Cook Islands
In the Cook Islands, PSDI-supported reforms are making it easier to start, manage, and finance a business.
We have been working with the Government of Cook Islands to:
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Develop new lending products using the PSDI-developed transactions framework;
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Design a new International Entities Registry, which the Cook Islands' Financial Supervisory Commission launched in October 2024;
- Design and develop an online domestic Companies, Incorporated Societies, and Personal Property Securities Registry, which launched in December 2019;
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Create clear and inclusive company laws, including the Companies Act, 2017, which became active with the December 2019 registry launch;
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Strengthen the financial position of Bank of Cook Islands, and build its capacity to identify and manage operational risks;
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Improve the efficiency and sustainability of state-owned enterprises by enabling public-private partnership transactions;
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Promote women's economic participation through advocacy and analysis, including comprehensive research on the representation of women in business leadership.
For detailed information on PSDI activities in the Cook Islands, download the 2025 PSDI Country Overview here.
Cook Islands at a glance
Modern, locally tailored business laws
Online business registrations
5,000 securities registered
Financial strengthening
National Investment Policy Statement
Latest News
The Cook Islands Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has launched a secure and state-of-the-art registry for international entities, developed by the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), with support from the Government of Australia.
PSDI has worked in partnership with local and international partners to shine a spotlight on the digital gender divide in the Pacific and call on governments to invest in affordable internet access and digital education to help bridge the gap.
PSDI on 19 July 2022 hosted almost 30 representatives of Cook Islands government ministries, state-owned enterprises, private-sector companies, and nongovernment organizations for the launch of Leadership Matters: Benchmarking Women in Business Leadership in the Pacific. Watch the video
PSDI is supporting the establishment of a multisector regulator in the Cook Islands to enable a coordinated approach to regulatory and competition reform.
PSDI's provision of critical technical support and resources to the Cook Islands helped bolster national resilience to shocks like COVID-19, an academic journal article has argued.
Almost 30 government, business, and civil society representatives in the Cook Islands have gathered to discuss the findings of PSDI's Leadership Matters study on women in Pacific business leadership.
Key Publications
