New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) has launched a new service designed to help early-stage exporters learn the fundamentals of becoming a successful export business.

NZTE’s new service, Export Essentials, consists of two parts. There are ten online guides that cover the basics of exporting that businesses can work through in their own time and pace. There is also a hands-on, collaborative two-day workshop, where participants will learn proven methods for successful exporting and leave with practical tools that they can apply directly to their business.

“We’re really excited to add Export Essentials to our range of services. I believe this answers a real gap in the market for exporters to learn practical tools to create a go to market plan, alongside fellow exporters’” said Suzie Marsden, NZTE General Manager for Services.

“New Zealand has approximately 12,000 exporting companies but about 11,000 of these earn less than $5 million a year in international revenue, so there’s a real opportunity to help some of these companies be more successful internationally,” she said.

“Export Essentials is designed to help companies who are in the early stages of exporting build their export awareness, readiness and capability. The online guides walk companies through everything from market validation and research to pricing, and the workshops will help participants to develop an export plan and learn proven approaches for global growth.”

“Building an international business from New Zealand is tough and we see a lot of Kiwi companies turning up in-market without being as prepared as they could be. We created Export Essentials with the aim that in time more companies will arrive in-market better prepared, better equipped and more likely to succeed in competitive international markets,” she added.

“We’ve worked closely with our industry partners who also support exporting companies to make sure the services we offer are complementary and not a duplication of what’s already available.”

“We also undertook a lot of testing with some of our current customers to develop the right content for these guides and workshops so I’m confident that Export Essentials will make a tangible difference to some early-stage exporters who are unsure of where to go for help or information,” said Ms Marsden.

The Export Essentials online tools and resources are free to access, and are part of a wider range of refreshed information, tools and resources on NZTE’s website. The workshops are co-funded by NZTE, with a contribution of $1,000+GST per attendee for the two days and follow-up session with the course provider. Export Essentials workshops for 2017/18 will be in five centres around New Zealand: Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch.

For more information about Export Essentials, to register for a workshop, or to find out more about the benefits of becoming an NZTE customer, visit www.nzte.govt.nz/events/export-essentials-workshops

|  An NZTE release  ||  April 19, 2017   |||

Trade Minister Todd McClay travels to Malaysia today for high-level talks with Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed and to mark 60 years of successful bilateral relations between the two countries.

Mr McClay will also speak about trade and investment opportunities in New Zealand at a business forum in front of 150 of Malaysia’s top executives and investors.

“We have made a lot of progress in 60 years, particularly since a free trade agreement (FTA) was signed between our two countries in 2010,” Mr McClay says.

“Malaysia is now our 10th largest two-way trading partner and in 2016 we exported more than a billion dollars of goods and services to them.

”Malaysia is also a big investor around the world and I will be talking to key business people about opportunities for greater two-way investment, including in New Zealand’s booming tourism, hotel and hospitality sectors.”

Malaysia is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who are forecast by 2050 to consume three times more dairy and double the amount of fruit and meat than they consumed in 2007.

“The Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world and this presents a huge number of opportunities for our farmers, growers, exporters and our wider economy,” Mr McClay says.

“In January our FTA saw tariffs eliminated from 99.5 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to Malaysia. So we are very well placed to increase our trade and investment with this lucrative market.”

|  A Beehive release  ||  April 17, 2017   |||

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner today welcomed the completion of a key trade system.

Trade Single Window, which is a major component of the Joint Border Management System programme by Customs and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), is an e-commerce platform that enables importers and exporters to meet all border requirements in one place.

“Trade Single Window first launched in 2013 and last month hit a major milestone with its five-millionth transaction. The final elements successfully rolled out over the weekend, meaning the system is now complete,” Ms Wagner says.

“This is the culmination of an incredible amount of hard work by both Customs and MPI. The completed system features four new lodgement types that will further streamline the border clearance process for goods and craft.”

The new lodgements will be available gradually over the coming months.

