DUSHANBE, November 15, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- The World Bank Group country offices are presenting the Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs Report today, according to the World Bank Dushanbe Office.

Issues relating to running business in Tajikistan, and  rankings of the countries of the region on the ease of doing business will be discussed during the report presentation in Dushanbe, the source said.  

Mr. Nematjon Bouriyev, Chief Adviser to the President of Tajikistan for Economic Policy, and Mr. Andrea Dall’Olio, Chief Economist, World Bank, will be  the main speakers, the source noted.   

According to Doing Business 2011: Making a Difference for Entrepreneurs , among the world’s economies, Kazakhstan improved business regulation the most in the past year.  Kazakhstan improved conditions for starting a business, obtaining construction permits, protecting investors, and trading across borders.  As a result, it moved up 15 places in the rankings on the ease of doing business—to 59 among 183 economies.  Tajikistan that climbed 10 places is also among the 10 most-improved economies.

In the past five years about 85 percent of the world’s economies have made it easier for local entrepreneurs to operate, through 1,511 improvements to business regulation.   Doing Business 2011 pioneers a new measure showing how much business regulation has changed in 174 economies since 2005.

For eight consecutive years, Eastern Europe and Central Asia has been the most active region in improving business regulation for domestic firms.  In the past many changes were driven by the prospect of joining the European Union.  More recently, the financial crisis has triggered new activity.  This past year 21 of 25 economies improved business regulation for local firms.

Doing Business analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, 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. Its findings have stimulated policy debates in more than 80 economies and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies.