Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Bond issuers will now have less paperwork to deal with when taking a so-called ‘green offer’ to market.

The Financial Markets Authority has granted a class exemption allowing bond issuers to make offers of green, social, sustainability or sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds to forgo the full disclosure requirements.

“The exemption levels the playing field, if you like,” said Liam Mason, FMA executive director of governance, policy and strategy.

“If I have bonds listed at the moment and I want to do a second offer, they’re both vanilla bonds, then I can just do it with a simple term sheet. It’s called a cleansing notice and it’s straight to market.”

The exemption allowed the same with green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds, he said.

“If I’ve already got bonds listed and I want to offer a green bond, or I want to offer a sustainability-linked bond, I just have to set out in a simple term sheet what the sustainability projects are, how it’s going to be measured, and then it allows me to get into market quickly, which is really important in the debt markets.”

Mason said the change stemmed from talks with the finance sector as well as the FMA’s own research, which suggested burdensome disclosure requirements could be holding issuers back from offering more GSSS products.

“What we’re hearing from investors is that they want to be able to invest consistently with their values, whether it’s products that have an environmental link, whether it’s social or sustainability-linked projects that the issuer commits to as part of their offering, there’s real demand for this.

“This [change] makes it easier for these products to be offered to public investors.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

There is a slight decrease in national fuel stock across petrol, diesel and jet fuel since the last update, but “supply remains within normal levels”.

That’s according to the latest fuel stocks update, which says the change remains within expectations and shows normal patterns.

Data released on Wednesday afternoon by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment showed that as of 11.59pm on Sunday evening, there were 58.7 days of petrol available, 52.2 days of diesel and 46.2 days of jet fuel.

The data combines the stocks that are in-country, on the water within New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone (meaning ships with fuel unloading, ships at berth yet to unload, and ships moving between ports), or on the water outside the EEZ (up to three weeks away).

There were 29.3 days of petrol, 21.6-day supply of diesel, and 22.1 days’ jet fuel in-country.

There were six ships on the water within New Zealand’s EEZ, containing 4.3 days’ petrol, 8.4 days’ diesel, and 11.4 days’ jet fuel.

A further 10 ships were on the water outside the EEZ, carrying 25.1 days’ petrol, 22.2 days’ diesel, and 12.6 days’ jet fuel.

Data released on Monday showed there was 59.3 days’ cover of petrol, 54.5 days’ cover of diesel, and 50.4 days’ cover of jet fuel.

The US and Israel’s ongoing war on Iran has caused a global fuel crisis which is now in its fifth week as Iran continues to block most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz which is used to transit about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas.

It has hugely disrupted key supply chains and pushed Brent crude oil over $115 a barrel, pushing up prices at the pump.

In New Zealand on Wednesday morning, the Gaspy website showed the price of unleaded 98 was $3.75 a litre, diesel was $3.51, unleaded 95 was $3.63 and unleaded 91 was $3.43.

The government has a National Fuel Plan in place outlining measures that would be taken if supplies start running dry.

It has four phases and New Zealand is currently in phase one.

Phase 2 would see homes, businesses and the public sector encouraged to conserve fuel.

The higher phases are still under consultation.

Phase 3 would see fuel prioritised for life-preserving services and phase 4 would see stricter intervention in fuel distribution.

Moving up or down levels is decided by a ministerial oversight group based on fuel stocks, restrictions and supply chain data.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand-founded but US-listed footwear company Allbirds is set to be bought by American Exchange Group, a brand management company known for acquiring under-performing consumer labels.

Its US valuation once peaked at US$4.2 billion, but the company was recently threatened with delisting from the Nasdaq after years of falling sales and widespread store closures.

Allbirds’ board has accepted a US$39 million offer from the group, though shareholders still need to approve the deal. The deal is worth around $NZ69m.

The sale would see the Allbirds brand, its intellectual property, and parts of its operations transferred to the buyer – and the listed company wound down.

