PGG Wrightson, the rural services company controlled by Agria Corp, named the Chinese company’s founder Alan Lai as its new chairman, replacing John Anderson, and forecast a lift in full-year operating earnings. The Christchurch-based company first flagged the departure of veteran businessman Anderson last month, after he was appointed to steer the company after its 2010 shakeup that followed the …

Tru-Test Corp, which doubled in size after buying a dairy industry equipment business, posted a 12 percent increase in full-year sales and said profit almost tripled on a gain from the sale of a UK subsidiary. Profit rose to $6.6 million in the 12 months ended March 31, from $2.3 million a year earlier, according to the Auckland-based company’s annual …

Auckland-based bio-fuels pioneer Lanzatech Inc has been named the second “hottest” bio-technology company in the world and 4th hottest for bio-chemicals at the same time as announcing a new contract with leading Korean petro-chemical company SK Innovation. The announcements, from respected industry publication Bio-Fuels Digest, come as Lanzatech’s latest filings with the Companies Office show its losses roughly doubled in …

APN News & Media, which publishes the New Zealand Herald newspaper, has agreed to sell its stake in an outdoor advertising joint venture with Quadrant Private Equity for some A$69 million. The deal will see APN sell its 48 percent of APN Outdoor at a multiple of 7.5 times earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, the media group said …

Telecom Corp has confirmed it’s considering hocking off its AAPT unit in Australia as it transforms into a service-based telecommunications operator, though hasn’t commented on reports it may sell its stake in mobile business Hutchison Telecommunications Australia. The Auckland-based company is considering a possible sale of AAPT, though hasn’t made any final decision, it said in a statement. The announcement …

New Zealand’s government is looking for ways to save money on building materials as its annual spend is predicted to more than double for the next five to eight years, driven by the Canterbury rebuild and leaky building remediation. Government agencies are forecast to increase their annual spending on building supplies to $3.3 billion from a previous base of $1.5 …

The Serious Fraud Office has confirmed it’s looking at legislated export marketing monopolist Zespri International, though is being tight-lipped on any further details. reliable essay writing service The white-collar crime investigator has opened a preliminary investigation, but won’t say what it’s looking at or indicating what powers the SFO has to compel Zespri to release information. “Zespri has not been …

The New Zealand dollar declined after trading in a narrow range overnight as investors await the release of key US jobs data which was delayed by a partial government shutdown. The kiwi traded in a 64 basis point range overnight, slipping to 84.55 US cents at 8am in Wellington from 84.88 cents at the 5pm market close yesterday. The trade-weighted …

The US dollar strengthened against the yen on speculation delayed September jobs data due on Tuesday will be strong enough to allow the Federal Reserve to contemplate tapering by year-end. Economists forecast that 180,000 jobs were created in September, according to a Reuters survey, from 169,000 a month earlier, while the unemployment rate remained at 7.3 percent. The greenback strengthened …

Shanghai Pengxin, which bought the Crafar family farms in a controversial deal last year, and the Synlait founders are offering $85.7 million to buy South Island dairy farmer Synlait Farms. SFL Holdings, a joint venture between Pengxin and Synlait Farms chief executive Juliet Maclean and director John Penno, is offering $2.10 a share to Synlait Farms investors in a full …