15 best countries for business

New Zealand is ranked as the best country for business, according to Forbes. The report states that the United States continues to lose ground against other nations in Forbes’ annual look at the best countries for business.
(Source: Forbes)

1. New Zealand

The island country, New Zealand has a modern, prosperous and developed market economy. The country is heavily dependent on international trade and has a high demand for agricultural products.

GDP: GDP: $162 billion

GDP per capita: $39,300

Public debt as % of GDP: 36%

2. Denmark

Officially the Kingdom of Denmark has a developed mixed market economy and the country’s economy stands out for its economic freedom. It has a large labour force and its support for free trade is high.

GDP: $333 billion

GDP per capita: $59,684

Public debt as % of GDP: 44%

3. Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a special administrative region and is considered to be one of the world’s leading financial centers. The country has a major capitalist service economy characterized by low taxation and free trade.

GDP: $244 billion

GDP per capita: $34,457

Public debt as % of GDP: 30%

4. Singapore

Singapore has a highly developed market based economy. It is known to have one of the freest, innovative, competitive and business-friendly environments worldwide. The economy depends heavily on exports and refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing.

GDP: $240 billion

GDP per capita: $46,241

Public debt as % of GDP: 118%

5. Canada

Canada has a mixed economy and manufacturing, mining and service sectors have transformed the nation from a rural economy to an industrialized one. The country is one of the world's largest suppliers of agricultural products.

GDP: $1.7 trillion

GDP per capita: $50,345

Public debt as % of GDP: 87%

6. Ireland

The economy of Ireland mainly focuses on services and high-tech industries. Exports play a very important role and Ireland is considered to be one of the world’s most profitable countries.

GDP: $217 billion

GDP per capita: $48,423

Public debt as % of GDP: 105%

7. Sweden

Sweden is an export oriented mixed economy and is heavily oriented towards foreign trade. The country’s engineering, telecommunications, automotive and pharmaceutical industries are of great importance.

GDP: $538 billion

GDP per capita: $56,927

Public debt as % of GDP: 38%

8. Norway
Norway is a mixed economy. It features a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. It is also one of the largest oil exporters in the world.

GDP: $486 billion

GDP per capita: $98,102

Public debt as % of GDP: 58%

9. Finland

Although Finland was relatively late for industrialization, the country’s economy grows rapidly. The country is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade.

GDP: $266 billion

GDP per capita: $49,391

Public debt as % of GDP: 49%

10. United Kingdom

United Kingdom was the world’s first industrialized countries and is a now considered as one of the great powers in with its economic influence. The country has a partially regulated market economy.

GDP: $2.4 trillion

GDP per capita: $38,818

Public debt as % of GDP: 86%

11. Australia

Australia is a developed country which enjoys its high economic freedom. It is considered to be a wealthy economy with a market economy. The country is a major exporter of agricultural products.

GDP: $1.4 trillion

GDP per capita: $60,642

Public debt as % of GDP: 27%

12. United States

The United States of America has a capitalist mixed economy which has a developed infrastructure, high productivity and sufficient natural resources. Apart from being known for its large exports the country is also one of the largest importers of goods.

GDP: $15.1 trillion

GDP per capita: $48,442

Public debt as % of GDP: 68%

13. Belgium

Belgium has a strong globalised economy and it is characterized by high productive work force. The country is heavily is service-oriented and has an integrated transport infrastructure.

GDP: $512 billion

GDP per capita: $46,469

Public debt as % of GDP: 100%

14. Netherlands

The Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy that is well known for its liberal stance. Shipping, fishing, trade, and banking have been leading sectors of the country’s economy.

GDP: $836 billion

GDP per capita: $50,087

Public debt as % of GDP: 65%

15. Switzerland

Switzerland is known as one of the most stable, prosperous and wealthiest economy. The high tech economy’s main sector is manufacturing and the Switzerland’s largest exported goods are chemicals.

GDP: $636 billion

GDP per capita: $80,391

Public debt as % of GDP: 52%

Gangrape victim flown to Singapore for treatment

The 23-year-old grievously injured gangrape victim was late Wednesday night flown out of India for treatment in Singapore, doctors said.

The woman, who was brutally raped Dec 16, was shifted out of Safdarjung Hospital and flown in an air ambulance to Singapore's Mt Elizabeth hospital which is renowned for organ transplants, B.D. Athani, the medical superintendent of Safdarjang Hospital, told reporters.

The decision was taken after her condition deteriorated, sources said. Her parents are also accompanying her.

The young woman, who was admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital on Dec 16, was operated upon thrice and had to have her small intestine removed due to extensive injuries following the brutal torture by the five men and a juvenile who raped her in a moving bus.

Athani praised the woman's "fortitude and courage".

