Close to 10,000 of Amway China’s top achievers will visit Aotearoa New Zealand, spread throughout October, November and December 2023. The main visit programme is centred in Auckland and Queenstown, with visits to Rotorua and Aoraki Mount Cook. The programme incorporates training sessions, reward activities plus a half-day business meeting and gala dinner.
A range of agencies and industry including Tourism New Zealand, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, and industry operators worked together to attract the event and are working together to support the visits.
Incentive travel programmes attract high-quality visitors to New Zealand who tend to stay longer, spend more and travel to multiple regions and activities, says Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Rene de Monchy.
“Tourism’s contribution is critical to New Zealand’s economic recovery. Securing the Amway China visit is not only a win for our industry but will help to provide a cash injection into New Zealand’s retail, accommodation, hospitality and transport sectors during our off-peak season.”
Ken Pereira, the Head of the Auckland Convention Bureau, a division of Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, says: “Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland has long been a popular destination for visitors from China. We cannot wait to welcome Amway China’s distributors to Auckland for the first time, extend our manaakitanga, and showcase the amazing experiences and attractions across our region.
“A business event programme of this scale will deliver a range of significant outcomes for our region, and we look forward to working with Amway China to demonstrate how Auckland delivers a world-class experience in a sustainable and culturally meaningful manner.”
Prior to COVID-19, China was New Zealand’s second largest market, and contributed over $1.7 billion to New Zealand’s economy. Chinese visitors are high-quality, often travelling in off peak seasons, engaging in a range of activities and cultural experiences.
Source: https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/
ANZ Investments today announced it has signed a non-binding memorandum-of-understanding (MOU) with Mercer, as it moves to evolve and grow its business.
Managing Director of ANZ Funds Management, Fiona Mackenzie, says the MOU is a development which proposes to leverage ANZ Investments’ local expertise with Mercer’s global capability and scale for the benefit of customers.
“Since KiwiSaver’s inception in 2007, ANZ Investments has successfully grown to become the country’s biggest provider. We are proud of the service we provide to our more than 670,000 customers.
“We take our responsibility to support their financial wellbeing seriously, through accelerating ownership of their first home, growing their investment balances, and improving outcomes for life after 65.
“However, to ensure we stay competitive and continue to meet the changing needs of our customers, our business model needs to continue to adapt and evolve,” Ms Mackenzie said.
ANZ Investments’ arrangements with Mercer are intended to leverage Mercer’s global expertise in investments and investment governance.
Mercer is a global leader in investments and retirement, with US$393 billion of assets under management [1] and US$16.45 trillion in assets under advisement [2] globally.
ANZ Investments also announced a separate non-binding memorandum-of-understanding with BlackRock. The arrangements with BlackRock include the provision of risk management services to support portfolio resilience.
BlackRock offers global investment expertise across risk management and innovative investment portfolio solutions.
Ms Mackenzie said customers can be confident any potential investment partnerships will be designed with the aim of improving customer outcomes in the long term and that ANZ Investments remains accountable for its investment decisions.
“ANZ Investments remains an active investor and will continue to select assets that we believe will perform strongly over the long term.”
In addition, ANZ’s current Chief Investment Officer Paul Huxford has decided to take the next step in his career and will be leaving ANZ in December.
Ms Mackenzie said Mr Huxford has been a valued member and leader of ANZ Investments for the last five years.
“Paul has contributed immeasurably to the growth of our investment business, and we’ve valued his expertise. Having built a strong team and delivered several important initiatives, he felt this was the natural time for him to hand over to a new leader.”
Ms Mackenzie says he will continue to perform his regular duties until December to ensure a smooth transition.
Source: https://news.anz.com/new-zealand/
The Government has worked with BlackRock, one of the world’s largest investors in climate infrastructure and clean technology, to launch a $2 billion fund with the goal of making New Zealand one of the first countries in the world to reach 100% renewable electricity.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced the first of its kind New Zealand net zero Fund alongside Minister of Energy and Resources Megan Woods and representatives of BlackRock in Auckland today.
“This is a first of its kind fund in the country that demonstrates the huge economic potential of New Zealand being a climate leader and our goal of generating 100% renewable electricity,” Chris Hipkins said.
“It proves again that we can grow our economy while we lower emissions. This fund is a massive opportunity for New Zealand innovators to develop and grow companies.
“I’m absolutely stoked about what this means for Kiwi ingenuity in renewable energy; it shows that our ambitious climate targets have the world’s attention, and that they are good for the climate, good for the economy, and will help create highly skilled jobs.
