursuing its large-scale reform in this area."
The number of registered enterprises is evidence of the success of the reforms carried out in Azerbaijan so far. From January to August, the Ministry of Taxes registered over 32,000 businesses, or 36% over the same period in 2007, Minister Fazil Mammadov said.
Assessing the conditions for doing business worldwide, the WB said almost all countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have made reforms, making it the leader among regions with most regulatory reforms. Albania, Kyrgyz Republic and Belarus are also among this year`s top ten reformers.
This year`s ten top regulatory reformers also include Senegal, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, and Egypt.
The South Caucasus republics of Armenia and Georgia were rated, respectively, 44th and 15th Turkey ranked 59th, while Iran was 142nd and Russia 120th. Kazakhstan improved its rating to 70th from 80th in 2007, while Uzbekistan ranked 138th compared to the 145th ranking last year, while Ukraine ranked 145th. The three Baltic states were all in the top 30 of the list. The Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan was upgraded from 99th last year to 68th. Belarus ranked 85th, compared to 115th in 2007, while Tajikistan dropped three points from last year`s 156th rating.
Singapore remains the top business reformer in the world, followed by New Zealand. The United States retained last year`s third place.
The worst conditions for doing business were reported in Congo.