KEY POINTS:
A survey out today shows we're a pretty good country to do business with.
If we were a business, New Zealand would be the customer who always pays on time.
New Zealand holds steady in the number five position on the Dun & Bradstreet Asia-Pacific Risk Indicator for the second consecutive quarter, coming in behind Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.
Despite the economy sending mixed signals, New Zealand's overall risk outlook is stable and there is a low degree of uncertainty associated with expected returns, said the credit risk experts in their report.
On a global scale, New Zealand's rating places it at number 25 while our transtasman neighbour Australia - the only country in the Asia-Pacific region to make the top ten list - is ranked at number three.
Meanwhile, global turbulence has hurt the rankings of economic heavyweights, including the United States and the United Kingdom, which have both been re-rated since January. Both countries have dropped back their rating and now fall outside of the top ten safest countries in which to do business.
The D&B Risk Indicator assesses 131 countries around the world, allocating the highest possible rating to countries that display the best reliability when it comes to making payments, repaying debt and equity servicing.
Top 10 safest countries (Asia-Pacific):
1. Australia
2. Hong Kong
3. Japan
4. Singapore
5. New Zealand
6. Korea (South)
7. Taiwan
8. China
9. Malaysia
10. India
