On the Road - USA  By Brierley Penn Boarding the bus to Andrew’s Air Base at 7am this morning was a notably jaded delegation. After three days of networking, conferencing, 6am starts and a little bit of sightseeing, the group was understandably looking forward to the relative luxury of a five hour sleep on the plane trip to LA. However, …

On the Road - USA  After both an interesting and thought provoking first day of the Partnership Forum, the second and final session of the program began with an address from our Trade Minister Tim Groser. He set the stage for a day of discussion focused more towards the public sector with trade, security and foreign policy atop the agenda. …

On the Road - USA  By Brierley Penn It is difficult to believe that we have been in D.C. for just 48 hours with the amount that has been packed in since our arrival. Last night, following a day spent recovering from jet lag and exploring the sights of the city, we were hosted at the US Institute of Peace …

Comment  By Brierley Penn Food quality and security is becoming an increasing priority for Indonesia’s rapidly expanding middle class. This provides great potential for New Zealand firms to meet the growing demand in this market, particularly if they are able to differentiate themselves through the integrity of their products. It also creates a further opportunity to move up the value …

Comment  By Brierley Penn Potential was the common theme underlying the speech of the Prime Minister, and in fact, the conference as a whole, at the Indonesia Forum. New Zealand’s relationship with Indonesia is one of strength, however, it is imperative to build upon this further to capitalize on the opportunities offered by the region’s growth. Key cited Indonesia’s high …

Infographic  By Brierley Penn In part two of our focus on Indonesia, we take a look at the challenges presented to those considering doing business in Indonesia. There’s really no way around it – Indonesia is not known as a country in which it is easy to conduct business. The World Bank ranking Indonesia #130 out of 185 countries would …

By Brierley Penn Red tape, uncertainty and corruption have gone unacknowledged and ignored by high-ranking Indonesian officials until recent times but were highlighted as the greatest challenges to attracting international business to the nation at the recent Indonesia Forum in Auckland. The Indonesian Government has set an objective to rid the country of corruption in 5-1o years which will assist …

In part one of our focus on Indonesia, we take a look at the opportunities present for businesses in Indonesia.

By Brierley Penn New Zealand is not only losing its own students to Australia, but we’re also missing out when it comes to attracting foreign students to our shores. Each year, more then 1.7 million students graduate from high schools in Indonesia – many of whom look at attaining an international tertiary qualification. While Australia was able to attract 17, …

By Brierley Penn Indonesia has developed a love affair with social media, and the tool should be one of vital importance to the marketing strategy of any New Zealand business entering the Indonesian market. Over 46 million Indonesians are currently subscribed to Facebook, making it the world’s second largest user of the social networking site (pipped only by the US). …