11 December 2006

The best way to look at the New Zealand investment market is to view it as a boutique rather than a supermarket, says Ross Campbell from Investment New Zealand.

“2006 has been a great year for international investment in a range of New Zealand industries, from manufacturing to beverages and e-commerce,” says Campbell.

The New Zealand Government’s specialist investment promotion agency’s investment director says New Zealand will continue to prove attractive for investors looking to grow their businesses in specific niches.

Examples include the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, which is a source of some of the best New Zealand-inspired innovation, the booming screen production industry, hot spots in manufacturing such as the marine sector, the internationally recognised food and beverage sector and the niche strengths of the biotechnology sector.

Campbell says in 2006 all these sectors had products that stood out on the world stage and he expects them to do the same in 2007.

“The backdrop to this activity are the business advantages of investing in New Zealand, such as competitive business costs, a modern infrastructure, a simple taxation system and the availability of Government support,” says Campbell.

According to the 2005 World Competitiveness Yearbook, New Zealand ranks third in the world for ease of cross-border transactions with foreign partners, ahead of Australia, the United States, Ireland and Germany.

In 2007 the New Zealand economy looks set for another year of steady growth.

US GPS firm Geovector is an example of how an international investor has tapped into New Zealand innovation, says Campbell.

The Auckland-based company, which was a finalist in the 2006 Asian Innovation Awards alongside the likes of Motorola and Intel, undertakes its technology and application development in New Zealand.

“Geovector utilises New Zealand innovation by outsourcing product development to other New Zealand ICT companies,” says Campbell.

In screen production, 2007 will see some of Prince Caspian, the second film in the Narnia series, shot in New Zealand.

Campbell says this decision shows that big international screen production companies continue to be drawn to New Zealand’s film industry, attracted by the talent and creativity of its production and post-production workers, the huge variety of locations and Government support.

Campbell also selects the marine sector as an example of the capabilities of the New Zealand manufacturing sector.

“A general strength of New Zealand’s manufacturers is the speed with which they can meet new, changed or emerging market demands. Unlike many of their international competitors they can re-tool both quickly and economically.”

A recent example of international recognition of the sector was Alloy Yachts’ Ad Lib superyacht being judged the world’s best superyacht in its class at the International Superyacht Design Awards held in Venice in October.

New Zealand’s exhibitors at this year’s Monaco (Monte Carlo) and Fort Lauderdale (US) boat shows also report extremely strong international interest in their products.

“And course we’ve got the competition success of the Emirates New Zealand team,” Campbell adds.

In ICT, Campbell points out that graphics software company Right Hemisphere has its software used by nine of the top 10 aviation companies in the US and the incorporation of its 3D technology into Adobe means it is available to more than 700 million users world wide.

He says Cadbury Schweppes’ confidence in the New Zealand food and beverage sector was underlined earlier this year by its decision to treble production at Cadbury Confectionery’s chocolate factory in Dunedin.

Campbell says Cadbury is also committed to making Dunedin a centre of research excellence.

He says global demand for chocolate crumb is outstripping supply and the Dunedin expansion will increase the factory’s chocolate crumb processing capacity to 28,000 tonnes per annum.

This will ensure the factory will be able to meet forecast growth in demand for chocolate from the Asia Pacific region.

Campbell’s final focus is on the biotechnology sector, where US pharmaceutical company CoDa Therapeutics Inc has secured US$10 million in venture capital to conduct a clinical trial of its novel wound-care technology.

The trial will be run in New Zealand by CoDaTherapeutics (NZ) Ltd, the research arm of the CoDa business.

Campbell says the CoDa technology is just one of many pieces of medical research coming out of New Zealand that are gaining international attention and investment.

For more information, please contact:

ross.campbell@investmentnz.govt.nz

+64 4 910 4384