Expat entrepreneurs believe that they have made more achievements by working abroad than they would have made by remaining in their host country, according to a new survey by NatWest International Personal Banking.
The survey, which rated the lives of expatriates living overseas, found that 78% of expat entrepreneurs believe that they have experienced accelerated growth as a result of running their business overseas. In addition to this, 22% of those questioned as part of the research rated the prospects for their business over the next three years as excellent or very good.
According to the survey expatriates who live in Singapore, Hong Kong or the United States have the best environment for nurturing enterprise, while those in Spain, the United Arab Emirates and China have the worst. Meanwhile, the countries with the highest business prospects were named as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, while those with the least positive outlook are Portugal, Spain and France.
The NatWest study, which was completed through collaboration with The Centre of Future Studies, assessed the entrepreneurial environment that is available to expatriates in countries throughout the world and considered the prospects and opportunities available to expats within their country of residence. Of those questioned 74% said that they believed that the biggest advantage of running their business overseas was gaining access to cheaper resources, while 65% were attracted by tax advantages. When it came to the disadvantages of running a business overseas, 71% of those questioned claimed that foreign regulations and standards hindered their achievements.
Discussing the latest survey results Dave Isley, head of NatWest International Personal Banking said: “Setting up your own business can be difficult and you would imagine doing so abroad would be a task for the brave. A new breed of entrepreneurs is emerging and it is encouraging to see that these pioneers are thriving in foreign climes.
“It is interesting the see that Singapore, Hong Kong and the USA are fruitful entrepreneurial countries according to the index yet China and UAE rank so low. Given the current economical climate, it is no surprise that expat entrepreneurs in Portugal, Spain and France do not feel they have a positive business outlook.”
The study rated expats’ lives abroad according to a number of lifestyle indicators, including consumer goods, entertainment, food, law enforcement, public transport, sanitation, housing, public services, leisure and culture, schools and education, financial confidence, healthcare provision, retirement facilities, weather, financial factors and the natural environment.
