Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Businesses say the government’s deal with Z Energy for an emergency diesel reserve is reassuring in case of supply disruption, but will not help with high prices.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Tuesday announced the deal which will see Z Energy procure, own and manage 90 million litres of diesel at Marsden Point refinery’s refurbished fuel tanks.

The government would then be able to release the fuel to service stations if normal supply shipments were disrupted.

Business New Zealand’s head of advocacy Catherine Beard told RNZ it was reassuring to businesses.

“All of the goods that move around New Zealand … for anything industrial and commercial it’s diesel is really the critical fuel, so I think this will be quite, quite encouraging for businesses to know that there’ll be extra stock on hand.

“It may not need to be used, but it will shore things up. I understand that supply chains are actually working quite normally, which is really good.”

However, it would do little to help with high diesel costs – which she said was the main problem faced by businesses.

“The issue really has been the price problem. This won’t resolve the price problem but it will give companies and business, I guess, more confidence that we’ve got enough.”

Price monitor app Gaspy showed a diesel price of about $3.32 a litre – down about 20 cents over the past month, but still nearly $1.50 higher than before the Iran conflict.

“It absolutely is a problem, obviously, and businesses would have been trying to where they can absorb it, but it will have to be passed on eventually,” Beard said.

“It’ll start to flow through supply chains and ultimately hit consumers in the pocket as it affects everything that’s moved around.”

She said the government’s moves towards cutting regulations on truck weights – announced by ACT leader David Seymour over the weekend – could take pressure off businesses struggling with those costs.

NZ First leader and Minister for Rail Winston Peters has taken a different tack, calling for a focus on rail instead – a stance Labour and the Greens have also been pushing.

Beard, however, pointed out trains had their limitations.

“Rail is there, but it doesn’t get the goods to the door of the customer. It can work well on main trunk line and taking things maybe from Auckland to Wellington for example, but you still need to distribute your goods to the end user so you can’t really get away from trucks.

“Maybe more could go on the train, but it also depends on timeliness – of how urgent it is to get things delivered and what customers expectations are – but I suppose when we’re in this situation of going into the slightly unknown that all of those things could change.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Meal kit provider My Food Bag is reviewing the company’s recent performance which is yet to be reflected in its share price.

“As the review gets underway, the board wishes to confirm that there is no certainty that any transaction involving My Food Bag will eventuate,” the company said in a statement to the market, adding that its financial adviser Cameron Partners would lead the review.

“Rather, one option from the review is for My Food Bag to continue to grow in its current form as an NZX-listed company,” it said.

The company’s share price rose 8 percent following the announcement.

A recent update in March indicated the company had seen strong second half sales, with a full year net profit forecast to be between $6.4 million and $6.8m for the ended March. The full results will be released next month.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than 40 percent of people with home loans are paying more than the minimum required, which can save them significant amounts of money over the life of their loans.

Data from the NZ Banking Association shows that total home lending rose 17.5 percent in the six months to December, and almost a quarter of new home loans went to first-home buyers.

There were 70,811 new home loans in the period, up from 60,249 in the first half of 2025. The average value of all new home loans was $392,519, down 3 percent from the previous period.

In total, 42.9 percent of home loan customers were paying more than the minimum repayment, up from 40.3 percent. Only 1.4 percent were behind on their payments, the same levels as previously.

“The fact that over 40 percent of people with a home loan are ahead on their repayments shows a high level of financial capability among New Zealand homeowners. Managing your money well, especially during a time of economic challenges, is a great skill to have,” said NZ Banking Association chief executive Roger Beaumont.

Mortgage adviser Jeremy Andrews, of Key Mortgages, said most people who were rolling over on to lower interest rates kept their repayments the same.

“In some cases clients are increasing a little higher again… The impact of choosing this are huge. For example when comparing how much additional repayments are required to change for example a 30-year loan term to a 27-year loan term to a 25-year alone term is less than a 5 percent in repayments in each case.”

How you can save

With a $500,000 mortgage and a 30-year loan term it could look like this.

At the average variable rate of 5.59 percent, fortnightly payments are $1323 and the mortgage will cost roughly $1.03 million to repay, including $531,709 of interest.

Fixing it for two years at 5.09 percent would lower the fortnightly payment to $1251. The overall bill would be $975,732, including $475,732 of interest.

At the peak of the most recent interest rate cycle, two-year rates were about 7 percent, making a $500,000 mortgage about $1535 a fortnight and costing a total of $1.196 million to repay.

If you kept your repayments at that level, though, when rates dropped to 5.09 percent, you’d only pay $796,815 in total, and $296,816 of interest.

An extra hundred dollars of fortnight would cut the amount of interest to $263,256.

