A Look at Ecozones & Their Potential Economic Benefits

Ecozones are regions within a country that are subject to different economic rules than other areas within the same country. Some of these regulations include low and almost 0% tax rates, privacy protection, and regulatory cover for digital assets. These special economic zones provide multiple financial benefits for corporations that decide to operate within their boundaries. In this post, we’ll look at ecozones, how they work, and the benefits for corporations and individuals who live and work within them.

What is an Ecozone?

An ecozone is also known as a special economic zone (SEZ) and these are geographic regions in a country that has more attractive economic policies for entities that decide to conduct trade within its borders. In most cases, the formation of these policies is motivated by the desire to stimulate international commerce and investment. These zones are normally situated within developing countries, however, there have been plans for ecozones in developed nations like the USA. For example, in Rock Hill, Southern California, an ecozone is being set upfor crypto, web3, and fintech corporations.

However, ecozones are usually targeted toward developing countries. Developing nations have typically had both a policy and infrastructural basis for creating special economic zones (SEZs) which are also known as ecozones. To improve industrial competitiveness and attract foreign direct investment, ecozones may be beneficial in terms of the policy when it comes to a larger economic development plan. Governments use ecozones to diversify and expand exports while retaining protective barriers, generating employment, and test-driving new methods and policies. Ecozones also enable the deployment of off-site infrastructure, environmental restrictions, and more effective government oversight of businesses.

The decisions taken when creating policy frameworks, incentive programs, and numerous other rules and administrative processes have largely affected the outcome of ecozone projects from the beginning. Maximizing the advantages of ecozones relies on how well they are incorporated into the host economies and the broader plan for trade and investment liberalization. Ecozones are more likely to succeed when they are created to test legal and regulatory changes within a predetermined policy framework.

Different reasons underlie the creation of special economic zones in developing and wealthy nations. These zones usually have an infrastructure and a policy justification for developing nations. In order to increase an investment's competitiveness and lower startup and operating costs, ecozones typically have attractive policies related to trade which include import, and export duty exemptions, simplified customs, administrative controls and procedures, and income tax incentives. Export-oriented ecozones are designed to provide export producers "free trade status," allowing them to compete on international markets and offset trade regulations' anti-export bias.

How Users Can Live in Ecozones via Staking

Oz Finance is making it possible for people to apply to live in real world special economic zones, also known as ecozones. Ecozones are regions within a country that are subject to different economic rules than other areas within the same country. Some of these regulations include low and almost 0% tax rates, privacy protection and regulatory cover for digital assets.

Oz aims to build a large digital asset ecosystem by leveraging the world's 5,400 ecozones to attract additional investments for blockchain-based projects within those regions. The platform also plans to combine blockchain technology with real-world living with the goal of improving the commercial potential of ecozones around the world.

They aim to achieve this by enabling users to apply to live in these areas by staking its TOTOZ token and the Philippines is the country where this program will be rolled out. When users stake a certain amount of tokens, they may apply for residence or commercial activities in one of the partner ecozones.

This way users can conduct business within the ecozones and take advantage of the benefits that come with doing business within these regions. Users will also gain access to a self-sovereign ID that allows them to control their data.

The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), via its exchange, GlobalTradeX, is Oz's first ecozone partner. AFAB is situated in the Philippines' hub of Asia, a few hours from its metropolis, Metro Manila. This collaboration aims to improve the implementation of ecozones by making them more accessible to everyday users as well as making it possible for any future ecozone collaborations aimed at establishing a unified standard.

How Ecozones can be beneficial for corporations

Due to their favorable financial incentives, corporations based within ecozones may be more attractive to investors when looking for funding. For example, low or almost 0% tax rates allow a company to retain more of its profits. Since the average global tax rate is around 23%these companies are technically 20% more profitable than companies based outside of these zones when it comes to net profit (profit after operating expenses, tax, and interest is paid).

Being able to attract additional funding from foreign investors helps businesses to scale, grow and acquire the facilities needed to develop their products or solutions. Bootstrapping a business venture can prove to be very costly and comes with additional risk since the founders will be using their own funds (whether personal or received through personal connections), so if the bootstrapped funds were to run out, the corporations would have no choice but to cease business operations.

On the other hand, utilizing external funds from an investor provides companies with a larger amount of capital to work with, usually sourced from multiple different investors. This comes with less personal risk due to using external funds as well as the potential to seek additional funding if the company depletes the current reserve of investor capital.

The lower tax rate offered by special economic zones also allows these corporations to reinvest more of their profits back into the business, which in turn helps the business to grow, as well as improving existing facilities or acquiring additional facilities the company needs. When you combine lower tax rates with the increased potential for foreign investment, this increases the amount of capital a business is able to work with, again helping with the scalability and growth of the corporation.

Infrastructure support is another benefit for businesses that intend to do business within an ecozone. Developing countries for example tend to have poor basic infrastructure facilities for the businesses that wish to operate within their borders. Companies can benefit from the infrastructure support provided by ecozones. Examples of basic business infrastructure include office buildings, energy and power management services, IT services, transport, network facilities, and more.

Conclusion

Businesses that operate inside an ecozone's boundaries might reap economic and financial advantages as a result of the preferential policies that are implemented within its borders. Will these measures improve the economies of the nations hosting these special economic zones? We'll just have to wait and see what happens.