Business News

 Our next National Infrastructure Plan requires more detail about infrastructure trade-offs, says BusinessNZ.  The latest version of the plan, devised by the Treasury’s National Infrastructure Unit, is due for release soon.  BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly says businesses need to have a clear sense of government priorities for infrastructure development in order to know what they can plan on and ensure their investments are not misplaced.   He says the first version of the plan released a year ago was long and detailed but did not clearly convey priorities.  “The next plan shouldn’t just be a big compilation or list of existing sectoral plans.   “At some stage, circumstances will require some sectoral plans to take precedence over others, and a national plan should be able to give in advance some idea of priorities. Tensions in this process will be inevitable, but healthy.    “The rebuilding required following the Christchurch earthquake will surely mean some other infrastructure projects will not proceed in the near future.  A good plan should be robust enough to handle such events and able to give us a sense of what the priorities are and how trade-offs might be made.”  Mr O’Reilly said it needed to make clear the economic, technical and political trade-offs required to reach agreement on priorities, so everyone can understand and get behind the plan.  BusinessNZ has commissioned an independent report, Raising the Bar: Towards an Effective National Infrastructure Plan by Castalia Strategic Advisors, to raise related issues for public debate.  “BusinessNZ supports infrastructure planning and ongoing efforts to make it as useful and relevant as possible,” Mr O’Reilly said.  

Plastics & Printing technologies supplier Techspan has joined the online social media zone with their inclusion on Facebook and You Tube. Techspan now has its own Facebook page  and You Tube channel where you will find news and information about the latest inÊPlastics and Printing technologies. Image galleries, Videos and news stories are all featured. Techspan released their new “e-commerce” website during 2010, which has made it quick and easy forÊcustomers throughout the Pacific Rim to access pricingÊand purchasing online. Even their News page is a blog so customers can interact with comments or ask specific questons about that new technology they are so interested in. As of January this year, Facebook had more than 600 million active users, and in May 2010, it was reported that YouTube was serving more than two billion videos a day, which it described as “nearly double the prime-time audience of all three major US television networks combined. ÊSocial media has been definedÊas “people talking to each other online”. Online social networks allow individuals to share information and keep themselves abreast of developments within their social circle, which may be a social circle dedicated purely to family and friends, or may be a circle of contacts which have a common interest or may be a network of business and professional connections. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They are relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, compared to industrial media, which generally require significant resources to publish such information. There are various statistics that account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics are […]

Under an agreement with Independent Verification Services Ltd (IVS), the Employers & Manufacturers Association and Export New Zealand (EMA/Export NZ) have announced they now can supply Certificates of Origin to members and other exporters. IVS is an internationally accredited verification company duly authorised by New Zealand Customs to issue Certificates of Origin, which are a requirement of many countries seeking to ensure goods entering their countries originate in the country exporting them. ÒCertificates of Origin are, in particular, required by countries New Zealand has free trade agreements with,Ó said Bruce Goldsworthy, Manager of Advocacy for EMA. ItÕs written into all of our free trade agreements (FTA).  For example, to receive preferential customs clearance and FTA tariff reductions for China, each export consignment must be accompanied by a Certificate of Origin. ÒWe are delighted we are working with IVS to supply our members and other exporters with this service,Ó Mr Goldsworthy said. Under the agreement, businesses will place orders for the Certificates of Origin on a website link from both EMA and Export New Zealand websites – www.ema.co.nz and www.exportnz.org.nz Chief executive of IVS, Peter Webb, said IVS is looking forward to building a long term relationship with EMA and Export New Zealand. ÒIVS is a well established and respected supplier of a range of internationally recognised documentation and provides export certification for many household brand companies in New Zealand,Ó says Peter ÒWe welcome this opportunity to expand the awareness of our services to EMA/Export New Zealand members.Ó

Industry associations are working towards further coordination of the Christchurch relief operation.  More than 30 BusinessNZ-affiliated industry groups met today to exchange information on continuing relief efforts and undertook to spread the word that ‘business is open’ in Canterbury.  Member businesses of the industry groups are helping in many ways, including free use of helicopters, road vehicles, equipment and personnel, and financial, food and other donations.  BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly said the extent of industry and official government help for Christchurch individuals and families has been extraordinary.  “In the midst of this unfolding tragedy we have seen the courage and resilience of Christchurch people and the genuine desire for businesses to help.  “Industry associations will help coordinate those efforts and promote the fact that Christchurch is open for business.   “The Affiliated Industries Group believes the quickest way to help Christchurch get back to normality is to buy things from there.  “People and enterprises elsewhere can help greatly simply by doing business with Christchurch firms.”   

