Fonterra Cooperative Group has opened applications for its farmer suppliers to lock in a guaranteed milk price for a portion of their milk in the coming 2015/2016 season in a price range of $4.85 per kilogram of milk solids to $5.25/kgMS, despite undersubscription for the last two offers. The upper limit matches the farmgate milk price forecast for the new season which …

The New Zealand dollar traded close to parity with the Australian dollar amid speculation weak Australian inflation data today could push it through the historic milestone. The kiwi touched a record against the euro on concern about whether Greece will exit the common currency. The kiwi hit 99.59 Australian cents overnight and was trading at 99.51 cents at 8am in …

The acquisition of Kawarau Village  – including five star Hilton Hotel and 4.5 star Kawarau Hotel is Pengxin’s first investment in NZ tourism. After months preparation, Kawarau Hotel is rebranded as Double Tree Hotel, which is sub brand of Hilton Group. Near 100 people gathered to celebrate the opening of the first Double Tree In New Zealand. Zhaobai Jiang,chairman of Shanghai …

HSBC has singled out five macro themes for 2015. With disinflationary pressure rising, we lower our GDP and inflation forecasts for 2015 and 2016. Beijing will likely step up policy easing to stabilise the economy. We also expect the pace of key reforms to accelerate Both economic activity and inflation data have been weaker than we anticipated in recent months, suggesting rising …

‘Coverage of the free trade agreement just concluded with South Korea has been all about agriculture – which is being talked up without anyone being able to see the fine print’, according to Professor Jane Kelsey, It appears the legal scrubbing of the text will take several more months. Until then New Zealanders will not get to see what the …

Economic reform in China, one of New Zealand’s largest trading partners accounting for 22 percent of exports, is a lower priority than trying to save the future of the Communist party, according to Wall Street Journal columnist Andy Browne.  Speaking at a WSJ-organised event in Auckland on the future of New Zealand-China relations, Browne said the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, is under …

Greg Hall A visit from Silicon Valley investors Sam Altman and Scott Nolan had Auckland’s startup community buzzing, with the pair coming to town as a part of a half-work/half-holiday tour of New Zealand. They’ve already seen some of what New Zealand has to offer, and on Friday joined a selection of NZ  innovators at Spark City to talk about …

The China/Australia Free Trade Agreement, or “CHAfta” as it is being called, gives Australian dairy farmers much better access to the Chinese infant formula market, which they have been beaten out of by the New Zealanders in recent years. Agricultural sector writer Alan Emerson recently noted that in 2009 New Zealand and Australia produced approximately the same amount of milk. …

There can be little doubt that the Australian’s have pulled off a rather remarkable piece of diplomatic manoeuvring to strike what appears to be such a comprehensive and far reaching Free Trade Agreement with the Chinese government. The broadly based FTA includes agreement on areas including Agriculture, Resources, Service industries, Investment and Worker mobility. Few expected anything so extensive or …

New Zealand’s recently signed Free Trade Agreement with Korea is a positive step in freeing up our trade relations and represents an absolute bottom line for the quality of outcomes for further agreements.  “We appreciate how difficult it has been to reach an agreement with Korea, and are pleased to now be on a level playing field with our trade …