Qatar and Australia tie for top ranking in the newly released Fi3F Index of most desirable countries for Franchisor expansion

as released by PRNewswire

NEW Fi3F INDEX™ RANKS APPEAL OF 180 NATIONS FOR WORLDWIDE FRANCHISE EXPANSION OPPORTUNITIES

Qatar and Australia tie for top ranking, followed by S. Korea and Singapore;

Additional Fi3 indices to rank country appeal for exporters and direct investors

NEW YORK, NY—Feb. 13, 2014–  Fi3F™, a new proprietary and forward-looking index that measures the attractiveness of 180-nations for franchisors seeking to expand internationally, is being introduced today by Fluent in Foreign™ LLC, a New York City advisory group that guides companies as they seek to establish or expand their franchise business abroad.

Fluent in Foreign is headed by Alexander Gordin, author of the international business guidebook “Fluent in Foreign Business,” which was published last summer by the Princeton Council on World Affairs.  The Fi3F franchising index is the first in a planned series of three indices The other two – Fi3E™ and Fi3I™ – are geared for Exporters and direct foreign Investors, respectively.

The Fi3F Franchisor Country Appeal Index™ evaluates each nation on 100 point scale using proven factors that include proprietary data combined with information obtained from the World Bank, United Nations, Transparency International and several U.S. government agencies.  The index looks at factors that include each country’s GDP growth, population size, education, availability of franchise financing, political risk insurance, corruption, investor protection and legal framework for contract enforcement and IP protection.

The top spot on the list is shared by the tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar and Australia with each attaining the score of 85.7 out possible 100 points. In descending order, others on the top 10 list are: South Korea, Singapore, U.S., Malaysia, Canada, China, Mongolia and New Zealand. To get the full 180 country Fi3F list click Subscribe button on this page, or register your interest at http://www.fluentinforeignacademy.com .

The world’s most corrupt region and country in 2012

12/05/2012 | Emerging Markets

The levels of “bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings” are still “very high” in many emerging countries, Transparency International said

Two thirds of the 176 countries ranked in Transparency International’s index on corruption perceptions scored below 50 this year on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (seen as very clean), the non-profit organization said.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand all tied as the least corrupt countries in the world, with 90 points, while Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan were perceived as the most corrupt with 8 points, the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 showed.

“While no country has a perfect score, the majority of countries score below 50, indicating a serious corruption problem,” Huguette Labelle, Transparency International chair, said.

“Corruption in all its facets thrives on secrecy and on the perception by the corrupt that they are somehow above the law. We must ensure that there are real consequences to corruption.”

By geographical region, Eastern Europe and central Asia was perceived as the most corrupt, with 95% of countries scoring below 50. Georgia – where a drastic reform of police forces which has seen thousands of officers replaced was carried out relatively recently – was ranked as the least corrupt with Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan perceived as the most corrupt.

Sub-Saharan Africa was next, with 90% of countries scoring below 50; the least corrupt was Botswana and the most corrupt, Somalia.

In the Middle East and North Africa, 78% scored under 50, with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates the least corrupt and Iraq the most.Asia Pacific followed, with 68% of countries scoring below 50. New Zealand was the least corrupt in the region while Afghanistan and North Korea, the most corrupt.

It was followed by the Americas, with 66% scoring below 50; Canada was the least corrupt while Haiti and Venezuela, the most.

The region that was perceived the least corrupt overall was the European Union and Western Europe, where 23% of the countries scored below 50. The least corrupt countries were Denmark and Finland and the most corrupt was perceived to be Greece, which scored 36, on a par with emerging countries such as Colombia, India, Moldova or Mongolia.

New Zealand Tops Forbes’ List Of The Best Countries For Business

 

Kurt Badenhausen, Forbes.com, 11/14/2012

Americans went to the polls this month to vote in a presidential election that in many ways was a referendum on Barack Obama’s economic and fiscal policies. The United States has emerged from the worst recession since the Great Depression, but economic growth remains weak and unemployment stubbornly high. Another challenge: how its business climate stacks up globally.

