30 Oct: The world’s largest tech firm Apple has confirmed New Zealand is on the right track to become a great global tech story, just like tourism, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says. New Zealand is once again proving it excels in what Sir Paul Callaghan once said our strength lies in the weird stuff, Muller says. When the world’s largest tech firm purchases our technology, in this case Power by Proxi, we know we are on the right track, doing some great things. “The purchase of Power by Proxi by Apple is another sign of the growing strength of New Zealand as a leader of tech innovation. The top 200 tech exporters are now selling more than $7 billion a year into offshore markets while employing thousands of Kiwis here in New Zealand,” Muller says. “Employment across the tech sector rose by 22 percent between 2015 and 2016 and now accounts for 6 percent of the national workforce. “The University of Auckland has become a global centre for wireless charging research and has a faculty built around inductive power transfer, a field pioneered by two Auckland University professors and now used globally. “Having licensed the technology to Power by Proxi, the university will probably continue to gather licence returns from Apple, and others, as this technology goes mainstream. “Apple plans to keep the Power by Proxi business and team in New Zealand, no doubt to stay embedded within the world leading wireless charging faculty at Auckland. “As well as licensing returns for the university and ongoing job growth, the government would have had a decent tax take from the sale as most businesses like Power by Proxi typically have employee share schemes of about 10 percent of the value of the business. “If Apple purchased Power by Proxi for $100 million, which isn’t beyond reality given Funderbeam estimated their valuation at $112 million late 2016 and if they had 10 percent secured as employee share options, then the purchaser would have had to pay millions in tax.” Muller says this is not the first time a multinational tech firm has acquired a successful and growing New Zealand tech firm. According to the recent TIN Report 16 percent of New Zealand’s leading tech exporters have some international ownership. “They continue to invest into these local entities, often for the R&D capabilities, employing more than 5000 people. Not only are they good export earners and employers, the proceeds of the sales usually find their way back into the local tech ecosystem. “When the owners of TradeMe cashed up many of them invested into Xero to help the next big tech story grow. Other examples of global players still invested in New Zealand include Allied Telesis, BCS Group, Dynamic Controls, Intergen, Skope and Schneider Electric. “In tourism, New Zealand has been rated one of the top 10 hot spots to visit in the world in 2018, we will soon see in the coming years that, per capita, New Zealand becoming one of the top 10 tech countries in the world. We are not just rugby and tourism anymore,” Muller says.
| A MakeLemonade release || October 30, 2017 2017 |||
30 Oct: The world’s most profitable company is set to receive up to $25 million per year in corporate welfare grants, thanks to Callaghan Innovation’s ‘growth grant’ programme. Last week it was revealed that the Apple bought PowerbyProxi, a major recipient of the R&D grants.
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: “First it was money for Larry Ellison’s Oracle, then French company Gameloft, and now Apple is getting in on the action. Our Government’s corporate welfare schemes make New Zealand a laughing stock. We pay for R&D and don’t even require the results to stay in New Zealand.” “Designed in California, funded by Kiwi taxpayers. Anything that results from the R&D ends up in the pockets of Apple’s shareholders. It’s nuts.” “Callaghan Innovation is trying to defend the grants by pointing out that they couldn’t have known the business would be bought by Apple. But that’s mischievous. Korean giant, Samsung, has owned a substantial equity stake since 2013.”
| A Taxpayers Union release || October 30, 2017 |||
30 Oct: New Zealand’s top carpentry apprentices are getting ready to battle it out for the title of Registered Master Builders CARTERS 2017 Apprentice of the Year on Friday 3 November. After winning their respective regional competitions the 10 apprentices will compete for the top prize at the national competition, which takes place this Thursdayand Friday in Auckland. The finalists include Seddon-based Olivia Ward who took out the Upper South Island Apprentice of the Year to become the first female apprentice since 2013 to compete in the national final.
To win the national competition, the industry’s future leaders must impress the judging panel over a two-day event. This includes undergoing a 45-minute interview and a six-hour practical challenge. The practical challenge takes place at The ASB Showgrounds in Auckland on Friday 3 November and is open to the public from 8am till 1pm.
This year the competition is taking place alongside the Auckland Build Expo, which brings together industry professionals and leaders from across the construction sector.
