By Paul McBeth Oct. 22 (BusinessDesk) – Crown Fibre Holdings, the government entity tasked with overseeing the taxpayer-sponsored fibre network build, will have its mandate extended to cover rural connectivity, which Communications Minister Amy Adams wants delivered at faster speeds over the next decade. The agency will continue to be responsible for the ultrafast broadband programme, which is currently in …

By Paul McBeth Oct. 23 (BusinessDesk) – New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible member of the world’s financial community is undermined by holes in the financial services provider register, which is still open to abuse by unscrupulous foreign firms, industry groups say. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is revisiting the register in a legislative review of the 2008 …

By Jonathan Underhill Oct. 23 (BusinessDesk) – The Reserve Bank may keep the official cash rate unchanged next week to avoid inflaming Auckland’s housing market and to keep some capacity up its sleeve should global growth stumble, even though the kiwi dollar has gained when the bank had expected a decline. Governor Graeme Wheeler will keep the OCR at 2.75 …