DUSHANBE, November 15, 2010—World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the Government of Tajikistan held a presentation and panel discussion with policymakers, donors, and business leaders on the results of the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2011 report.
For the second consecutive year, Tajikistan is among the economies that improved the most on the ease of doing business. Between June 2009 and June 2010, Tajikistan improved in three of the 9 areas measured by the report: starting a business, protecting investors, and paying taxes.
“Tajikistan made important steps in simplifying the daily lives of entrepreneurs: in particular, starting a business in Tajikistan is now faster and easier due to the operation of the one-stop-shop for business registration, as well as simplified procedures. These kinds of improvements can encourage new businesses to start up,”- says Andrea Mario Dall'Olio Senior Economist, Europe and Central Asia Finance and Private Sector Development Department of the World Bank.
In addition, Tajikistan eased the process of business start-up by eliminating some of the documents that were previously required for registration. For example, the requirement for a company seal was eliminated. Tajikistan strengthened investor protections with amendments to the joint stock companies’ law, increasing disclosure requirements in the annual reports of companies for transactions involving conflicts of interest, and increasing access to corporate information by allowing minority shareholders to have access to all corporate documents. Finally, Tajikistan lowered its corporate income tax rate from 25 to 15 percent.
Despite the improvements on the ease of doing business, Tajikistan’s business environment remains complicated, as testified by the global ranking in the Doing Business 2011; Tajikistan’s position is 139 out of 183 countries, with particularly low scores on indicators for Dealing with Construction Permits, Getting Credit and Trading Across Borders.
At today’s Doing Business Reform Launch, representatives of government, business associations and donor partners presented some of the reforms underway in Tajikistan’s business environment. Participants learned about present and potential initiatives to streamline business registration, foreign trade, permits, and taxation; plans to improve access to finance through development of a private credit bureau, as well as modernizing the secured transactions framework to facilitate the use of moveable assets as collateral; and progress to date in Tajikistan’s efforts in advancing broader private sector reforms. In addition, the government was encouraged to improve the implementation of the already completed reforms.
Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycles, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure security, macroeconomic stability, corruption, skill level, or the strength of financial systems.
About the World Bank Group
The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries. It comprises five closely associated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC); the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA); and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a distinct role in the mission to fight poverty and improve living standards for people in the developing world.
