2014年-世界发展银行全球_Enterprise_Surveys___Latvia_Country_Profile_2013_15页_1mb

Latvia Country Profile 2013 Summary

Core Content Overview

This document presents the Latvia Country Profile 2013 from the Enterprise Surveys, conducted by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), as part of the World Bank Group. It provides an in-depth analysis of the business environment in Latvia, benchmarked against the Eastern Europe & Central Asia (ECA) region and the Upper Middle Income group. The surveys cover a range of topics including business environment obstacles, infrastructure, trade, regulations, taxes, and business licensing, corruption, crime and informality, finance, and innovation and workforce.

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Main Topics and Key Findings

1. Business Environment Obstacles

• The business environment in Latvia is shaped by various factors that can either support or hinder firm performance.
• Top constraints identified by firms include:
  • Corruption and informal payments
  • Regulatory and licensing procedures
  • Access to finance
• Benchmarking shows Latvia's business environment is generally better than the regional average but still lags behind the Upper Middle Income group in some areas.

2. Average Firm

• The average firm in Latvia has been in operation for 12.7 years.
• Female participation in management and ownership is relatively high, with:
  • 31.5% of firms having a female top manager
  • 36.2% of firms having female participation in ownership
• Ownership structure is dominated by closed shareholding companies (98.2%), with private domestic firms accounting for 91.5% of the total.

3. Infrastructure

• Electricity supply is a concern, with:
  • 0.3 power outages per month on average
  • 0.1% of sales lost due to power outages
• Water supply is generally reliable, with:
  • 0.0 water shortages per month
  • 0.5 hours of average water shortage duration
• Delays in obtaining infrastructure services are:
  • 4.9 days for electrical connections
  • 1.0 day for water connections
  • N/A for telephone connections

4. Trade

• Export activity is significant, with:
  • 33.4% of firms exporting directly or indirectly
  • 70.0% of firms using foreign material inputs or supplies
• Customs delays:
  • 4.9 days for direct exports
  • 7.6 days for imports
• Losses during export:
  • 0.1% due to theft
  • 0.1% due to breakage or spoilage

5. Regulations, Taxes, and Business Licensing

• Regulatory and licensing procedures are a major concern for firms:
  • 5.2% of senior management time is spent dealing with government regulations
  • 0.7 average number of visits to tax officials
• Legal forms:
  • Closed shareholding companies are most common (98.2%)
  • Open shareholding companies are rare (0.5%)
• Business licensing:
  • 3.0 days to obtain an import license
  • 12.2 days to obtain a construction-related permit
  • 9.9 days to obtain an operating license

6. Corruption

• Corruption is a key issue, with:
  • 6.8% of firms reporting graft (corruption index)
  • 11.2% of firms expected to give gifts to get a construction permit
• Gifts in meetings with tax inspectors:
  • 0.9% of firms
• Gifts to secure government contracts:
  • 5.7% of firms
• Gifts to obtain import licenses:
  • 0.0% of firms

7. Crime and Informality

• Perception of the court system:
  • 39.5% of firms believe it is fair, impartial, and uncorrupted
• Security costs:
  • 0.6% of sales on average
• Losses due to crime:
  • 0.2% of sales due to theft, robbery, vandalism, and arson
• Informality:
  • 98.8% of firms are formally registered upon starting operations

8. Finance

• Financing sources for investment:
  • 78.1% from internal finance
  • 6.2% from bank finance
  • 6.0% from trade credit
  • 6.5% from equity or sale of stock
• External financing for working capital:
  • 21.0% of firms use external financing
• Collateral requirements:
  • 230.7% of loan amount is required as collateral
• Bank access:
  • 20.0% of firms have bank loans or lines of credit
  • 89.6% of firms have checking or savings accounts

9. Innovation and Workforce

• Innovation:
  • 19.5% of firms have internationally recognized quality certification
  • 36.7% of firms have their annual financial statements reviewed by an external auditor
• Workforce:
  • 48.1% of firms use their own website
  • 92.6% of firms use email for communication
  • Average number of temporary workers is 0.8
  • Average number of permanent full-time workers is 18.1
  • 44.3% of firms have full-time female workers

