According to the subnational Doing Business in Kazakhstan 2019 report, the pace of reform has been fast across Kazakhstan. Lower performing regions cut the gap with Almaty city, the top performer, by half on getting electricity and dealing with construction permits. These reforms are reducing red tape for entrepreneurs and are moving the whole country toward global good practices in business regulation. Good practices found throughout the individual regions pave the way for reform-minded policy makers to improve further by replicating best practices in other locations.
"Across the areas measured, Almaty city scores highest, leading on three indicators - getting electricity, registering property and dealing with construction permits. Nur-Sultan ranks first on starting a business, owing to the availability of electronic processes and uptake in the use of the E-Government system. East Kazakhstan and Pavlodar also share the top score with Almaty city on registering property. These regions keep land registry titles in digital format. No location does equally well across all areas measured, but each location ranks in the top half on at least one indicator. This leaves room for all regions to learn from each other," reads the report.
Notably, all eight locations that were studied in both the 2017 and 2019 reports improved their business environment, with Nur-Sultan making the most significant progress. Of the 24 reforms implemented since 2017, eight reforms decreased the time to start a business by more than half, on average. Significant reforms were observed in getting electricity; all eight locations improved the quality and reliability of power supply. The cities of Nur-Sultan and Shymkent, as well as the Karagandy region made the largest improvements in this area, through the recording and reporting of data on the frequency and duration of power outages. All eight locations also eliminated the need for an expert opinion after external works and streamlined requests for technical conditions.
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