The New Zealand story

1. Corporate Registries as a
Vehicle for Economic
Growth
Presented by: Ross van der Schyff
Registrar of Companies, PPSR and NZBN
Commissioner of Patents, Trade Marks, Designs and Plant Variety Rights;
Official Assignee for New Zealand
The New Zealand Story

2. Economic Growth
Well regulated
business
environment
• Sound
regulatory
framework
• Low
regulatory
costs
Business registers are a
key component
Registra*on brings the benefits of
various en*ty structures
Registers contain informa*on that
is important as a basis for trust
Our Motivation
In NZ we
had the
founda*ons
but we
thought we
could
deliver
more

3. Our Building Blocks
Integrated
Value
Trust and
Integrity
Customer
centered
service delivery
Fit for purpose
LegislaPon
Economic
Growth

4. The New Zealand Context
• We are a small, open, economy far from our
trading partners.
• SME’s are an important part of our
economy:
Ø 97% of businesses by number;
Ø 26% of GDP;
Ø 29% of employment.
• They do not have regulatory affairs
departments.
• An electronic business environment that has
wide and deep penetra*on.
Ø Access to internet, electronic banking,
cloud accoun*ng, mobile devices.
• A sound legisla*ve framework.
• A suppor*ve, even demanding, government
Integrated
Value
Trust and
Integrity
Customer
centered
service delivery
Fit for purpose
LegislaPon
Economic
Growth

5. Our Legislative Journey
Companies
Amendment Act
1993
Companies
Reregistra*on Act
1993
Companies
Registra*on of
Charges Act 1993
Receiverships Act
1993
Land Transfer
Amendment Act
1993
Companies Act
Repeal Act 1993
(30 June 1997)
Personal Property
Securi*es Act
1999
Companies
Amendment Act
2014
NZ Business
Number Act 2016
Law reform in
New Zealand
since 1993 has
modernised our
statutory
framework:
Fit for purpose
LegislaPon

6. Common Seal
Concept of par
value, authorized
capital, and issued
capital
Memorandum
and Ar*cles of
Associa*on
redundant
Office of Company
Secretary
Declara*on of
Compliance
Dis*nc*on
between public
and private
company
Which removed:
Fit for purpose
LegislaPon
Our Legislative Journey

7. What did we do
To make it
faster and
cheaper
We went
online to
register and
find
informaPon Built API's
Achieved ISO
cerPficaPon
Worked on
our operaPng
model
Focussed on
staff culture
Staff training
and skill sets
Stakeholder
engagement
and buy-in
Developed a
sustainable
funding
model
Built an SME
portal:
Bus.Govt.Nz
Customer
centered
service delivery

8. What was the outcome
No. 1
in the world for starPng
a business
490
company removals
iniPated by the Integrity
& Enforcement team
No.1
in the world for overall
ease of doing business
99.9%
of new companies are
incorporated online
Over
170
site visits to monitor
compliance
Customer
centered
service delivery
Around
40,000
companies removed
annually
2017/18

9. An Example
Visibility drives integrity
• The increased scru*ny has placed pressure on us to ensure
the accuracy of informa*on.
• The ease of star*ng a business has also exposed us to risks
of misuse of corporate en**es.
SP Trading Limited, a NZ
registered company, was
involved in smuggling
weapons from North
Korea. The company was
used to charter the aircrab.
Trust and
Integrity

10. Visibility drives integrity
• The need for visibility also propels us (and the world) to add
further informa*on that builds business integrity in our systems.
• It also drives us to build addi*onal safeguards in our systems.
The New Zealand government is about to issue a public discussion
document on how we will approach beneficial ownership
requirements in our legisla*on and on our Registers
• Avoids the problems of different spellings or mul*ple names;
• Allows third par*es to connect directors across the register;
• Enables Government departments to accurately connect their data;
• Provides more efficiency to update across the register.
Director
Iden*ty
Numbers
Beneficial
Ownership
Trust and
Integrity

11. Leveraging for Economic Growth
InternaPonal
ConnecPons
Now – being fully online offers far more ways
to make our building blocks deliver more
value for businesses and consumers
Integrated
Value
Registry
Reform
In-Country DiagnosPcs Hosted study tours
Botswana Brunei Timor-Leste Abu Dhabi Japan Saudi Arabia
Cook Islands
Cambodia
(pending)
Zimbabwe
(pending)
Bangladesh Kenya Singapore
Lesotho Chile
Brazil
Brazil Labuan South Africa
Nuie Fiji
Brunei Malaysia Timor-Leste
Papua New
Guinea
Indonesia Cambodia Mexico UAE
Samoa Kiriba* Chile Mongolia Uganda
Solomon
Islands
Laos (pending) China Montana USA Vietnam
Tonga Myanmar Cote d’Ivoire Philippines Zambia
Vanuatu Peru Hong Kong
Republic of
Korea
Zimbabwe
Philippines Indonesia Samoa

12. Leveraging for Economic Growth
InternaPonal
ConnecPons
Business.govt.nz
Integrated
Value

13. Leveraging for Economic Growth
InternaPonal
ConnecPons
Business.govt.nz
NZBN
Integrated
Value

15. Leveraging for Economic Growth
InternaPonal
ConnecPons
Business.govt.nz
NZBN
Integrated
Value

16. Leveraging for Economic Growth
InternaPonal
ConnecPons
Business.govt.nz
NZBN
e-Invoicing
Integrated
Value

17. Thank you
Integrated
Value
Trust and
Integrity
Customer
centered
service delivery
Fit for purpose
LegislaPon
Economic
Growth