Allbirds, known for its merino wool sneakers, was founded in 2015 by former All White Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger, and listed on the Nasdaq in 2021.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Business confidence is under pressure, with nearly two-thirds of small- and medium-sized businesses experiencing a drop in revenue over the past year – with income down a quarter for a further 17 percent.

Insurer Vero’s annual SME Insurance Index indicates more than one in five (21 percent) businesses were not confident in their own business, with just 36 percent feeling confident.

Vero executive general manager Sacha Cowlrick said businesses were under pressure to cut costs, but warned against dropping insurance.

“Having adequate [insurance] cover could be the difference between folding under pressure and finding a way through.”

External concerns dominate

The survey of 550 SME business owners found most were experiencing pressures outside of their direct control, including increasing costs (88 percent) and the economic downturn (83 percent).

Political upheaval was also a concern for many. Changes to tax policy (69 percent), regulatory changes (61 percent) and political instability (61 percent) were top of the list.

“This is compounded by the current volatile global landscape, adding another layer of unpredictability to an already complex operating environment for SMEs,” Cowlrick said.

“There is no doubt that there are very real macro-pressures concerning SMEs, but it’s critical that business owners focus on the things they can control in order to give them the best chance of weathering the storm.”

Resilience tested

Nearly half (47 percent) of businesses said they never or rarely conducted formal risk analyses, with more than half (53 percent) operating without any structured risk management framework, though six in 10 businesses expected to face at least one major operational risk this year.

The survey found about a quarter (24 percent) believed their business was very resilient.

“Business resilience isn’t just about bouncing back after an event. It’s about understanding your exposures and making informed decisions before something happens,” she said, adding that an insurance broker could help businesses develop a resilience strategy.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Commerce Commission set to approve $1.14 billion replacement of the Cook Strait power cables
• National grid operator Transpower needs regulator approval to spend
• Current cables 35 years old, near end of life
• Transpower wants to add fourth cable to improve capacity and resilience
• ComCom seeks public submissions

The Commerce Commission says it is inclined to approve a Transpower request to spend $1.14 billion to upgrade, replace, and expand the Cook Strait power cables.

The state-owned national grid operator wants to replace the current 35-year-old cables, which are coming to the end of their operational life, and add an extra cable.

Major capital spending by Transpower and electricity lines companies must be approved by the regulator to ensure they do not take advantage of their monopoly positions.

Associate Commissioner Nathan Strong said the cables were critical electricity transmission infrastructure and vital for national security of supply.

“Installing a fourth cable at the same time unlocks an additional 200MW of capacity, which can reduce long-term electricity market costs and enable the development of lower cost renewables generation in the South Island.”

The commission is asking for [https://www.comcom.govt.nz/regulated-industries/electricity-lines/projects/hvdc-link-upgrade/

public submissions] on the proposal.

Strong said approval of the first stage of the project now would allow necessary ordering of equipment and cable and for work to start in 2028, and cable replacement in the early 2030s.

“The investment would be added to Transpower’s total asset base and recovered gradually over the many decades the equipment is in service.

“Under the benefits based pricing method, these costs would be shared between electricity consumers and generators who benefit from the HVDC (high voltage direct current) link,” Strong said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The living wage will rise to $29.90 per hour from 1 April, a 95c increase from the previous $28.95.

The living wage is independently calculated by the Family Centre Social Policy Unit and released by Living Wage Aotearoa NZ, a coalition of unions, faith, and community groups.

The organisation argued higher fuel costs were putting extra pressure on low-paid workers, many of whom were shift workers with no choice but to drive to work.

Muriel Tunoho, the coalition chairperson, said: “Right now, in a cost-of-living crisis that seems to be getting worse every day, the Living Wage is needed more than ever.

“Low-paid workers are struggling to keep their heads above water and to cover the absolute basics like rent, power, and kai.”

More than 340 employers were accredited Living Wage Employers.