“With countries around the world experiencing the impacts of climate change on a daily basis, it’s never been more urgent to invest in technology that will help address the climate crisis, and New Zealand is well positioned to be a home for that investment.
“Cyclone Gabrielle and the Auckland floods were reminders we must speed up our own climate action, and the fund will super charge investments in clean technology that might otherwise not have happened.
“This is a game changer for the clean tech sector and another example of the pragmatic and practical steps the Government is taking to accelerate climate action while growing our economy,” Chris Hipkins said.
“This fund will accelerate New Zealand’s emissions reductions, with a particular focus on our path to 100% renewable electricity, enabling our businesses to access greater pools of capital to develop and grow,” Megan Woods said.
“With record levels of renewable electricity generation in recent years, New Zealand is well-positioned to be one of the first countries in the world to deliver a fully renewable electricity system.
“Investors in the green economy can see our potential and recognise our commitment to climate commitments and goals, such as our banning of further offshore oil and gas exploration.
“New Zealand is now an investment magnet for capital that will unlock technology such as battery storage, wind and solar generation, green hydrogen production and more electric vehicle chargers across New Zealand.
“We’ve already making significant progress on New Zealand’s decarbonisation transition, partnering with the likes of NZ Steel and Fonterra to reduce emissions while retaining jobs here in New Zealand.
“The New Zealand net zero Fund will look to crowd in investment from Crown companies and entities, including superannuation funds, and private sector funds to accelerate New Zealand’s transition to 100% renewable electricity.
“This arrangement means we will get there faster, with opportunities for local investment in a low emissions economy. That will be a significant selling point for New Zealand businesses as consumers demand more sustainable products and services.
“The projects funded through investment in the New Zealand net zero Fund will not only decarbonise our energy use, but will also create highly-skilled jobs here in New Zealand, and opportunities to grow New Zealand companies,” Megan Woods said.
Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
Who doesn't love a bit of good wine news on a Friday - the bottle can already be heard opening.
Invivo's Sarah Jessica Parker sauvignon blanc has just won tenders for US airlines – to be served on international premier and business class across the US.
The Disney cruise line will also be arriving in New Zealand soon and Invivo have secured the wine onboard.
Invivo co-founder Tim Lightbourne joined the Mike Hosking Breakfast. https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/on-air/mike-hosking-breakfast/audio/tim-lightbourne-invivo-co-founder-on-securing-deal-to-supply-us-airlines-and-disney-cruises/
The American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2023 AmCham-DHL Express Success and Innovation Awards, the 24th year of these awards celebrating success and innovation for companies doing business with the USA. This year we are pleased to see the return of our Contribution to Tourism with the USA award return and one of the finalists will also be presented with a Commitment to Sustainability award. AmCham Executive Director, Mike Hearn said that “bilateral trade with the US continues to grow, up by over $2.6b last year or 18.77%, with services and technology also growing significantly. With more flights than ever before tourism numbers are up both ways. We have also seen a strengthening of NZ US relations with a series of high-level government to government visits including the recent visit by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.”
Commenting on the awards, Mark Foy, Managing Director New Zealand & Pacific Islands, DHL Express, said “DHL Express is proud to celebrate our 14th year of partnership with AmCham to deliver the 2023 AmCham-DHL Express Success & Innovation Awards. As the leading international express service provider, we are committed to supporting Kiwi businesses in navigating the global trade market, particularly in exports to the USA. Kiwi export success stories are a testament to our ingenuity and the success of the United States export market. We extend our congratulations to all the finalists for 2023.”
This year’s awards and finalists are: Exporter of the Year to the USA - Innovation Havelock WoolHeilala Vanilla LtdHuntaway Wild LtdNew Zealand Mint Ltd Exporter of the Year to the USA - Technology Fingermark LtdGoodnature LtdQuantifi Photonics LtdNui Markets Ltd
Exporter of the Year to the USA - High GrowthAroa Biosurgery LtdAuror LtdXtend-Life Group Ltd
Bilateral Connections with the USAGlobal Cities New ZealandNorris Echetebu LawPalmerston North City Council Investor of the Year to or from the USA Intel Capital for their investment in Quantifi Photonics Ltd JW Marriott Auckland Te Arai Links/Ric Kayne
Contribution to Tourism with the USA Active Adventures & Austin Adventures JW Marriott Auckland The Hotel Britomart
One of the above will be chosen as the Supreme winner.
