New Zealand is a democratic English-speaking country of the British Commonwealth. It has a free market economy, political stability, a world-class educational system, and strong research, business, and entrepreneurial communities. New Zealand offers the foreign investor the opportunity for attractive onshore investments and a legal vehicle to operate a New Zealand offshore finance company, a NZOFC, off its shores. Land investments in New Zealand can trade locally or link to New Zealand’s healthy export economy. Offshore investments in New Zealand will take advantage of business opportunities and what are essentially bank customers around the world, but not in the country.
New Zealand
New Zealand is located in the South and Western Pacific Ocean on two large islands. The majority of New Zealanders are of European descent and the most widely spoken language by far is English. It is a developed country with high international rankings in economic freedom, lack of corruption and education. International surveys of the world’s most liveable cities always see New Zealand’s urban areas at or near the top of the list. Its heritage from the British Empire is still in evidence by the fact that its head of state is Elizabeth II, Queen of England. The Queen is represented by the Governor General, but administrative power is vested in the New Zealand Cabinet.
New Zealand is well known in the business world for having a culture of innovation and a stable political environment, especially when it comes to doing business. New Zealand always ranks high in surveys on the ease of doing business. The various factors combine to make New Zealand a great place to invest. Specifically, there are a number of business areas for which New Zealand stands out. These are biotechnology and agricultural technology, creative activities such as digital and creative arts, fashion design, publishing, textiles, and digital content.
Specialist manufacturing thrives in New Zealand with businesses specializing in cleantech, defence, light and heavy engineering, plastics, composites and metals technologies. Much of this stems from the country’s strong educational and research base.
An economic strength of New Zealand is its food and drink industry, which has tripled its exports in the last two decades. Its technical strength is shown in its computer and software industry. New Zealand deals with wireless infrastructure, health information technology, transportation, logistics and supply chain management technology, and communications technology with geospatial applications.
With a healthy environment and vast forests, New Zealand has an export business for timber and other forest products. The other aspect of New Zealand’s healthy environment and natural beauty is that the country is a tourist destination, attracting more than two million visitors a year and billions of dollars worth of tourists.
Consulting services
During the wave of deregulation that swept through many developed countries during the 1980s, New Zealand developed consultancy services to help adapt the business and social environment. These consultancy services are especially useful for those wishing to invest in New Zealand or establish overseas businesses licensed and based there. Whether you are investing in world-class biotechnical research aimed at genomics, breeding, cloning or molecular techniques aimed at improving animal productivity, there is a local industry in New Zealand ready to assist the interested investor.
For those interested in doing business internationally but with New Zealand as a base, there is an especially attractive option. It is the bank that is not a bank. This is a New Zealand Offshore Finance Company, a NZOFC. This type of transaction can accept interest-bearing deposits, make loans, offer credit and debit card services, provide trust services, and much more. A NZOFC can effectively function as an offshore bank. However, you cannot do business in New Zealand. Also, because it is governed by a different set of laws than banks, it cannot be called a bank. One attractive aspect of a NZOFC is that it has no capital requirements and is not subject to regulation by the Central Bank of New Zealand.
Some useful information for investors is that companies doing business in New Zealand often pay tax. However, a New Zealand Special Purpose Company that is an offshore company may be established to be the trustee of a non-resident New Zealand trust. This type of offshore business arrangement is not taxable in New Zealand, except to the extent that any income is earned in the country of New Zealand.
As with many offshore company setups, an international business company outside of New Zealand will typically do business around the world, have bank accounts and invest anywhere outside of New Zealand. Such a business will be a tax free offshore company.
Once incorporated, the company is generally free to do business, open bank accounts or invest anywhere in the world. If a company wishes to take advantage of the type of asset protection features that are often available offshore, it is helpful to couple the business with a trust.
If an investor is interested in the bank that is not a bank, ie a New Zealand offshore finance company, then any person can authorize and form such an institution, regardless of their nationality. Directors do not need to be New Zealand residents, although it is not uncommon for a NZOFC to have at least one shareholder, officer or manager who is a New Zealand resident just because there can sometimes be issues that are easier to handle. someone physically present in the country.
When investing in New Zealand or choosing to license an offshore company in New Zealand, the investor will normally want to see what business opportunities are available both onshore and offshore. To the extent that the tax advantages or asset protection and privacy features of an offshore company are important, company directors may well choose a full “offshore” route. To the extent that the business opportunity in the country of New Zealand is attractive, directors may seek advice on investment opportunities onshore rather than abroad.
