Business News

New minerals exploration permits awarded today will help create jobs and lift the Northland economy, Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges says. Five permits have been offered to three companies – Tai Tokerau Minerals Limited, Waimatenui Exploration Limited and De Grey Mining Limited – as a result of the Northland 2012 tender which sought interest in exploring for metallic minerals in the region. “This presents an exciting opportunity for Northland and for New Zealand. There is significant potential for the country to grow the economic contribution made by minerals,” says Mr Bridges. “The sector already contributes around $20 million in royalties to government each year, and contributes over $1.1 billion to the economy. The Government wants to see regions like Northland reap the benefits, directly and indirectly, of minerals development. “But this is not about exploration and development at any cost. This is why the Government has recently put in place a new, world-class regulatory regime for the responsible management of the country’s mineral resources,” Mr Bridges says. The Northland 2012 tender process began in March last year with consultation with iwi and local authorities, and the competitive tender closed in December. Bids were evaluated by an expert panel from New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals. The five-year permits allow exploration to be undertaken in defined areas of Northland.  

The five year permits for minerals exploration on offer to three companies in Northland will provide a useful boost to the region’s growth outlook, says Kim Campbell, chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association.  “Northland needs this sort of responsible exploration,” Mr Campbell said. “The region’s employment prospects stand to gain handsomely both from the exploration process, and more so should a worthwhile discovery be made. “Then there’s the downstream money minerals explorers spend in the area while they’re at work. “We’re confident modern mining techniques can deliver sound economic benefits with minimum downside for Northland communities, as they can elsewhere in the country.”    

Minerals exploration permits awarded today are a positive development in growing the regional economy, says BusinessNZ. Three companies have been offered permits for exploring for metallic minerals in the Northland region, under the new environmental regulatory regime. BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly says responsible development of mineral resources is part of a balanced approach to growing jobs and growth in several parts of New Zealand.  “Development initiatives conducted following consultation with local communities, under modern environmental regulations, are a good component of a wider move towards a more vibrant regional economy,” Mr O’Reilly said.  

The latest New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA) Survey of Business Conditions completed during May 2013, shows total sales in April 2013 increased 3.28% (export sales increased by 0.76% with domestic sales increasing 5.53%) on April 2012. The NZMEA survey sample this month covered NZ$489m in annualised sales, with an export content of 46%. Net confidence rose to -9, up from the -50 result reported last month. The current performance index (a combination of profitability and cash flow) is at 101, up from 92.5 in March, the change index (capacity utilisation, staff levels, orders and inventories) went up to 100 from 99 in the last survey, and the forecast index (investment, sales, profitability and staff) is at 99.75, up on March’s result of 97. Anything less than 100 indicates a contraction. Constraints reported were 82% markets, 9% production capacity and 9% skilled staff. Staff numbers for April decreased year on year by 0.74%. “This month’s results are a bounce back from last month, driven mostly by improved domestic sales. Export sales improved from their negative position last month. Generally trends are flat to negative.” says NZMEA Chief Executive John Walley. “Falling staff numbers reinforces a soft declining overall trend, that said manufacturers continue to report difficulties in finding skilled staff.” “Net confidence improved but is still in negative territory – the number of optimists continues to decline.” “For exporters, markets are soft, and improving domestic demand is little help for those who operate predominately in export markets.” “A recent RBNZ speech from Graeme Wheeler expressed a more pessimistic sentiment than usual, reflecting concerns over the overvalued dollar, increasing current account deficit and risks in the housing and credit markets to financial stability. We have expressed this view for some time and encourage the RBNZ to be much more active […]

SouthMACH 2013 is now in the last afternoon of the two day event. Below are pictures from the show. Cold weather was everywhere, but enthusiasm was high.      

