Lithuania improves position in World Bank Doing Business index

Lithuania ranks eighth among 28 EU member states and 20th among 189 countries in the latest World Bank's Doing Business 2016 report released Wednesday.

The Baltic country improved its ranking by four positions since last year.

According to Minister of Economy Evaldas Gustas, the Lithuanian government is making efforts to improve the business environment in Lithuania.

"In order to achieve even more progress in the Doing Business ranking, more reforms aimed at improving business environment are being planned for 2016," he was quoted as saying in the ministry's statement.

Lithuania aggregated 78.88 points this year in the rating which measures regulations affecting various areas of the life of a business.

It is mentioned in the report that Lithuania made starting a business easier by introducing online VAT registration.

The country also strengthened minority investor protections by prohibiting subsidiaries from acquiring shares issued by their parent company. As regards getting electricity, the utility in Lithuania has reduced the time of the connection works by enforcing the legal time limit to perform the external connection works, the Doing Business 2016 report states.

Lithuania's neighboring Latvia ranks 22nd in Doing Business 2016, and Estonia 16th.

The report finds that Singapore repeatedly tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business.

The annual World Bank Group flagship Doing Business report analyzes regulations that apply to an economy's businesses during their life cycle, including start-up and operations, trading across borders, paying taxes and resolving insolvency. Endit