BUSINESS - MSC NewsWire

Establishing Fiji As The Hub Of The Region

6 Nov 2017 - The Tappoo Group of Companies’ unique business strategy and its significant growth in re-exports was recognised during the Prime Minister’s International Business Awards as the company won the Re-Exporter of the Year Award. The Award recognises companies that have utilized Fiji’s strategic location in the Pacific and well established sea and air connections to manifest the country’s position as the true hub of the region. The company must have incorporated innovative business strategies in its growth plan that led to its significant progress both in re-export value and volume.DSC_3224 Established in 1941, the Group continues to…

Kraft Heinz acquires Cerebos' ANZ assets for $290 million

1 Nov - Suntory Beverage & Food (SBF) has entered into an agreement to sell its Cerebos Food & Instant Coffee business in Australia and New Zealand and its Asian Home Gourmet Singapore business to US giant The Kraft Heinz Company for a total of AU$290 million. Cerebos’s Food & Instant Coffee business includes iconic food brands in Australia and New Zealand such as Fountain, Gravox, Saxa, Foster Clark’s, Gregg’s, Bisto, Raro and Asian Home Gourmet. These cover a range of products including sauces, gravies, herbs and spices, salt, condiments, Asian sauces, desserts and cooking ingredients. However, SBF will retain…

Fidelity Life and NZ Super Fund sign conditional NZ$100 million investment

Nadine Tereora, chief executive of Fidelity Life

The NZ$36 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Fidelity Life, New Zealand’s largest Kiwi-owned life insurer, today announced a proposal for the Fund to take a minimum NZ$100 million, 41.1% cornerstone stake in Fidelity Life. The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, some of which require action from shareholders. Fidelity Life Chair, Brian Blake, says securing the NZ Super Fund as a major shareholder will provide new capital which will enable the company to accelerate its growth strategy. “Fidelity Life has experienced strong growth in recent years and this has outpaced our ability to fund the future rate…

Politics expected to hinder New Zealand businesses

New Zealand’s recent election and the political uncertainty which has followed is having a major impact on business sentiment, with seven in ten businesses indicating politics will influence their ability to grow in the next 12 months. This is one of the key findings from the latest Alleasing Equipment Demand Index, and it comes after the rapid emergence of Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, who has been confirmed as the country’s youngest Prime Minister in a coalition Government. Upper corporate businesses were most sensitive to the political environment, with 77.5 per cent expecting politics to have some impact on their business.…

All businesses should commit to being living wage employer

Leading economic researcher BERL challenges all businesses to become Living Wage employers to make a real difference to New Zealanders and their communities. On its 60th anniversary celebrations, BERL chief economist Dr Ganesh Nana told invited guests, economists and business people at a gala function in Wellington tonight that BERL had a commitment to the wellbeing of current and future generations. “Corporate visions are great for websites and for glossy marketing collateral. We need to walk the talk. In this light, I am proud to announce that BERL has recently been approved as an Accredited Living Wage employer. “We applied…

HRL to acquire Analytica Laboratories

HRL Holdings will buy New Zealand-based Analytica Laboratories for NZ$30 million (A$27.4m) reports The Australian. The consideration is comprised of NZ$19m upfront consideration in cash (70%) and scrip (30%), and cash earn-out up to NZ$11m. Upfront consideration of purchase price and additional growth capital will be funded by an institutional placement of A$15 million. | A News.com.au. release || October 18, 2017 |||

Radical generosity funding model supports female-led companies

A disruptive economic model created by SheEO.World designed to actively support a small number of women-led ventures with no-interest loans launches in New Zealand today writes Lew Kai Ping for bizEDGE. Theresa Gattung is behind the local launch of SheEO which aims to bring together 500 local female Activators who contribute $1,100 each ($1, 000 invested to create a perpetual fund and $100 as a program fee) to create a funding pool of $500,000. The launch kicks off with 50 signed-up Activators whose contribution will be used to support five female-led companies. Activators have until November 24 to be part…

Small business growth ‘steady’

Purple patch for SMEs set to continue, but political machinations could put spanner in the works… New Zealand’s small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have enjoyed a period of sustained growth and there is an expectation the good times will continue to roll in the coming year. That’s the findings of recent research from accounting software outfit MYOB. Its Business Monitor Economic Snapshot, which polled 400 SMEs nationwide, found that 37 percent reported a revenue increase in the last year, tracking slightly up from 36 percent in March, with almost half (46 percent) expecting their revenue to increase over the next…

Shareholder dispute over Mataura Valley canning plant operator spills into court

An ownership dispute over proposed milk processing facilities in Southland has hit the courts, with a jilted group of investors claiming to have missed out on a major opportunity to tap the Chinese market worth at least $227 million. The tussle harks back to September 2014 when Brian Wagstaff and Richard Young set up a company called Danpac (NZ) to build and run an infant formula factory and hold a minority interest in a site for a proposed milk powder processing factory that was to be owned by Mataura Valley Milk. They entered into a heads of agreement with Randolph…

Vector eyes turning electric vehicles into mobile power sources

Vector is looking to drive new innovation in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle sector by not only providing charging solutions but also turning them into power sources. "We see potential for EVs to become mobile energy sources and a key part in making our network smarter and more resilient," chief networks officer Andre Botha said in an emailed response to questions. The latest data from the Ministry of Transport shows there are now about 4,900 light EVs on the road up from almost 2,000 a year ago. While the numbers are pushing higher, Botha said the cars aren’t putting pressure…

ASX-listed IPH acquires NZ law firm AJ Park for $66M

ASX-listed IPH Ltd said it has acquired New Zealand intellectual property law firm AJ Park for $66 million. IPH, which describes itself as Asia-Pacific's leading intellectual property group, expects the deal to be completed by Oct. 31. AJ Park employs 205 people with offices in Auckland, Wellington and Sydney, including 30 percent of New Zealand’s registered patent attorneys, and was established in 1891. The Kiwi law firm's client list spans a third of Fortune 500 companies and more than half of New Zealand's top 200 companies. AJ Park will be the first New Zealand IP firm to join a publicly…

BERL to celebrate 60 years in business

Leading New Zealand economic research company BERL next week celebrates its 60 years in business with a special event in Wellington. BERL was founded by Bryan Philpott, then an economist with the New Zealand Meat and Wool Board’s economic service; Hew Walls, a staffer in the Reserve Bank; and Norman Macbeth, editor of the Christchurch Press; opened for business in November 1957 with the distribution of the prototype issue of Trends, later to become BERL forecasts. Current BERL chief economist Ganesh Nana says that first issue, in the shadow of the 1957 general election, predicted grim times ahead. “With the…