New Zealand has a “two-speed” economy as strong domestic demand cushions a weaker export sector, according to Moody’s Analytics. GDP data due tomorrow will probably show New Zealand’s economy expanded 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, said Faraz Syed, an associate economist at Moody’s Analytics, a division of Moody’s Corp which is independent of the credit ratings …

NZX says reaching 200,000 dairy derivative contracts traded across its platform shows the market operator is on track to become the global hub for trading tied to New Zealand’s biggest export commodity. Trading exceeded the trading milestone this month on the NZX Global Dairy Derivatives Market, which was launched in October 2010 to offer risk management for the dairy industry It followed the establishment of Fonterra Cooperative …

Professional director Joan Withers has been named chair of Television New Zealand, replacing Wayne Walden. Withers has been deputy chair of the state-owned broadcaster since 2009 and her previous experience in media companies includes being chief executive of Fairfax Media New Zealand. TVNZ dominates free-to-air broadcasting in New Zealand and its market share rose to 61.6 percent in the first half from …

Fonterra Cooperative Group’s managing director of its Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa business unit, Pascal De Petrini, has resigned with immediate effect to take up a role with his former company and Fonterra arch competitor, the French food giant Danone, less than 18 months after moving to the world’s largest dairy exporter. De Petrini, who is a member of Fonterra’s management …

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s largest dairy exporter, has acquired 18.8 percent of Shenzen-listed Beingmate Baby & Child Food, falling short of the stake of up to 20 percent it was seeking in a partial tender offer. The transaction, valued at 3,464 million RMB (NZ$755 million) is well above the $615 million Fonterra indicated it would cost for a 20 percent …

New Zealand economic growth will slow over the next three years, while maintaining a “solid” pace, according to the NZ Institute of Economic Research’s consensus forecasts. The economy is expected to expand 3.3 percent in the year ending March 31, based on the median in the survey, slowing to a 2.9 percent pace in 2016, 2.8 percent in 2017 and 2.4 percent in …

Apple Sales New Zealand, the local unit of the iPad and iPod maker, increased annual profit by 44 percent, on largely unchanged sales, as it benefited from a gain on its currency positions. Profit was $15.1 million in the year ended Sept. 27, up from $10.5 million the year earlier, according to its financial statements lodged with the Companies Office. Sales rose to …

Lion  – Beer, Spirits & Wine (NZ) Ltd , which has 46 percent of the New Zealand market and is owned by Japan’s Kirin Holdings, is making less money in the domestic market as alcohol drinkers opt for quality over quantity. Accounts for Lion filed to the Companies Office add to the picture of a declining booze industry, partly offset by a move to “premiumisation” and …

By Fiona Rotherham March 16 (BusinessDesk) – Indian billionaire Nandan Nilekani says scale is a problem New Zealand companies need to overcome to crack the growing Indian market. Nilekani has been twice named by Times magazine as one of the world’s 100 most influential people and is the former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which is …

The New Zealand dollar, which has declined 2.5 percent so far this month, may slip further this week with the Federal Reserve expected to signal interest rate rises are not far off. The kiwi may trade between 71.30 US cents and 75.20 cents, according to a BusinessDesk survey of 11 currency traders and strategists. Six expect the currency to decline, while …