Feb 27, 2018  - Synlait (NZX: SML; ASX: SM1) has conditionally purchased 28 hectares of land in Pokeno, North Waikato, to establish their second nutritional powder manufacturing site.

Currently an undeveloped site in New Zealand’s North Island, Synlait expects to invest around $260 million in the coming years as we establish our infant base powder manufacturing capability at the site.

26 February 2018  - Institutional, municipal pension funds shunning oil now pressures Saudi Monarchy to accelerate IPO----Russia-China consortium prowling, waiting.

The monarchical determination by the end of this year to run a test flotation of 5 percent of Saudi Aramco with a view to realising $100 billion can now be seen as a race against time to beat the clock before more Western funds and banks turn their faces against oil.

Feb 22, 2018  -  Christopher Pyne believes Lockheed Martin Australia has “cemented its ongoing commitment to Australia’s defence industry” after the opening of its new Australia and New Zealand headquarters in Canberra.

Feb 22, 2018  -  Parcelport is an Auckland, New Zealand based logistics software company, and is in the process of expanding its business into Southeast Asia, preliminarily planning to set up an office in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, mainly as their CEO, Jimmy Wu has several contacts there, and also because it is close to Singapore where he may be able to raise capital. Another good reason for moving to Malaysia is that there are also government centres which assist with foreign investment.

Parcelport is a privately held company and they recently partnered with global transport and logistics group TNT to service New Zealand exporters, and they also recently closed a funding round with Zino Ventures and Ice Angles. The proceeds are funding the expansion and allowing it to consolidate and grow its business in New Zealand.

Next up for the company’s expansion are Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, countries which have been chosen owing to the expansion of their middle class. Southeast Asia also has a strong emerging e-commerce market selling to North America, Europe and China, which Parcelport is working to service.

Parcelport’s point of difference is that it focuses on servicing small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) while its larger competitors focus on bigger businesses. The way this works is than an SME places its customer’s consignment order with Parcelport which would assign the job to the appropriate courier company for delivery. Parcelport calculates the freight cost, prints tickets and shipping labels for the courier, and tracks the delivery.

Wu founded the company in 2011 which now has 10 employees in its Auckland office, and its customer engagement is contracted out to a local contact centre, so for more information on courier services NZ, pay as you go couriers and parcel post NZ please go to http://www.parcelport.co.nz

Source:  infonews.co.nz   ||  February 22, 2018   |||

Feb 22, 2018  -  A leading economist saysNew Zealanders will have to wait until later in the year to see where the needle settles on the government’s ‘superficial change v substantive change’ spectrum. Dr Ganesh Nana, chief economist at BERL, says either way the longer-term case for change, along with external influences, will continue to question the strength of the foundations of New Zealand’s recent charmed economic ride. Dr Nana will give a keynote presentation at a NZ Health IT (NZHIT) event in Auckland next Tuesday, February 27. He says the new government has styled itself as the government of change. But, will it be superficial or substantive? “For businesses in the health sector, the shift beyond GDP (as a measure of prosperity) means access is also important. Suggested measures incorporate a four capitals approach where inclusion is part of social capital. Is there trust and are there institutions enabling communities to enjoy as well as contribute to broader wellbeing? “Are communities able to access services, or are some excluded? Will the much-vaunted technology advances maintain, enable and improve broad access to health services, or improve services for select proportion of the population as others experience depleted services? “The capability and capacity of homecare and aged care workforce prompts similar questions as to whether services are inclusive or exclusive to groups in the community. “In other sectors the overall case for change is clear, though not widely accepted. While New Zealand’s economic growth story has been enviable at the headline level, the sustainability of the drivers - dairy, tourism and immigration - was always questionable. “The side-effects of deteriorating water quality in rivers and streams, strained regional tourism infrastructure, and housing shortages have increased the prominence of these questions. “The affordability of maintaining local infrastructure in the face of static or declining ratepayer base, accentuates long-term sustainability questions. “Workforce numbers and skills continue to dog the economic story, with productivity and per-capita growth noticeably less impressive. The concentration of the distribution of prosperity has strained some social indicators. “Ageing demographics call into question the long-term viability of government finances then there are external influences such as geo-political instability, such as BREXIT, US, China, Korea, Russia, Persian Gulf, trade barriers; climate change, robotics and synthetic foods. “The fundamental economic strategy based on low inflation and low wages, with an increasingly large safety net required by government is not delivering the results desired by many. “The new government has signalled changes in the form of larger transfers to lower income families, higher minimum wage, regional development boost, research and development incentives and house building. These appear more of the same, but perhaps superficial rather than substantive changes in economic framework or strategy.” Dr Nana says changes around monetary and tax policy remain in the wait and see category. Potentially substantive changes lie in the performance indicators associated with the Living Standards Framework to be incorporated in forthcoming Budget announcements. Measuring economic performance via indicators beyond GDP growth have the potential to require more balanced investment and policy actions. Treasury drafts favour a four capitals approach – financial/physical capital, human capital, natural capital and social capital, he says. “While in line with including child poverty targets in the Public Finance Act, the extent of and appetite for incorporating the ‘4 capitals’ approach into the NZ economic and policy framework will determine whether this is substantive or superficial.”

