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By Stephen Jacobi A recent survey of 1018 New Zealanders found that over 60.5 per cent believed New Zealand needed to do more to connect with global markets. While 85.7 per cent could not name the deal under negotiation with the United States and other Asia Pacific economies, when prompted 51.6 per cent said they had heard of the Trans …

Jonathan Underhill The Maori Council is expecting a tough fight through the courts with the government after Prime Minister John Key ended talks with Maori over how the Mighty River Power sale could help address Maori claims to rights in freshwater resources. Felix Geiringer, a barrister representing the Maori Council, says the issue is “very likely to go to court” …

The government will sell Mighty River Power shares in the first half of 2013 though its inability to pin down Maori over water rights has left financial markets warning of a discount if investors can’t quantify Treaty of Waitangi risks. Prime Minister John Key said his cabinet today shelved the contentious ‘shares-plus’ proposal that would settle claims to waterways of …

So often when companies are developing a China strategy, they focus on the ‘window of opportunity’ and while they’re not wrong to do this, what many are forgetting to do (or don’t know to do) is to firstly ‘look in the mirror’. What do they see? Do they have the resources, the people, the time, the funds, the commitment, the …

By Conor English Yogi Berra, an American baseball coach, famously said “the future ain’t what it used to be”. When it comes to water in New Zealand, he’s right. Right now everything to do with water is at play. The laws and rules around water’s ownership, allocation, management, quality and its storage are all under review. What happens over the …

Prime Minister John Key secured China’s backing for New Zealand’s bid to win a seat on the United Nation’s Security Council during private talks with the man who is tipped as next in line to run the world’s most populous country. That was the main diplomatic take from the three-day visit by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping that winds up in …

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s dream is not about a future in which every Chinese will own his own car or be able to live in a posh apartment in downtown Beijing or Shanghai. It is a future in which every Chinese child will be able to drink two glasses of milk a day. It’s a vision that Wen confided in …

Chinese billionaire Zong Qinghou “firmly believes” the free trade agreement will increase New Zealand’s profile among Chinese entrepreneurs. Zong – boss of China’s largest beverage maker Hangzhou Wahaha based in the thriving coastal province of Zhejiang – says a lot of opportunities will open up between New Zealand and China as a result of the FTA. “Hangzhou is facing competitive …

FRAN O’SULLIVAN talks free trade with China’s Commerce Minister  Bo Xilai, the Chinese Commerce Minister – and in the judgment of some a man destined for the premier’s suite – has been quick to use New Zealand’s recognition of China as a “market economy” in negotiations with bigger countries. Since Prime Minister Helen Clark made her April 14 announcement, Singapore …

Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai has given a strong indication that New Zealand will stay at the front of the queue despite a flurry of countries seeking free trade deals with his nation. In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Bo said there were at least 10 or even 30 countries “who were willing to talk about an FTA with …