New Zealand’s banking system is at risk from property prices overheating if the country’s exports stop being worth so much or the kiwi dollar falls out of bed, says the international credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s. S&P issued a report on the New Zealand banking sector saying “significant risk remains of a sharp correction in property prices.” The rating …

The Financial Markets Authority says improving levels of transparency on New Zealand’s stock exchange is one of four major areas it will keep tabs on this year as the government’s partial privatisation programme steps up a gear. New Zealand’s securities watchdog was unimpressed by “poor administrative practices by substantial shareholders, directors and officers, resulting in delays in notifying the market …

KiwiRail, the state-owned railway company, posted a 7.6 percent gain in first half operating earnings as it benefited from a pickup in freight revenue and a continued drive to cut costs. The operating surplus was $46.9 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $42.6 million a year earlier, the Wellington-based company said in a statement. Operating revenue rose …