The second-generation of the iPad has been released. The device that kicked off the tablet computing boom. is 15 per cent lighter than the original iPad and sports front- and rear-facing cameras. The iPad 2, will start at $US499 and ship in the US on March 11 and expand to 26 more countries on March 25. It has the same 10-hour battery life, though it has a more powerful dual-core processor. The new iPad 2 is a third thinner than the  iPhone 4.      Since the tablet debuted in April last year  Apple shares have risen 48 per cent, 37 percentage points more than the Standard & Poor’s 500, according to FactSet. 15 million iPads were sold in 2010 generated around $US10 billion in revenue for Apple.

Forward indicators were pointing to an upturn for the New Zealand economy until the Christchurch earthquake, according to the BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the March quarter 2011. The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast incorporates BusinessNZ’s Economic Conditions Index (ECI) which tracks 33 indicators, including GDP, export volumes, commodity prices and inflation, debt and confidence figures. The ECI for the March quarter – prior to the Christchurch earthquake – had improved 6 points from the previous quarter. However, growth for 2011 will be severely dented through production foregone in the wake of the earthquake. On the positive side, commodities exports are going from strength to strength, taking New Zealand’s terms of trade to a 35-year high.ÊÊ Continuing robust growth in New Zealand’s major trading partners Australia and China is a positive indicator for 2012. The BusinessNZ Planning Forecast for the December quarter 2010 is here on www.businessnz.org.nz

ASB has  announced it will be dropping its home loan fixed interest rates by up to 0.5 of a percentage point. The new Housing interest rates will be effective from 2 March 2011. For a fixed term of 6 months the new rate is 5.85 percent per annum, with the new 12 months Housing fixed rate being 5.95 percent per annum. There will also be reductions to all other home loan fixed rates. The ASB decision to reduce fixed lending rates reflects changing wholesale funding rates and market forecasts that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is likely to lower the Official Cash Rate next week. With wholesale call and 90 day rates reflecting little change at present theywill continue to monitor variable home loan interest rate leading up to the OCR announcement next week. ASB’s Term Deposit rates have also been reduced to reflect the changes in wholesale rates. The new Term Deposit and Term Fund interest rates are also effective as from 2 March. The full list of interest rate changes is attached. For more information about ASBÕs interest rates please visit the ASB website.

According to Tower Insurance, one of the country’s oldest and most trusted providers, and Patron of Business Mentors New Zealand, some companies are trimming the scope of their insurance cover in a bid to cut costs. However, Tower warns this false economy could leave businesses open to huge bills and in many cases force their closure. Tower is asking business mentors to help guide their clients away from underinsuring. “As 2011 gets underway, it is becoming clear some business owners think they can get away with spending much less on insuring their companies. They are being more selective, only taking out small chunks of insurance and not protecting their businesses to the full extent. They don’t think it’s necessary and they don’t want to spend the money. We’re asking BMNZ’s 1700 mentors to be on the look out for client companies that might be falling into this trap and counsel them against it,”says Julian Lough, National Manager – Commercial Sales at Tower Insurance. “This year is going to be financially challenging for many businesses but now is not the time to be cutting back on insurance. If another natural disaster or other unforeseen situation occurs, then being underinsured or not having the right type of insurance could be the final straw for many companies that are already struggling.” Julian points out that most New Zealand business owners only realise their mistake when they make an insurance claim, at which point it is too late to rectify. He advises catching up with an insurance advisor at least once a year to check that the business is adequately covered. “Businesses change over time – new equipment is invested in, replacement costs for items go up and premises are upgraded,” says Julian. “If the insurance policy is not kept up to date, the […]

CEOs of 50 leading New Zealand companies have  developed a Steering Group to co-ordinate private sector support for Christchurch following the  devastating earthquake. Members of BusinessNZ’s Major Companies Group CEO Forum were briefed by Prime Minister John Key, Finance Minister Bill English and Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee at a meeting in Auckland. The Forum identified a number of key areas where major companies could provide additional help to the city, including water, housing, infrastructure, health services, telecommunications and financial services. Each area will be led by a CEO with specialist knowledge to develop action plans in consultation with Civil Defence and the Government. Following that, the Steering Group will liaise with government agencies and co-ordinate private sector assistance in Christchurch to maximise the wealth of expertise and resources within New ZealandÕs leading companies. Forum convenor, BusinessNZ CEO Phil O’Reilly, said there was overwhelming willingness from the business community to help Christchurch through this crisis and beyond as it rebuilds. Forum chairman, Fonterra CEO Andrew Ferrier, said there was 100% commitment to the future of Christchurch. “Everyone around the table was absolutely committed to helping Christchurch through this terrible tragedy and to get back on its feet again. We heard that many of New Zealand’s companies are already doing a lot to help Christchurch and clearly there is a lot of experience we can draw on,” Mr Ferrier said. The Steering Group, chaired by Mr Ferrier and working with the co-ordination of BusinessNZ, will develop an agreed set of action plans for each priority area in the near term.