An extra $200 a fortnight would reduce it to $236,765. It would also be clear 13 years earlier.

This isn’t a perfect comparison because rates will move over the course of your home loan.

The data also showed 68 percent of credit cards were paid in full without incurring any interest.

Just over 60 percent of loans were on fixed interest rates, 17.7 percent ton variable and the remainder a mix.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The capital markets operator NZX has launched a futures index, which gives equity investors a more efficient way to manage risk.

The S&P/NZX 20 Index Futures supports efficient pricing, enables effective hedging, and helps market participants mitigate risks.

NZX cash and derivatives markets general manager Nick Morris said the introduction of the index was a significant milestone for NZX and the capital markets, which hadn’t had a futures index since the early 1990s.

“New Zealand has been an outlier among comparable developed economies in not having a liquid domestic equity derivatives market,” Morris said.

“With today’s first trades in the S&P/NZX 20 Index Futures, investors now have an efficient way to manage risk and gain exposure to New Zealand equities, closing that longstanding gap.”

The S&P/NZX 20 index tracked the 20 largest and most liquid companies in New Zealand.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The New Zealand economy is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars better off each year once the Indian free trade agreement has fully come into force.

Analysis of the economic benefits of the deal has been released along with the full text.

While many Indian import duties are gone from day one, some key sectors will have duties phased out over 10 years.

Economic modelling for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said once fully implemented in 2037, more than 80 percent of exports to India would be duty free.

The Ministry noted that “given the current income and consumption profiles of India, and that increases in trade are off a very low base, the initial gains from the FTA were modest.

“By 2037, approximately 10 years after entry into force when all tariff phasing is complete, annual GDP (in 2024 dollars) is expected to be 0.07 percent $401 million higher than non-FTA baseline GDP,” the National Interest Analysis report said.

Trade expert Stephen Jacobi said while the agreement is unlikely to match the immediate gains of the China FTA, it is still a welcome boost for exporters and for economic growth.

“You have to think about what the world is today, it is not easy to get these agreements, the world is closing up, India is the last big one out there assuming we never get one with the United States,” he said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Big tariff wins for many goods exporters, especially sheep meat, forestry, seafood and horticulture
• Services gain certainty and protection, not major new market openings
• Beef and bulk dairy see little change, marking the limits of the deal

New Zealand’s free trade agreement (FTA) with India is being billed as historic, as the world’s most populous country has agreed to cut tariffs on a scale it rarely offers – particularly to an agricultural exporter like New Zealand.

The benefits of the deal are unevenly spread as some sectors emerge as clear winners, others gain certainty of access and future opportunity rather than immediate growth, and a few long‑held ambitions remain firmly on hold.

Overall, though, the agreement meaningfully lowers the cost – and the risk – of doing business with one of the world’s fastest‑growing economies.

The big winners: primary exporters facing high Indian tariffs

The clearest winners in the agreement are exporters whose main barrier to India has always been price.

Sheep meat, wool, forestry products and seafood all benefit from deep tariff cuts, many of them immediate or phased in over a relatively short timeframe.

More than half of New Zealand’s exports to India become duty‑free from day one, rising to more than 80 percent over time.

Indian tariffs have historically been so high that they effectively shut New Zealand out of the market. Cutting or eliminating them turns India from a theoretical opportunity into a commercially viable one.

Forestry exporters, in particular, stand out. India’s construction demand is rising rapidly, and tariff relief gives New Zealand suppliers a genuine foothold in a market that values scale and reliability.

Seafood exporters will gain over time rather than overnight, as tariffs are phased out over several years.

Horticulture: meaningful access, but within limits

Horticulture exporters also emerge as winners, though in a more managed way.

Kiwifruit, apples, cherries, avocados and berries gain either large tariff cuts or duty‑free access within quotas that are significantly larger than New Zealand’s current exports to India.

For kiwifruit, the duty‑free quota is almost four times recent export volumes, although growth will still be shaped by quota limits, logistics and cold‑chain challenges.

Wine: cheers to a quiet winner

Wine exporters are unlikely to see a surge in shipments any time soon, but they gain something arguably more valuable: long‑term positioning as India’s middle class expands.

Indian tariffs on wine are being cut from a punishing 150 percent to much lower levels over a decade.

The biggest win for wine exporters is New Zealand’s “most favoured nation” status. Any better access India grants the European Union or other countries in future will automatically apply to New Zealand as well.

Dairy: selective gains, not a breakthrough

Dairy has always been the hardest nut to crack in India, and that reality is reflected in the agreement.

There is no sweeping liberalisation for milk powder or mass dairy exports.

Instead, the gains are targeted: dairy ingredients for re‑export, bulk infant formula, and high‑value products such as milk albumins within specific quotas.