The decision to shift her was taken on doctors advice. The government made all the arrangements to shift her in a state-of-the-art air ambulance.

The woman's pulse rate had reportedly dropped alarmingly Tuesday night

Athani said the young woman was being treated "by some of the best doctors of Safdarjang and AIIMS". She suffered "severe injuries in her intestines and abdomen" and "based on the advice of doctors the government made arrangements for her to be sent in a specially equipped air ambulance abroad".

He said that arrangements had been made with Mt Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore "which has state-of-the-art organ transplant facilities".

He said the treatment would be long and that is why her family has also been sent with her.

Southern superstar Rajnikanth and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh had been treated in the premier Singapore hospital.

As the ambulance was leaving Safdarjung Hospital, some people tried to block the road and shouted slogans against Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. They were quickly dispersed.

Tinsukia tea estate MD burnt to death by workers for salary

Angered because their salaries had not been paid and other basic facilities before Christmas not given, tea-garden workers on Wednesday allegedly burnt to death the managing director (MD) of the Tulapathar tea estate in Tinsukia district, 600 km east of Guwahati.

Two charred bodies including supposedly that of MD Mridul Kumar Bhattacharya were recovered from a house that was gutted. Its occupants were Bhattacharya and his wife.

The mob set ablaze the official quarters of the garden's manager also.

They also set fire to a gypsy and an Ambassador, which belonged to the management.

"The bodies have not been identified. Both the managing director and the garden manager's quarters were torched by a violent mob comprising labourers. Two more persons residing in the quarters are missing after the incident. The situation in the area is tense. Security forces have already been rushed to the tea garden", said SS Meenakshi Sundaram, deputy commissioner of Tinsukia district.

Sundaram said for the past two months, differences had surfaced between the tea garden management and labourers on salaries not being paid. On Wednesday, the garden authorities served quit notice to 10 workers.

In the first week of December, an FIR had been lodged against three labourers.

"Their arrest on a court warrant angered the workers more," Sundaram added.

Academic qualifications of India's top business leaders

If you thought all of India’s business leaders were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, you are wrong. Even those who were heirs to established business empire, made it a point to equip themselves academically to tackle the challenges posed by the winds of change and uncertain future.

Ratan Tata completed his B.S. in architecture with structural engineering from Cornell University in 1962, and the Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School in 1975. 


Mukesh Ambani completed his graduation with a bachelor`s degree in chemical engineering from the UDCT, now Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. He later enrolled for an MBA from Stanford University but completed only one year of the two year programme, to help out his legendary father in business.


Deepak Parekh is the Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation. A Chartered Accountant, Parekh began his career with Ernst & Young Management Consultancy Services in New York. After returning to India, he worked with Grindlays Bank and also Chase Manhattan Bank as its assistant representative for South Asia. Parekh joined HDFC in 1978.


Kumar Mangalam Birla is the Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. A chartered accountant by qualification, he also has an MBA from the London Business School.


Anand Mahindra is the Chairman and Managing Director of one of India’s largest enterprise, Mahindra & Mahindra. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1977 (he studied filmmaking at Harvard), and completed his MBA from Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts in 1981. 


Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal is the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises. He started his career at 18 after graduating from Panjab University in 1976 and founded Bharti. He is also an alumnus of Harvard Business School, USA.


Anil Dhirubani Ambani group head Anil Ambani completed his Bachelors degree from University of Bombay (as it was known then), followed by Master of Business Administration degree from University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.


N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus of Infosys earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Mysore in 1967 and a master’s degree in technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, in 1969.


Azim H Premji, Chairman, Wipro holds an electrical engineering degree from Stanford University, USA.


Venu Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of Sundaram Clayton Ltd and TVS Motor Company. After graduating as an engineer from the University of Madras, he completed a Master's Degree in Management from Purdue University in the USA.

42 year old woman gang raped dumped in Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 27 (ANI): Another gang rape has taken place in Delhi when a 42-year-old woman was allegedly gang raped by three people and dumped in Kalkaji area.

The incident took place in South Delhi on Wednesday night and the victim was thrown in the Kalkaji area. The police registered a case on against three people, out of which one person has been reportedly detained.

The victim was reportedly on her way from Vrindavan to Delhi.

The police registered a case of rape after the victim was given medical assistance and examined.

The recent incident can put the Delhi police in more trouble as they are yet to arrest the accused.

The police is under severe pressure and criticism since six men raped a 23-year-old medical student on a moving bus in Vasant Vihar area of South Delhi on December 16. This incident enraged the nation. Protests were held at different places of the country.

There were more than 24, 200 reported rape cases in India in 2011, a rise of over nine per cent on the previous year.

Among the major cities New Delhi has the highest level of sex crime. (ANI)