There was no legal requirement for employers to pay more than minimum wage, which is $6 below living wage.

The living wage increase was double that of minimum wage, which also rises to $23.95 on Wednesday – an increase which did not keep up with inflation.

Living Wage lead organiser Finn Cordwell said the living wage would help struggling families live a life of dignity which was not possible currently on the minimum wage.

“We would like the government to reflect on how out of step the minimum wage has become for low-paid workers and whether anyone around that Cabinet table could actually live on $23.95 an hour.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand small businesses have ranked last out of 11 Asia-Pacific countries in terms of their growth, for the second year in a row.

CPA Australia has released the results of its 18th small business survey. It found only 38 percent of New Zealand small businesses reported growth in 2025, up from 36 percent last year.

The average across other countries was 62 percent.

Rick Jones, CPA Australia’s regional head, said it highlighted persistent challenges.

“While small businesses across most of the Asia-Pacific are growing, New Zealand remains at the bottom of the table. In Vietnam, 84.5 percent of small businesses grew last year. In Singapore, the figure was 43.5 percent. In New Zealand, it was 38 percent. The https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/583808/nz-s-low-productivity-is-often-blamed-on-businesses-staying-small-that-could-be-a-strength-in-2026 gap is significant and it’s not closing].”

Only 5 percent of businesses had plans for a new product or service this year, compared to 29 percent across the survey.

Only 7 percent were planning to hire this year, compared to 36 percent across the region.

New Zealand small business owners also tended to be older. Businesses whose owners were under 40 were much more likely to be reporting growth.

“Of the over 300 New Zealand small businesses that were surveyed, 68 percent of those were aged over 50.

“What we’re seeing from the survey is that those respondents aged under 40, for example, are more likely to adopt new technologies. And it’s certainly not an age thing in isolation, but we want to encourage younger New Zealanders to start a business or potentially acquire an existing one.

“But we also need a comprehensive small business strategy, to lift the overall performance… we need a comprehensive strategy to support business owners of all ages, particularly around the digital support programmes.”

But 79 percent of small business owners said they were satisfied with running their business.

“The data tells a clear story. New Zealand’s small businesses are falling behind their Asia-Pacific peers, and the gap is widening on the measures that matter – growth, innovation, technology adoption and job creation.

“Growth doesn’t have to mean rapid expansion. For many small businesses, it’s about having the tools and support to take the next step – whether that’s hiring another employee, moving sales online, or investing in a system that saves them time.

“Lifting small business technology adoption should be a central priority. Our data consistently shows that businesses which invest effectively in technology grow faster, hire more people and are more likely to innovate. Countries like Singapore have demonstrated what targeted digital support programmes can achieve – there are proven approaches in our region that could work here.”

Jones said businesses had been under pressure and the latest fuel price increases were another hurdle.

“It is tough and increasing costs is a challenge and that was noted even in last year’s results. And then you add that to the current fuel crisis, which is only escalating that problem.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

People who were born overseas and migrated to New Zealand are paying an increasing share of the country’s tax, a new paper shows.

The paper, published by Treasury to support its long-term fiscal statement, but not necessarily reflecting the view of Treasury overall, was written by principal adviser Tim Hughes.

It finds that, in aggregate, people born elsewhere are becoming increasingly important for the country’s tax base.

“Foreign-born people made up 24 percent of the population in 2000, also paying 24 percent of individual tax on market income,” Hughes noted.

“Since then, the foreign-born’s share of the population has grown, and their share of tax paid has grown even faster. In the tax year ending March 2024, the foreign-born made up 32 percent of the population, and paid 38 percent of the tax.”

He said that was partly due to the fact that they tended to be younger than the population born in New Zealand.

“However, age composition alone does not explain all the difference, and there is also substantial variation in the amount of tax paid by different migrants.”

He said it showed the growing importance of migration policy settings for the country’s fiscal sustainability.