“Trade Single Window also incorporates the World Customs Organization’s latest data model (WCO3), which will allow border agencies to collect better data for risk assessments,” Ms Wagner says.

“Ongoing support from the wider import/export industry has been crucial in developing a system that works well not only for Customs and MPI, but for industry too.”

| A Beehive release  ||  April 10, 2017   |||

Foreign Minister Murray McCully welcomes the Angolan Minister of External Relations Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, who he will meet in Wellington today.

“This visit presents an opportunity to deepen this relationship, including through discussing ways to increase trade flows. Angola had one of the fastest-growing economies of the past decade, and appointed its first ever Ambassador to New Zealand, resident in Singapore, last year,” Mr McCully says.

“New Zealand and Angola served together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council from 2015–2016. Angola is a leader in the Southern African region, and it provides an important voice on African peace and security issues. Our mutual Security Council terms also provided an opportunity for increased engagement between our two countries.”

While in New Zealand, Minister Chikoti has also met with the Minister of Trade and the Minister for Primary Industries, and will discuss business opportunities with the fisheries sector.

|  A Beehive release  ||  April 05, 2017   |||

Major Chinese banks operating in New Zealand continued to make significant inroads last year, with a strong rise in overall assets across all three as they look to cash in on the growing trade ties between the two nations.

Trade between China and New Zealand has tripled to $23 billion since the free trade agreement between the two nations came into force in 2008.

The money flow looks set to continue after New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and China Premier Li Keqiang last week signed off a series of co-operation deals spanning trade, customs, travel and climate change and agreed official talks to upgrade the existing FTA between the nations will start on April 25.

However, while all three banks have primarily targeted corporate clients since setting up shop here, they are also gradually increasing their residential mortgage portfolios, benefiting from a massive housing boom.

China Construction Bank of New Zealand reported total assets of $887.8 million in the year to December 31, up from $401.9m in the prior year.

It also reported a net profit of $1.8m, up from a net loss of $4.7m in the prior year.

The bank significantly increased its residential mortgage portfolio, which jumped to $381.6m versus $72m in the prior year. Its corporate loan portfolio was $363.6m versus $235m in the year to December 31, 2015.

Bank of China New Zealand reported total assets of $514.5m, up from $208.4m in the prior 12 months.

BOC NZ set up shop in November 2014. Corporate loans jumped to $309.4m from $144.5m. It also turned to the housing market with loans of $33.8m at the balance date versus none in the prior year.

Finally, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (NZ) also made a stronger foray into the residential market, with its residential loan portfolio increasing to $172.9m versus $102.4m in the prior year. Its corporate exposure jumped from $278.6m to $531.4m.

|  An NZNewsWire release  |  April 03, 2017   |||

Auckland – The Kiwi Connection Tech Hub is working with NZ businesses, industry and government across multiple initiatives to support 100 Kiwi entrepreneurs, managers and executives to visit major South East Asia markets this year to increase exports, access investment capital and tap into the talent pool that New Zealand lacks.

Hub director Mitchell Pham is working with organisers of the significant landmark business trip to Vietnam, Thailand and possibly Myanmar in a giant leap forward to boost New Zealand exports.In partnership with Augen

The tech hub is a partnership between Augen Software Group and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT). It works in collaboration with businesses and industry associations in both countries.

Pham says the New Zealand mission to South East Asia will focus on businesses in various tech, food and beverages and retail sectors.

“The trail-blazing visit in August will be led by ASEAN-New Zealand Business Council in collaboration with ExportNZ, KEA and the Kiwi Connection Tech Hub and with support from NZTE, MFAT and the Asia New Zealand Foundation.

“In addition to that trip, at the same time, the University of Auckland Business School has 65 management and executive participants in this year’s MBA programme helping 11 Kiwi businesses develop market entry strategies, execution plans and local connections for the Vietnam market. This group will also be working in-market in August.Trade mission to Singapore and Vietnam

“Thirdly FinTechNZ will lead a trade mission to Singapore and Vietnam later this year involving Kiwi FinTech business leaders who will attend the regional FinTech conference in Singapore and connect with the rapidly growing Vietnam market in November. This FinTechNZ trip is in collaboration with the Kiwi Connection Tech Hub and with support from NZTech and NZTE.

