ARMENIA INCLUDED IN LIST OF TOP REFORMERS AMONG CIS MEMBER COUNTRIES

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Sept 6 2006

YEREVAN, September 6. /ARKA/. World Bank and International Financial
Corporation (IFC) said in their latest report "Doing Business 2007"
that Armenia is included in the list of leaders among CIS member
countries for creating easy conditions for doing business in 2005-2006.

The top-ranked countries in the region are Armenia (34), Georgia
(37), and Kazakhstan (62). Tajikistan (133) and Uzbekistan (147)
rank lowest in the region. Russia sits in the middle of the range,
with a ranking of 96.

Armenia also reckoned among top reformers for implementing four
reforms.

Armenia unified tax and social security registration for new companies,
cutting time to start operations by a day. It also reduced permit
requirements for construction companies and simplified transfer of
title for property. Armenia strengthened creditor rights by allowing
the enforcement of collateral agreements outside of court.

Georgia is topping the list of ten CIS leading reformers. The country
has improved the situation in six to ten areas.

Azerbaijan is singled out in the report for simplifying document
requirements and shortening statutory time limits for new company
registration. Time to start a business dropped by more than half: from
115 to 53 days. Azerbaijan also revised its civil code to strengthen
lenders’ rights in default. The new rules require a public sale of
seized collateral through auction, maximizing the sale value.

"More progress is sorely needed. CIS countries would greatly
benefit from new enterprises and jobs, which can come with more
business-friendly regulations," said Michael Klein, World Bank-IFC
vice president for financial and private sector development and IFC
chief economist.