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Business Growth

The island’s (Hainan) offshore duty-free sales are likely to exceed 60 billion yuan ($9.15 billion NZD) in 2021, up from 30 billion yuan last year. The categories of duty-free goods have also been expanded from 38 to 45. This is a good chance for high priced New Zealand products to access the China market and seize the momentum.

As part of the Hainan project in Lingshui, one of the key zones in Hainan’s Free Trade Port, workers have been in a race against time to prepare a education campus as part of a pilot area for a new model of international education. So far 16 prestigious universities from China and overseas, including Coventry University from the United Kingdom and the University of Alberta in Canada, have decided to host education programs at the campus. 

The Hainan FTP is pushing itself to become one of the world’s top places for international education. New Zealand’s education providers will benefit from exploring this opportunity. Even private institutions such as outdoor sport academies (eg. golf and surfing) could be in great demand in the future.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ciara Liu

Regional Director, China

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

HOW KEA CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW

Kea Connect

Kea Connect is a free service that will help your business grow offshore. We connect you personally with regional, sector-specific experts and peers.

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Resources

Kea is here to help New Zealand businesses grow offshore. Be inspired and hear advice from businesses who have created their export path.

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Jobs Portal

Looking for the right talent for your team? Reach our global Kiwi community through the Kea international job portal. 

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The retail sector:

The retail sector — and more specifically e-commerce — is one of the few sectors that has truly benefitted from the pandemic, with brands experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand as consumers turned online following store closures. The nation’s top four e-commerce brands — Taobao, Tmall, Alibaba.com and JD.com — have all seen significant brand value growth. Taobao (brand value $53.3 billion) and Tmall (brand value $49.2 billion) have entered the top 10 for the first-time following 44 percent and 60 percent brand value increases, respectively.

WeChat emerges as China’s strongest brand, with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 95.4 out of 100. As one of China’s home-grown tech successes it also enjoyed a rapid boost in brand value, increasing by 25 percent to $67.9 billion and jumping five spots to claim 2nd place among the nation’s most valuable brands. During the pandemic, WeChat ran several government-mandated health code apps to keep track of those traveling or in quarantine, providing access to real-time data on COVID-19, online consultations, and self-diagnosis services powered by artificial intelligence to over 300 million users.

International relations & education:

The Boao Forum for Asia celebrated its 20th Anniversary in April 2021. Governors from 29 countries discussed how to join hands to strengthen global governance and advance the belt and road cooperation at a time of change. During the BFA, an opening ceremony was held in Haikou to celebrate the collaboration of a China Study Center between Massey University and University of Hainan. The Study Center will be open to international students at Massey who cannot return to New Zealand due to closed borders.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ciara Liu

Regional Director, China

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

HOW KEA CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS GROW

Kea Connect

Kea Connect is a free service that will help your business grow offshore. We connect you personally with regional, sector-specific experts and peers.

READ MORE

Resources

Kea is here to help New Zealand businesses grow offshore. Be inspired and hear advice from businesses who have created their export path.

READ MORE

Jobs Portal

Looking for the right talent for your team? Reach our global Kiwi community through the Kea international job portal. 

READ MORE

The budget outlined continued support for businesses and individuals to take the UK through the remaining stages of the pandemic, with a focus on job retention schemes.  Extensions announced by the Chancellor of the furlough scheme until September has helped to protect 11.2 million jobs since the pandemic began.  Changes to this will see employers asking to put in contributions of 10% from July and 20% from August. 

For the hospitality and tourism sectors, the roadmap to opening is on track. Accommodation providers and indoor dining businesses will be able to operate with guests allowed to return from 17th May, looking towards 21st June when further restrictions should be lifted.  The reopening of businesses is expected to cause a re-balancing of consumer discretionary spend back to cafes, pubs and restaurants. 

The business rate holiday will continue until the end of June and business rates will be discounted for the remaining 9 months of the financial year, whilst the reduced 5% rate on VAT has also been extended for hospitality & tourism sectors.

The easing of lockdowns has seen an increase of store sales up 4.6 percent, as well as a 24 percent increase in store visits, the most stores have seen in 13 months. As we open up, there are plenty of opportunities for our New Zealand exporters to be a part of this continued growth. 

We are beginning a new phase of the “new-normal”.  In person meetings are starting to take place again and there is a trickle back into offices.  This month international travel has been announced with a green light for 12 countries who can enter the UK with no quarantine required on arrival, including New Zealand and Australia.  

We look forward to welcoming back out our friends, whānau and colleagues from home as international travel starts to slowly return.  Please remember to be well organised and sensitive to the changes and challenges that we are still facing here on this side of the world.  We may not want to shake your hand just yet, please don’t take this that we aren’t happy to see you or to do business, it’s been a long time between hugs and we’ll need a bit more time to get used to them again. 

CONTRIBUTOR

Ciara Liu

Regional Director, China

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

Early May saw the unveiling of the Australian budget and an AUD1.2 billion expansion to the Australian Government’s digital economy strategy. The budget included measures to match skills training to areas of demand, and incentives to lure businesses and talented individuals to Australia.

Talk across the Tasman immediately turned to the potential impact on New Zealand’s NZD324 million, high growth video games industry, with media speculation that Australia’s introduction of a 30-40% tax incentive for this industry from July 2022 will drive businesses to relocate from New Zealand to Australia. To qualify for the tax offset, businesses would need to spend AUD500,000 or more on games projects in Australia, an offer which may tempt New Zealand businesses currently benefiting from growth in the NZD296 billion global gaming industry or those already considering expansion. 

Despite global lockdowns, over 95% of New Zealand creators’ income came from overseas audiences according to the industry, and gaming is being pitched as New Zealand’s next $1B industry, adding jobs for creatives and digital experts, provided the right initiatives, tax incentives and investment are in place.  As competition for talent heats up, what happens with the gaming industry in Australasia over the next 12 months is one to watch.

CONTRIBUTOR

Ciara Liu

Regional Director, China

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

One of the hot topics of conversation and cause of much debate in service and tech businesses across North America is what to do about the work-from-home phenomenon post-pandemic. Spearheaded by tech companies like Google, many businesses are now reversing or considering reversing previous policies about flexible working. This has been a result of more data coming to light about the balance between the productivity of working from home, the innovation that comes from face-to-face interaction and the disparity between roles that can and cannot be done remotely.  

Mothers’ Day this month sparked articles about the particular challenge for working mothers and just how many say they are considering downshifting their careers or dropping out of the workforce entirely due to the ongoing burden of caring for family and schooling children. This shift in the demographics of the workforce may put workplace gender diversity strategies at risk for years to come.  

For Kiwi companies with employees in North America, one thing for sure is that it will be tough to retain 100% of employees no matter what they decide. Some staff may have moved to a new city or state to be with family or to save money on rent or mortgages. Talent will be reshuffling as employees decide if their current workplace strategy fits the lifestyle they need to juggle all their commitments.  Staff in one country will be looking closely at their organisation’s employment policies in all countries and holding employers to account.  The number one recommendation from McKinsey to business leaders right now is to communicate with your people. Clear communication to teams about their near-future working environment is critical and helps alleviate burnout and anxiety related to uncertainty. 

With all the noise, confusion and mixed messages about the future of work in the media, this is one step employers must take. 

CONTRIBUTOR

Ciara Liu

Regional Director, China

Kea New Zealand

Kea member

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