One other award will be presented on the night: The AmCham Supporter of the Year We will also be recognising four key members who have completed 25 years of membership: Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Pfizer New Zealand Wendy Pye Publishing Zespri International
The awards will be presented at a black-tie gala dinner at the Pullman Hotel Auckland on 29th August with 5 times Oscar winner, Joe Letteri, ONZM, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor of Wētā FX as the keynote speaker. For details and tickets see www.amcham.co.nz
In addition to AmCham, DHL Express, United Airlines, the awards are supported by ANZ Bank, Ironside McDonald Intellectual Property and Lockheed Martin New Zealand. Media sponsor - The Business. Wine sponsor - Constellation Brands. Event Manager and sponsor – DD Events.
Previous winners of the Supreme Award have included Peace Software; Airways Corporation; HumanWare; Tenon; Orion Health; Zeacom; SMI Group; Fonterra; Pratt & Whitney Air New Zealand Services t/a Christchurch Engine Centre; Buckley Systems; Greenshell New Zealand; Vista Entertainment; Fisher & Paykel Healthcare; Zespri International; Tourism Holdings; Peter Beck, Seequent Ltd and Oritain Global.
Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), a global provider of end-to-end enterprise software support, products and services, the leading third-party support provider for Oracle and SAP software, and a Salesforce and AWS partner, today announced that University of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest higher-learning institute, has expanded its use of Rimini Street’s portfolio of services to include Rimini Support™ for Oracle software, Rimini Manage™ and Rimini Protect™, becoming one of more than 100 clients leveraging Rimini ONE™, the end-to-end, unified and integration solution for enterprise applications, databases and technology software. This strategic decision has allowed the university to dedicate its IT team’s focus towards its upcoming ERP migration, a transformational project expected to take 10 years for completion across multiple phases, and greatly enhance the end user experience and capabilities for its growing number of students and staff.
While University of Auckland’s core Oracle application was being expertly supported by Rimini Street, the complexity the university encountered of managing competing applications with a very limited number of IT staff, coupled with a shrinking pool of skilled engineers familiar with their current ERP investments, became the catalyst for the decision to review its technology roadmap strategy. Based on a cost and resource needs analysis, the university decided against upgrading its Oracle applications as the ROI was insufficient. Instead, the university elected to migrate to a next-generation, composable ERP platform.
As a trusted support provider with intimate knowledge of their technology landscape and years of proven success, Rimini Street was the university’s first choice when selecting a managed service provider to take on the day-to-day operation of its HR system – allowing the university to re-allocate their IT team’s time and focus to the ERP migration project.
“The value of Rimini ONE isn’t just about enabling the move to a new system, but to build out a roadmap that is proactive and designed to last,” said Jo Batchelor, head of product engineering at University of Auckland. “It’s really empowering to have Rimini Street as a true and trusted partner, giving us greater confidence and capabilities as we go through this complex ERP migration journey.”
Based on Rimini Street’s analysis and Smart Path™ recommendations, the university performed an internal audit of its ERP platforms, learning the scope and amount of data in their HR and finance systems that they would need to protect.
“There is a huge amount of data in our HR, finance and campus solutions that we need to make sure is absolutely safe and secure. The extra layer of security that Rimini Protect provides us is a solution we cannot afford to be without,” said Batchelor.
“Rimini Street is proud to continue partnering with and delivering excellence for the University of Auckland, allowing them to positively impact the community by offering more robust learning programs that greatly benefit the next generation of professionals and members of society at affordable costs,” said Daniel Benad, group vice president and general manager of Oceania, Rimini Street.
Explore the full Rimini Street portfolio of ultra-responsive, trusted and proven support, managed services, security, integration, observability, professional services and Rimini ONE™ outsourcing solutions for SAP, Oracle and Salesforce applications to support competitive advantage, profitability and growth.
Cloud technology plays a critical role in solving complex problems for Aotearoa — across both national and local levels and today, I’m pleased to share that Google Cloud has signed an All-of-Government Cloud Framework Agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), to accelerate public sector cloud adoption to deliver improved digital experiences for Kiwis.
Simply put, this means that eligible government agencies will have standardised and simplified access to our technology and services so they can modernise their legacy systems and build new applications that serve New Zealanders quickly and securely.
The agreement covers Google Cloud Platform (GCP) including data and analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) tools, Google Workspace, as well as professional cloud services and Security Operations Services (SecOps).