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly has been elected Chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Council (BIAC) to the OECD. The BIAC is the voice of business at the OECD – the world’s foremost provider of integrated statistics and fact-based policy recommendations. The BIAC network includes national business, industry and employer associations from OECD members and observer countries, as well as international sector-specific associate experts. Mr O’Reilly said it was an honour to serve the BIAC, whose advocacy was vital for growth and employment internationally, and a great opportunity for New Zealand business to contribute to this work. Mr O’Reilly has been a member of the Board of the BIAC for three years. He will continue in his role as Chief Executive of BusinessNZ in addition to serving as BIAC Chair.        

*By Kim Campbell Manufacturing in New Zealand has always been a vital, misunderstood and major component of our economy. Nothing seems about to change that. While various sub sectors of manufacturing might come to be labeled ‘food and beverages,’ ‘biotech’ or ‘marine,’ the new names don’t alter the activities described, which international analysts, economists and statisticians refer to as manufacturing. That’s no surprise; each of these sectors is involved in the transformation of goods to satisfy consumer and industry customer needs and they typically offer a range of back up professional consultancy and expertise to support their value proposition. For some, the value from the services they offer has overtaken sales of hardware. Manufacturing in New Zealand traditionally faces powerful forces: the need to process our commodity goods for buyers that often, ironically, want to import raw and undifferentiated. Many countries want to use the raw materials of others to keep their own populations employed. But as producers of them we should understand our own resources better than anyone else, and we stand to win the most value from them, provided we keep on investing sufficiently in the R&D that leads to a deep understanding of them. Besides the price earned from commodities is often volatile and fluctuates more than for highly transformed goods, hence contributing to our currency’s volatility. The second big challenge is we’re a long way from markets. Our products spend a long time on the water, and this together with a strong currency threatens our competitiveness. In responding to these challenges our manufacturers have adopted not one, but three routes to the future. These are first, to automate processing and handling. This has led in particular to expertise in efficient stainless steel fabrication, drying, canning, refrigeration and some extraction technology. The capability to produce a wide […]

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York and an astute and highly successful businessman, commented recently on the merits of a university education as against gaining trade qualifications. He says that being a tradesman is an integral and highly required skill these days because there is surety in the work to come. Be the trade electrical, building, engineering, painting or whatever…there is always a need for tradespeople. Houses are always being built and businesses have an on-going need for skilled staff to run the Factory Floor in manufacturing companies. With mounting student-loan debt and increasingly high unemployment, some people might question whether a university degree is still worth the cost. Mayor Bloomberg suggests that mediocre students skip university altogether and become plumbers instead. Of course, a university degree provides a student with a lot more options. A job as a plumber might cut down on student loans and time, but it may keep a person restricted in the longer term. In today’s economy it helps to have a wide range of skills. Even a lot of basic jobs require higher education, and while it might take more time for the job to start paying back, it will be ultimately worth it. A university education can be expected to pay back in the long term. Picking the right course to doÊis very important. With the thousands of graduates coming through our universities in New Zealand each year it is a question of where and when they can be employed to maximise the time, effort and money invested in achieving the qualification.  This is where our manufacturing companies and business leaders come into play. To create the level playing field so that available positions across the country are known. Might not be a bad idea to have a National Barometer of growth and […]

The Commerce Commission has released its draft determination of the amounts telcos will pay towards the $50 million Telecommunications Development Levy for 2011/12. The government uses the annual levy to pay for telecommunications infrastructure including the relay service for the deaf and hearing-impaired, broadband for rural areas, and improvements to the 111 emergency service. Telecommunications Commissioner Dr Stephen Gale said the levy‚”about one percent of revenue”, is paid by companies, or groups of companies, earning more than $10 million per year from operating a component of a public telecommunications network (fixed or wireless). Dr Gale said the levy allocation process was still relatively new and the draft determination explained the process used to identify ‚”qualifying liable persons”, and the methodology used in the Commission’s calculations. For the 2011/12 year, the Commission has identified 26 companies as likely to contribute. Submissions on the draft determination are due by 5 June 2013. A copy of the draft determination is available on the Commission’s website: http://www.comcom.govt.nz/tdl-2011-12/.