Forbes puts Georgia among TOP 50 business countries

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Forbes magazine has ranked Georgia among the top 50 countries in the world in terms of doing business in 2014.

Georgia jumped by three places in 2014 compared to its position in 2013 ranking.

This year Georgia was ranked 47th among 146 countries and praised for its high index in trade freedom and red tape.

The Forbes report titled Best Countries for Business selected the 146 countries based on eleven criteria: property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

Georgia’s Deputy Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Giorgi Janelidze believes that the research tools of Forbes ratings depend on earlier reports, including the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, Global Competitiveness Index and World Bank’s Doing Business Report. Georgia’s positive indications in these reports have paved the way for precise evaluation of the country by the Forbes.

"Forbes is one of the world's most influential business magazines. It is very important that Forbes articles are targeted by significant audience for Georgia, including big business representatives. Positive information about countries by Forbes can influence the big business players' decisions where to invest,” Janelidze said.

The Forbes rankings of Georgia in Best Countries for Business report are as follows: trade freedom – 6, monetary freedom - 52, property rights - 105, innovation - 120, technology - 66, red tape - 5, investor protection - 42, corruption - 46, personal freedom - 67 and tax burden - 34.

Meanwhile, Denmark regained the top spot after four years, followed by Hong Kong and New Zealand.

The top ten countries in Forbes Best Countries for Business 2014 report are Denmark, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Finland.