China

The world’s largest utility operation – State Grid Corporation of China – is reportedly eyeing a 42 per cent stake in NZ”s second-largest electricity and gas distribution company Powerco. The stake is said to be worth more than $450m. Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing – whose company owns Wellington Electricity Lines  – walked away from a proposed bid early …

Dame Jenny Shipley will stand down as a director of one of China’s most powerful banks at the forth-coming AGM – one of three independent non-executive directors who are retiring by rotation from the board at the shareholders’ annual meeting. The others are  Joseph Yam Chi Kwong  and  Wong Kai-Man. Dame Jenny was first appointed as a CCB director in …

Cofco chairman Frank Ning was one of the star performers at the inaugural New Zealand China Partnership Forum in Beijing last Friday. Ning has thought long and hard about Cofco’s relationship with food-producing nations like New Zealand. I’ll be writing more about this in coming days. Meantime this Bloomberg clip gives an indication into Ning’s thinking.

Prime Minister John Key arrived back in New Zealand from Beijing with a strong message ringing in his ears that China Inc wants to step up the pace and take the bilateral economic partnership to the next stage. It was a good week for Key. Not only have senior Chinese accepted the essential value proposition of New Zealand to China (which …

A pōwhiri and festival are to be held in Auckland to celebrate Maori and Chinese cultural bonds, and to consummate the relationship between the two cultures. The Minister of Māori Affairs, alongside hosts Ngāti Whātua o Orākei, and Auckland Chinese community leaders announced details of the ‘Taniwha & Dragon’ festival during the Prime Minister’s visit to China to celebrate 40 …

The NZ Herald’s report China Business 2013 profiles many of the New Zealand and Chinese companies featured during the Prime Minister’s official visit to China.  

  Face-to-Face is a new feature from newzealandinc.com where we sit down for a chat with young business leaders from around the globe. We’ll be running a special series of these from China where we talk to young New Zealanders doing big things on the ground here. Shifting lenses and taking a look at China from the perspective of a …

The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.2 percent weekly fall against the greenback as weaker than expected Chinese manufacturing added to a souring mood among investors looking for reasons to sell. The kiwi traded at 82.71 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 82.77 cents t 8am, down from 83.15 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index decreased to 75.78 …

Mainzeal director Richard Yan has stepped down from the New Zealand China Council’s executive board of his own volition. newzealandinc.com believes Yan – who has been a passionate advocate for a strong relationship between New Zealand and China – would not have wanted to cause any issues for the recently formed council. Yan earlier appeared on the council’s executive board …