Trade Minister Todd McClay travels to Malaysia today for high-level talks with Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed and to mark 60 years of successful bilateral relations between the two countries. Mr McClay will also speak about trade and investment opportunities in New Zealand at a business forum in front of 150 of Malaysia’s top executives and investors. “We have made a lot of progress in 60 years, particularly since a free trade agreement (FTA) was signed between our two countries in 2010,” Mr McClay says. “Malaysia is now our 10th largest two-way trading partner and in 2016 we exported more…

Customs Minister Nicky Wagner today welcomed the completion of a key trade system. Trade Single Window, which is a major component of the Joint Border Management System programme by Customs and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), is an e-commerce platform that enables importers and exporters to meet all border requirements in one place. “Trade Single Window first launched in 2013 and last month hit a major milestone with its five-millionth transaction. The final elements successfully rolled out over the weekend, meaning the system is now complete,” Ms Wagner says. “This is the culmination of an incredible amount of hard…

Foreign Minister Murray McCully welcomes the Angolan Minister of External Relations Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, who he will meet in Wellington today. “This visit presents an opportunity to deepen this relationship, including through discussing ways to increase trade flows. Angola had one of the fastest-growing economies of the past decade, and appointed its first ever Ambassador to New Zealand, resident in Singapore, last year,” Mr McCully says. “New Zealand and Angola served together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council from 2015–2016. Angola is a leader in the Southern African region, and it provides an important voice on African…

Major Chinese banks operating in New Zealand continued to make significant inroads last year, with a strong rise in overall assets across all three as they look to cash in on the growing trade ties between the two nations. Trade between China and New Zealand has tripled to $23 billion since the free trade agreement between the two nations came into force in 2008. The money flow looks set to continue after New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and China Premier Li Keqiang last week signed off a series of co-operation deals spanning trade, customs, travel and climate change and…

Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins is leading a petroleum sector trade delegation to Texas and an electricity sector trade delegation to Silicon Valley next week. Ms Collins will be accompanied by a petroleum sector delegation, which includes representatives from New Zealand Oil and Gas, Todd Energy and the Petroleum Exploration & Production Association of New Zealand, to Texas. In Texas, Ms Collins will be attending the American Association of Petroleum Geologists’ Annual Convention & Exhibition in Houston, as well as meeting with exploration and service companies to discuss investment opportunities in New Zealand. Ms Collins will then lead an…

To many in New Zealand, the Oceanian state looks like an isolated outpost with economic powerhouses far, far away in another hemisphere. [Special coverage] It's at the end of a trail that snakes through Southeast Asia before a three-hour flight from Australia lands you in one of its handful of international airports. Small wonder that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a massive economic and trade project for common development and prosperity in countries along its routes in Europe, Africa and Asia, is little talked about here. However, New Zealanders are now starting to realize that while their country might…

An agreement to boost New Zealand-China trade was today signed by Customs Minister Nicky Wagner and China’s Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Wang Lutong. The Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) ensures border agencies in New Zealand and China recognise one another’s trusted exporter programmes. “New Zealand and China Customs enjoy a strong working relationship. This arrangement will further strengthen ties by helping streamline the movement of goods,” Ms Wagner says. “Companies signed up to New Zealand Customs’ Secure Export Scheme will automatically benefit from faster cargo clearance, reduced document checks and less examination.” The MRA will come into effect on 1 July…

New Zealand and China will begin talks on an upgrade of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries on April 25, Prime Minister Bill English announced today. The announcement followed official talks between the Prime Minister and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Wellington today. “The FTA with China has been an enormous success,” Mr English says. “Since coming into force in 2008 two-way trade between our two countries has tripled to $23 billion, creating jobs and opportunities for people in both countries. An upgrade will ensure this momentum continues and ensure that the FTA remains a modern agreement that…

The annual trade deficit for the year ended February 2017 was $3.8 billion, the largest since April 2009, Stats NZ said today. The export of a large drilling platform in 2016 inflated annual exports and reduced the annual trade deficit over the period from February 2016 to January 2017. Drilling platforms, some worth hundreds of millions of dollars, are counted in goods trade as imports when they arrive in New Zealand and as exports when they leave, even though they are typically leased for the period they are in New Zealand. If the drilling platform export of 2016 is excluded,…

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced that New Zealand will open a High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka. "Establishing a High Commission in Colombo is a sign of New Zealand’s commitment to strengthening the relationship between our countries," Mr McCully says. “Sri Lanka is rebuilding after a generation-long civil war, and we are keen to support that process politically and through a broader economic relationship. It is a growing economy, has a major dairy market and has expressed its interest in learning further about farming from New Zealand. “Sri Lanka offers increasing value and diversity to our exporters, and is…

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced that New Zealand will open an embassy in Dublin, Ireland. “New Zealand and Ireland enjoy a very warm relationship which is underpinned by our shared values,” Mr McCully says. “We work closely together on issues such as climate change, disarmament, and human rights, and are also both members of the Small Advanced Economies Initiative. “Having an embassy in Dublin will enable us to build on and strengthen this relationship. “Ireland is an important member of the European Union, so the Embassy will also support New Zealand’s interests in Europe, including as they relate to…