Home > Our Publications > New Zealand Outlook > 2002 > October

THE Bay of Plenty's awesome landscapes, lush forests, amazing wildlife and beautiful climate are well known. But did you know there are compelling business reasons why you should locate your business in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, in the booming North Island.
Port of Tauranga is New Zealand's largest export port and second largest import port, with close proximity to and free trade with Australia & Singapore and close proximity to the Asia/Pacific region.
Prime and grade A office rental rates are the lowest in the Asia Pacific region, industrial rental rates are the third lowest.
Labour rates are amongst the lowest in the developed world. Wages and salaries are 20 to 30 per cent lower than Australia and less than 50 per cent of those in the USA for equivalently skilled employees.
The Tauranga, Bay of Plenty region is the most desirable place to live the region and enjoys a highly skilled/highly educated workforce.
In the developed world it has the third cheapest labour costs at just US$9.1 per hour, against US$14.2 in Ireland, US$15.3 in Australia and US$15.6 in the UK, according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook.
Only Korea (US$5.9) and Singapore (US$7.7) are lower.
Costs are also the lowest in the region for an analyst programmer with five year's experience, with Auckland at US$25,000 per year, Melbourne, US$31,000 and Sydney, US$34,000.
In a study of OECD countries run in 2000, New Zealand's 15 year olds ranked third for mathematics and literacy and sixth out of 31 countries in science.
The Tauranga region has a strong tertiary/research base with a university, polytechnic and four Crown research institutions.
Telecommunications are world class with numerous broadband and Internet service providers, mobile telephony and wireless telecommunications.
Tauranga is an ATM node site providing super high speed 100 per cent digital data services such as Frame Relay and JetStream, Fibre Optic Cable, in addition to an extensive Copper Cable network.
Tauranga's prime position within two hours drive of 44 per cent of New Zealand's population reduces supply and distribution costs for businesses with export and domestic markets.
The region is well served by transport links through sea, rail, air and road.
Tauranga is home to New Zealand's largest export port and second largest for import - the Port of Tauranga. It is the preferred port of call in New Zealand among leading international shipping lines servicing major markets world-wide.
The region is well up in the eco stakes with 71 per cent of New Zealand's electricity is generated by renewable resources - primarily hydroelectric and geothermal. As well as the environmental benefit this means that electricity is low-cost by world standards and that electricity prices are stable, even when global energy prices are volatile.
This gives New Zealand some of the cheapest electricity in the world for industrial users, at just 3.6 US cents per kWh, well ahead of both the United States (4.3 US cents/kWh) and Australia (5.6 US cents/kWh), according to the World Competitiveness Book 2000.
Natural gas is available in all major commercial and industrial areas. Impressive water and sewer services exists throughout the region. Water quality is of the highest standard. Tauranga city's water treatment plants in particular, surpass those in other areas of New Zealand.