The Netherlands is the second best place in the world to do business

According to Bloomberg, the Netherlands has the second best market globally in which to set up and run a business.

The rankings graded markets on a scale of 0-100, based on six criteria: costs of setting up business; hiring and moving goods; the degree of economic integration; less tangible costs such as inflation and corruption; and the readiness of the local consumer base, a category that includes the size of the middle class, household consumption and gross domestic product per person.

First-place was awarded to Hong Kong, which scored highly for its free-market policies, low taxes, and unparalleled access to the world's most populous market.

The strengths of the Dutch market-place are different; they derive from its position within the European single market, its international focus and trade links, and the strategic positioning of five major international ports.

Global Dutch corporations include Philips (inventor of the audio tape, videotape, compact disk and CD-ROM), Royal Dutch Shell, Heineken, Amstel, Bavaria, DSM, Akzo Nobel, KPMG, Unilever and ING.

The Netherland's high scoring position comes despite the economic recession. Economic research from the Dutch government shows a more mixed picture, with the economy projected to decline until 2013 then go through a moderate recovery.

Other rankings
The U.S, the U.K and Australia occupied 3rd, 4th and 5th place respectively. Surprisingly, emerging economies featured heavily in the worst positions; Brazil, India and Russia scored abysmally and occupied the last spots.