You're reading: Ukraine climbs from 87th to 83rd in World Bank’s 2016 Doing Business ranking

Ukraine has climbed from 87th to 83rd in the World Bank's 2016 Doing Business 2016, Qimiao Fan, World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, said at a press conference in Kyiv on Oct. 28.

It is a large improvement in a year, to climb by four positions, he said.

Fan said that Doing Business Report does not take into account reforms in the gas and banking sectors and efforts to combat corruption.

Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Aivaras Abromavicius said that two years ago the country was 112th, and the current rank shows that it is moving in the right direction.

“Only 82 countries are to be outstripped,” the minister said.

He said that the report covers up until H1 2015 and it does not reflect many improvements made in H2 2015. The minister said that the current government started working on December 2, 2014 and the ranking reflects its work only for six months.

Ukraine is 30th in starting a business out of 189 economies. Ukraine has made starting a business easier by reducing the time required for VAT registration and by eliminating business registration fees.

In addition, Ukraine climbed from 185th to 137th in getting electricity: today, it takes 263 days to connect businesses to power lines.

The country fell from 43rd to 98th in enforcing contracts and from 70th to 140th in dealing with construction permits.