Registered Master Builders chief executive David Kelly says Apprentice of the Year not only promotes the fantastic career opportunities in the industry for apprentices, but also encourages more employers to take them on.
“The rate of carpentry apprentices in training is increasing at a much greater rate than the number of employers taking them on. Between June 2016 and June 2017, the number of apprentices increased by 1007, yet the number of employers training them only increased by 421*,” he says.
“With the growth in apprentice numbers comes the need for more employers to provide them with the opportunities they need to succeed and make their mark on the industry.
“Apprentice of the Year showcases the skills and abilities of our apprentices who will go on to become the industry’s future leaders. It also celebrates the employers who invest in them to future-proof their businesses and the construction pipeline,” says David.
The winner of the Registered Master Builders CARTERS 2017 Apprentice of the Year will be announced at an awards dinner after the practical challenge has been completed on Fridayevening.
The national winner will receive prizes including the use of a Ford Ranger Ute for a year, a $5000 grant courtesy of CARTERS and a range of quality tools as well as an iPad, courtesy of MBIE. All ten finalists will also attend a specially designed Outward Bound course and the Registered Master Builders House of the Year National Gala on 25 November.
“We wish all the finalists good luck as they embark on the beginning of a fantastic career in the industry as Master Builders,” adds David.
Apprentices, employers and young people aspiring to be a part of the construction industry are encouraged to join the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuilders
For more information, visit www.apprenticeoftheyear.co.nz
The Registered Master Builders Apprentice of the Year competition is made possible thanks to principal sponsor CARTERS, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), and supporting sponsors the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and APL through their Altherm, First and Vantage brands.
*Statistics from the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO)
30 Oct: The blockchain is becoming popular and useful not only in fintech and related industries. Decentralized and distributed ledgers are also now being used in ensuring security and fair trade in industries like energy, which now enables communities to achieve better energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and even the potential to earn from their real properties/assets.
Individual power generatorsOff-grid energy generation is a concept that is continually growing both in popularity and capacity. In some cases, individuals or household owners who generate more energy than they consume can actually sell such surplus to power companies.
The growth of the private power generation ecosystem is also encouraged by the increasing awareness of renewable energy. Hence, owners of power generation systems like solar panels or windmills can store the generated energy when not in use as credits. These credits can be used when needed or sold to power companies when there is a surplus.
This industry is growing rapidly and the transaction processes are becoming more cumbersome and complicated. For instance, there is a growing push to make it harder for folks who generate renewable energy to sell it back to the grid. Opponents of net metering argue that people who generate their own electricity should pay the utility company for the privilege of using the grid.
These emerging bottlenecks, coupled with other technical issues qualifies the encroachment of the blockchain into this sector as a timely intervention.
Blockchain is enhancing energy tradingBlockchain applications are now being made available in the energy trading marketplace.
The inherent qualities of the blockchain such as transparency, security, immutability and most especially, its decentralized nature which allows for peer-to-peer transactions, makes it very suitable for a market such as power trading.
Such blockchain platforms allow for units of electricity to be tracked from the point of generation to the point of consumption. This process protects the interests of both energy generators and consumers by offering a transparent process where the actual value is delivered and paid for.
The current blockchain systems still depend on the existing energy grids that store the originally generated electricity before distribution to consumers, hence despite the decentralized nature of the blockchain, for now it is becoming part of the answer to updating and improving centralized, legacy systems with a distributed hybrid system made up of a patchwork of both large power plants and microgrids powered by distributed energy resources such as solar power. Such a decentralized energy system would be capable of delivering efficient, reliable, and, in many cases, renewable energy.
The future is hereHowever, it is predicted that in the near future, the Internet of Things (IoT) will enable billions of smart devices to sense, respond, communicate and share data. Those things will also have the ability to generate, buy and sell their own electricity.
The Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to smart machines, especially everyday appliances that can communicate with each other and fulfill tasks, appears to be the desired and impending future of the energy trading industry.
Considering the poor outlook ahead for the existing system, factors such as the aging grids, increasing load on the grids, wastage of power through the wholesale broadcast from the grid to homes and not targeted appliances, it becomes desirable for a time when smart appliances will take over and disrupt such systems.
Total decentralization will be achieved when equipment and appliances employ peer-to-peer interactions within the ecosystem, albeit in automated processes. This will eliminate the need for third parties, improve efficiency and avoid wasting energy by supplying to redundant appliances.
