{"id":14066,"date":"2017-12-19T11:57:29","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T17:57:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14066"},"modified":"2017-12-19T21:22:14","modified_gmt":"2017-12-20T03:22:14","slug":"the-u-k-tops-forbes-best-countries-for-business-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=14066","title":{"rendered":"The U.K. Tops Forbes’ Best Countries For Business 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the United Kingdom narrowly voted last year to leave the European Union, predictions swirled that the British economy would collapse. Yes, the pound plummeted 9% versus the dollar the day after the surprise result and remains down, but the economy as a whole has held up relatively well. Gross domestic product grew 1.8% in 2016, a tick behind only Germany\u2019s 1.9% growth among the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Economic growth has continued in 2017, home prices are up and unemployment has sunk to a 42-year low at 4.3%.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Much uncertainty remains with the official exit from the EU scheduled for March 2019. Some U.K. companies are holding off on investments to see how Brexit\u00a0effects trade relations, and growth is forecasted to slow in 2018, but Britain\u2019s business climate remains attractive. The U.K. ranks\u00a0first\u00a0for the first time in Forbes<\/em>\u2019 12th annual survey\u00a0of the Best Countries for Business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.K. ranked among the top 25 countries (out of 153 measured) in each of the 15 metrics tracked, outside of political risk where it ranked twenty-eighth. Great Britain ranked fifth overall last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.K. scored particularly well on technological readiness (fourth) and the size and education of its workforce (third). Its\u2019 $2.6 trillion economy is the fifth largest in the world.\u00a0London serves as the central hub for European financial services and is home to financial giants like HSBC, Prudential and Barclays.<\/strong><\/div>\n

Britain’s reign as the top country could be brief as companies’ plans for Brexit unfold. London might lose 10,000 banking jobs<\/a> from Brexit, according to think tank Bruegel. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Standard Charter are moving their EU headquarters to Frankfurt with Paris and Dublin landing spots for other banks looking to ensure access to the single market.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We determined the Best Countries for\u00a0Business\u00a0by rating 153 nations on 15 different factors including property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape and investor protection. Each category was equally weighted.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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We tweaked our methodology this year for the first time in a decade after conversations with multiple site selection experts. Stock market performance is out and we added workforce, infrastructure, market size, quality of life and political risk to provide a better gauge of how attractive a country is for capital investment. The data is based on published reports from Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, United Nations, Transparency International, World Bank Group, Aon, Marsh & McLennan and World Economic Forum (click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0for more details on the methodology and the best and worst country on each metric).<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Zealand ranks second overall for the third straight year. The island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean is home to only 4.5 million people, but the economy has been on a roll, up 3.6% last year. Among the countries\u00a0in the top 20, only Ireland’s economy expanded faster.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian economy to an industrialized, free market one over the past four decades. The Kiwi nation privatized dozens of industries like airlines, insurance, banking and telecommunications previously controlled by the government. It scores first overall for red tape, corruption and property rights.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands, Sweden and Canada.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The U.S. previously went on a decade-long slide in our ranking from the top spot in 2006 to No. 23 last year thanks to rising levels of red tape and bureaucracy, along with falling scores on trade and monetary freedom. But the $18.6 trillion economy moves up to 11th this year thanks to improved scores relative to the rest of the world on technological readiness, innovation and trade freedom. The U.S. also benefits from methodology changes with the additions of workforce (size and education level) and market size (gross national product). The U.S. ranks first in both categories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"The world\u2019s second (China) and third (Japan) biggest economies rank 66th and 21st, respectively, among the Best Countries for Business. China is held back by a lack of trade and monetary freedom. Japan has cut its corporate tax rate by eight percentage points since 2012, but its tax burden still lags the vast majority of developed nations per the World Bank. Japan rates among the 10 nations for innovation and infrastructure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

African nations populate the worst countries for business with six of the bottom 10 (Haiti is the worst performer among non-African countries). Most of these countries fare poorly on innovation, trade freedom and investor protection. Chad ranks last for the third straight year. The landlocked African nation suffers from a lack of infrastructure and trained workers, as well as high levels of bureaucracy and corruption.<\/strong>
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