New Zealand is the least regulated country in the world, and one of the easiest places to start a business, according to the World Bank Group.
The World Bank has just released Doing Business 2004, a report on starting a business, hiring and firing staff, enforcing contracts, getting credit, and closing
a business in more than 130 countries.
According to the Doing Business database, it cost just US$28 ($41) to register a company in New Zealand in 2003 and took three days.
This compared with a two-day, US$402 service in Australia and an 18-day, US$264 process in the United Kingdom.
The Swiss lived up to their expensive reputation, charging US$3228 and taking 20 days to register a company.
New Zealand's credit bureaus contained credit ratings on nearly every adult.
But credit registries in Serbia and Montenegro, Pakistan and Nigeria held credit histories on less than 1 per cent of adults.
Across the five criteria the report looked into New Zealand is the least regulated, followed by Australia, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Singapore.
Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mozambique, the Philippines and Venezuela were among the most heavily regulated.
- NZPA