| A MakeLemonade release   ||  February 22, 2018   |||

Feb 21, 2018  - Better for Business (B4B), a cross-agency programme led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), has partnered with its nine other agencies to showcase a range of breakthrough government services and digital initiatives designed for business at the D5 2018 summit in Wellington.

New Zealand is among the D5 nations, recognised as the world’s five most digitally capable, alongside South Korea, the United Kingdom, Israel and Estonia. Canada and Uruguay have just joined.

“Coming together with the world’s most advanced digital nations allows us to both share and learn, so we can keep innovating and improving government services with our business customers in mind,” says Lisa Casagranda, Director, B4B at MBIE.

B4B is dedicated to improving the experiences businesses have when dealing with government, so they can operate more efficiently, effectively, and with more confidence.

Its showcased initiatives include the Accounting Income Method (AIM) – led by Inland Revenue to give businesses a pay-as-you go option for provisional tax, in anticipation of the changes to the provisional tax payments system kicking in on 1 April 2018.

MBIE’s Business.govt.nz is also showcased, including its online tools and services tailored to the individual needs of small business. This B4B partner has seen huge demand for its services, including the Employment Agreement Builder, which has been used by businesses to create more than 390,000 employment agreements since its inception in 2016.

WorkSafe’s Around the Block and Ports interactive tools enable businesses to understand health and safety risk management in their business context and operating environment.

“New Zealand is a great place to do business, but we know that dealing with government can be painful. B4B works with businesses and others to identify and deploy the best digital solutions, and give businesses assurance that they’re doing things right while on a pathway to growth,” says Ms Casagranda.

The theme for the D5 2018 summit is ‘e kōre e taea e te whenu kotaki te whāriki te raranga’ — ‘one strand alone will not weave a tapestry’ — with a particular focus on digital rights.

B4B is led by MBIE, working alongside Inland Revenue, ACC, Callaghan Innovation, the Ministry for Primary Industries, the New Zealand Customs Service, Stats NZ, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, NZ Transport Agency, and WorkSafe New Zealand.

| A MBIE release  ||  February 2018   |||

feb 21, 2018  -  Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited today announced that Chief Financial Officer, Tony Barclay, will retire at the end of May 2018. Tony will continue to support the company in a consulting role over the following 12 months. “Having made a huge contribution to the growth of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare over the past 22 years, Tony has decided to step away from his role to allow him to have more time for family, personal travel and consider areas of future interest,” said Managing Director & CEO Lewis Gradon. “We would like to thank Tony for the dedication he has shown and his commitment to the company throughout his time with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare,” said Mr Gradon. “It has been a privilege to have been part of an exceptional team for the past 22 years. I have enjoyed my time immensely and am extremely proud of what we have achieved as a company. The company’s ongoing opportunities for growth are very exciting and I look forward to seeing many of those opportunities come to fruition. I would particularly like to thank the people who I have worked with for their support and friendship and also the investor/analyst community for the enjoyable interactions we have had over the years. In terms of my own future, I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and then considering areas of future interest,” said Mr Barclay. The company is pleased to announce that Andrea Blackie, GM Finance has been appointed to the role of Acting Chief Financial Officer with effect from 1 June 2018. Ms Blackie has been with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare since January 2017 in the role of General Manager Finance. Prior to joining the company, Andrea was an Executive Director within PwC Assurance New Zealand. She has over 15 years’ experience in New Zealand and the United Kingdom working with a number of listed global manufacturing and technology businesses. “The company has commenced a formal process to appoint Tony’s successor and we will update the market in due course. We thank Tony for all of his many years’ of loyal service and commitment, and wish him all the very best. He will be greatly missed and difficult to replace,” concluded Mr Gradon.

About Fisher & Paykel HealthcareFisher & Paykel Healthcare is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of products and systems for use in respiratory care, acute care, surgery and the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. The company’s products are sold in over 120 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, visit our website www.fphcare.com.

| A Fisher & Paykel release  |  february 21, 2018   |||

Feb 20, 2018  -  E tū is extremely disappointed with the confirmation today that the plastic card manufacturer, ABCorp is to close its Christchurch plant.  About 50 workers will lose their jobs after the company confirmed it was moving operations at the plant to Australia.