The world bank has released its Ease of Doing Business report in 2017 and many South Africans who are considering emigrating to New Zealand will be delighted to discover that it currently ranks 1^st overall for ‘starting a business’. The worldwide ranking rates economies on the ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. Here are the top 10 countries – ranked from number 10 to 1^st place.

Countries easiest to do business in

10. Sweden

Sweden has fallen to 10^th place from 9^th in 2016 and ranks highly for providing good information about properties, including an online system that allows anyone to freely access ownership information and maps dating back 400 days. It takes an average of 7 days to start a business and 2 years to resolve insolvency.

9. Georgia

Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia, located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It is the only lower-middle-income economy in the top 20 and is up from its position of 16^th in 2016. It ranks highly on the ease of resolving insolvency, accessing electricity and strength of shareholder rights.

8. Norway

Norway has dropped slightly from 6^th position last year and continues to perform well due to its decision to reduce the statutory corporate income tax rate. It also performs well in the resolving insolvency category – which takes an average of just 0.9 years.

7. UK

Despite all the Brexit uncertainty, the UK retains its position in 7^th place, which places it above many of the world’s leading economies including Germany and France. It is important to note that the ease of starting a business in the UK has improved.

6. USA

The USA is up from 8^th position last year, due to improved labour market regulations and the establishment of a maximum of 6 working days of paid sick leave a year.

5. Hong Kong

Hong Kong is down from 4^th position as it has made starting a business more expensive by reintroducing the business registration fee. Registering property has been made easier and it is also third overall for starting a business and for paying taxes.

4. Korea

Korea is up from 5^th position last year and scores highly for enforcing contracts (1^st overall) and getting electricity (2^nd overall). In terms of starting a business it comes in at 9^th position overall.

3. Denmark

Denmark holds its position in third place and ranks 1^st overall in construction and trading across borders. It has however raised the cost of building permits and the cost of obtaining a water and sewage connection.

2. Singapore

Singapore retains its position in 2^nd place and has amended its Companies Act to make ownership more transparent. It now requires locally incorporated companies and foreign companies registered in Singapore to maintain beneficial ownership information and make the data public upon request. Exporting and importing has been made easier to improved infrastructure.

1. New Zealand

New Zealand comes in 1^st overall for starting a business – it has the least number of procedures required (just one) and the shortest time to fulfil them (0.5 days). It also scores highly for building regulations and all relevant legislation can easily be found on an official government website.

If you’re considering making the move abroad, contact FinGlobal for expert advice about the international transfer of your South African funds.