North America
September is a poignant month in the US, with memorial and remembrance services held across the country commemorating those who lost their lives in the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attack. Back home, American Consul General in New Zealand, Sarah Nelson, joined New York fire chiefs and local fire departments at Sky Tower in Auckland to remember the New York firefighters lost on 9/11 and to honour New Zealand firefighters lost in the line of duty.
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta joined the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this month before heading to Washington DC for further Pacific-focused meetings. In New York she signed the Oceans Biodiversity Treaty on behalf of New Zealand, represented New Zealand at the 2023 Climate Ambition Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and attended the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting. Minister Mahuta gave New Zealand’s National Statement at the General Assembly and held a number of bilateral meetings with world leaders and counterparts. Following UNGA high-level week, she travelled to Washington DC for a series of meetings focused on contemporary Pacific regional issues and US engagement in the Pacific.
World Class New Zealander Derek Handley spoke at this month’s Flat White Meetup in New York. An entrepreneur, VC and founder, he told his story to 30 Kiwi who came along to enjoy the networking and chance to chat over a coffee. If you’re based in New York or planning to visit, keep an eye out for next month’s Flat White.
Gary Fortune, Kea North America Regional Director
UK and Europe
99.5% of New Zealand goods can now enter the UK tariff-free thanks to the New Zealand-United Kingdom FTA’s entry into force on 31 May 2023. MFAT has released a report for Kiwi businesses including information on the UK market, consumer preferences, and operating in the UK. Businesses interested in expanding into the UK market must understand the regulations and legal obligations that will apply to their activities and products, as well as other crucial differences such as the way UK retailers are taking a leading role in driving sustainability initiatives. You can read the report here.
This month we have also seen thousands of Kiwi travelling to Europe for the start of the Rugby World Cup. Many of these Kiwi are combining the visit with business travel and have been looking to meet various suppliers and customers. The Rugby World Cup will run through until Sunday the 29th of October with more Kiwi fan expected to arrive as the knockout stages begin.
Finally this month we held a successful Kea community coffee meetup at Volcano Coffee Works in London this month with around 40 Antipodeans making their way to Brixton to enjoy the networking. If you’re in London, watch out for our next coffee catch-up on 25 November at Borough Barista.
Sara Fogarty, Kea UK/Europe Regional Director
China
Chinese tech giants have finally received approval to provide Generative AI (GAI) services, such as ChatGPT-like chatbots to the Chinese public. Internet company Baidu, for example, has added a “dialogue” button that appears on top of its search results, which brings up a bot chat window. While Baidu launched this feature in March, it took the regulators till now to draft and approve regulations. Many Chinese have already been using ChatGPT for work for months – through VPNs. Typically used for English polishing, research, coding, debugging and more. With approval now granted, the domestic bots will be used, too. This is positive news for Kiwi companies operating in China, particularly in customer service and budget control areas. When the generative AI service integrates into daily operations, significant physical labour will be reduced, and time returned to employees to focus on creativity and tasks focusing on the fast changing China market. Customers will receive 24/7 unique and personalised attention from the AI services generated from the China database. Because many Kiwi companies are relatively small in China, budget controls are vital. These AI services’ analytical capabilities will enable the bots to execute complex processes, including supply chain management and financial planning or recommendations to improve efficiency and cost savings.
This month Kea participated in a welcome gathering organised by the Auckland Business Chamber, led by CEO Simon Bridges, and NZ Chinese Business Club representative Dr Jian Yang. The delegation brought 30 strong members of NZ Inc agencies covering real estate, education service, F&B and Financial services. This is the first of its kind delegation to visit China post Covid. Many members were first time visitors who were amazed by the fast growing economy, the advanced infrastructure and the strong market urge for New Zealand products. Kea also supported annual events for the University of Auckland in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing and was invited to participate in the NZ Inc Workshop in Shanghai.
Rebecca Bao, China Regional Director
New Zealand
New Zealand has won a trade dispute against Canada. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Panel ruled in favour of New Zealand in our dispute against Canada, a significant win for our primary sector exporters. The Panel found that Canada’s dairy quota administration did not live up to its commitments under CPTPP, by effectively blocking access for the Kiwi dairy industry to upscale its exports. New Zealand’s dairy industry lost out on an estimated $120 million in revenue from the Canadian market in the past three years. Under the agreement we secured dairy quota access accounting for 3.3% of Canada’s market – tens of thousands of tonnes per year in key dairy products for New Zealand’s exporters.
In good news for the gaming sector, the Government has finalised the design of the Game Development Sector Rebate scheme. Budget 23 provided $40 million per year to deliver and administer the rebate scheme. The pilot will enable eligible businesses with anticipated expenditures of $5 million or more to submit a partial-year claim for expenditure already incurred between 1 April 2023 and 30 September 2023.
NZStory has published the final round of research on the five major markets for Kiwi exporters of food and beverages – Australia, China, Japan, the US, and the UK. The reports cover how aware premium F&B consumers in these core markets are of our products, the most effective sales channels, and what attributes are most successful. Kiwi companies can use these research reports to build targeted marketing campaigns and brand awareness offshore. All five reports can be downloaded here.
Saya Wahrlich, Global Director, Government & Industry
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