A new World Bank and IFC report finds that the Republic of Macedonia is once again among the ten economies that improved its business regulatory environment the most in the year from June 2012 to June 2013, implementing six regulatory reforms that make it easier for local entrepreneurs to do business. It is the fourth time since 2007 that Macedonia is recognized by Doing Business as one of the top ten economies of the world in terms of one-year improvements.

Macedonia made getting electricity easier by reducing the time required to obtain a new connection and by setting fixed connection fees per kilowatt (kW) for connections requiring a capacity below 400 kW, World Bank Office to Skopje said in a press release. It has also strengthened its secured transactions system by providing more flexibility on the description of assets in a collateral agreement and on the types of debts and obligations that can be secured. Investors’ protection was strengthened by allowing shareholders to request the rescission of unfair related-party transactions and the appointment of an auditor to investigate alleged irregularities in the company’s activities.

According to Doing Business report, Macedonia is also among the five economies that closed the gap towards the global good practices the most since 2005. Indeed, in the areas of starting a business and getting credit, it is ranked among the top ten economies in the world. Yet, challenges persist, especially in the areas of enforcing contracts, trading across borders and registering property, where it is ranked 95, 89 and 84 respectively, out of 189 economies.

"Macedonia has once again proved to be the leader in the region and beyond in improving the business environment as measured by the Doing Business report," said Tatiana Proskuryakova, World Bank Country Manager – "These achievements could complement the efforts of the Government and the private sector in mitigating the effects of the Eurozone crisis and addressing the stubbornly low employment rates. At the same time, many challenges remain. The Government of Macedonia and the World Bank are working together on further improving infrastructure, workers’ skills and the overall competitiveness of the country."

Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business. Joining it on the list of the top 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulations are Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Malaysia; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; Norway; and the United Kingdom.

In addition to the global rankings, every year Doing Business reports the economies that have improved the most on the indicators since the previous year. The 10 economies topping that list this year are (in order of improvement) Ukraine, Rwanda, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, Kosovo, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Burundi, FYR Macedonia, and Guatemala. Yet challenges persist: five of this year’s top improvers—Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, the Philippines, and Ukraine—are still in the bottom half of the global ranking on the ease of doing business.

The joint World Bank and IFC flagship Doing Business report analyzes regulations that apply to an economy’s businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes, and resolving insolvency. The aggregate ease of doing business rankings are based on 10 indicators and cover 189 economies.

Doing Business does not measure all aspects of the business environment that matter to firms and investors. For example, it does not measure the quality of fiscal management, other aspects of macroeconomic stability, the level of skills in the labor force, or the resilience of financial systems. Its findings have stimulated policy debates worldwide and enabled a growing body of research on how firm-level regulation relates to economic outcomes across economies. This year’s report marks the 11th edition of the global Doing Business report series and covers 189 economies.