Doing business, between World Bank report and reality in Kosovo

The World Bank's “Doing Business 2018<18x1> report has ranked Kosovo among the world's top ten reforming countries in doing business. Kosovo ranks in the 40th position of 190 countries in terms of ease of doing business compared to the 60th place it was in the past.

Kosovo ranks 10th in registering a business, 12th in receiving credit, 48th in cross-border trade, but does not rank high in Investors' protection, electricity supply and construction permits treatment.

Kosovo Economic Ode Chairman Safet Gerjaliu in a proposal for Radio Free Europe says this report will be a information that will positively provoke foreign investors, “positive steps taking place in Kosovo”.

But, according to him, there are still numerous barriers to doing business in Kosovo in practice.

There is no reason for euphoria for achievements in this report, it is true that positive steps have been taken, whether in eliminating barriers to business registration whether in support of investors, but it needs to be analysed in substance what after business registration, what after the start of businesses, in particular is electricity supply and bureaucracy following business registration”.

I believe that from this report, institutions in Kosovo need to do more work to create a stability in doing business and not only be assessed on the first day of business registration, as the obstacles in the private sector are after business activity” begins, Gerxhaliu says.

He says economic problems have accumulated, but that in recent years positive steps have been made in terms of financial discipline, in terms of halting massive tenderomania.

It's the time for economics to be done more than to enjoy only the reports coming from credit institutions such as the World Bank. It's time to create economic sustainability and create an economic substance”, Gerjaliu says.

Meanwhile, economics expert Naim Gashi tells Radio Free Europe that the progress highlighted in the Doing Business report is good news, as it is an encouraging element in attracting foreign investors.

This report shows that the climate of doing business in Kosovo is improving, but that according to Gashi, there is still much work to be done in this area.

“As far as the business climate is concerned, there is still room for improvements, as the main problem in Kosovo is monopoly on some key sectors, where policy-related companies are still holding monopolies in some strategic sectors and in some small sectors. I recommend that the government should fight these monopolies and create equality in the market for all businesses”, Gashi says.

The second point, which is making it difficult to do business in Kosovo, adds Gashi is the failure of justice systems, bureaucracy in public institutions and corruption.

If we return from the World Bank's perspective is good news for Kosovo, which should continue in regulation of the domestic market in order to create equality in the market, fight tax evasion, fight crime and corruption to strengthen the justice system, and only in this way will we be a loan country to accept foreign investors, for whom we desperately need”, Gashi says.

Each year, the “Doing Business” report in 190 economies measure aspects of business regulations that are important to entrepreneurs, focusing on ten areas, however, it does not include all the issues that are important to business decisions.

Doing Business “did not measure the full range of policy factors and institutions that affect the quality of the business environment in an economy or local competitiveness.

The World Bank report also fails to assess aspects stability macroeconomic, financial system development, market size, myth cases and corruption, or quality of labor force.