For processors focused on value‑added products, nutrition and specialised ingredients, the deal opens commercially useful niches.

Manufacturers and industrial exporters: quiet beneficiaries

Manufacturers exporting machinery, metals and industrial goods stand to benefit as tariffs are phased out on most industrial products, iron, steel and scrap aluminium.

The agreement also makes it easier for New Zealand firms to send sales staff, technicians and installers into India to support contracts.

Selling equipment is rarely a one‑off transaction, and deals are often won or lost on the ability to install, service and maintain products on the ground.

Education: the standout services winner

Among the services sectors, international education is perhaps the biggest winner.

Indian students gain guaranteed post‑study work rights in New Zealand, with stays ranging from two to four years depending on qualification level.

Locking these settings into a trade agreement gives education providers far greater certainty when recruiting in one of the world’s largest student markets.

The changes strengthen New Zealand’s universities, polytechnics and private providers against competitors such as Australia, the UK and Canada.

Professional services: certainty rather than expansion

Professional services firms – including engineering, IT, consulting and environmental services – gain modest but tangible benefits.

The agreement clarifies who can enter India, for how long and under what conditions.

Like wine exporters, New Zealand firms’ access is automatically upgraded if India offers better services deals to other trading partners in future.

While the agreement does not throw open India’s services market – which remains heavily regulated – it reduces uncertainty for firms already operating in India and those hoping to enter.

Who isn’t really winning – but isn’t losing either

Some sectors will read the agreement and see more restraint than reward.

Bulk dairy exporters and beef exporters miss out on meaningful new market access, with long‑standing barriers in India largely unchanged.

Labour‑intensive industries hoping for easier workforce mobility, and firms seeking regulatory harmonisation rather than tariff cuts, will also find their ambitions largely deferred.

That does not make them losers as the cost is better described as one of missed opportunity.

The agreement now heads to Parliament and the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, which will call for public submissions.

Once that process is complete, legislation must be passed before the FTA can take effect.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Gianina Schwanecke

New Zealand Winegrowers wants wine lovers to raise their glasses this month, as it launches the ‘The Great White Wine Toast’ – a global campaign calling for the creation of an official white wine emoji alongside the existing red wine emoji.

Despite the global popularity of white wine, there is currently no dedicated white wine emoji across digital platforms. The campaign aims to change that.

Charlotte Read, general brand manager, said wine culture had “evolved” but emojis had not.

“Red wine has an emoji. Champagne has an emoji. Cocktails have several. But one of the world’s trending wine styles – refreshing, vibrant white wine – doesn’t.”

She said 95 percent of New Zealand’s $2.1 billion wine export industry were of the white variety – with the country best known for its sauvignon blanc, along with pinot gris, chardonnay and a few newer varieties, too.

“I think historically red wine has had greater share of mind. It has been the most planted variety in the world.”

But Read said white wine was growing across the world.

“We’re seeing a huge uptake in the love of white wine particularly in our emerging markets, such as China and South Korea.

“But it’s long established in the UK, the US and Australia, our major export markets, where $1 in $2 spent on sauvingnon blanc is from New Zealand, so we do very well.”

New Zealand Winegrowers will be launching a petition on 1 May – to coincide with world sauvignon blanc day – to be submitted as part of its application to the US-based Unicode consortium which creates emojis.

Read said their emoji design met the requirements to be “distinctively different”.

“They need more than just a colour change it needs to have distinctions,” she explained.

“Our campaign is that to enjoy the gorgeous refreshing aromatics of white wine you need a glass that narrows at the top to funnel those gorgeous aromas.

“So our image that we are trying to get across the line is distinctly different from a more open top glass that you would have for a red wine.”

The application will be submitted on 17 July.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

2025 was not a good year for active fund managers in New Zealand, new data suggests.

S&P Dow Jones Indices has released its latest SPIVA scorecard, measuring the performance of actively managed funds against benchmarks over various time horizons.

It follows concerns that some active managers have struggled in recent years, although others argued that a longer-term comparison was more appropriate.

The new data found 74 percent of actively managed global equity funds in New Zealand underperformed the S&P World Index in 2025. Over 10- and 15-year periods, all funds underperformed.

Head of index investment strategy Sue Lee said it was another challenging year for active funds, “with a firm majority of funds underperforming relevant benchmarks across global and domestic equities, as well as domestic bonds”.

“Notably, 79 percent of New Zealand bond funds underperformed, marking a significant departure from their majority outperformance over the past four calendar years.”

She said there were relatively resilient results in the first half of the year, but funds lost ground in the second half.

As well, 65 percent of actively managed New Zealand equity funds underperformed the NZX50. Over 15 years, 85 percent underperformed.

