Expat entrepreneurs identify growth regions

Singapore, Hong Kong and US come out top in a study by NatWest International Personal Banking in conjunction with The Centre of Future Studies which identifies the business climate for expat entrepreneurs.

Drawn from NatWest IPB's Quality of Life index, the study focused on three aspects: how easy it was for expats to do business; the business climate in the country in which they are working; and the prospects for their business in the next three years.

The study identifies Singapore, Hong Kong and the US as expat entrepreneurs’ favourite top three countries for nurturing enterprise. And the three locations exposed as being the worst are Spain, the UAE and China. Expats say that the countries with the most positive business prospects going forward are Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, whereas  Portugal, Spain and France are countries deemed to have the least positive prospects.
 
NatWest IPB’s study was carried out with The Centre of Future Studies and it highlights the extent to which countries promote entrepreneurialism in three ways: by making it easy for expats to do business; the business climate in the country in which they are working; and the prospects for their business in the next three years.
 
When asked what was the main advantage of running a business abroad rather than back in the UK, over three quarters (78%) said faster growth. A further 74% believes access to cheaper resources is a real advantage and for 65% tax incentives are the big draw. When it comes to disadvantages, 71% cites foreign regulations and standards as the biggest hindrances.

Looking ahead, 22% of expat entrepreneurs consider the prospects for their business in the next three years to be ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ and over half (55.8%) rate their prospects as ‘good’.  

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