Doing business in New Zealand

Hi Julien;

I am going through this just now and learning myself, so I can only provide partial answers to your questions:

are foreign investors welcome in New Zealand?
It seems yes.  There are a couple of different paths for foreign investors to get a proper visa and there don't seem to be any barriers to getting capital transferred to a local bank.  See this page for information about the possible visas.  I myself am going for a Long Term Business Visa.  http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/invest/

Is it complicated to register a company in New Zealand? What is the procedure?
Haven't gotten this far yet, so no real information to share.  But this is a modern country so I don't think there will be problems.

What is the corporate tax rate in New Zealand?
Varies.  Biggest tax expenses are the GST and the ACC (health care).  Decent article on the GST here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goods_and_Services_Tax_(New_Zealand)

Is it easy to recruit?
Yes, but be prepared for sticker shock on salaries and benefits.  It is an expensive country to live in and the salaries are commensurate with that.  Current unemployement levels are historically average, I believe. 

Any advice you would share with us?
Biggest change for me, coming from the USA, is you have to dramatically scale down your thinking.  The entire country is 4.5 million people.  For a local company, your potential market is much, much smaller than you might be used to.  You need to business plan accordingly. 

Thank you very much for your participation,

Julien

thanks for your post wellmana !

Email me sagunupreti@yahoo.co.nz
I will give you detais of your qst. Im a self employed business man from auk, NZ

Hi NZ Student Union,

Why don't you share your experience here on the forum so that everyone can benefit from it. Thank you very much.