Bond funds also faced challenges, with 79 percent of funds underperforming. Over 15 years, that dropped to 76 percent.

University of Auckland senior finance lecturer Gertjan Verdickt said some people might expect active managers to do better in current market conditions, where there are a number of geopolitical and other pressures having an effect.

“Markets feel chaotic, so surely the people paid to navigate them should be earning their fees right now. But the evidence is surprisingly stubborn on this.

“A large international study by Fink, Raatz, and Weigert covering 16 countries found that equity funds underperform during recessions by about 0.4 percent per month on average, with the effect observed in 15 of 16 countries.

“Their best guess at why: managers try harder when conditions get rough, trade more actively, and the elevated trading and liquidity costs in stressed markets end up exceeding the active calls’ earnings. Tracking error goes up; net performance goes down.

“That said, there’s a more hopeful counterpoint. There is literature showing that skilled managers do exist and adapt – that is, picking stocks in good times and timing the market in bad times) – and that subset genuinely outperforms.

“The catch is that the average fund still underperforms, because for every manager who reads the regime correctly, there are several who don’t. SPIVA’s 74 percent figure for global equity in NZ fits that pattern pretty cleanly.”

Rajat Vats, founder of financial advice software firm Nuvano, said it was better for investors to look over a full market cycle.

“In the last 10 years, [active managers] have been the top eight in absolute returns … only two are passive.

“The more risky funds are active managed funds… they clearly state in their product disclosure statement that the timeframe we are suggesting [to look at] is seven years. People should be looking at that perspective instead of one year the fund goes down.”

He said benchmarks would have a head start because they did not include taxes and fees.

The report noted that the number of active funds continued to grow, driven by the launch of global equity funds.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Parents whose children played with asbestos contaminated sand are taking Kmart to the Disputes Tribunal and encouraging others to do the same.

In November 2025, Kmart issued a recall notice for some coloured play sand products.

Families, early childhood centres and schools responded by throwing away toys, ripping up carpet and testing homes and classrooms.

Christchurch parents Elle Chrisp and David Dingwall are now taking Kmart to the Disputes Tribunal in an effort to reclaim costs they incurred having their sand tested, and the subsequent checks and decontamination inside and outside their home that had to be undertaken by asbestos experts.

They have also formally laid complaints with the regulators involved – Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Worksafe, Customs and the Commerce Commission, outlining a number of potential breaches of law that have occurred, changes that could be made, and urging them to take action.

In particular to do with claims, Kmart played down the health risks to consumers in its product recall notice, and has misled people over their rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

The pair say Kmart played down the health risks posed to consumers by saying in the product recall notice that respirable asbestos had not been detected in any of the tested samples, and that the release of respirable asbestos fibres was unlikely to occur in its current state, unless the sand was processed by mechanical means such as crushing or pulverising.

“The risk that any asbestos found, that is likely to be airborne or fine enough for inhalation, is low.”

However, this was contradicted by advice provided by WorkSafe, where it said tremolite asbestos was easily crumbled, or “friable”.

Chrisp and Dingwall also say Kmart’s refusal to compensate customers for the costs of cleaning their homes that were contaminated breaches the Consumer Guarantees Act, and is similar to Jetstar’s recent prosecution for misleading customers over their entitlements.

Statements in response

In a statement provided to Nine to Noon, a Kmart spokesperson said that several experts have made public comments regarding the low risk, and that as this matter is now subject to legal proceedings, it would not be appropriate to comment further.

“Since late 2025, we and other brands have conducted voluntary product recalls in response to an industry-wide issue impacting sand-based toy products, following the detection of tremolite asbestos in products across the industry.

“Several experts have made public comments regarding the low risk. It is important to note that Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora published advice that urgent medical attention is not required and provided practical advice for household cleaning and disposal of recalled products.”

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment product safety spokesperson Ian Caplin confirmed it had received the complaint from Dingwall and Chrisp on 23 April 2026.

“As part of the recall process, businesses must notify MBIE of any recalls within two days of the business undertaking one, which is to be then published on the Product Safety website. Throughout the sand recalls, this has occurred.

“However, we appreciate that there may have been some confusion on these notices and we are evaluating how we can better clarify that the information in these notices are from the business and not direct advice from MBIE.”

MBIE will consider all the findings in the complaint and will continue working with the other agencies involved to address the issues raised, he said.

Commerce Commission head of fair trading and product safety investigations Simon Pope said it would asses the conduct raised but could not investigate every concern.

“We consider our Enforcement Priorities and Enforcement Criteria when discussing whether to start an investigation.”

WorkSafe also acknowledged the complaint and said it was being assessed.

” All businesses involved, including Kmart, have been advised that these

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