Taxes matter to business. Corporate taxes affect business decisions since they represent a significant business cost and therefore have a material impact on net operating margins. Evidence shows that countries with lower tax costs are more attractive to business investment and more likely to experience economic growth. By offering high growth opportunities Asia is attracting global businesses to set up, expand or relocate operation to capture growth. However, tax systems differ between Asian countries, not only in terms of total tax rate, but also in the ease of compliance burden and related governance and economic factors. As part of its Go-global solutions Global-Arena.com’s interactive analysis to the most attractive tax location in Asia unveils the comparative advantages of 17 Asian economies.

1. July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 1

2. Executive Summary
Taxes matter to business. Corporate taxes affect business decisions since they represent a significant
business cost and therefore have a material impact on net operating margins. Evidence
shows that countries with lower tax costs are more attractive to business investment and more likely to
experience economic growth.
By offering high growth opportunities Asia is attracting global businesses to set up, expand or relocate
operation to capture growth. However, tax systems differ between Asian countries, not only in terms of total
tax rate, but also in the ease of compliance burden and related governance and economic factors. As part
of its Go-global solutions Global-Arena.com’s interactive analysis to the most attractive tax location in
Asia unveils the comparative advantages of 17 Asian economies:
• Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia offer the most attractive business environments for tax in Asia. All
three show favourable conditions in terms of taxation systems
• Biggest populated emerging economies China and India show attractive economic growth figures
combined with the highest number of signed bilateral taxation treaties, but show a mixed performance on
other aspects
• Other emerging markets such as Cambodia, Indonesia and Azerbaijan rank high on specific aspects
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 2

3. Tax Systems Key to Competitive Business
Environments
• Tax matters to business: taxes represent a significant business cost for
corporations and have a material impact on net operating margins
• Corporate tax rate, compliance burden and transparency of the tax system are
decisive location factors for companies considering to set up, relocate or expand
operations
• Because taxes directly affect business investments and location decisions,
national, regional and local governments compete to offer the most attractive tax
regimes and continue to reform, resulting in dropping tax rates and easing
compliance burdens
• When it comes to site selection a 360-degree real-time view and performance
monitoring of the market, business environment and local and global talent
supply, including comparisons of tax systems is needed
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 3

4. Overall Attractiveness Ranking of Asian
countries for tax activities
Singapore
98%
South
Korea
90%
Malaysia
85%
Japan
80%
China
75%
Taiwan
74%
India
64%
Azerbaijan
55%
Thailand
55%
Indonesia
49%
Armenia
25%
Philippines
22%
Bangladesh
21%
Cambodia
19%
Pakistan
14%
Vietman
10%
Sri
Lanka
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 4

5. Key Findings Singapore
• Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia offer the most
PwC
Total
Tax
Rate
PwC
Time
to
Interconnectedness
Comply
attractive business environments for tax in Asia. All
three show favourable conditions in terms of taxation
Infrastructure
PwC
Tax
Payments
CapabiliAes
systems (tax rate, time to comply, tax payments and Economic
Growth
Double
TaxaAon
TreaAes
double taxation treaties)
Quality
of
Ease
of
Market
Governance
Entry
• Singapore outperforms the other countries on most of
the included location factors, only in terms of expected Singapore
Mean
economic growth the country scores below average
Malaysia
• Biggest populated emerging economies China and
India show attractive economic growth figures PwC
Total
Tax
Rate
combined with the highest number of signed bilateral
PwC
Time
to
Interconnectedness
Comply
taxation treaties, but show a mixed performance on Infrastructure
CapabiliAes
PwC
Tax
Payments
other aspects
Double
TaxaAon
• Other emerging markets such as Cambodia, Indonesia
Economic
Growth
TreaAes
and Azerbaijan rank high on specific aspects
Quality
of
Ease
of
Market
Governance
Entry
Malaysia
Mean
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 5

6. Ranking Component: PwC Total Tax Rate
Data Series Used
Cambodia
86%
• Total Tax Rate as % of commercial Singapore
80%
profits PwC Paying Taxes Survey
South
Korea
76%
Malaysia
69%
Indonesia
68%
Bangladesh
67%
Pakistan
66%
Taiwan
66%
Thailand
62%
Azerbaijan
57%
Analysis Vietman
57%
• Cambodia offers of all Asian countries Armenia
55%
the most attractive environment when it Philippines
44%
comes to the total tax rate. The country Japan
38%
ranks on top with taxing commercial
India
17%
profits with 22,5%
• Of all 17 countries included, Sri Lanka is China
15%
the least attractive with a total tax rate of Sri
Lanka
0%
105,2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 6

