The benefits of change

From March 2007 to March 2008, New Zealand’s inward foreign direct investment (FDI) amounted to 2 billion euros, remaining stable compared with previous years. The country also registered higher outward FDI of 2.3 billion euros, with the 'finance and insurance' sector still representing an important share (64 % of investments abroad). “This is not a matter of chance. The diversification in our skills, which has changed our economy, has greatly increased confidence on the part of investors. They make up for the ups and downs of the world economic situation. Our attractiveness has not suffered, any more than our investments abroad,” explained Ann Lockhart, Chief Executive Officer of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce.

Stimulating exports
To make up for its geographical isolation, New Zealand has focused most of its efforts on its trade promotion agency, Investment NZ, with support from
the national Chamber network. “This organisation makes a significant contribution in increasing our openness to foreign markets, which we have seen for nearly 20 years now, particularly towards APEC countries (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation),” Ms Ann Lockart explained. Although most trade is still carried out with neighbouring countries, other players such as Japan, the United States, China and the United Kingdom are gaining in importance. In 2006, New Zealand recorded an exceptional rise in the volume of its exports, which rose by 50 %. The increase continued in 2007, albeit to a lesser extent.The rise in world prices, particularly for dairy products, has been a windfall for local producers. The economic performance was all the more appreciated as it took place in the context of an unfavourable trend against the American dollar. More than ever, foreign trade is a priority. “In recent years, we have considerably increased our programmes to stimulate exports. We work in partnership with the thirty other Chambers of Commerce in the country to centralise data and to respond to our members’ needs. Among the services proposed is the transmission of specific information, particularly precise contacts with businesses or other foreign organisations," continued Ann Lockhart.
The Chamber network has 22,000 members. As a key economic development tool, the organisation also closely monitors any changes in the country’s legal and regulatory situation. “On the strength of our experience in the field, we try to encourage political decision-makers to make their actions more business-friendly. But this is not an easy exercise. Another of our main concerns in the past few years has been to develop vocational training schemes. To accompany and encourage the creation of training and retraining programmes, the New Zealand Chambers believe it is important to present them directly to the people concerned, so we send regular invitations to our members.” A large number of managers are from the farming or agri-business sector. “To meet the new economic challenges in the field of energy and new technologies and to increase our presence in these sectors abroad, it is crucial to diversify skills,” Ms Lockhart stressed. “Diversification is a key value and many professions depend on it, which is why we also focus our promotion work on this sector,” she continued.
In New Zealand, tourism covers a very wide range of activities including wine-tasting, trekking, snow-boarding, canyoning, hiking, etc. Around 2 million foreign visitors spend over 2 billion euros each year in the country, a figure which is in constant growth. As with other areas of the service sector, it is of special importance as it is a way diversifying revenues, given that land-related activities still generate the main sources of wealth. “We do not want the national economy to continue to be dependent on a single sector of activity,” concluded the head of the Chamber.