BUCHAREST (Romania), October 28 (SeeNews) – Macedonia kept its top position among the countries in Southeast Europe (SEE) in terms of business-enhancing regulations, the World Bank said.
Macedonia was placed 12th in the World Bank's Doing Business 2015 report, issued by the Bosnian office of the bank on Wednesday.
The country, which ranked 30th in the previous edition of the report, made starting a business simpler by introducing compulsory online registration carried out by certified agents and strengthened minority investor protections by providing for both fines and imprisonment of interested directors in prejudicial related-party transactions.
Macedonia also introduced amendments to its Labour Relations Act relating to social contributions,employment contracts, independent contractors, annual leave, overtime work, health inspections and labour disputes, the report added.
The second best destination for doing business in the SEE region is Slovenia, which ranked 29th, followed by Romania and Bulgaria, placed 37th and 38th, respectively, according to the World Bank.
Following are details about the SEE countries covered in the report:
Country |
Cities covered |
Ease of doing business (rank) |
Starting a business (rank) |
Dealing with construction permits (rank) |
Albania |
Tirana |
97 |
58 |
189 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Sarajevo |
79 |
175 |
171 |
Bulgaria |
Sofia |
38 |
52 |
51 |
Croatia |
Zagreb |
40 |
83 |
129 |
Kosovo |
Pristina |
66 |
47 |
136 |
Macedonia |
Skopje |
12 |
2 |
10 |
Moldova |
Chisinau |
52 |
26 |
170 |
Montenegro |
Podgorica |
46 |
59 |
91 |
Romania |
Bucharest |
37 |
45 |
105 |
Serbia |
Belgrade |
59 |
65 |
139 |
Slovenia |
Ljubljana |
29 |
18 |
71 |
The report covers 189 economies. It measures regulations affecting the life of a business, such as starting a business, dealing with construction permits, acquiring electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.