7. Ranking Component: PwC Time to Comply
Data Series Used
Singapore
87%
• Time to comply (in hours) PwC Malaysia
82%
Paying Taxes Survey
Cambodia
76%
Philippines
72%
South
Korea
67%
Azerbaijan
67%
Taiwan
64%
India
62%
Sri
Lanka
61%
Thailand
60%
Analysis
Indonesia
60%
• When it comes to hours needed to Bangladesh
53%
comply Singapore ranks on top in Japan
47%
Asia with only 84 hours
China
34%
• Malaysia (133), Cambodia (173)and Armenia
18%
the Philippines (195) follow
Pakistan
11%
Vietman
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 7

8. Ranking Component: PwC Tax Payments
Data Series Used
Singapore
90%
• Number of tax payments PwC China
88%
Paying Taxes Survey
South
Korea
82%
Malaysia
80%
Japan
79%
Taiwan
77%
Azerbaijan
72%
Bangladesh
66%
Thailand
62%
Analysis
• Of the countries included Singapore Vietman
42%
offers the most attractive business India
40%
environment in terms of required number Armenia
38%
of tax payments. The country ranks on
Cambodia
28%
top with 5 payments per year
• China follows with 7 tax payments per Philippines
15%
year
Pakistan
15%
Indonesia
11%
Sri
Lanka
1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012
www.global-arena.com 8

9. Ranking Component: Double Taxation Treaties
Data Series Used
China
96%
• Double Taxation Treaties listed in India
92%
the OECD EOI Tax Database
South
Korea
90%
Malaysia
81%
Singapore
79%
Indonesia
75%
Japan
70%
Vietman
37%
Philippines
37%
Thailand
35%
Pakistan
34%
Analysis
Armenia
27%
• China is most attractive Asian country
Sri
Lanka
26%
with respect to avoidance of double
Azerbaijan
22%
taxation of income, capital and sales
Bangladesh
19%
taxes. The country signed 99 such
bilateral agreements
Taiwan
10%
• India and South Korea follow with 88 and Cambodia
5%
84 agreements respectively
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
• Cambodia is the least attractive country
in this perspective: the country didn’t sign
any double taxation treaty to date
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 9

10. Ranking Component: Ease of Market Entry
Data Series Used
Japan
92%
• Ease of establishment index World Taiwan
90%
Bank Investing Across Borders Singapore
88%
Database
Armenia
88%
India
83%
Azerbaijan
72%
South
Korea
70%
Pakistan
49%
China
46%
Thailand
35%
Malaysia
35%
Vietman
27%
Analysis
Philippines
27%
• In Japan it takes the least effort to
Bangladesh
20%
establish a foreign business. The country
ranks top in terms of number procedures Indonesia
15%
and days needed
Sri
Lanka
7%
• Taiwan, Singapore and Armenia follow
Cambodia
4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 10

11. Ranking Component: Quality of Governance
Data Series Used
Singapore
99%
• World Bank Governance Indicators Japan
97%
on Rule of Law
Taiwan
89%
• Transparency International South
Korea
85%
Corruption Index
Malaysia
54%
Sri
Lanka
47%
India
46%
Thailand
45%
Analysis
China
43%
• Countries such as Singapore, Japan, Vietman
32%
Taiwan and South Korea offer the most Armenia
30%
reliable governance environment when it Indonesia
27%
comes to the rule of law and corruption.
Philippines
26%
In particular Singapore and Japan rank
Bangladesh
22%
high on these aspects
• Although improving their quality of Pakistan
20%
governance, countries like Malaysia, Azerbaijan
17%
Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and China do Cambodia
11%
not show comparable levels yet
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 11

12. Ranking Component: Economic Growth
Data Series Used Indonesia
96%
• IMF forecast total GDP growth rate Azerbaijan
90%
2012-2017
Cambodia
80%
China
79%
India
76%
Sri
Lanka
72%
Vietman
60%
Taiwan
58%
Bangladesh
53%
Analysis
South
Korea
52%
• Indonesia is expected to show the Malaysia
43%
highest economic growth in the next five Thailand
40%
years. IMF forecast indicates the country’s
Philippines
26%
GDP will have increased by app. 45% by
2017
Armenia
20%
• Also economies such as Azerbaijan, Pakistan
7%
Cambodia, China and India are expected Japan
5%
to grow significantly the next five years
Singapore
5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 12

