15 Nov 2016 --- Bolstered by rapid consumption growth and increasing customer needs in the Asia-Pacific region, Tetra Pak have announced their US$110 million investment in a state-of-the-art regional manufacturing facility near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to serve customers across the region. The move is prompted by increasing consumption volumes, with the 2016 total packed liquid dairy and fruit-based beverages intake at 70 billion litres across ASEAN, South Asia, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, over the next three years, these markets are likely to grow at a healthy 5.6% per annum, with products packed in Tetra Pak…

Dutch coffee giant has Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE) has received Overseas Investment Office approval for the acquisition of BrewGroup NZ (formerly Bell Tea & Coffee Co). The price is undisclosed and the approval comes with conditions that the company explore opportunities to increase exports and put some of its Kiwi brands on the global stage. JDE Australia and New Zealand managing director David Ansell says the acquisition will be completed by December 1. The two companies will continue to operate as separate operating units for the next two months with integration to begin in February 2017. Continue to read article…

MSCNewsWire understands that a Notice of Intent to Award Contracts (the Award) from the Virginia Port Authority (VPA) in the USA has been announced and awarded to Konecranes. The Award includes the provision of 86 Automated Stacking Cranes or Automated Rail Mounted Gantry (ARMG) cranes, which are available throughout Australasia, to be delivered in phases between 2018 and 2020, with a total contract value in excess of EUR 200 million (over AUD $280 million). The Virginia Port Authority intends to award two separate contracts, once approved by their board of commissioners. The first involves 60 Automated Stacking Cranes for Norfolk…

Statistics New Zealand's decision to review the schedule of data releases after this week's 7.5 magnitude earthquake left its Wellington headquarters unusable for up to a year has highlighted the agency's reliance on the head office. The quake damaged the 11-year-old building to such an extent that Statistics NZ's staff won't be allowed back in for up to 12 months, and its website and public data sources are out of action, although its Auckland and Christchurch offices remain open. The agency was scheduled to release the September retail trade survey today, but has put that off until further notice and…

Emirates Skywards, the award-winning frequent flyer programme of Emirates airline, has signed on The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) as its latest partner­, enabling members to redeem Miles for an annual digital subscription to the world’s leading source of business news. This is the first time Emirates Skywards has partnered with a global publication to provide an annual digital membership, which will give Emirates Skywards members unlimited digital access to WSJ’s world-leading markets coverage and industry scoops. Emirates Skywards members, including those in New Zealand, regardless of tier can redeem an annual digital subscription to The Wall Street Journal for 20,000…

Firms in big cities hire well and price to compete. Are they better firms? This study estimates differences in productivity (mfp) across New Zealand urban areas, with a focus on the size of Auckland’s productivity premium. The estimates are based on analysis of firm-level data from Statistics New Zealand’s Longitudinal Business Database. The methods used in the paper overcome some of the biases that arise in standard approaches to spatial productivity estimation - biases arising from imperfect competition, spatial price variation, firm heterogeneity, and labour-sorting across cities. Ignoring these factors leads to biased estimates of the Auckland’s relative productivity performance.…

Victoria University of Wellington Vice-Chancellor Professor Grant Guilford says the University will be up and running again on Tuesday. Victoria’s campuses have been closed today while engineers checked buildings for earthquake damage. The Kelburn and Te Aro campuses will reopen tomorrow, Tuesday, and Professor Guilford expects the University’s other campuses—Pipitea and Karori—to reopen soon once assessments are completed. He says there will be limited disruption to students. All Victoria’s student hostels are open. Classes and events scheduled to be held on the campuses that have yet to re-open will be relocated to another campus. “While the earthquakes have been frightening…

Around 2500 fixed line customers using the Chorus network are currently without service, with many of those issues power related. Chorus’ copper and fibre network infrastructure has proven to be largely resilient in the face of significant damage. Detailed network status information is available at https://outages.chorus.co.nz/, which is updated every three minutes. Chorus is also continuing to work closely with other telecommunications providers to restore connectivity to Kaikoura. Damage to a fibre optic cable means Kaikoura is currently isolated, meaning residents of Kaikoura can call each other locally but no calls can be made into or out of Kaikoura. Access…

WorkSafe New Zealand is advising people from Christchurch to Wellington, and those affected further afield, to exercise care and good judgement as they head to their workplaces this morning. “Safety of you and your work colleagues must be the number one priority if you’re heading to work today in the affected areas,” said WorkSafe Chief Executive Gordon MacDonald. “There have been reports of damage to buildings, so please exercise caution when entering buildings as the last thing any of us want is an injury because a few simple checks haven’t been undertaken. “Listen to what Civil Defence are advising and…

With the processing and packaging industry alone boasting 300 trade shows around the world, AUSPACK, owned by the Australian Packaging and Processing Machinery Association and organised by Exhibitions and Trade Fairs, today announces its participation in the “THE NETWORK”, an international network federating several processing and packaging trade shows. Through this initiative, AUSPACK will cross promote THE NETWORK to its members, facilitate relationships and encourage the sharing of experience among major international events. Luke Kasprzak, Exhibition Director of AUSPACK and the Industrial Division at Exhibitions and Trade Fairs, comments, “We are proud to be part of this initiative which has…

An internationally respected expert in financial markets, banking and governance, who was named one of TIME magazine’s most influential people in the world in 2014, will speak in Wellington next Thursday on what’s needed to create a healthier and safer banking system. Professor Anat Admati from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business is the Professorial Fellow in Monetary and Financial Economics, organised each year by Victoria University of Wellington and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. In her one-hour public lecture, Professor Admati will discuss her book The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s wrong with banking and what to do about…