Vasily Robak: Progress with reservations

Vasily Robak Bioferm for the cultivation of protein / AGN "Moscow" / Photo: Avilov Alexander

Russia took 28th place in the ranking of the World Bank of Doing Business, bypassing Rwanda and Spain, but losing to Kazakhstan, Georgia and the Baltic neighbors. The leap is due to the reforms carried out in 2018. At the same time, experts note that the ranking takes into account only the situation in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which “like another country” in relation to the rest of Russia.

The rating of the business of the Doing Business business is compiled by the World Bank annually. Among the evaluation criteria used in its preparation are the ease of obtaining loans, the simplicity of registration of enterprises, registration of permits for construction and connection to electric networks, as well as the level of protection of the rights of minority shareholders. The press service made a new report on October 24. The leader of the rating, as last year, was New Zealand, the second place was preserved for Singapore. Hong Kong rose to the third line, squeezing Denmark on the list. South Korea still closes the first five.

The work of the Istra Syrovarn / AGN "Moscow" / Photo: Vedyashkin Sergey

In the past few years, Russia is gradually rising higher and higher on this list. In 2013, the country occupied the 92nd line, in 2014- rose to the 62nd, in 2015 it became 51st, in 2016 overcame another 11 positions and took 40th line of the rating, a year later she rose to the 35th. Last year, Russia has already taken 31st place. Russian President Vladimir Putin, back in the May 2012 May decree, set the task of achieving the country to the first 20-ok Doing Business rating by 2018. As the newspaper Vedomosti noted, despite the 31st place, the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin believes that the task set by the president was generally performed. “If we analyze the situation as a whole, in many ways the problem has been solved-31st place is not so far from the 20th, especially if you take into account that we started from the 124th,” the minister said .

The last index takes into account the changes from May last year to the present. During this period, the authorities of 115 countries carried out 294 reforms, as a result of which the conditions for doing business became easier there, the World Bank notes.

“Russia remains the best of the BRICS countries, we are ahead of half of Europe in this rating. Behind us are countries such as France, Holland. Now we are between Austria and Japan, ” said Oreshkin, commenting on the results of this year. He added that when drawing up the rating, the stability of the regulatory policy is not taken into account, but investors pay great attention to this indicator, and this is what the Russian government also intends to work in the near future. He also drew attention to China, which rose from 46th to 31st place in a year. “In order to maintain our positions, we will have to move forward very actively,” said Oreshkin.

Maxim Oreshkin / AGN "Moscow" / Photo: Avilov Alexander

“But it is important to understand that this is only part of the real picture. The World Bank, within the framework of its measurement system, does not take into account a number of parameters that may be less important for developed countries, but are very significant for Russia. This, in particular, is the power pressure on business and the situation with the protection of property rights, ” said Andrei Yakovlev, director of the Institute for Analysis of Enterprise and Markets of the NRU.
“From the fact that you have accelerated the procedures for obtaining a building or connecting to electricity, export and imported operations have become easier, but you have not been protected by property rights, you will not have an incentive to investment,” he explained.

The compilers analyze the regulations related to regulation, and the information provided by the state interview experts, and the companies themselves do not participate in the survey. In addition, the World Bank in its ranking considers the business climate in only two Russian cities-Moscow and St. Petersburg. “I am proud that Russia has risen in this ranking, but Moscow and St. Petersburg are like another country. We have a serious, tremendous differentiation by regions. This is a very disturbing signal. People move to Moscow and St. Petersburg, there is an increasing concentration of capital and institutions and their development. In the regions, everything is completely different. So easy as in Moscow, you in Khakassia, for example, do not connect to electric networks, ”the head of the“ Rossiy of Russia ”Alexander Kalinin laments .

See also: Anton Tabakh Russia has risen in the Doing Business rating, but Olga Zaitseva did not enter the TOP-20 about improving the indicators of the Russian Federation in the World Bank rating improved the result in the Ding Business rating