The government is backing the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund with a further $60 million as part of its efforts to encourage more private investment. The latest injection follows a previous $40 million underwrite and is on top of the $160 million the government has already allocated to the venture capital programme. “The underwrite facility is a contingent liability rather …

A2 Corp, which markets milk products with a protein variant claimed to have health benefits, reported an 82 percent slide in first-half profit as the cost of setting up its UK joint venture eroded the bottom line. The shares gained 3.9 percent as it affirmed its annual earnings forecast. Net profit dropped to $243,000, or 0.09 cents per share, in …

Guinness Peat Group expects to rebrand itself as UK threadmaker Coats, its biggest asset, in the second half of 2013, having slipped into the red last year on a fine handed down by the European Court. The London-headquartered firm made a loss of 3 million pounds in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, compared to a profit of 1 million …