Media release
19 November 2019
NZ ranks first for ease of doing business for the fourth year
The Doing Business Report 2020 has again ranked New Zealand as the best out of 190 economies for the ease of doing
business.
The World Bank’s annual publication compares economies across a number of indicators from ‘starting a business’ through
to ‘resolving insolvency’ and ‘protecting minority investors’.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) General Manager Business Integrity Services Ross van der
Schyff says the report’s ranking reflects advantages for businesses operating in New Zealand’s business regulatory
system.
“Regulating business systems is important to maintain fair markets that thrive, enabling businesses and the New Zealand
economy to grow. This also means providing support for small businesses, helping them understand the business
environment, and saving them time and money as they continue to grow.
“This includes the Companies Office website making it simple to register and update company information, while resources
available on business.govt.nz help Kiwis understand the steps to starting a business and their government obligations,” says Mr Van der Schyff. This
includes the recent launch of Good Governance, a tool developed in conjunction with the Institute of Directors and New Zealand Business Performance Panellist Phil
McCaw, which aims to educate new company directors to understand their obligations from the start of their business.
The Doing Business Report also ranks New Zealand number one for ‘ease of starting a business’ for the twelfth year in a
row. New Zealand also ranked highly for ‘registering property’, ‘paying taxes’ and third for ‘protecting minority
investors’.
“In the past year, over 54,000 companies were registered on the Companies Register and 693,000 employment agreements
were built using business.govt.nz.
“While it is easy to start up a business, there is of course a balance to be struck between educating businesses about
their obligations and enforcement of regulations.
“Nearly all of NZ’s registered businesses are compliant with regulations however for the less than one per cent of
businesses that are consciously doing the wrong thing, resourced action is taken against them.”
Visit business.govt.nz for more information on Good Governance and the range of business support tools.
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