 

Brendon O’Hagan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

#1 New Zealand

GDP: $162 billion
GDP per capita: $39,300
Public debt as % of GDP: 36%

The U.S. continues to lose ground against other nations in Forbes’ annual look at the Best Countries for Business. The U.S. placed second in 2009, but it has been in a steady decline since. This year it ranks 12th, down from No. 10 last year. The U.S. trails fellow G-8 countries Canada (No. 5), United Kingdom(No. 10) and Australia (No. 11).

Corporate taxes continue to put a damper on American businesses. Following a tax cut in Japanthis year, the U.S. now has the highest statutory corporate tax rate in the world. The effective rate is much lower thanks to numerous breaks, but owning the highest published rate makes for poor perceptions.

It is not just the rate that hinders the U.S., but also the complexity of the tax code. The typical small or medium-size business requires 175 hours a year to comply with U.S. tax laws, according to the World Bank. Overall the U.S. ranks 55th out of the 141 countries we examined in terms of its tax regime. The world’s biggest economy at $15.1 trillion, it also scores poorly when it comes to trade freedom and monetary freedom.

New Zealand ranks first on our list of the Best Countries for Business, up from No. 2 last year, thanks to a transparent and stable business climate that encourages entrepreneurship. New Zealand is the smallest economy in our top 10 at $162 billion, but it ranks first in four of the 11 metrics we examined, including personal freedom and investor protection, as well as a lack of red tape and corruption.

New Zealand’s economy is closely tied to Australia’s, and both held up better than most during the global financial crisis. The downside to the resilience of its economy is that the New Zealand dollar has appreciated, making the country’s agricultural exports more expensive. The higher prices have helped to push up unemployment to 7.3%—the highest level since 1999.

New Zealand cut its corporate tax rate from 30% to 28% last year and eliminated certain deductions, making the cut fiscally neutral. Investors have prospered, with the country’s benchmark stock index, the NZX 50, up 24% over the past 12 months.

We determined the Best Countries for Business by grading 141 nations on 11 different factors: property rights, innovation, taxes, technology, corruption, freedom (personal, trade and monetary), red tape, investor protection and stock market performance.

Forbes leaned on research and published reports from the following organizations: the Central Intelligence Agency, Freedom House, Heritage Foundation, Property Rights Alliance, Transparency International, World Bank and World Economic Forum.

Ranking second on our list is Denmark, on the strength of its technology, trade freedom and property rights. Its GDP per capita is one of the highest in the world at $59,684 last year, according to the World Bank (America’s was $48,442). Like the U.S., Denmark is struggling to recover from the bursting of its real estate bubble. GDP rose 1.1% last year and contracted 0.4% in the second quarter of 2012. Yet, with its business-friendly climate, the country is poised to rebound stronger than most of Europe.

Hong Kong ranks third. Its economy, highly dependent on international trade and finance, remains one of the most vibrant in the world. Credit one of the world’s lowest tax burdens and a high level of monetary freedom. Hong Kong’s economy grew 5% last year and the unemployment rate is a scant 3.2%.

Singapore comes in at No. 4, ranking in the top 20 in all but one of the 11 metrics we measured. The only thing keeping Singapore from the top spot is a low score on personal freedom, as measured by watchdog organization Freedom House. Singapore’s economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics and IT products. Its trade surplus was 24% of GDP in 2011. The $240 billion economy grew 4.9% last year.

Canada slid from the top of the rankings in 2011 to No. 5 this year, losing ground on innovation and technology. The World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report says Canada is being weighed down by “a less favorable assessment of the quality of its research institutions and the government’s role in promoting innovation through procurement practices.” However Canada remains among the best countries in the world when it comes to trade freedom, investor protection and the ease of starting a new business.

 

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