While the nation hopes headlines such as “NZ beats Aussies” continue for the duration of the weekend, the Kiwi ICT industry - among other local sectors - can take solace in the fact that away from the rugby field, New Zealand has left Australia standing when it comes to ease of doing business.
The World Bank’s Doing Business report - an annual study measuring government regulations and impact on business across 189 economies - has ranked New Zealand as one of the best places in the world to do business.
In a move welcomed by Regulatory Reform Minister Steven Joyce, Singapore tops the list with Australia languishing in a lowly 13th place, behind the UK and US in 6th and 7th respectively.
“New Zealand has been ranked second for ease of doing business for the second year in a row,” Joyce says.
“It goes to show that New Zealand is a great place for investment and growing businesses.”
New Zealand ranked first in four out of the ten categories that were measured including starting a business, registering property, getting credit and protecting minority investors.
On the topic of starting a business, according to the report, in New Zealand, “an entrepreneur can complete the entire process of company formation in just a few hours through a single online procedure.”
Compared to the lowest ranked country, “starting a business in Haiti takes 12 procedures and more than three months.”
“There are many reasons why Haiti has far fewer registered limited liability companies relative to population size - only 6 per 100,000 working-age people in 2012, compared with 1,507 per 100,000 working-age people in New Zealand,” the report adds.
“This report is regarded highly around the world and compliments the Government’s recently announced Investment Attraction Strategy,” Joyce adds.
“It is of course a competitive world and other countries will be looking to improve their reputations as a good place to do business.
“The Government is using the Business Growth Agenda to continue to improve our regulatory settings and maintain our rating as one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business.”