“While Augen and the tech hub focus on assisting tech businesses, technology is not a silo sector but rather a part of the bigger picture that is NZ Inc and the NZ story.

“This is further affirmed by the government’s inclusion of tech sector and digital exports in the recently released NZ Trade Agenda 2030, as ways to both grow and diversify export. It is why our Kiwi tech hub is working with a wide range of collaborating partners and engage in many initiatives.

“We are providing a vital bridge for Kiwi tech businesses to speed-up entry and business growth in South East Asia, where there is a huge and rapidly growing pool of talent, capital, customers as well as massive digital economy and consumption appetite,” Pham says.

The hub was opened by minister Steven Joyce in June last year to ensure the Kiwi tech sector could engage with Vietnam and provide a base to support business activities across the ASEAN region.

|  A  Make Lemonade release  ||  April 3, 2017   |||

French Polynesia begins in New Zealand

He looks like the star of a television series set in the 1950s about British country doctors or family solicitors of those solid and dependable times. But former French premier Francois Fillon considered by the English-speaking world to be a shoo-in for his country’s presidency is now looking anything but a winner.

In recent weeks the Mr Clean of europolitics has found himself be-spattered in every variety of calumny and remarkable even for a country renowned for its political spoils system.

The hapless Mr Fillon is looking less and less like the fulcrum around which will rally the centrist forces in the event of a first round win by the National Front’s Marine Le Pen.

At the cusp of the 1960s/1970s France was the focus of New Zealand’s global trade interest for the way in which it was perceived to be throwing a spanner into the primary produce works as Britain made its transition into the Common Market, as the EU was then described.

Yet in a bizarre about turn France has now become as important to New Zealand industrially as Britain was in those days.

This is artfully concealed from public view though by a politico-media determination to keep the trade spotlight on Asia and the Middle East

Here though are just some of the French companies that dominate their sectors in New Zealand:- ‘

  *  Veolia Water and commuter transport in Wellington and Auckland. Controls Transdev  *  Axa Finance – (controls AMP)  *  Pernod Ricard Owns Montana  *  Lafarge Holcim Cement  *  Schneider Electrical manufacturer, formerly PDL  *  Accor Hotelier  *  Air Liquide Industrial n gases  *  Allflex Livestock management applications  *  Danone Dairy  *  Parmalat Dairy  *  Synlait Dairy  *  Alcatel Information technology  *  Thomson Air traffic control  *  Alstom Transport  *  Rexel Office supplies

This unacknowledged state of affairs took on a humorous form when one of the New Zealand government start-up technology incentive funds invested in what appeared to be a local computer games producer only to find out that it was in fact controlled by Vincent Bollore.

He is known as the Breton Raider, and who from his gigantic holdings in transport and commodities in Africa has devolved into the leisure-entertainment sector.

The officially encouraged focus on the East contains a romantic Prester John–like flavour in refusing to acknowledge how hard it is for anyone but the very biggest traders to actually get paid from anyone in these regions.

It also shrouds the mercantile dependence on a country such as France. This is demonstrated by a French trade deficit of $845 million in 2014. In France’s favour.

Back now to Mr Fillon who until a few weeks ago was considered the favourite for the Elysees and thus the man to usher in New Zealand’s EU trade agreement.

His role even as the rallying point as the second round coalition leader in the French presidential double is now being questioned.

The favourites now are the National Front’s Marine Le Pen head-to-head with the former Socialist Party economics minister Emmanuel Macron and his own personal party France on the Move.

For Mr Fillon trouble does not travel alone. Not only is he being charged with putting his family on his parliamentary payroll, and for influence peddling, which is all pretty much part of French political life anyway.