The Framework Agreement builds on Google Cloud’s deep investment in New Zealand. Last year, Google Cloud announced plans for its first ever cloud region in New Zealand, offering resiliency, low-latency connectivity, and scalability to Kiwi customers. According to a recent Economic Impact Report by Access Partnership, the new Google Cloud region will support the country’s economic growth, with a predicted NZD$4.2 billion in productivity benefits being generated between 2025 and 2030.
Google has been supporting New Zealand businesses and communities since 2007. With government initiatives such as the Google in Schools Agreement, Google Cloud has worked with the Ministry of Education to provide schools using Google solutions, with digital tools that support safe modern digital learning environments. Google is also part of the Digital Boost Alliance with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), offering digital training and expertise to support the digitisation of small businesses.
We’re committed to working closely with the New Zealand Government to provide secure and sustainable solutions to all Kiwis. This government agreement is a welcome addition to Google Cloud's rapidly growing presence in New Zealand's Enterprise, Education and SME sectors and we are aware that security of data and the digitisation of government are critical to building trust in the public sector.
Source: https://newzealand.googleblog.com/
Next stop, the United States of America.
A Hawke’s Bay pet food start-up company, Animals Like Us, only launched in late 2020 but now has its dog and cat food products in hundreds of supermarkets across New Zealand and Australia.
It also has ambitious plans to launch in the US early next year.
The company is turning plenty of heads as a rising Hawke’s Bay exporter, and has been named a finalist in three out of four categories at the upcoming Hawke’s Bay Export Awards being held on August 10. Those awards also encompass Gisborne and Dannevirke.
Animals Like Us co-founder and CEO Rob Achten said the start-up company was “very ambitious with our plans for the US” after rolling out in Woolworths supermarkets across Australia earlier this year.
“A lot of New Zealand companies want to start off small, and we can get criticised a little bit for not thinking big enough, but I hope that does not apply to us.
“We are ambitious and want to grow quickly.”
The company has been named a finalist for the Best Emerging Business Award and Excellence in Innovation Award, while head of operations Rebecca Klee has been named a finalist for the Inspiring Women in Export Award.
Animals Like Us has its headquarters in Hastings and manufactures its dog and cat food products, through a contractor in Waipukurau.
The company decided early on to target supermarkets as opposed to solely selling in pet stores, which Achten said was rare for premium pet food.
“About 75 per cent of pet food is sold in supermarkets but most of it is at the budget end,” he said.
“People said that is not going to work [selling our product in supermarkets] it is just way too expensive. But two and a half years on we are in over 300 supermarkets in New Zealand and we are also in the very best pet stores as well.”
Pet food giant Ziwi also operates out of Hawke’s Bay, having opened its $85 million mega kitchen in Awatoto last year, and Achten said the region “is becoming a good hub in terms of raw material supplies”.
Klee said it was an honour to be recognised as a finalist for the Inspiring Women in Export Award.
“It’s hard to believe that we are not quite three years in and what we have achieved,” she said.
“To be nominated alongside someone like Sally [Gallagher, from The Apple Press] is really humbling.”
Animals Like Us was co-founded by Achten, Jeremy Moon and Craig Hickson.
2023 ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards finalists
Best Emerging Business: Animals Like Us (Hastings), Senator Boats (Napier), Wisewool (Gisborne) Rare New Zealand (Hastings) and Nibblish (Havelock North)
Excellence in Innovation: Prevar (Havelock North), T&G Global (Hastings), StardustME (Gisborne) and Animals Like Us (Hastings)
Best Established Business: Pultron Composites (Gisborne), Metalform (Dannevirke) and Fingermark (Havelock North)
Inspiring Women in Export Award: Anna Holdsworth (Pultron Composites), Sally Gallagher (The Apple Press), Rebecca Klee (Animals Like Us), and Sue de Bievre (Beany)
The winners of each business category will contest the supreme award of ASB Exporter of the Year and will automatically go to the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) International Business Awards in Auckland in November.
Last year’s ASB Exporter of the Year was Rockit Global from Hastings.
Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Indo-Pacific Economic Framework - NZ US Council and AMCHAM NZ Perspectives The NZ US Council and the American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand partner with each other in pursuit of strong and enduring ties between New Zealand and the United States. The NZ US Council was founded in 2001 as a non-partisan, non-Government organisation, focused on advancing New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. The Council has secured a position as a preeminent policy conduit for business, academia and others invested in NZ US connections, to engage in formal and informal policy processes. AMCHAM New Zealand is an active and much respected champion of companies and entrepreneurs growing the commercial linkages with the United States and building effective networks of businesspeople. Both organisations have been following with close interest the structure and substance of the evolving Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. The economic weight and trade potential of the participants is self-evident. Given current multilateral and geopolitical challenges impacting on our region, we welcome this initiative to reinforce a rules based policy framework. While the level of commitment to more traditional trade access elements of plurilateral agreements is less ambitious and less comprehensive than either of our organisations would ideally like to see, we accept that the process can establish a framework of policy architecture amongst its fourteen participating members. We would like to see this developed and expanded in due course. It remains our enduring goal to have the US reengage with CPTPP in the future. We also support and remain invested in the pillars which address important emerging trade considerations and valid sustainability and labour considerations. The excellent work that has been done on the supply chain pillar is especially valuable for New Zealand. US leadership in guiding the outcome associated with this pillar was greatly appreciated in New Zealand, as an active and outwards looking trading country with diverse economic interests, engaged in many different sectors and constructive partnerships with US entities. We are an efficient and well-respected food producer, but we are also at the forefront (in terms of innovation if not scale) of sectors such as gaming, film, aerospace, medical research, software development and sustainability technologies. We accord immense value to our partnerships with the United States in these areas. It is also crucial that investors in the region can have confidence that there is a manageable level of risk when exploring opportunities in new territory. We see good structure around labour, the environment, efforts to stamp out corruption and support for good governance as critically important confidence building measures. Although we would have liked to see more emphasis on reducing tariffs and addressing non-tariff barriers our support of IPEF remains strong and unequivocal. We look forward to making a constructive contribution to the process in any way we can.
AFT Pharmaceuticals (ASX: AFP, NZX: AFT) announces an extension of its global ecommerce strategy with the launch of online stores on Amazon in the US and Australia. The new AFT Pharmaceuticals-branded stores on the North American-facing https://www.amazon.com/AFTPharmaceuticals and the Australian facing https://www.amazon.com.au/AFTPharmaceuticals sites complement and build on AFT’s global e-commerce strategy. This includes a Tmall site through which AFT sells into China using the cross-border ecommerce platform https://kiwihealthbjp.tmall.hk/ , and the broad online presence we already enjoy in Australia with our own AFT Pharm website shop https://nzshop.aftpharm.com/. The Australian site also supports our extensive distribution network through pharmacies, medical practices and hospitals https://aushop.aftpharm.com/.
AFT has been working with Sell Global, a specialist Amazon agency, to launch on Amazon USA and Australia. The project so far has included researching the market opportunity, understanding the compliance requirements for imports, setting up quality product listings and brand presence, and now advertising and promoting on Amazon. The US and Australian Amazon sites will initially carry AFT’s trusted portfolio of Liposomal vitamins, but additional launches of other products are planned for the Australian store in the coming months and the North American site after the initial launch is satisfactorily completed. The products, which will be available for US, Canadian, and Australian customers, include Vitamin C LipoSachet®, Vitamin C LipoSachet® for Kids, Vitamin D LipoSachet®, and Ferro (Iron) LipoSachet®. AFT Pharmaceuticals Founder and Managing Director Dr Hartley Atkinson said: “The Amazon AFT Pharmaceuticals e-commerce store aims to leverage off the existing strong awareness of Liposomal vitamins in the US. To date this interest has mainly centred around liposomal Vitamin C but AFT will also include both Vitamin D and Iron forms of liposomal vitamins. “The products offer a further growth opportunity for AFT’s international business unit. The US is the world’s largest market for nutritional supplements and is growing rapidly. The North America dietary supplements market size was valued at over USD50 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% from 2021 to 2028” Dr Atkinson said.
“Building our online presence is a further element of our strategy to extend AFT’s reach around the world. It builds on the strong growth we are seeing in the Australasian business, which is being fuelled by growth from existing products and a planned 68 new product launches through until the end of FY26. “Our ecommerce presence enhances our brand recognitions in key markets enabling us to make our products readily accessible to consumers globally.
“We also see further potential to expand our online presence. Notably, in China we are also working to further build and evolve our existing on-line cross border ecommerce presence through both additional products and e-commerce platforms. “These growth initiatives will also be supported by products emerging from our extensive research and development pipeline.” We have also expanded our operational hubs in Singapore and Malaysia to include Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. This will allow us to add selected products from our new and existing Australasian pipeline to these additional markets” Dr Atkinson said.
Source: https://investors.aftpharm.com/
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