Doing Business focuses on how easy or difficult it is for local entrepreneurs to set up and run a business. It measures and tracks changes in regulations affecting 11 areas in the development of a business: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts, resolving insolvency and employing workers.
The Romanian business environment is less inviting than that in Slovenia (33), Cyprus (39), Poland (45), Slovakia (49), Hungary (54), Bulgaria (58), Turkey (69) and Belarus (63), according to the report. However, the Eastern European country ranks better than other peers, such as the Czech Republic (75), Moldova (78), Croatia (89) and Russia (92).
Germany, Europe’s most powerful economy, is ranked the world’s 21st most attractive country to entrepreneurs planning to start a business. Denmark is leader in EU and places fifth in the world.
Compared to last year, Romania eased procedures to start a business and made paying taxes easier and less costly for companies by reducing the payment frequency for the firm tax from quarterly to twice a year and by reducing the vehicle tax rate, the report reads.
“Romania made enforcing contracts easier by adopting a new civil procedure code that streamlines and speeds up all court proceedings.”
On the other hand, Romania is ranked last in the European Union considering access to electricity, number of taxes paid by firms (39 taxes per year requiring 200 hours to be paid), import costs (estimated by the World Bank at $1,495 per container compared to a EU average of $1,066/container) and resolving insolvency (considering this indicator, Romania is ranked 99th among the 189 countries included in the survey).
Regarding insolvency cases, the average recovery rate for creditors is 30% in Romania, the lowest level in the EU.
Singapore is number one in the World Bank’s Doing Business top. It is followed by Hong Kong, New Zealand, the United States, Denmark, Malaysia, South Korea, Georgia, Norway and the UK.