Kyrgyzstan takes 112th place in Economic Freedom Index

Kyrgyzstan ranks 112th out of 184 countries in the Economic Freedom Index, Executive Director of the International Business Council Askar Sydykov said on February 18.

“This is a below-average score, which indicates an insufficient level of competition. Competition is the creation of equal conditions for everyone: both for state-owned enterprises and for private businesses, without providing special privileges. It is important that in any sector — services, banks, communications or trade — the conditions are the same for all market participants,” he noted.

According to Sydykov, healthy competition promotes development, since companies are forced to introduce new technologies and update equipment to keep up with competitors.

“If this is not done, there will be no progress. State-owned enterprises should not rely on the fact that the state will always support them. If they continue to operate at a loss, hoping that the government will cover their debts, ultimately this will fall on the shoulders of taxpayers,” he added.