The Mercator Entity Management Report 2023

Direct insight into the cost and time required to manage a global portfolio of entities
View Key Findings
Entity Portfolio Management has never been more important.

In-house legal and corporate secretarial teams work in a challenging environment where regulations change constantly.

Internal stakeholders need to be assured that each entity – no matter the location – is properly managed and compliant.

The purpose of the report is not to advise multinationals on where to base entities – this is obviously dictated by necessity – but to set expectations and provide foresight on the relative cost and time it takes to complete key tasks.

The data from this report covers:
180
jurisdictions
20
different types of 
corporate secretarial tasks

2023 Key Findings

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1
Cost to complete activities – by region
Europe is the cheapest region, whilst MEA is the most expensive.
Overall, global average costs reduced by 4% compared to 2022.
2
Time to complete activities – by region
North America is the quickest region, whilst MEA is the slowest.
Overall, global average time increased by 48% compared to 2022.
3
Cost to complete activities – by jurisdiction
The cheapest jurisdiction is Malaysia followed by Sri Lanka and Jersey.
The most expensive is Senegal, followed by South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
4
Time to complete activities – by jurisdiction
The fastest jurisdiction is Ecuador, followed by Uruguay and Costa Rica.
The slowest jurisdiction is Slovenia followed by Norway and Ghana.
5
Top jurisdiction
Overall, when considering both cost and time, Malaysia emerges as top jurisdiction, followed by Australia and Singapore.
The bottom jurisdictions are Taiwan, Vietnam and Norway.