Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Brussels, Belgium – Solvay is expanding its composite materials capacities with a state-of-the-art resin facility and an upgraded site in Östringen, Germany. The expansion is to help meet growing demand from aircraft customers for lightweighting materials and to provide products and services for parts such as engine fan blades.
Solvay's site will produce and supply materials including for the LEAP engine produced by CFM International, the joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines, for Airbus and Boeing.
Solvay will produce its infusion resins and resins for reinforced composite materials from this facility, which is expected to be in production Q2 2017 after customer qualifications. Resin infusion processing technologies are increasingly important in the manufacturing of composite parts as they meet demands from the aerospace industry for faster and higher volume processing of key parts.
Shipping and oil group AP Moeller Maersk A/S (CPH:MAERSK-B) is splitting into two to maximise the potential of its transport business.
Maersk said it will focus on transport and logistics, while listing or merging the oil business or hiving it off into a joint venture.
Analysts have said the fragmented industry is ripe for mergers and acquisitions and Maersk plans to take part in that, rather than expanding its shipping fleet.
The company also plans to try to cash in on the collapse of South Korean group Hanjin, having received an increase in business enquiries since the carrier sought bankruptcy protection.
It emerged on Thursday that Hanjin has secured a £41.5mln loan from its biggest shareholder, Korean Air Lines, to keep it afloat.
Analysts believe the separation of the shipping business from the oil operations is the right move, given the fall in oil-related business caused by lower crude prices.
The oil and oil-related businesses will be separated from the group either individually or in combination, it said.
Brokers say the move could trigger about US$600mln in savings for the shipping business over the next three years.
Previous chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen left in June after other executives disagreed with his opinion that Maersk should keep its conglomerate structure.
EINPressWire
Air New Zealand has confirmed it will operate a second season of non-stop services between Auckland and Vietnam from June to October next year and this time passengers will be able to enjoy the comfort of the airline’s state of the art Dreamliner aircraft.
For the 2017 season, Air New Zealand will operate two non-stop services a week from Auckland to Ho Chi Minh City using the 302 seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner offering a choice of lie flat Business Premier, Premium Economy, Economy and Economy Skycouch™ seating options.
Air New Zealand Chief Sales and Commercial Officer Cam Wallace says Kiwi travellers who’ve experienced the non-stop service to Vietnam this season are hugely enthusiastic about the destination.
“Ho Chi Minh City in the south is a great gateway to Vietnam’s tourism experience which includes great food, fascinating history, charming French influence and 3,000 kilometres of coastline to explore.”
Air New Zealand’s 2017 Vietnam season will operate between 24 June and 25 October, tickets are on sale now with a lead in Economy fare of $734 one way.
The Reserve Bank today released a consultation document on a proposed new ‘Dashboard’ approach to quarterly disclosure for locally incorporated banks.
This proposal comes from the Bank’s Regulatory Stocktake, that was completed last year and aimed to improve the efficiency, clarity and consistency of prudential requirements for banks and non-bank deposit takers.
Effective disclosure is a critical part of the Reserve Bank’s approach to prudential regulation, which is based upon the three pillars of market discipline, self-discipline and regulatory discipline.
Deputy Governor Grant Spencer said: “While current public disclosures by locally incorporated banks largely achieve their purpose, these disclosures could be made in a more accessible and comparable manner.”
The Dashboard proposal involves publishing quarterly information from locally incorporated banks on the Reserve Bank’s website in a standardised and easily comparable manner, replacing the requirement for locally incorporated banks to prepare off-quarter disclosure statements. However, banks will continue to produce full-year and half-year disclosure statements. Information for the Dashboard will largely be drawn from information that banks privately report to the Reserve Bank, helping to keep compliance costs to a minimum.
“The Dashboard will enhance market discipline by bringing key information about different banks together in one place, and presenting that information in a standardised manner. This will help depositors, investors and analysts to compare the risks and financial positions of locally incorporated banks,” Mr Spencer said.
The consultation document includes an alternative to the Dashboard in the form of an amended off-quarter disclosure statement. The paper discusses issues arising from the Dashboard proposal and the potential alternative, and from the Reserve Bank’s separate proposal to remove the requirement for registered bank branches to prepare off-quarter disclosure statements.
Submissions on the consultation close at 5pm on 1 December 2016.
More information: Dashboard Approach to Quarterly Disclosure
An all women business delegation of FICCI ladies Organization (FLO), the women wing of industry body FICCI, consisting of 42 women entrepreneurs and professionals from pan- India will begin a 14 day visit to New Zealand from Thursday ending on October 4, to strengthen cooperation in various spheres.
The delegates led by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) president, Ms Vinita Bimbhet during the 14 day business trip will be visiting the city of Auckland followed by Wellington, Queenstown, Franz Josef and Christchurch. The Business Interest of the delegates includes Education, textile, gems & jewellery, Chemical, garments, Agriculture, Waste Management, Real estate and infrastructure.
“Over the last 30 years the New Zealand economy has gone from being one of the most regulated in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to one of the least regulated, most free-market based economies.
Fertile soil and excellent growing conditions coupled with sophisticated farming methods and advanced agricultural technology provide the ideal environment for pastoral, forestry and horticulture activities. Various primary commodities account for around half of all goods exports and New Zealand is one of the top five dairy exporters in the world.” Said Ms Vinita Bimbhet, President FICCI Ladies Organization. “Complementing primary production are sizeable manufacturing and service sectors and growing high-tech capabilities.
Tourism, film production, and winemaking are also significant. The delegation will not only be a great opportunity for delegates to network and bond with each other but also explore business prospects in the places visited.” Ms Bimbhet said .
