In a Forbes survey from December of last year, Ireland ranked number one as a place to do business, despite the economic troubles we’ve seen in recent years.
The survey, which ranks Ireland as the best place in the world to do business measured innovation, technology, monetary freedom and red tape, amongst other things and Ireland was the only country to rank in the top 15% of countries in every one of the 11 metrics examined.
Barry O’Leary, CEO at IDA noted, “This Forbes ranking will reach senior business people across the world – making them aware of all the advantages available to those that locate businesses here.” and continued, “Country rankings like this are used by companies across the world when they make initial decisions to investigate the possibility of locating their businesses internationally.”
Ireland had moved up the ranking from the previous year where it ranked 6th, still an excellent score.
Other countries coming in in top spots for 2013 included 2. New Zealand, 3. Hong Kong, 4. Denmark and 5. Sweden.
So in plain English, what is it that makes it such an attractive place to set up shop?
“Ireland’s recent troubles have made it more attractive for companies moving in. Nominal wages fell 17% between 2008 and 2011, which helped keep labor costs in check. Unemployment remains stubbornly high—a recent 12.8%—providing companies a large labor pool to pick from. There are now more than 1,000 overseas companies with a presence in Ireland and they employ 150,000 of the nation’s 1.9 million workers. “Dublin has already established itself as a location for multinationals, so it has the necessary infrastructure for other companies to easily move into the country and set up shop,” says Bowler.” [Source]
Have you set up a business in Ireland or looking to invest in or partner with companies here? What’s your experience? Comment below or join the conversation on Twitter.
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