Items filtered by date: Tuesday, 02 December 2014

Top three mainland developer China Vanke had a busy month in July, spending more than RMB 25.4 billion to add 33 new real estate projects around the country as it pushed to expand its land bank via project acquisitions in Shanghai, Dongguan, Hangzhou and other locations.

Along with the developer’s purchase of land for residential, office and retail development, however, Vanke also expanded its logistics holdings in China by purchasing Swire Cold Chain Logistics from Hong Kong-listed Swire Pacific for just less than RMB 2 billion ($291 million).

With the RMB 1.998 billion acquisition of Swire’s set of refrigerated shipping facilities, Vanke, which had already begun establishing a cold chain division of its logistics business, vaults into the ranks of China’s 10 largest temperature-controlled storage providers.

Vanke Adds Swire Client Lists to New Business

While Swire’s attempt to make some hot profit from providing refrigerated logistics services to companies shipping fresh food, pharmaceuticals and other perishables is understood to have brought disappointing results, Vanke leaders indicated that by combining Swire’s facilities, and the company’s existing client list, with its own logistics holdings, the company is enthusiastic about becoming one of China’s leading cold chain service providers.

Previous announcements by Swire Cold Chain Logistics have highlighted its work handling New Zealand fruit brand Zespri’s shipments of kiwi fruit in China, as well as receiving an award for its services from New Zealand’s Fonterra dairy.

At the event, Vanke officials pointed out that the logistics acquisition will enhance the company’s ability to serve first-tier markets in China, along with core port cities, including delivering one-stop warehousing and distribution service, according to a statement by the company . . . .

Fairfax Media Group more than halved the value of its Kiwi assets, attaching just A$40 million to mastheads that were once the core of a billion dollar investment

Under development right now is the MSCTravelDesk Travel Podcast Series where you can talk travel.

Fonterra Co-operative Group (FCG) has announced that Miles Hurrell will take over as the Co-operative’s interim Chief Executive with immediate effect.

BlueScope Steel-owned NZ Steel is being undercut by Malaysian products dumped in the local market, says the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

Four Ministry of Education Support Workers enjoyed a celebratory cup of tea with the Prime Minister this afternoon, to mark the historic signing of the education sector's first pay equity settlement.

As reported in the Hawke's Bay Today, a New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union analysis of catering costs at Hawke's Bay councils has revealed Hastings District Councillors to be guilty of ratepayer-funded gluttony.

The country’s largest infrastructure conference, the annual Infrastructure New Zealand Building Nations Symposium, gets underway Thursday 16 August at the ANZ Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.

Members at BlueScope Pacific Steel in Auckland will strike for 24 hours on Wednesday, 15 August.

Although it’s only a small part of the group, the good market for New Zealand apples contributed to the positive results of BayWa. The German multinational achieved a turnover of 8.3 billion euro, slightly more than in the same period last year.