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Business leaders hail Lukashenka's licensing edict

Business leaders have hailed Alyaksandr Lukashenka's presidential edict that is to reduce the number of business activities subject to licensing on January 1, 2011.

The edict will exempt businesses engaging in 16 activities, including retailers, eateries and construction companies, from the requirement to obtain a license.

In an interview with BelaPAN, Heorhiy Badzey, leader of the Kunyawski Business Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, said that businesspeople had waited for the edict for more than a year.

"Drastic progress toward the reduction of the number of activities subject to licensing has been made and unnecessary barriers to business activity will disappear as a result," he said, adding that the edict would have a favorable effect on the country's business environment.

Alyaksandr Kalinin, chairman of the Belarusian Union of Entrepreneurs, welcomed the licensing edict as a "progressive" document. Apart from cutting the number of activities that require a license, the edict also simplifies the procedure of obtaining a license and makes it more difficult for authorities to revoke a business' license, he stressed.

Half of all business licenses are currently issued by authorities to retailers and eateries, which will no longer need to obtain a license after the edict takes effect, Mr. Kalinin said.

The edict will encourage the creation of new businesses and an increase in sales of goods and services in Belarus, he stressed.

The edict is a "step in the right direction," according to the expert. "Streamlining licensing rules will not solve all problems of private businesses. Difficulties related to premises rent and the acquisition of a land plot, multiple technical standards that seriously complicate businesspeople's life remain," he warned.