Treasury has been warning about the increasing pressure that an ageing population will put on the tax system, through higher health and pension costs.

Murat Ungor, a senior lecturer in the Otago University department of economics, said the paper followed on from Hughes’ earlier work that showed up to 30 percent of people born in New Zealand were living overseas by the time they were 30.

He said it had been identified that New Zealand had a productivity problem, and relying on migration to help fill tax gaps created vulnerabilities.

“Treasury research highlights a key tension. New Zealand invests heavily in human capital, yet a significant share of that investment leaves the country through emigration.

“Previous Treasury research shows that New Zealand loses approximately $4 billion in public investment in human capital each year through emigration, with 25 percent to 30 percent of each birth cohort living overseas by age 30. That is a substantial drain on the taxpayer investment that raised those New Zealanders.”

He said the issue was not immigration itself but structural reliance on it.

“When fiscal sustainability depends on a steady inflow of skilled migrants, the country becomes exposed to global competition for talent, policy volatility, and domestic pressures on housing and infrastructure.”

Migration would remain part of the solution, particularly in addressing short-term labour shortages, he said.

“However, relying on population growth as the default economic lever is inherently risky. So, is it a problem that New Zealand increasingly depends on inward migration to support its tax base?

“Yes, not because migration is undesirable, but because over-reliance on any single lever creates vulnerability.

“The larger challenge is to build a more productive and resilient economy. That means prioritising long-term productivity growth, with automation and innovation at its core.”

Another option would be to pursue productivity advances through automation, he said.

“If New Zealand accelerates the adoption of artificial intelligence, robotics, and process automation across sectors such as agriculture, logistics, finance, and public services, it can increase output per capita without needing rapid population expansion. A sustained lift in productivity would materially strengthen the country’s fiscal position. Automation is one pathway to achieving this.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson says there will be no extension for the more than 3000 clubs, charities and other groups to re-register as Incorporated Societies by Easter Sunday.

Incorporated societies – including clubs, charities, unions and political parties – will be dissolved if they fail to submit a new constitution to the Companies Office by 5 April.

Moran Law special counsel Louisa Joblin specialises in not-for-profit law and has been working with incorporated societies to manage the change for years.

She said any who missed the deadline would see “an impact from day one”.

“These clubs and organisations and things – our whole not-for-profit sector – is a core part of what keeps our society trucking, really,” she said.

“We’ve heard from banks that they are basically turning off access for societies that have been removed.

“It’s those really practical things like not being able to access bank accounts, not being able to pay accounts, not being able to pay staff, not being able to pay rent – those things will immediately interfere with a society’s ability to do business.”

Societies that were dissolved could also lose their name, and would lose the ability to contract. Charities could also face being removed from the Charities Register, although that was a longer process and they might have time to negotiate.

Figures provided by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed as of Monday – with just five days remaining – 3302 incorporated societies were yet to re-register, about 15.5 percent of the more than 21,000 total.

Tracking of the trend suggested about 12 percent would still be non-compliant by the 5 April deadline.

Simpson told RNZ that was a success.

“To have about 85 percent of those entities having re-registered, I think it’s a pretty good effort,” he said. “I think that is a success.”

Based on a survey by Charities Services, he said about 430 intended to stop operating and about 640 planned to change to a different structure.

A further estimated 750 did not have a plan, and 750 more intended to re-register but were unlikely to be able to do so by the deadline.

Simpson said there would be no extensions.

“Easter Sunday will be with us in literally a few days time, in about five days. So no, I’m keen that we push on with it.

“We needed to put a deadline in place so it would act as a motivating factor … this is not a new or a sudden requirement, they’ve had the best part of three and a half years to get underway, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

Joblin said after the “horrifying” stats at the beginning of March showing about 8000 were yet to re-register, 3300 was reassuring but “still a really large number”.

She said dissolved societies that owned land or buildings they wanted to retain could place “quite a bit of demand on the courts to help navigate that”.

