Heartland New Zealand, which gained bank registration in December, posted a 9.2 percent gain in first-half profit on increased earnings from retail, business and rural lending and a reduction in costs. Profit rose to $10.7 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $9.8 million a year earlier, the Christchurch-based company said in a statement. Net operating income rose …
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Mainzeal director Richard Yan resigns from New Zealand China Council
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 …
Read More »Overseas regulators give NZ a message on DCD “Tell us before you tell media”
Ministry for Primary Industries Director-General Wayne McNee says overseas regulators have said they would like to know about issues like DCD residues in NZ dairy products before information is given to the media. McNee says none of the dairy products recently destroyed by Chinese authorities contained DCD residues. China’s food quality authority’s met recent quarterly list of products that have not …
Read More »APN off to High Court to defend IRD claim to $48m (plus 50% penalties) over interest claimed on certain financing transactions
APN News & Media plans to go to the High Court to defend an IRD claim to $48m (plus 50% penalties and interest) over interest claimed on “certain financing transactions”. The dispute involves tax of NZ$48 million for the period up to 31 December 2012. The IRD is seeking to impose penalties of 50% of the tax in dispute and …
Read More »ANZ Morning Brief: Off to the races and I’ll put $10 on that black and white filly
OFF TO THE RACES AND I’LL PUT $10 ON THAT BLACK AND WHITE FILLY: Overnight the GlobalDairyTrade registered a very strong rise with the TWI up 3.1 percent. Despite the lingering headlines related to consumer and offshore regulator jitters about the discovery of minute traces of DCD in some milk products last year, the strength of the auction results in …
Read More »NZ leaves limited defence team in Afghanistan post-April pullout of PRT
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman say New Zealand will continue to make a small but proportionate military commitment to the international mission in Afghanistan from May 2013, and remains committed to international efforts to improve the security and prosperity of Afghanistan. “The current NATO/ISAF mission is not scheduled to end until December 2014. As previously …
Read More »FT’s take on the APN boardroom battle most nuanced to-date
Financial Times: A boardroom battle has broken out at APN News & Media following a decision by the company’s largest shareholder to push for the removal of its chief executive and oppose a rights issue. Shares in the Australasian media group APN were suspended on Friday when Ireland’s Independent News & Media said it wanted the removal of Brett Chenoweth as a director and …
Read More »Highlight from NZ Inc Shanghai research trip
NZ Inc was blown away when shown through ‘Banyan Tree on the Bund’ – a terrific six-star hotel towards the mouth of the Huangpo River – during a recent research trip to China. The developer is Pengxin better known in Shanghai as a real estate developer than as the buyer of the Crafar farms. online marketing jobs Pengxin chairman Jiang …
Read More »BNZ launches YouMoney – the next generation of online banking
BNZ has launched ‘YouMoney’ – an innovative new online banking system built from the ground up to capture a bigger share of the youth “digital natives” banking market. “Young people told us they want their personal banking to be easy and intuitive – so that’s what we’ve created,” says BNZ director of retail, Andy Symons. In contrast to the standard …
Read More »Pat English – Superb choice for NZ China Council
Sir Don McKinnon couldn’t have picked a better person than Pat English to be the NZ China Council’s inaugural executive director. The former NZ Consul-General and Trade Commissioner in Guangzhou has long been a stalwart in the bilateral relationship. English is deeply versed in New Zealand’s trading relationship; knows heaps of smaller firms as well as the larger NZ companies …
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