Annual Report and Business Plan 1999-2000 - Business.govt.nz

Business Trends
The most dramatic feature of the year was the huge surge in company incorporations over the 12 month period -
the highest number of company incorporations ever recorded in New Zealand. The total number of incorporations
- slightly in excess of 26,500 new companies - represented a 10% increase against 1997/98 figures and was
consistent with the continual increase in company incorporations since 1989/90.
Among the contributing factors were the simplified structure offered by the 1993 Companies Act, reduced fees for
incorporating and maintaining companies, and the availability of electronic registration procedures.
Company Incorporations per year
(000’s)
30
A significant trend emerging from the annual
10
Companies incorporated
25
20
15
10
5
0
1989/
90
90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99
Year
statistics is the increasing longevity of New
Zealand companies. Over 95% of companies
remain active after one year of trading. Of
those companies incorporated at the
beginning of this decade, over 50% of them
are still in business.
These figures rebut a common belief that the
majority of companies fail in their first few
years of life. They vary according
to region, with 81% of Otago/Southland
companies exceeding five years in business
compared to 71% of companies based in
Auckland surviving beyond the five-year mark.
Total companies on the register
(000’s)
225
210
195
180
165
150
0
1989/
90
Total Companies on the Register
90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99
Year
Average Company Life
Percentage of Companies
Still Trading
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14
Years since incorporation