There was a backup option of applying to have the society restored on the register if they missed the deadline, but they must pay over $200 for the privilege – and still complete the process of submitting a constitution that complied with the new law.

Simpson said it was fairly straightforward.

“It’s the same process that would have occurred had they done it before the 5th of April. It just means that for the period between the 5th of April and whenever they finally do re-register, they will have lost the benefits of incorporation.”

Joblin said the Companies Office had only communicated restoration would be an option in the past couple of weeks, but it was a “simpler, smoother” process than had been expected.

“Hopefully that will mean that for those that meant to continue operating, and they just haven’t been able to do it in time, there will be a relatively straightforward process.”

But some of the groups – which were typically volunteer-run – had found the process of writing a new constitution legally technical and difficult.

Simpson advised anyone facing dissolution to contact the Companies Office, which had information on what to do and been contacting incorporated societies to encourage re-registration.

She hoped the Office would provide more resources to explain the process, and said any incorporated societies likely to miss the deadline and unable to afford legal advice should access Community Law for help.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Long-time Kaitaia residents say the Far North town would be devastated if its big employer timber mills shut their gates.

Two mills belonging to Japanese-owned Juken New Zealand are facing uncertain futures, with the company looking to sell up.

It said it was because of a combination of ongoing structural and market pressures affecting operations, including declining demand in key export markets.

It also singled out higher operating costs.

Juken New Zealand said it had been working over several years to improve the finances of its two Kaitaia sites but had not been able to make them sustainable.

Kaitaia has about 6000 people and the two mills employ more than 200 people.

Resident and former editor of the Northland Age newspaper Peter Jackson said nobody saw the development coming.

“There would be massive unemployment, there would be shop closures, there would be all sorts of financial fallout,” he said if closures happened.

“I’d hate to think what the outcome would be but it would be a blow to the heart of Kaitaia, it really would.”

Jackson said there was not a lot of other work on offer in the town, and no other employer like Juken New Zealand.

“I can remember when Juken came into the picture and people were praying, literally, that they would buy it,” he said.

“This is part of Kaitaia’s big dream, we were always sold on the idea that forestry was going to be our future … and the fact that a processing plant was built in Kaitaia was regarded as a massive win for this community … and you just sort of think it will always be there.”

Jackson said an old months-long workers’ strike brought the town to a standstill.

“No-one paid their bills, there was no money going around, it was a nightmare.”

The strike was something former publican Dave Collard, who had a tavern nearby, remembered well.

His premises was used for strike meetings.

‘Critical’ for town

Collard said he had served “many, many” Juken timber workers over the years.

“It’s absolutely critical in terms of the town here,” he said.

“We have enough challenges up here as it is without one of our biggest employers potentially closing down, I would hate to see something like that, there’s [got] to be an alternative somewhere, or a remedy.

“You know what is real scary about this is we’re seeing it all over New Zealand, look at the places that have closed up – the frozen veggies people, sawmills, all sorts where people work for years and years and years, it is very much a reality and if we’re not thinking about it I think we’ve got our heads buried in the sand.”

There has been a raft of other mill closures around the country, with many owners blaming high energy costs.

The Far North District Council and Northland Regional Council were set to appeal for the government to intervene in Kaitaia.

“Seriously, we’re going to think about it big time,” New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said at Parliament.

“Because it’s not the first time we have done that, both Shane Jones and myself, we’ve kept close to that timber mill for a long long time in our political career,” he said.

“So we’re going to pay attention to it … it is a concern and we’ll look seriously at it.”

Juken New Zealand said it was looking at whether the two mills could keep operating “under a different structure” which included a sale or a joint venture.

“We are taking the mills to market to assess whether there is interest from potential buyers,” it said.

“Our focus is on testing whether there is a viable pathway that would allow the mills to continue operating and to preserve employment where possible.”

The company said in the meantime operations were continuing as normal at its Kaitaia mills with no immediate changes.

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