By Andrei Laptenok: Singapore's first place in the ranking doesn't come as a surprise. The top ten also features Hong Kong, South Korea and the United States. According to the study, for five years in a row Belarus has been in the lead in terms of the speed of reforming and simplifying business.
The Customs Union, and de jure the Eurasian Economic Union, which will launch next year, can not afford a significantly different business climate. Over several years, Belarus has reduced the distance to the target 30th place by half. Russia is catching up, jumping from the 92nd to the 62nd position and planning to rise to the 20th place in three years. Kazakhstan has been ranked 77th.
However, despite ranking in the top five among the former USSR countries according to the World Bank, Minsk significantly outruns Tallinn, Vilnius, Almaty and Astana, as the Forbes magazine suggests. The taxation reform has immediately shifted Belarus by 47 positions. The World Bank has noted a positive trend for the new integrated index, according to which Belarus has added 1.18 points on all positions within a year.