Challenges still need to be overcomeA future of smart machines and blockchain efficiency resembles the perfect description of bliss. However, despite the inherent security of the blockchain, there still exists the risk of individual nodes or users being hacked, especially with the nature of IoT, wherein each individual device can become a security risk.
Think for instance of a user holding a private key, but keeping it secure under weak passwords or a weak infrastructure. This could lead to the entire system — or at least that user’s assets — being compromised.
Hence there is a need to follow security best practices, which will include protecting critical infrastructures with firewalls and reverse proxies, as well as other measures like continuity/redundancy tools, adequate power supply, and a reliable network connection. Take note that as a distributed ledger mechanism, blockchains require the unanimous confirmation of all nodes to achieve consensus. Protecting blockchain, therefore means minimizing risks of the numerous attack vectors that include social engineering, brute force attacks, denial of service, scripting, and other similar threats.
Blockchain tech is now everywhereThis is evident in the springing up of smart cities around the globe like we are seeing in New York and Singapore. Even Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos is on its way to hosting Africa’s first smart city as its government earlier this year signed an investment deal with Dubai, the United Arab Emirates to build the city.
Apparently, blockchain in its own way is gradually encroaching into every aspect of human existence and changing the way we do things. From financial transactions to energy distribution, we continue to see how increasingly necessary and reliable the technology is becoming. Even in our eco/environmental sector, tracking the basic elements of nature such as trees and animals nearing extinction is a data management sector where the blockchain will definitely play an important role in sustaining the planet.
Blockchains may not appear like the perfect solution for mankind, but it surely broadcasts the hope for a brighter tomorrow.
| A NewsBTC release || october 30, 2017 |||
30 Oct: Managed funds will soon be included in a new NZ financial product comparison site that already aggregates information on all KiwiSaver schemes, mortgages, credit cards and loans.
Launched in the last month, Pocketwise – whose founders include SavvyKiwi chief, Binu Paul, and Richard Dellabarca, the recently-appointed head of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund – has an ambitious plan to corral a broad range of financial products and other consumer services (including mobile and broadband plans) inside its digital perimeter.
According to the Pocketwise website, the service offers consumers “extensive analysis” across the product suite with online tools designed to “help you narrow down and find the best product to suit your situation or lifestyle, and achieve your financial goals”.
Paul, who launched the KiwiSaver comparison site SavvyKiwi three years ago after long stints at Nikko Asset Management and FundSource, said Pocketwise aims to include all products in each class for comparison.
However, unlike the SavvyKiwi service (which is currently funded solely from subscriptions) he said Pocketwise does accept commission from providers.
“But regardless of whether a provider pays us a commission or not we will include every product in every category,” Binu said, with clear disclosure of remuneration to Pocketwise clients.
He said the commission structure would not influence the comparison algorithms.
As well as Paul and Dellabarca, Pocketwise founders include former ASB Digital technology specialists Prashant Trivedy and Santhan Kusam Venkata. The four are shareholders and directors of Fintech Solutions, a company formed this June.
Paul is also convener of the pioneering NZ financial technology conference, Finnotec, slated for a sequel appearance this week.
He said despite shifting Finnotec to the larger Langham Hotel venue in Auckland (after selling out the Hilton at the inaugural 2016 event) the conference had almost filled up.
“We’ve got a few places left but demand has been high,” Paul said. “As well as top-quality local speakers, people are keen to get access to the offshore fintech expertise that we’re presenting.”
A handful of tickets were still available via the conference website as at late last week.
Finnotec, set down for this Friday at the Langham, features speakers from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, US and Latin America as well as local experts.
The 2016 conference was the first NZ event to address the burgeoning fintech sector.
| An InvestmentNews NZ release || October 30, 2017 |||
30 Oct: New Zealand and the United Kingdom have much to gain from a free-trade agreement to be negotiated after Britain has left the European Union, British High Commissioner Jonathan Sinclair told the Otago Daily Times that a free-trade agreement would benefit both economies.says.
The next four or five years should be used by the two countries to strengthen their already close relationships, he said.
Mr Sinclair visited Dunedin on Friday as part of his farewell process. He leaves for London on December 9 after spending three and a-half years in New Zealand as High Commissioner.
Continue to the full article here || October 30, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242