Hong Kong has fallen 12 places in the TMF Group Complexity Index – from 68th in 2013 to 80th in 2014 – indicating that business environment is becoming significantly less complicated.
Argentina ranked as the most complex for the second year running
This is also supported by Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as Hong Kong continues to be the second largest recipient of FDI in Asia after Mainland China.
The far-reaching annual study by TMF Group, a leading provider of global business and compliance services, has ranked 81 jurisdictions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas according to how complex they are to do business in from a regulatory and compliance perspective. The full report can be seen here www.tmfgroup.com/complexityindex2014.
TMF Group’s findings suggest that the improvement in Hong Kong’s business environment is due largely to the enactment of the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance on 3 March 2014. The Ordinance implements sweeping changes to the corporate environment in Hong Kong and has simplified and streamlined the legal framework which regulates the formation and operation of companies in Hong Kong, including overseas companies operating in the jurisdiction.
The adoption of this legislation – one of the largest pieces in the country - was an important milestone in the development of company law in Hong Kong and the positive impact it has had on the business community is highlighted in the TMF Group rankings.
Commenting on the report, Paolo Tavolato, Head of Asia Pacific at TMF Group, said: “While Hong Kong has long offered an attractive commercial environment for foreign businesses seeking to invest in the Asian region, the adoption of the Companies Ordinance in March last year has significantly enhanced corporate governance, reduced regulatory hurdles and facilitated the growth of commerce. We are delighted that the positive impact of these initiatives has been recognised in the TMF Group Complexity Index rankings.”
Results summary:
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