Hong Kong New Zealand Business Association sponsored by
  
NEWS
Finance
Minister Bill English visiting HK
August 27 2010
Finance Minister Bill
English will visit Hong Kong and Singapore next week, to meet business,
investment and government leaders and update them on New Zealand's economic
programme to achieve faster growth and jobs.
"Asia and New Zealand have developed strong
trade and business links in recent years, and we are building on that through a
series of free trade agreements and other initiatives," Mr English says.
"The Government is keen to continue open
dialogue with business and government leaders in this part of the world - there
is considerable interest in New Zealand's economic programme.
"In particular, we will update them on
economic and fiscal developments since I visited last year.
We will also share
ideas about building a strong and sustainable recovery from the worst global
recession in many decades."
Mr English will meet senior government figures
and speak to the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong on 31 August. The
following day, he will meet Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Norman
Chan.
First NZ cross-border Renminbi
transaction completed
August 25 2010
The first New Zealand
cross-border Renminbi (RMB) transaction directly with China has been completed according
to The National Business Review.
This follows the extension
of the Chinese government’s RMB trade settlement pilot programme to include all
countries in the world in June.
HSBC Bank completed
the first RMB transaction last week for Longbeach Holdings, an apparel and
fashion business that owns iconic Kiwi brand Swanndri.
Most New Zealand-China
trades occur in US dollars, which exposes companies to exchange rate risk on
the $NZ -$US conversion and then again on conversion from $US to RNB.
The extension enables
New Zealand businesses to pay suppliers or business partners in China in yuan,
rather than the US dollar.
David
Griffiths, HSBC New Zealand chief executive says the bank expects to see
increasing demand for offshore RMB trade and payment solutions.
Before
June only ASEAN countries were able to complete transactions directly with
China.
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About
HKNZBA
Hong Kong
and New Zealand are strong trading partners with two way trade currently
worth
around $823 million. At the end of November 2009, exports were up by
14.7% on
the previous year. NZ and HK have agreed to a Closer Economic
Partnership, which
is expected to drive that growth further.
The Hong
Kong New Zealand Business Association (HKNZBA) has been helping foster
business
links since it was founded in 1988. Membership has grown to include
major
corporates, SMEs and individuals, some whom have joint membership with
its
sister organisation the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
HKNZBA works
with ‘Hong Kong Inc.’- Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Hong Kong
Economic
and Trade Office, Invest Hong Kong and Hong Kong Tourism Board – to
provide its
members with a solid network of contacts in Hong Kong and substantial
knowledge
databases.
Similar links
are in place with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and New Zealand Trade
and
Enterprise.
HKNZBA is a
member of the Hong Kong Federation, a unique network of 32 Hong Kong
Business
Associations in 24 countries with over 11,000 individual associates,
which
offers membership advantages in Hong Kong. HKNZBA welcomes new members
with business links with Hong Kong.
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