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Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today released the 2015 Regional Economic Activity Report which highlights economic opportunities for regions across New Zealand.

The report by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment provides the most recent facts from Statistics New Zealand on the economy of each region. It supports the Government’s Business Growth Agenda by increasing understanding of the New Zealand economy and its component regional economies.

Attracting high-quality business investment into all parts of New Zealand is the key focus for the update of the Building Investment workstream of the Business Growth Agenda released by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today.

The Investment Chapter aims to ensure that New Zealand has the right conditions to support and encourage more business investment, and builds on recent work to ensure New Zealand has robust financial markets regulation to support domestic capital growth.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy have today welcomed the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a great deal for regional New Zealand.

“This free trade agreement is all about giving our exporters, whether they’re farmers or manufacturers, access into the big consumer markets of the world on a more equal footing with local suppliers,” Mr Joyce says.

Minister of Finance Bill English and Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced that six banks have been awarded contracts for the supply of All-of-Government (AOG) banking services, with Westpac to provide the Crown Transactional Banking services.

“It has been more than 25 years since government banking services have been put out to tender,” Mr English says. “Over this time there has been considerable evolution in the banking and financial services sector.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Associate Trade Minister Todd McClay will today join senior business and government representatives at the second New Zealand-China Partnership Forum in Beijing.

“The New Zealand-China Partnership Forum is an important platform for deepening and strengthening the economic and political relationship between our two countries. This Forum will build on the successful inaugural Forum held in 2013, which I attended alongside Prime Minister John Key and several of my ministerial colleagues,” Mr Joyce says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce leaves tomorrow for his second visit to China this year, where he will represent the Government at the New Zealand-China Partnership Forum in Beijing. He will also visit Guangzhou in southern China, a significant economic player in the Chinese economy and a top source of Chinese students and tourists in New Zealand.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today welcomed the decision by Auckland  Council to grant a resource consent for the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC).

Strengthening key market relationships and diversifying into new markets is a major theme for the update of the Export Markets workstream of the Business Growth Agenda released by Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser in Auckland this morning.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today thanked departing chief executive Franceska Banga for her work for New Zealand’s venture capital and angel investment industries following her resignation from the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF).

Ms Banga was appointed the inaugural Chief Executive of NZVIF in 2001, which was established to help develop the start-up and growth capital markets for New Zealand-originated companies with high-growth potential.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Transport Minister Simon Bridges have this morning welcomed increased competition in the regional aviation market.

Jetstar has announced it will be introducing services into regional New Zealand, with destinations now including Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth and Palmerston North.

Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce has today welcomed a report which will provide the building blocks for a strong and vital economic future across the Canterbury region.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman welcome today’s opening of the fourth Winter Games New Zealand in Queenstown.

High speed broadband and mobile connectivity is supporting regional growth and innovation across New Zealand, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Communications Minister Amy Adams say.

The Ministers have released the latest regional broadband snapshots today which highlight the deployment progress of the Government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) and Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) across each New Zealand region. They show steady progress in build and uptake across the programmes.

Growing consumer demand in South East Asia offers plenty of opportunity for the New Zealand dairy industry to increase its exports of consumer-ready products into the region, a new report shows.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy today released Opportunities for New Zealand Dairy Products in South East Asia, which assesses possible “build”, “buy” and “niche” strategies across seven dairy consumer product categories in six South East Asian countries.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser have welcomed New Zealand’s accession to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which came into effect today.

“Kiwi companies now have more opportunities to do business with governments internationally than ever before”, says Mr Joyce.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has congratulated the five Filipino’s who were awarded NZ ASEAN 40^th awards at a ceremony in Manila last night.

“Five influential friends of New Zealand here in the Philippines, who have all made a significant contribution to the relationship between our two countries were deserving recipients of the honour,” says Mr Joyce.

“The NZ ASEAN Awards tell the story of our relationship with each country in the ASEAN region,” says Mr Joyce. 

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce departs for the Philippines and Viet Nam on Sunday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of New Zealand’s relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“The ASEAN region is our fourth largest trading partner. As one of our closest major markets, it is crucial that New Zealand builds strong relations right across the region,” Mr Joyce says. “Emerging economies like the Philippines and Viet Nam offer incredible potential for New Zealand businesses.”

The Manawatū-Whanganui region has strong growth potential and could become a much more prosperous region if new investment can be attracted into a number of significant opportunities, a new report on the region has found.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced the appointment of David Flacks to the board of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Ltd (NZVIF).

“NZVIF plays an important role in developing the start-up and growth capital markets for New Zealand-originated companies with high-growth potential,” says Mr Joyce.

“David is a highly experienced lawyer and is currently a member of the Takeovers Panel, director of Vero Insurance NZ Ltd, and Chair of the NZ Markets Disciplinary Tribunal.”

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry today announced the results of the first review of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG).

The NZSPG replaced the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) for international productions and the Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) for New Zealand productions, with effect from April 2014.

The review concluded that the NZSPG has had a positive first year with its economic, industry development and cultural objectives achieved, Mr Joyce says.

Twelve senior executives and business owners have been given the opportunity to attend the world’s most prestigious business schools after receiving Prime Minister’s Business Scholarships.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce says the scholarships will allow our smartest executives to expand their international expertise, and are designed to grow business skills to help make New Zealand firms more internationally competitive.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Trade Minister Tim Groser today announced that New Zealand has finalised its accession to the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), and it will come into effect next month.

New Zealand businesses will have guaranteed access to bid for an estimated US$1.7 trillion in annual overseas government contracts through joining the GPA, which creates new opportunities for Kiwi businesses to export more products and services to more destinations, Mr Joyce says.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today announced that the Government is extending its underwrite of the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) through to 2022.

“NZVIF plays an important role in developing the start-up and growth capital markets for New Zealand-originated companies with high-growth potential,” says Mr Joyce.

The Government will grant up to $100,000 to enable the West Coast’s Old Ghost Road cycle trail to be completed this year, Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry announced today.

The Government is working with the Mokihinui-Lyell Backcountry Trust, the Buller District Council and Development West Coast on the 85km trail, which will connect the ghost town of Lyell in the Buller Gorge to Seddonville township.