USAID Awards BearingPoint $6 Million Engagement for Montenegro Economic Policy Reform

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BearingPoint, Inc. , one of the world's largest management consulting and systems integration firms, today announced that it has been awarded a three-year contract extension covering the fourth and final phase of targeted USAID assistance to establish Montenegro's economic policy. The contract, valued at $6 million, will address key implementation issues in the current economic reform agenda, helping to maximize the extent to which reforms will be institutionalized in a sustainable manner.

For BearingPoint, the contract represents a continuation of a seven-year relationship as the USAID project team looks to put finishing touches on the country's economic policy reforms. The engagement calls for BearingPoint to support specific goals including the improvement of economic policy and governance, the improvement of private sector growth, and enhancing the financial sector's contribution to Montenegro's economic growth.

"BearingPoint is proud to have played a role in Montenegro's development into a stable, self-sufficient governing body with modern economic functionality and the ability to truly impact the global market," said James Horner, senior vice president of BearingPoint's Emerging Markets practice. "This final stage of reform is an extremely exciting project for BearingPoint, as we have had the opportunity to support the objectives of USAID in Montenegro from the very early days of reform all the way through to completion."

The overarching goals of the project were set in 1998, when BearingPoint was first engaged to help enable economic reform in the republic. Since then, BearingPoint has aided Montenegro in achieving milestones ranging from the organization of its Ministry of Finance, to the deregulation of its energy and telecommunications sectors. As part of the seven-year effort, BearingPoint has helped the country build a strong economic foundation that includes:

* Commercial law reform -- Drafting, passage and initial implementation of new Law on Business Organizations, Law on Bankruptcy, Law on Accounting and Auditing, Laws on Secured Transactions, and Mortgages, Laws on Private Sector Participation in the Provision of Public Services (concession/BOT) and Public Procurement, and Law on Prevention of Money Laundering. * Tax Policy -- A change in the tax system to move toward self-assessment Development of new tax code, including enactment of new laws on Personal Income Tax, Corporate Profit Tax, Excise Tax, VAT, and Tax Administration. Introduction of VAT at single 17% rate. * Private sector development/infrastructure -- Establishment of a telecommunication Regulatory Agency that has deregulated the telecommunication sector in Montenegro. BearingPoint advised on the drafting, passage and initial implementation of new Energy Law to develop an independent regulator, provide for unbundling of vertically integrated electricity utilities, and introduce market pricing into the tariff structure. * Privatization -- Development of new Restitution Law, which gives enterprise owners clarity on and means to address restitution claims, while giving strong rights to former owners. * Development of Secondary Markets -- Establishment of a central share registry and trading system, and commencement of trading in the shares distributed through Mass Voucher Privatization on local stock exchanges. About BearingPoint, Inc.

BearingPoint, Inc. is one of the world's largest management consulting, systems integration and managed services firms serving government agencies, Global 2000 companies, medium-sized businesses and other organizations. We provide business and technology strategy, systems design, architecture, applications implementation, network infrastructure, systems integration and managed services. Our service offerings are designed to help our clients generate revenue, reduce costs and access the information necessary to operate their business on a timely basis. Based in McLean, Va., BearingPoint has been named by Fortune as one of America's Most Admired Companies in the computer and data services sector. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.bearingpoint.com/.

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