New Zealand Ranked One of the Best Places to Run a Business

New Zealand is among the highest-ranked economies in the World Bank’s latest “Doing Business” report, which scores 189 nations based on how hard it is to run a company there.

New Zealand was ranked second amongst the seven countries deemed most business-friendly – led by Singapore and New Zealand – keeping their respective rankings from last year.

The rankings of the 189 economies can be a boon or humiliation to developing and emerging markets around the world seeking to attract more investment.

The statistics are based on a raft of indicators that gauge the difficulty of starting and running a business, including paying taxes, registering property, permitting and contract enforcement.

Singapore was, as in recent past years, on top with a score of 88.27, and New Zealand close behind with 86.91.

Australia was ranked 10th, with Denmark, South Korea, Norway, the US, Britain and Finland above it, mostly the same developed economies as in previous years.

It takes an average of 144 days to get a business officially registered in Venezuela, ranked one of the lowest on the list, if there’s “minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.”

In New Zealand, it takes half a day to set up a business.

Original article by Ian Talley, Wall Street Journal, 28 October