The New Zealand government will dust off the stalled initiative for a free trade agreement with India, following the election of a new Indian government promising an economic reform agenda more likely to be welcoming of foreign trade and investment. The Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Narendra Modi, won the Indian general election over the weekend, becoming the first government …

The New Zealand dollar edged up in local trading after government figures showed producer prices rose faster than expected, pointing to potential inflationary pressures. The kiwi rose to 86.33 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 86.27 cents at 8am, and 86.21 cents on Friday in New York. The trade-weighted index was little changed at 80.26 from 80.18 yesterday. New Zealand producers faced a 1 …

The McMillan family is selling its half stake in Auckland-based BMW, Mini and Roll Royce dealer Team McMillan to co-owner Collins Asset Management, and founder Bob McMillan will retire from the business. Collins Asset Management’s managing director Tim Cook said financial terms of the transaction, which is effective on June 30, were confidential. Team McMillan, based on Great South Road, is …

Sheep farmers will vote in October whether to reinstate a wool levy to fund industry good activities, five years after they dumped a national levy in a move that forced a restructure of what was then called Meat & Wool New Zealand. The Wool Producers Referendum, set for Oct. 10, will ask New Zealand’s 17,000 eligible sheep farmers to approve a …

The New Zealand dollar may remain relatively unchanged this week as investors weigh the potential for a slower pace of interest rate increases than previously expected. The local currency may trade between 85 US cents and 87.40 cents this week, according to a BusinessDesk survey of 11 traders and strategists. Six predict the kiwi will remain neutral this week, while …

Shareholders in Wellington Drive Technologies, whose annual accounts were tagged by auditor PwC over forecast cash flows, will vote next month on a sale of preference shares that could hand control of the company to cornerstone investor SuperLife. The Auckland-based maker of energy efficient refrigeration motors today said it raised $2.2 million of the $5 million sought in a one-for-five …

New Zealand producers’ input and output prices rose in the first three months of the year, driven by higher costs to generate electricity because of low hydro-lake levels and more expensive thermal generation. Producer output prices, which measure the prices received by New Zealand producers, rose 0.9 percent in the three months ended March 31, turning from a 0.4 percent decline …

Privately held drugs developer and reseller AFT Pharmaceuticals is contemplating a listing on the NZX, having attracted a 10.6 percent equity investment from a US specialist healthcare investment fund and Auckland-based Milford Asset Management. Companies Office records show Capital Royalty, with headquarters in Houston, Texas, has taken a 7.58 percent stake in Auckland-based AFT, leaving a 3.03 percent stake taken …

New Zealand services sector activity, which accounts for about two thirds of the economy, rose for a second month in April to reach the highest in more than six years, led by new orders and sales. The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of services index rose 0.4 points to a seasonally adjusted 58.9 in April from 58.3 in March and up from 55.4 …

Abano Healthcare won a bid to sack rebel shareholder Peter Hutson and his wife Anya from their audiology joint venture, Bay International. The Employment Relations Authority ruled the Abano directors on the Bay board had the right to end the employment agreements of the Hutsons, who own half the audiology firm, Abano said in a statement. The ruling doesn’t affect …