Does market opportunity outweigh potential complexity when deciding on new markets? Our latest poll gives a surprising answer.
Size of opportunity is - perhaps unsurprisingly - the top attraction when looking to grow a business, according to our latest poll.
Asked what attracts most when looking at a new investment destination, 31% voters of the poll – housed on the TMF Group website – named both the size of the market, and the potential to use it as a base for other new markets, as the biggest reasons to invest.
Surprisingly, low levels of regulation was the least concerning element of strategy, with just 3% of voters choosing the option.
A favourable tax regime (19%) and low cost of operations (16%) were the other options on the table.
"It's interesting to note that a complex regulatory regime doesn't put off some investors," says TMF Group CEO Hugo van Vredenburch.
"Certainly, our recent research with IDC suggested that we are witnessing a significant shift in business attitudes and priorities away from a conservative, often inward-looking approach to a more confident, expansionist one.
"While those companies face wide-ranging challenges, the need to understand and comply with the continually changing local regulatory and legislative landscapes is one of the biggest."
That IDC report – which surveyed a number of senior decision makers from a range of corporations which were either planning to expand overseas or already had done so, and is available here – found that local expertise and on-the-ground service providers can play a critical role in successful territorial expansion. Help comes particularly in terms of creating the new legal entity, recruiting and training, and creating and supporting the running of day-to-day mechanics such as payroll processing and regulatory reporting. These are areas where local knowledge and experience is often vital, if not an absolute necessity.
Our webinar series on expanding abroad can help shed light on those territories that will offer the most growth for your business; register here and find out more about how TMF Group can give you a QuickStart to new markets.
This month's poll asks you about the MINTs; vote here.
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