Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked 125th among 183 global economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2012 report released on Thursday (October 20th). Bosnia and Herzegovina has moved up two places since last year’s report.
Doing Business 2012 is the ninth 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 183 economies and over time.
Regulations affecting 11 areas of the life of a business are covered: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency (formerly closing a business) and employing workers. The employing workers data are not included in this year’s ranking on the ease of doing business.
Bosnia and Herzegovina moved up on three of the indicators: construction permits dealing, property registration and cross border trade. The most progress was made in dealing with construction permits, with Bosnia and Herzegovina moving up from 173rd place to 163rd place.
The country’s ranking fell in five categories: starting a business, getting credits, investors’ protection, payment of taxes and resolution of insolvency.
This year’s ranking on the ease of doing business also includes Doing Business reforms affecting all sets of indicators and which were implemented between June 2010 and May 2011.
Bosnia and Herzegovina made starting a business easier by replacing the required utilization permit with a simple notification of commencement of activities and by streamlining the process for obtaining a tax identification number. Also, Bosnia and Herzegovina made dealing with construction permits easier by fully digitizing and revamping its land registry and cadastre.
Countries from the region were ranked as following: Macedonia 22th, Slovenia 37th, Montenegro 56th, Croatia 80th, Serbia 92nd and Kosovo 117th. The world’s top five countries for doing business remained unchanged from last year – Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the US and Denmark, the report said. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Chad finished at the bottom of the global economies ranking.