In the unkindest cut of all he is also being accused of receiving his fine-cut English style suits as gifts from wealthy benefactors.

|  From The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  \  Friday 31 March 2017   \\\

Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins is leading a petroleum sector trade delegation to Texas and an electricity sector trade delegation to Silicon Valley next week.

Ms Collins will be accompanied by a petroleum sector delegation, which includes representatives from New Zealand Oil and Gas, Todd Energy and the Petroleum Exploration & Production Association of New Zealand, to Texas.

In Texas, Ms Collins will be attending the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ Annual Convention & Exhibition in Houston, as well as meeting with exploration and service companies to discuss investment opportunities in New Zealand.

Ms Collins will then lead an electricity sector delegation, which includes representatives from Mercury, Contact Energy, Vector, Power Systems Consultants and Genesis Energy, to California’s Silicon Valley.

“The electricity sector is going through a lot of change internationally and the trade mission to Silicon Valley will help New Zealand companies learn about the opportunities with emerging technologies, support New Zealand businesses looking to partner with US firms, and encourage electric vehicle manufacturers to enter the New Zealand market.”

The delegation to Silicon Valley is due to make calls on Tesla’s electric vehicle plant, Siemens, Volkswagen, energy technology company Enphase, Plugshare, SolarCity, Pacific Gas & Electric, Wrightspeed and Californian State energy regulators.

Ms Collins will be in the United States from 1 to 7 April.

|  A Beehive release  |  March 31, 2017   |||

Zespri officially opened its Middle East office in Dubai earlier this week to manage its growing sales and marketing programmes in this region and other developing markets.

Zespri Chief Executive Lain Jager said at the event that Zespri was growing its presence across the Middle East, India and Africa and the new office would support this growth.

“More consumers in the UAE and these regions are enjoying the great taste of premium quality, healthy Zespri Kiwifruit, with sales set to increase by more than 50 percent over the next five years to over 4 million trays of New Zealand fruit and over 2 million trays of global supply (Northern Hemisphere) fruit.

“Zespri’s gold variety SunGold has proved particularly popular with consumers in the Middle East who enjoy its sweet, juicy taste and powerful health properties. Our team in-market is working hard to expand distribution across the region to introduce more consumers to our premium quality fruit and get more of them to buy Zespri Kiwifruit each week,” says Mr Jager.

Zespri’s aim is to grow overall kiwifruit consumption around the world and increase kiwifruit’s share of the global fruitbowl from a fraction of a percent, and building new markets like the Middle East, India and the United States is a key part of this.

A Maori cultural delegation led by kaumatua Kihi Ngatai officially opened and blessed the new office, installing a traditional Maori whakairo (carving) in the office. The carving is named Te Hau Marama which translates to the Wind of Understanding and embraces traditional architecture of the region which takes advantage of desert winds to keep a comfortable breeze for its inhabitants. The carving is made of kauri, traditionally used for pare (lintels) over doorways in wharenui (tribal meeting houses) in New Zealand which provided a boundary between the physical world outside and the spiritual world inside the wharenui.

It is made by James Tapiata who has made several other carvings for Zespri offices in New Zealand and around the world.

|  A Zespri release  |  March 29, 2017   |||

To many in New Zealand, the Oceanian state looks like an isolated outpost with economic powerhouses far, far away in another hemisphere. [Special coverage]

It's at the end of a trail that snakes through Southeast Asia before a three-hour flight from Australia lands you in one of its handful of international airports.

Small wonder that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a massive economic and trade project for common development and prosperity in countries along its routes in Europe, Africa and Asia, is little talked about here.

However, New Zealanders are now starting to realize that while their country might be a terminal on the Initiative's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, it won't be left out, surely after signing on Tuesday an agreement on the Initiative with China.

CLEAR OPPORTUNITY

The initiation of a business network by important figures including president of the ruling National Party Peter Goodfellow and National legislator, China-born scholar turned politician Yang Jian, coincided with an official visit here by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang starting Sunday.

