Silver Fern Farms could be kept in cooperative ownership for as little as $25,000 per farmer and the meat company’s board would be irresponsible not to consider a “plan B” if it fails to garner support for its proposal to sell half the business to Shanghai Maling Aquarius, says an opponent of the deal. SFF shareholder John Cochrane this week circulated an …

AFT Pharmaceuticals, the Auckland-based drugs developer and reseller, wants to list in Australia and New Zealand, raising funds to speed up the development of products to sell in other countries. The company is considering an initial public offering on the NZX and ASX, hiring First NZ Capital as sole lead manager, it said in a statement, without indicating how much money it …

New Zealand manuka honey producers are seeking the same trademark protection accorded to French Champagne and Scottish Whisky after a surge in fakes that aren’t made from the nectar of Leptospermum Scoparium, the native manuka bush. The UMF Honey Association is seeking to protect the use of the name because imitations are damaging the brand at a time when demand in markets such …