New Zealand wins Gold in ease of doing business

Minister for Small Business John Tamihere welcomed the World Bank’s Doing Business in 2005 report, released today.

“Again we’re seeing New Zealand at the top of the pile in terms of the way in which our regulatory regime impacts upon business,” Mr Tamihere said.

The World Bank study of 145 countries placed New Zealand at number one in the ease of doing business, followed by the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia.

Although the study stated that being in the top 20 did not mean zero regulation, it went on to say that the top countries regulate in a less costly and burdensome way.

“We are working very actively to create a healthy environment for business growth in New Zealand. A key part of that is making sure that we limit the excesses of regulation and that we streamline business interactions with government,” Mr Tamihere said.

A report by the Ministry of Economic Development shows that, since 2001, government departments have saved businesses time and money when complying with government regulations in 104 ways. Seventy-five time savings were achieved and 29 financial savings were achieved.

The World Bank report comes hot on the heels of the Business NZ/KPMG Compliance Cost study, which showed an average reduction in compliance costs of 17 per cent for businesses since last year.

“As Minister with oversight for compliance, I am committed to continuing the good work we have already done. We are getting smarter about interacting with business and we are listening directly to business needs.”

“But we can always do better. Recent reports such as the Small Business Advisory Group’s first annual report, have provided the government with further areas where we can focus our activities,” Mr Tamihere said.

An overview of the the World Bank Report can viewed online at: http://rru.worldbank.org/doingbusiness/.

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