Business News

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.

 Engineering industry players should be interested in attending the Metals New Zealand Industry Conference 2011, to be held on the 14th and 15th of April at the Duxton Hotel in Wellington. Formerly known as the Metals Industry Conference, this event comes as a result of the fantastic success of four previous Metals Industry Conferences with each event attended by well over 300 key people from the industry,Government and academia. However, for the first time this event is organised by the newly-formed Metals New Zealand society and the Conference is used to officially launch this pan industry body. If there is one common agreed theme in respect to securing New Zealand’s prosperity, then this must be that New Zealand needs to improve its productivity and innovation. The Conference organisers have picked up this theme with the intention to put our industry in the driving seat. No doubt this will be an immense challenge considering that the recession is constraining the industry in its ability to innovate due to financial and capability constraints. However, if the Industry and New Zealand in general wishes to seriously achieve the Government target of catching up with Australia’s GDP per capita growth by 2025 and, from a company’s perspective, to make profits, we need not just adjust the way we do things, we do need to transform dramatically. This Conference, with its theme  ‘Driving Productivity and Innovation’, is about informing on the big picture from a national perspective but most of all, it is about giving industry leaders perspectives and solutions to progress and achieve measurable productivity gains. It also is about offering the opportunity to network with sector groups or the entire metals engineering industry. Members of Metals New Zealand such as the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), Steel Construction NZ (SCNZ), NZ Stainless Steel […]

Camilla Welch, owner and General Manager of Petone-based label making and printing business “Label and Litho” has earned the Supreme Business Award at the Her Regional Wellington Businesswoman of the Year Awards, which were announced on Friday 3 December during a ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel. Label and Litho is a 50 year old business with 41 staff. It specialises in manufacturing self-adhesive labels for a number of domestic and overseas firms. Label and Litho increased sales and revenue during the economic downturn, which Ms Welch is tremendously proud of in light of the negative environment surrounding most businesses in Wellington and New Zealand. The competition judges were Karen Fifield, CEO Wellington Zoo Trust, Adam Cunningham, Management Director, Village Group and Lynell Tuffery Huria, Senior Associate, AJ Park. They said that Ms Welch is worthy of the Supreme Award because of the commitment to service excellence she and her team deliver at Label and Litho. “Camilla was selected by the judges for her personal drive and overall business sense. I know a lot of Kiwi businesswomen and men could learn from Camilla’s professionalism and staff appreciation,” said Sally Connell, Franchise Owner/Director of HER Business Group Ltd, which includes the Wellington Her Businesswoman Network. Judge Lynell Tuffrey Huria added that Ms Welch’s focus on her people was a key component of her business’s success, which has enabled the organisation to stand above the rest in a highly competitive market. Proving that business excellence and environmental friendliness can be mutually rewarding, Ms Welch also received the Sustainability Award in recognition of Label and Litho achieving an EnviroMark Gold certification in 2008. She had previously been a finalist in the sustainability category at this year’s Westpac Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. She also took home on the night the Her Businesswoman […]