Economic reform in China, one of New Zealand’s largest trading partners accounting for 22 percent of exports, is a lower priority than trying to save the future of the Communist party, according to Wall Street Journal columnist Andy Browne.  Speaking at a WSJ-organised event in Auckland on the future of New Zealand-China relations, Browne said the Chinese economy, the world’s second largest, is under …

APN News and Media, the Australian publisher of The New Zealand Herald newspaper, has put off the public share float for its newly consolidated kiwi business, NZME, as it announced an annual profit fall of 11 percent for its New Zealand operations..  Last year, the Sydney-based company bundled its New Zealand business, which include The New Zealand Herald, The Radio Network and GrabOne, under the …

Livestock Improvement Corp, a farmer cooperative that sells bull semen and provides a dairy genetics database, posted a 10 percent gain in first-half profit on increased demand for its products and services.  Profit rose to $29.7 million in the six months ended Nov. 30, from $26.9 million a year earlier, the Hamilton-based company said in a statement. Sales climbed 18 percent to $159 million. …