The Oceania Silk Road Network (OSRN) is being forged by New Zealand business interests, headed by William Zhao, director and CEO of the China-owned Yashili New Zealand Dairy Company.

"There's a group of us exploring setting up this mechanism and it's in an environment where there's a growing interest among organizations focused on China to explore ways that New Zealand can engage more in China's very important initiative," said Martin Thomson, head of New Zealand-China Trade Association and one of the four OSRN initiators.

The OSRN will be in link with China's think tanks and industrial alliances to seek opportunities for Belt and Road Initiative projects.

"It's a recognition among those interested in China that collectively we need to learn a bit more about how we can engage in relation to it," Thomson told Xinhua by phone.

"There's clearly opportunity for us to do that and the starting point is for people to engage and start thinking about how" he said.

Thomson also sees the Initiative as facilitating infrastructure development in New Zealand, while serving markets in the region.

"New Zealand's a trading country. We sell a lot of products offshore and the opportunity to open up markets with greater infrastructure in regions that we don't currently sell a lot to is a great opportunity," he said.

Others are keen to interpret signals Li gave in regard to New Zealand's inclusion in the Belt and Road Initiative during his visit this week.

"There's a range of ways in which New Zealand companies could participate," said Stephen Jacobi, acting executive director of New Zealand-China Council.

"For example, we could supply goods or services into construction projects into Eurasia, the countries around China that they're targeting for infrastructure development," Jacobi told Xinhua by phone.

Another sector to tap potential would be how goods and services move along the Initiative's routes.

"This is an area where New Zealand has an expertise around trade facilitation, around supply chain integrity and optimization," he said.

BRAINSTORMING NEEDED

Meanwhile, China-born legislator Raymond Huo believed the Belt and Road Initiative can help solve the problem of infrastructure development facing many developed nations.

"There is a dilemma. New Zealand, Australia and other developed countries including the U.S. and Canada are all facing the same problem," Huo told Xinhua.

"We haven't done much upgrading, so we need money, we need capital, and we need the construction capacity. China has both," he said.

Huo said he first realized the potential of Belt and Road Initiative when he attended two high-level conferences in China, and he believed New Zealand should seize the opportunities it offers.

Along with other experts on China and leading business people, he has established a think tank and foundation on the Initiative.

The think tank aims to tackle issues including a possibly prevailing protectionist trend around the world, and public perceptions of and attitudes towards global trade, among others.

The foundation is expected to focus on financing, joining in efforts by such institutions as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Silk Road Fund to work for infrastructure projects.

"We need a think tank to get involved in brainstorming to find a way to benefit the New Zealand economy," including an infrastructure upgrade, Huo, the think tank's co-chair, said in a telephone interview.

Huo believed the think tank will also help New Zealanders to better understand the Belt and Road Initiative as well as the Chinese people and culture.

It has already established links with China's National Development and Reform Commission, construction companies and private equity firms to seek opportunities.

In addition, it plans to convene a high-level conference on New Zealand-based Initiative projects after the New Zealand general elections to be held in September.

"We will bring together and coordinate a network of business leaders and organizations across the board to develop effective, efficient and environmentally sustainable economy while maintaining peace and harmony in our region," said Huo.

Simon Draper, executive director of Asia-New Zealand Foundation, described the Belt and Road Initiative as "organic".

"It's going to develop over time," he said. "It seems to me that it's potentially a train coming down the track and we have to understand it better."

Trade Minister Todd McClay said the Initiative itself is to endure the test of time while stressing that New Zealand saw itself as a partner of China in its implementation.

"You could almost suggest that the road starts in New Zealand, but we'll be looking for ways to enhance our relationship through this substantial and worthwhile initiative," McClay said.

"It's an ongoing conversation we're having and I don't think it's about just what we might think today. The Initiative itself is to endure the test of time and it's about enhancing opportunities for citizens of those countries through growth and a stronger economy," he said.

|  A release from Out of The Silk Road  |  March 28, 2017   |||