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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia-Montenegro among 12 leading countries in implementation of reforms

Belgrade/Washington, 13 September 2005

In a report titled "Doing Business in 2006: Creating Jobs", jointly prepared by the World Bank and the International Financial Corporation, which is the World Bank's agency for approving loans to the private sector, it is stated that Serbia-Montenegro is among the 12 leading countries with regard to the implementation of reforms carried out last year.

This year's annual report, which for the first time provides a global ranking of 155 nations on key business regulations and reforms, finds that every country in Eastern Europe improved at least one aspect of the business environment—the highest rate of reform of any region. Countries such as Serbia-Montenegro, Slovakia, Romania, and Latvia topped the global rankings for most reforms enacted. The report tracks a set of regulatory indicators related to creation of new businesses, operation, trade, payment of taxes, and closure, which is a measure of the time and cost associated with various government requirements. Overall, European nations were the most active in enacting reforms. The top 12 reformers in the past year, in order, were Serbia-Montenegro, Georgia, Vietnam, Slovakia, Germany, Egypt, Finland, Romania, Latvia, Pakistan, Rwanda, and the Netherlands

Serbia-Montenegro moved new business registrations from the judiciary to a new Agency for Business Registers. Entrepreneurs can register online and a company can start operating in 15 days rather than 51, as before.

Serbia-Montenegro also adopted a new Labour Law, which helped regulations in this field to become more flexible, and at the same time it is now much easier to conclude and conduct financial agreements involving collateral in the country.

Serbia-Montenegro has simultaneously shortened the period necessary for executing simple contracts before the courts from 1,028 days down to 635.

"Doing Business in 2006" updates the work of last year’s report on seven sets of business environment indicators: starting a business, hiring and firing workers, enforcing contracts, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, and closing a business. It expands the research to 155 countries and adds three new indicators: dealing with business licenses, trading across borders, and paying taxes.

The annually published report gives policymakers the ability to measure regulatory performance in comparison to other countries, learn from best practices globally, and prioritise reforms. Now in its third year, the report has already had an impact on business environment reforms around the world.