Kazakhstan joins world’s top 30 countries in Doing Business ranking
ASTANA (TCA) — According to the World Bank's Doing Business rating published on October 31, Kazakhstan took the 28th place among 190 countries, having increased its rating by eight points compared with the previous year. The Government’s implementation of a number of unprecedented fundamental reforms to improve the business climate has resulted in Kazakhstan’s joining the world’s top 30 countries in the Doing Business ranking, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported. In the Doing Business 2019: Training and Reforms report, Kazakhstan entered the top 30 countries in the world for ease of doing business. A year earlier, Kazakhstan occupied the 36th position in the Doing Business rating. In general, over the past 11 years, the country has increased its rating by 36 points. Thus, according to the World Bank, Kazakhstan is ahead of such OECD countries as Spain (30th place), France (32), Poland (33), Portugal (34), Switzerland (38), Japan (39), Turkey (43). The results of the rating showed that Kazakhstan rose up in 6 out of 10 main areas. The country has retained its first place in the indicator “Protection of Minority Investors” and moved up the rating in terms of the following indicators:“Enforcing Contracts”, having moved from the 6th to the 4th position in the rating (+2);“Dealing with Construction Permits,” having moved from the 52nd to the 35th position in the rating (+17);“Starting a Business,” having moved from the 41st to the 36th position in the rating (+5);“Resolving Insolvency,” having moved from the 39th to the 37th position in the rating (+2);“Getting Credit,” having moved from the 77th to the 60th position in the rating (+17);“Trading across Borders,” having moved from the 123rd to the 102nd position of the rating (+21). The World Bank has noted Kazakhstan among the countries that have implemented regulatory reforms in the context of more than three indicators of ease of doing business in 2017–2018. The World Bank's Doing Business rating is one of the recognized world rankings. The report is published for the 16th time. Studies are carried out in 190 countries according to 10 criteria for regulating business activities: time and money spent on creating a new business; obtaining building permits; access to electricity infrastructure; registration of property rights; obtaining loans; protection of the rights of minority investors; tax payment; the implementation of international trade; enforcement of contracts; and bankruptcy proceedings. The leading country in the Doing Business-2019 ranking is New Zealand. The top ten leaders also include Singapore, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, Georgia, Norway, the US, UK, and Macedonia. Kazakhstan has improved business conditions by reducing the time required to register the value-added tax; simplified international trade by introducing the electronic system of the customs declaration Astana-1 IS and reducing customs administration fees; and facilitated the enforcement of contracts by making court decisions presented at all levels in commercial cases publicly available, and publishing reports on evaluating the performance of local commercial courts.
