Latest / Best of Business / Alan McDonald: Employers and Manufacturers Association Head of Advocacy and Strategy on the Mood of the Boardroom

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Alan McDonald: Employers and Manufacturers Association Head of Advocacy and Strategy on the Mood of the Boardroom · Best of Business

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZB. Follow this
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  Speaker 2: As we mentioned before the news, annual mood of the boardroom,
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  Speaker 2: 150 of the country's top business executives. One of the
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  Speaker 2: main themes is corporate New Zealand is ready to spend again. 50%
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  Speaker 2: plan to increase capital expenditure or investment. 75% expect revenue growth,
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  Speaker 2: all of which is good. Ellen MacDonald is EMA's head
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  Speaker 2: of advocacy and strategy and is back with us. Ellen,
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  Speaker 2: good morning.
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  Speaker 1: Morning, Mike.
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  Speaker 2: Tell you what I like about this country at the
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  Speaker 2: moment is we were going well at the beginning of
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  Speaker 2: the year, the war started, we got miserable, then we
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  Speaker 2: sort of bounced back, and I'm seeing really, despite it all,
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  Speaker 2: a picture of some resilience, and that's reflected in this.
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  Speaker 1: Isn't it? Yeah, I think it is. Those underlying numbers
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  Speaker 1: that I think we've both been talking about for a
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  Speaker 1: long time, they're becoming more and more visible, and I
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  Speaker 1: think that's starting to give The business sector, a bit
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  Speaker 1: more confidence in a longer-term recovery. I think we'll get
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  Speaker 1: another little bump this afternoon with the inflation rate and
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  Speaker 1: a bit of a bump to the confidence again with
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  Speaker 1: the fuel prices going up again. But underlying all that,
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  Speaker 1: there's a good story.
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  Speaker 2: I reckon manufacturing, and I don't think this has got
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  Speaker 2: the headlines it deserves, manufacturing has been in expansion for
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  Speaker 2: ages and good expansion, and yet you don't hear that
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  Speaker 2: against the juxtaposition of everyone who doesn't see it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's been a bit of a quiet achiever.
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  Speaker 1: It's had 13 or 14 positive months in a row
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  Speaker 1: after a long, long period of going the other way.
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  Speaker 1: So I think, yes, you're right there. And that's on
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  Speaker 1: the back of some of the really smart stuff we do,
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  Speaker 1: but also some of the smart food production and other
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  Speaker 1: things that we do as well.
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  Speaker 2: I like the other thing. So there's not a great
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  Speaker 2: immigration story at the moment. There's not a great housing
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  Speaker 2: story at the moment. So whatever we've got has come
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  Speaker 2: from other aspects of the economy. And that's a good sign,
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  Speaker 2: isn't it?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the residential construction sector is picking up
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  Speaker 1: a bit, not so much the vertical construction and the
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  Speaker 1: big infrastructure projects yet. So that's a good story. As
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  Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier, some of that manufacturing stuff that we do,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of which is exported, that's a good story
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  Speaker 1: as well. The numbers for tourism have finally gone back
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  Speaker 1: to pre-COVID levels. So that's also a good story.
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  Speaker 2: When do you reckon the jobs kick in, which might
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  Speaker 2: be the missing puzzle for many people who don't see
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  Speaker 2: the so-called recovery?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a tricky one, that one. I think the
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  Speaker 1: hiring intentions, despite the investment intentions and the mood of
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  Speaker 1: the boardroom, were still fairly flat. And I think that's
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  Speaker 1: indicative of just the caution around the recovery that still exists.
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  Speaker 1: And it's, look, we're just... We're watching a little bit.
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  Speaker 1: We're watching a little bit. A lot of places have
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  Speaker 1: cut stuff or haven't cut but haven't replaced. So they're
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  Speaker 1: running fairly lean anyway. So when I think some of
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  Speaker 1: those bigger construction things come into play, they really soak
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  Speaker 1: up the workforce and some other things there as well.
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  Speaker 1: But that's probably mid-next year. Sure.
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  Speaker 2: So what's your word? I mean, give me a down-home word.
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  Speaker 2: Are we upbeat? Are we positive? Are we robust? Are
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  Speaker 2: we bullish? What's a word?
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  Speaker 1: I think cautiously optimistic on the back of some pretty
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  Speaker 1: sound numbers.
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  Speaker 2: Good on you, mate. Nice to talk. Appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 2: Alan MacDonald, EMA's Head of Advocacy and Strategy.