“We will have business meetings with businesswomen in areas of manufacturing, agriculture, education and Knowledge transfer. The delegation will also be visiting and speaking at the Parliament. We will also interact with the Parliamentarians and the Indian diaspora in New Zealand,” shared Vinita Bimbhet.
Grahame Morton, High Commissioner, New Zealand hosted a pre-delegation reception for FLO members going to New Zealand at his residence in the New Zealand High Commission a day before the visit
Minister of Trade Todd McClay says he is encouraged by prospects for New Zealand’s beef and horticultural exports to Indonesia following a meeting with his counterpart in Jakarta today.
Mr McClay is currently in Indonesia, where he met for the first time with the new Indonesian Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita.
Minister Lukita took office at the end of July.
“It was clear from our discussions that demand for beef in Indonesia exceeds domestic production, with prices being high. We agreed that New Zealand could play a role in addressing these imbalances,” says Mr McClay.
Historically Indonesia has been an important market for New Zealand beef exports. Restrictive regulations, however, have seen our beef exports fall by over 80 per cent to Indonesia, previously, New Zealand’s second largest beef export market.
“Indonesia has recently made a number of changes to their regulations and, following this meeting, I am cautiously optimistic that our beef exports to Indonesia will start to recover.
“Indonesian consumers would benefit from access to a wide range of New Zealand cuts and products.
“I emphasised the importance of greater certainty for our producers as part of a long-term trading relationship. We agreed that officials will continue to work through any issues that restrict access for New Zealand exporters.
“Minister Lukita and I also discussed the role of New Zealand as a partner for Indonesia, including in food and agriculture. In particular we noted New Zealand development projects to boost productivity in the beef and dairy sectors, as well as the success of Fonterra’s $40 million investment in a state-of-the-art dairy plant in Indonesia.
“Prime Minister Key and President Widodo set a clear goal for our trade relationship when they met in July of increasing two-way goods trade to NZ$4 billion by 2024,” says Mr McClay.
Indonesia is New Zealand’s 13th largest trading partner. Two-way goods trade is worth around NZ$1.6 billion, and is evenly balanced.
“It is clear that Indonesia and New Zealand have highly complementary economies, and there is no shortage of opportunity for growth.
“New Zealand and Indonesia have a rich economic relationship, spanning agricultural products, renewable energy, education, aviation, and ICT,” says Mr McClay.
The Reserve Bank today published a summary of the feedback received in its recent consultation about whether to routinely publish individual responses to public and industry consultations.
Until now, the Reserve Bank has published anonymised summaries of responses alongside any final policy decisions that result from consultation.
After considering feedback on this issue, the Reserve Bank has decided to implement a policy of publishing individual responses to a consultation, when consent to do so is granted by respondents. This new policy takes effect immediately. The Reserve Bank believes this change will enhance the transparency of the policy-making process.
All feedback received during consultations is potentially subject to release if requested under the terms of the Official Information Act 1982 (an OIA request). However, release may be restricted by confidentiality provisions in the three primary Acts that the Reserve Bank administers that require prudential information about an entity regulated by the Reserve Bank to be withheld. Specific consent by respondents may permit some prudential material to be published by the Reserve Bank or released in response to an OIA request.
More information: Summary of Submissions (Publication of Submissions) (PDF 100KB)
Eastland region university students have until 31 October to apply for Eastland Group’s annual tertiary study scholarship.
The scholarship offers $5,000 to students studying engineering, and comes with the possibility of paid holiday work with the company.
Group chief executive Matt Todd said a new category of engineering study had been added to the scholarship conditions for 2017.
“Our aim is to select students studying subjects that complement Eastland Group’s business and operations. Therefore, applicants must be studying civil, mechanical or electrical engineering. This year – given our long-term commitment to geothermal energy – we have added chemical and process engineering to the mix as well.”
Eastland Group owns the 9MW GDL geothermal power plant, and expects its new 25MW Te Ahi O Maui geothermal project to be operational in 2018. Both plants are located on the Kawerau geothermal field in the Bay of Plenty.
Last year, two $5000 scholarships were awarded: to Gisborne’s Sam Godwin, who is studying at the University of Canterbury towards a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) specialising in Civil Engineering, and to Lytton High School student Kelsey Coronno, who started her electrical engineering studies at Auckland University in February.
Scholarship application details: www.eastland.nz/scholarship
Applicants must write a 1000 word essay explaining how the Eastland Group scholarship will help them achieve their study and career aspirations.
An article by David J Mitchell out of the Cato Institute - When writing a few days ago about the newly updated numbers from Economic Freedom of the World, I mentioned in passing that New Zealand deserves praise “for big reforms in the right direction.”
And when I say big reforms, this isn’t exaggeration or puffery.
Back in 1975, New Zealand’s score from EFW was only 5.60. To put that in perspective, Greece’s score today is 6.93 and France is at 7.30. In other words, New Zealand was a statist basket cast 40 years ago, with a degree of economic liberty akin to where Ethiopia is today and below the scores we now see in economically unfree nations such as Ukraine and Pakistan.
But then policy began to move in the right direction; between 1985 and 1995 especially, the country became a Mecca for market-oriented reforms. The net result is that New Zealand’s score dramatically improved and it is now comfortably ensconced in the top-5 for economic freedom, usually trailing only Hong Kong and Singapore.
To appreciate what’s happened in New Zealand, let’s look at excerpts from a 2004 speech by Maurice McTigue, who served in the New Zealand parliament and held several ministerial positions.
He starts with a description of the dire situation that existed prior to the big wave of reform.
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
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