Commerce Minister Craig Foss has beefed up the number of KiwiSaver default providers that members are automatically enrolled into when they sign up to the government sponsored scheme. Westpac Banking Corp, Bank of New Zealand, KiwiBank and Grosvenor Financial Services will join AMP Financial Services, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group, ASB Bank, Mercer and Fisher Funds from the start …

The New Zealand dollar soared to its highest in more than two and a half years after Reserve Bank deputy governor Grant Spencer signalled to an investment conference in Hong Kong that a higher kiwi won’t prevent the bank from future interest rate hikes. The kiwi touched 86.85 US cents overnight, and was trading at 86.72 cents at 8am in …

Investors punished Synlait Milk shares after the dairy processor was forced to wind back the bullish profit forecast it gave in January because of disruptions from increased Chinese regulations on infant formula and unfavourable foreign exchange movements. The stock dropped 7.3 percent to a three-week low of $3.70, trimming their gains from last year’s initial public offering to 68 percent. …

New Zealand-founded bio-fuels innovator LanzaTech has attracted US$60 million in its latest capital-raising round, including a US$20 million commitment from Japanese industrial conglomerate Mitsui, which will join the LanzaTech board. Headquartered in Chicago, but with scientific operations led from its Auckland laboratories, LanzaTech is seeking up to US$80 million in its so-called “D round” of funding, with a second tranche …

The liquidators of the Mainzeal Group of companies have racked up $523,000 in legal fees since taking on the administration, as they face several court battles with the failed construction firm’s principal, Richard Yan. BDO’s Brian Mayo-Smith, Andrew Bethell and Stephen Tubbs are seeking about $46.6 million in related party debt stemming from two significant restructures in the two years …

Wynyard Group, the intelligence software developer, plans to raise $35 million through a placement and a share purchase plan to fund its global growth strategy. Its shares have been halted for the capital raising. The Auckland-based company said it would raise $30 million via a placement to institutional investors and $5 million via a SPP. The placement is underwritten at …

New Zealand food prices fell in February on a seasonal dip for fruit and vegetables, while more expensive dairy products underpinned an annual gain in prices. The food price index slipped 1 percent in February following a 1.2 percent rise in January, according to Statistics New Zealand. In the year, food prices were up 0.2 percent, the smallest annual gain …

Pacific Edge, the bladder cancer test developer whose shares have soared in the past year, will join the NZX 50 Index this month, replacing retailer Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, whose stock has tumbled in the same period. Hallenstein’s share price has declined 44 percent in the past 12 months while Pacific Edge has surged 118 percent, outpacing the benchmark index’s 17 …

The Ministry for Primary Industries has filed four charges in the Wellington District Court against Fonterra Cooperative Group for breaches of the Animal Products Act during last year’s whey protein concentrate incident. The charges are that Fonterra failed to process dairy products in accordance with its risk management programme and didn’t notify authorities about the lapse, exported dairy products that …

The New Zealand dollar will stay at an elevated level for longer than previously thought as the local economic story finds favour with foreign investors, according to the Reserve Bank. The trade-weighted index, a measure of the kiwi against a basket of five currencies, averaged 78.18 in the March quarter, ahead of the Reserve Bank’s December projection of 77.4 in …