New Zealand

NZX, the market operator, doubled annual profit as it benefited from new listings, a surge in trading activity and fees for running market operations, more than making up for a drought-impacted NZX Agri division. Profit rose to $6.4 million, or 2.51 cents a share, in the six months ended June 30, from $3.2 million, or 1.27 cents, a year earlier, …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, faces a 14 day temporary ban on selling products in Sri Lanka, and denies claims its products still contain traces of a nitrate inhibitor that sparked a food scare earlier this year. Three workers representing Sri Lanka’s National Health Services Union have won a temporary injunction to stop the Auckland-based company from …

China’s Bright Food Group, a cornerstone stake in local processor Synlait Milk, is likely to get a boost from Fonterra Cooperative Group’s food scare and might get a credit rating upgrade from Moody’s Investors Service. home sharing not working Fonterra is the biggest milk powder supplier into China with about 60 percent market share, and last week’s food safety scare …

Finance Minister Bill English has appointed former Bell Gully partner Jonathan Ross and US-based venture capitalist Bridget Liddell to the board of the Reserve Bank. Ross joins the board today, replacing academic Chris Eichbaum, whose five-year tenure ended on July 31, and Liddell will join the board from October, replacing outgoing chairman Arthur Grimes. Rod Carr was elected chair by …

Health Minister Tony Ryall and Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye confirm that Nutricia has today narrowed the scope of the recall for infant formula.  “The Ministry for Primary Industries and Nutricia’s verification work has enabled the recall to be narrowed only to 900g cans manufactured between 21 May 2013 and 2 August 2013 inclusive,” Kaye says.  The following 900g cans remain …

The Ministry for Primary Industries investigation into Fonterra Cooperative Group’s potentially tainted whey protein concentrate will take up to six months. jobs working from home Acting MIP director general Scott Gallacher said the 20-person probe spear-headed by the ministry’s compliance director probably take between three and six months. The investigation will determine whether Food Act and Animal Products Act regulations …

Northland Regional Council’s Northland Inc unit has signed a memorandum of understanding with Hawaiki Cable in a plan to link Whangarei in a Pacific-wide submarine fibre optic cable. Northland Inc, a council unit tasked with growing the region’s economy, will aid the landing and funding of the US$350 million cable in the New Zealand city by sourcing local investors, promoting …

New Zealand will ink an economic cooperation agreement with Taiwan in Wellington tomorrow evening completing a triumvirate of  FTAs with China and its satellites: Hong Kong and Taiwan. NZ will be the first Western nation to triangulate the trade relationship with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Singapore – which like NZ is understood to have agreed the guts of the …

Kevin Rudd’s new chief of staff Jim Murphy has strong links with New Zealand’s policy and business elites, even if his boss doesn’t. Murphy, an Australian Treasury deputy secretary, was at Peter Costello’s side when the former Australian Liberal Treasurer co-launched the Australasia single market process with former NZ Finance Minister Michael Cullen a decade ago. A taciturn man, he …

Penny Macdonald Many trade negotiators in Indonesia for the famous pre-Bogor APEC meetings were excited about the emerging vision of free trade.  It was hard to believe that everyone was poised to sign on to such an ambitious goal.  In a bar in Jakarta, having somewhat patronisingly congratulated one Senior Official on (finally) joining the consensus, I can still hear …