Doing business in Albania easier in 2008

Washington D.C., Sept.27 – Investing in Albania is a reasonable opportunity, according to Doing Business 2008شhe fifth in an annual series issued by the World Bank and IFC.
The report shows that Albania is overtaking other countries in a number of areas, such as employing workers, registering property, paying taxes, enforcing contracts and trading across borders. For example, during the period under review, Albania eased the tax burden by amending depreciation rates and reducing labor taxes and contributions. In addition, by reducing the number of documents, days and costs of exporting and importing, Albania hurdled from 101st to 70th position among the 178 countries, in terms of the ease in trading across borders.
Despite good progress in other areas, Albania’s also saw marginal slippages in its ranking with respect to other countries, namely, starting a business, dealing with licenses and protecting investors. Albania’s new business registration center, inaugurated in early September, missed the final flag of this lap, because the reforms were implemented after the cutoff date, but puts the country in good position on next the lap. Notwithstanding, ongoing efforts in the area of dealing with licenses and new efforts in easing property registration, Albania was overtaken by other reformers.
Doing Business prepared by World Bank and IFC, investigates the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it with the objective of assessing ease and equal opportunity in business. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 178 economies. Regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.
The 2008 report, the fifth in the series of Doing Business publications, highlights the growing intensity of the race among countries to reform their investment climates, within the period April 2006 – June 2007. During this period, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union countries surpassed East Asia in the ease of doing business, with some countries of the region overtaking many Western Europe economies.
Croatia is the region’s top reformer. Along with three other countries in the region, it also ranks among the top 10 reformers worldwide. Those top 10 are, in order, Egypt, Croatia, Ghana, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, China, and Bulgaria. Reformers made it simpler to start a business, strengthened property rights, enhanced investor protections, increased access to credit, eased tax burdens, and expedited trade while reducing costs. Worldwide, 200 reformsةn 98 economiesطere introduced between April 2006 and June 2007.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia saw 59 reforms over the past year׵2 positive and seven negativeشhat affected the regulatory ease of doing business. “Results show that as governments ease regulations for doing business, more entrepreneurs go into business; and this is especially evident in Eastern Europe,” said Simeon Djankov, lead author of the report. “Eastern Europe has witnessed a boom in new business entry that rivals the rapid growth in East Asia in the past.”