OREANDA-NEWS. On 18 March 2009 was announced, that the World Bank believes that improving business environment in Kazakhstan is needed to support the private sector, and especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to weather the current financial crisis and global economic slowdown. The World Bank Doing Business Reform team gives a positive assessment of the Government's efforts to improve the country's business environment, as measured by the Doing Business report. The World Bank Country Office in Kazakhstan, the Doing Business Reform unit, and the IFC Trade and Logistics team are evaluating the reforms and discussing with the Government further steps to improve business climate.

The Government of Kazakhstan has been implementing reforms in several key areas, such as starting a business, construction permitting, cross-border trade, transfer of immovable property, investor protection, getting a credit, and improving insolvency frameworks.

"We are pleased to note improvements in areas critical to the Kazakh economy. For example, elimination of export licenses for a number of products is vital to support trade for a landlocked country like Kazakhstan," - said Andrea Dall'Olio, World Bank Central Asia Regional Coordinator for Finance and Private Sector Development.  "Similarly, processes for construction-related activities are being simplified and costs are being reduced: this should support a sector which has been negatively affected by the current economic conditions."

Reforms have also continued at a steady pace in areas such as starting a business. Services provided by the Center for the Service of the Population (a form of one-stop-shop) are becoming fully operational, making life easier for entrepreneurs willing to establish a new business. In the transfer of immovable property, notary fees are expected to be reduced and unified according to a single scheme for the entire country. An additional area receiving further attention is the framework for an orderly exit of insolvent businesses. Efforts are also underway to strengthen creditors' rights and the quality of credit information, which should dampen the negative effects of the credit crunch affecting SMEs in particular.

It is now crucial to ensure that new or amended legislative acts undertaken as part of the Doing Business reform agenda get put into practice. This would require further work by the Government and the private sector.

"Raising awareness of the related reforms among entrepreneurs is essential," - said Stefka Slavova, World Bank Senior Economist at the Doing Business Reform Unit. "If you have new rights but do not know about them, then they are of little use. This is why the Government will be taking steps to ensure the correct application of new or amended legal acts." Activities in this particular are will actually be captured by the next Doing Business report.

According to the World Bank's study Doing Business 2009, which ranks 181 economies of the world on the ease of doing business, Kazakhstan is ranked 70th and firmly holds the place in the first half of the table. On the other hand, Kazakhstan's ranking is uneven and on some of the indicators used in the study the country is among top 25 countries, and on some other indicators it is at the bottom of the list.

Reforms should be sustained over several years and carried out consistently to ensure maximum impact on real economic activity, such as economic growth and job creation. For this reason, the World Bank team is pleased to see the Government's commitment to plan a long-term reform program.