Serbia up by 32 places in world Doing Business ranking

Serbia plans to climb even further up on the World Bank's Doing Business list next year by implementing reforms that will influence the business environment, said Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic on Friday.

At a joint conference with the regional director of the International Finance Corporation, Thomas Lubeck, Mihajlovic reminded that this year Serbia moved from 91st to 59th place in the recently released rankings which include 189 economies across the world, and that it planned to enter the best 15 next year.

"PM Aleksandar Vucic says that his goal is to place Serbia among the best 30 countries next year, but we wish to rank among the top 15," Mihajlovic said, stressing that Serbia would accomplish this goal by implementing laws that have been adopted so far, such as the planning and construction law and the introduction of the electronic tax collection.

"Every investor who considers coming to Serbia is looking at that list and the situation in certain areas, starting from construction, is very important," she said.

She reminded that from Jan. 1 next year, Serbia would also issue electronic construction licences, which would improve the business environment.

Lubeck congratulated the Serbian government on its improvement on the Doing Business list this year, and said this report measured the improvement of business conditions for small companies, such as reduced expenses for construction licences and electronic tax collection.

"Private companies should be the motor of economic development," Lubeck reminded.