13. Ranking Component: Infrastructure Capability"
Data Series Used
Singapore
96%
• World Economic Forum Global China
89%
Competitiveness Report items on South
Korea
88%
Infrastructure:
Japan
88%
• Roads
Malaysia
84%
• Railroads
Taiwan
75%
• Airport
Thailand
61%
• Available airline seat kilometers
India
51%
Sri
Lanka
45%
Azerbaijan
39%
Analysis
Indonesia
30%
• With regards to the infrastructure Pakistan
23%
capabilities countries such as Singapore, Armenia
19%
China, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia Cambodia
18%
offer the most attractive business Vietman
13%
environment: these countries all offer a
Philippines
9%
state of the art road, rail and air
Bangladesh
9%
infrastructure
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 13

14. Ranking Component: Interconnectedness
Data Series Used
Singapore
99%
• KOF Index of Globalisation:
Malaysia
95%
• Economic dimension
Thailand
73%
• Political dimension
Japan
72%
• Social dimension
South
Korea
71%
China
60%
Indonesia
53%
Philippines
52%
India
40%
Pakistan
39%
Analysis
Taiwan
38%
• Singapore and Malaysia are the most Azerbaijan
34%
interconnected Asian countries when it Sri
Lanka
25%
comes to economic, political and social Armenia
24%
integration
Cambodia
14%
• Thailand, Japan and South Korea follow,
Vietman
12%
whereas countries such as Cambodia,
Bangladesh
8%
Vietnam and Bangladesh rank
significantly lower on these aspects
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 14

15. Have a look yourself
Looking for the most
attractive business
environments with the
most favourable taxation
system?
Click here to visit the
interactive analysis to
adjust the sliders and to
learn more about our
Go-global Enterprise
Location Planning services
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 15

16. Appendices
• About Global-Arena.com
• Data sources
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 16

17. Global-Arena.com
Global-Arena.com is the leading secure online matching platform that brings together companies,
investors and business locations worldwide. Global-Arena.com offers innovative digital services and
gives them a data advantage to save cost and time. With it’s Go-global solutions
Enterprise Location Planning and Economic Development Planning Global-Arena.com is able to
provide companies and governments an integrated 360-degree view and comparative advantages
analysis of the market, business environment and talent supply by:
• Analysing and comparing the attractiveness of business locations in support of its clients growth
strategies
• Searching and analysing growth, expansion and relocation opportunities worldwide
• Visualising scenarios of business and policy impacts based on real time economic statistics, trends
and forecasts
To learn more about how Global-Arena.com can support your site selection or location promotion
processes, visit our website www.global-arena.com or contact:
Peter Storm CEO
info@global-arena.com
www.global-arena.com
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 17

18. Our Approach: From Long to Short List
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 18

19. Data Sources used per Location Factor
Tax
Factors
Sources
Governance
Sources
Growth
Factors
Sources
Factors
PwC
Total
Tax
Rate
PwC
Paying
Taxes
Survey
Double
TaxaAon
TreaAes
OECD
EOI
Tax
Database
Forecast
Economic
IMF
Forecast
annual
GDP
as
a
percentage
of
number
of
listed
double
Growth
growth
rate
2012-­‐2017
commercial
profits
taxaAon
treaAes
PwC
Time
to
Comply
PwC
Paying
Taxes
Survey
Ease
of
Market
Entry
World
Bank
InvesAng
Infrastructure
CapabiliAes
World
Economic
Forum
hours
per
year
needed
to
Across
Border
Database
Global
CompeAAveness
comply
Ease
of
establishment
Report
2011-­‐2012
items
index
on
infrastructure
quality:
•
Roads
•
Railroads
•
Airports
•
Available
airline
seat
kilometers
PwC
Tax
Payments
PwC
Paying
Taxes
Survey
Governance
Quality
World
Bank
Governance
Interconnectedness
KOF
Index
of
number
of
tax
payments
Indicators
on
Rule
of
Law
GlobalisaAon:
per
year
Transparency
•
Economic
Dimension
InternaAonal
CorrupAon
•
Social
Dimension
Index
•
PoliAcal
Dimension
July 23, 2012 www.global-arena.com 19