NZ INVESTMENT ADVANTAGE
We promote NZ in India not only as a clean, green country but also as a stable and secure business environment which is recognised globally as being a safe place to invest and do business.
It ranks first in the world for ease of starting & doing business, lack of corruption & protecting investors. Incorporating a business in New Zealand takes just one day, while registering a property takes only two. The country has a straightforward, business-friendly taxation system that supports capital development, research and development and international investment.
New Zealand has a strong banking sector that weathered the global economic crisis well. The parents of the four largest banks are Australian-owned and are all in the top 21 of the Global Finance World's Safest Banks index.
Anti-corruption NGO Transparency International continued to rank New Zealand Number 1 for honesty and integrity in its public sector in 2012, the seventh year in a row the country was either first or first equal in the Corruption Perceptions index.
New Zealand boasts comparatively low developed-country business costs. Its labour costs are extremely competitive for a first-world country with a highly skilled and educated workforce.
New Zealand has a competitive and low-compliance Simple tax system. It is third lowest in the OECD for time taken for taxpayers to comply with tax obligations & has no capital gains tax.
New Zealand has a Efficient, market-oriented stable and internationally competitive economy. A wide range of free trade agreements, pro-competitive regulation, an efficient tax code, an open political system and the absence in almost all sectors of import tariffs or Government subsidies, have given rise to an efficient, globally competitive economy that facilitates both domestic and foreign investment.
State-owned enterprises are structured as corporations and compete on an equal footing with private sector counterparts. A free and independent media ensures transparency in the corporate and Government decision-making processes.
New Zealand boasts sound macroeconomic foundations, including a relatively strong fiscal position and a commitment to reduce net public debt to 20 percent of GDP by the early 2020s. Standard & Poors gives New Zealand an AA+ local currency rating, an AA foreign currency rating and an AAA T&C assessment. New Zealand has maintained a low-inflation environment for more than two decades with an independent monetary policy and a focus on price stability; a long-standing floating exchange rate and no exchange controls or restrictions on repatriation of funds.
New Zealand's geographic proximity and extensive free-trade agreements (FTA) provide access to key global markets. New Zealand currently has FTAs in place with China Australia Vietnam Philippines Cambodia Brunei IndonesiaHong Kong Myanmar Thailand Malaysia Laos Singapore Chile. Negotiations are under way with India, Korea, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and New Zealand is a key driver behind the Trans Pacific Partnership. New Zealand passport holders face fewer visa and other travel formalities than many other nationalities.
New Zealand has an Innovative and entrepreneurial culture that has produced entrepreneurs with the aptitude to generate new ideas that challenge the expected, having a can-do attitude and an ability to make more from less. At the forefront is a group of ambitious, high-growth and internationally focused companies. The country's top 100 high technology companies contributed $8 billion to the economy last year, with over $5 billion of exports in what is a very subdued international market. There exists in New Zealand a collaborative research and development environment backed by a Government that actively supports science and innovation as one of the core pillars of its formal Business Growth Agenda. New Zealanders are accustomed to and are embracing the country's fast-growing cultural diversity.
New Zealand has flexible immigration policies with a range of visa categories in place catering for investors, entrepreneurs and business managers, and active Government support for investment.
New Zealand has abundant water and arable land, and a temperate climate that supports sustainable food production. There is a stable supply of gas and electricity with up to 75 percent of all electricity generated from renewable hydro, geothermal and wind energy. This is supplemented by natural gas produced from local oil and gas fields, which is both exported and refined in-country to meet some domestic transport needs. Exploration is encouraged in a transparent and pro-investment climate.
New Zealand has world-class infrastructure across transport, logistics and telecommunications. Most major international airlines serve international airports in seven urban centres across New Zealand. Over 30 global and regional shipping lines serve privately-run, deep-water ports at internationally competitive stevedoring costs. The country also has an extensive road and rail transport system and efficient inter-island links.
The Maori economy : Assets owned by Maori are approaching $40 billion in value, and are growing as a new era of tribal cohesion, created in part by new leadership and by redress for historic injustices, is harnessed for economic potential. Maori iwi (tribal) investors are characterised by long term horizons, social and cultural as well as economic purpose, and concern for the environmental and future consequences of economic activity. Joint venture developments of natural resources between iwi and private sector investors are increasingly commonplace.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand supervises New Zealand's banking system; its main function being to implement Government monetary policy according and maintain financial stability. It also registers and supervises other banks. The Bank's monetary policy, defined by the Policy Target Agreement with the Government, is to maintain inflation at between 1 - 3 percent on average over the medium term. New Zealand has an open door policy on bank registration. There are several major trading banks and numerous other banking institutions. Many big international banks are represented in New Zealand through agents or sales offices.
New Zealand's telecommunications infrastructure includes international broadband submarine cable systems and competitive onshore mobile networks. The Southern Cross cable alone delivers 240 Gbit/s of fully-protected bandwidth to the United States mainland, Hawaii, Australia and Fiji. As demand increases capacity can be doubled to 480Gbit/s. The New Zealand Government has initiated a $1.5 billion programme partnering with the private sector to deliver fibre broadband capacity to New Zealand businesses, health institutions, schools and homes. 3G mobile networks are operating and the auction of 4G mobile spectrum is scheduled for the second half of 2013.