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Key Information

• Region: Eastern Europe & Central Asia
• Income Group: Upper middle income
• Population: 2,025,473
• GNI per capita: US$14,180.00
• Survey Methodology:
  • Stratified by industry, firm size, and geographic region
  • Data collected from a representative sample of non-agricultural formal private firms
  • Includes all manufacturing, services, and transportation/construction sectors
• Data Sources:
  • Qualitative and quantitative data from firm managers and owners
  • Benchmarked against regional and income group averages

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Summary of Enterprise Survey Indicators

Indicator	Latvia	Small Firms (1-19 Employees)	Medium Firms (20-99 Employees)	Large Firms (100+ Employees)	Eastern Europe & Central Asia	Upper Middle Income
Corruption Indicators
Incidence of Graft Index	6.8	6.6	0.0	26.4	13.3	7.5
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts In Meetings With Tax Inspectors	0.9	1.3	0.0	0.0	10.7	7.7
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Secure a Government Contract	5.7	7.7	0.0	12.2	24.4	19.6
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Get a Construction Permit	11.2	10.2	0.0	39.6	23.4	15.4
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Get an Import License	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.5	7.3
% of Firms Expected to Give Gifts to Get an Operating License	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	10.6	6.0
Regulations, Taxes, and Business Licensing Indicators
Days to Obtain Import License	3.0	1.0	13.1	9.0	15.4	23.0
Days to Obtain Construction-related Permit	12.2	16.1	3.9	12.4	83.2	89.7
Days to Obtain Operating License	9.9	7.7	23.7	15.9	24.0	40.8
Senior Management Time Spent in Dealing with Requirements of Government Regulation (%)	5.2	4.1	8.3	7.8	11.0	11.0
Average number of visits or required meetings with tax officials	0.7	0.5	1.3	0.9	1.4	1.8
Open Shareholding Company (%)	0.5	0.7	0.0	0.0	4.7	3.9
Closed Shareholding Company (%)	98.2	98.7	97.2	95.5	72.8	58.1
Sole Proprietorship (%)	0.4	0.6	0.0	0.0	14.3	24.1
Partnership (%)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.8	6.5
Limited Partnership (%)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.9	4.9
Other (%)	0.8	0.0	2.8	4.5	1.5	1.4
Average Firm Indicators
Age (years)	12.7	12.2	13.8	17.1	13.4	17.2
% of Firms With Female Top Manager	31.5	36.9	18.6	9.0	21.1	20.7
% of Firms With Female Participation in Ownership	36.2	39.9	25.3	36.7	32.4	38.1
Private Domestic (%)	91.5	94.6	85.4	66.4	92.8	88.0
Private Foreign (%)	7.7	4.4	14.6	31.0	5.8	9.9
Government/State (%)	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.3	0.5	0.4
Other (%)	0.8	1.0	0.0	1.3	0.9	1.7
Finance Indicators
Internal Finance for Investment (%)	78.1	79.2	73.8	84.8	71.2	66.3
Bank Finance for Investment (%)	6.2	7.2	3.6	6.0	14.8	18.8
Trade Credit Financing for Investment (%)	6.0	3.0	13.6	8.3	4.6	6.2
Equity, Sale of Stock For Investment (%)	6.5	6.8	6.9	0.9	5.8	4.5
Other Financing for Investment (%)	3.2	3.8	2.2	0.0	3.6	4.1
Working Capital External Financing (%)	21.0	18.0	27.9	37.8	24.5	33.5
Value of Collateral Needed for a Loan (% of the Loan Amount)	230.7	231.1	247.8	136.0	187.3	186.7
% of Firms With Bank Loans/line of Credit	20.0	16.0	27.7	52.3	39.1	42.8
% of Firms With a Checking or Savings Account	89.6	88.2	94.4	84.1	88.6	93.3

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Notes

• The survey data is based on firm responses and reflects the business environment as perceived by firms.
• Stratification ensures the data is representative across industries, firm sizes, and regions.
• Regional and income group indicators are averages of the respective group data.
• Data is available for further analysis and comparison at www-enterprisesurveys.org.