Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive on Infrastructure Investment Summit in Auckland

Transcript

Simon Bridges: Auckland Business Chamber Chief Executive on Infrastructure Investment Summit in Auckland · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The government's Big Investment Summit kicks off today in Auckland.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: There will be more than one hundred capital funds and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: construction companies and infrastructure experts will be in town. Of course,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the purpose of the event is to highlight upcoming partnership
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: opportunities for overseas investment right across the New Zealand's economy
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and we're praying and hoping and believing that will boost
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: growth and Auckland Business Chamber of CEO Simon Bridges will
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: be there and joins me. Now, hello, Simon, looking forward to.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: It morning, Andrew. Yeah, Well, well I'm glad you're praying
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: for it, because that's important.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: How big a deal is this? You know, is it
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: going to work? Is it going to live up to
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: the hype?
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Look I believe so. You've got the makings of
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: a strong event. Is the US today afternoon for the
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Poephrey and the opening Prime Minister made a short I
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: think s extinct statements. I mean what he talked about
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: really was we're open the business of the world, and
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: you know it's very much and keeping what they've already said.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: You know, they've started investing ZRE this year, they've they've
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: done their migrant visitors settings is doing the international set
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: piece is so it was very much in keeping with that.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: I mean. The other thing I thought he said, which
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: was interesting and absolutely correct, is you know, a very volatile,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: uncertain world, New Zealand's a safe haven for investment relatively.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: You know, we're Western, we're English speaking, all of these things.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: So what's been a disadvantage for us in the past
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: that were a long way away and they were a
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: bit irrelevant maybe I think is coming home for us.
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: The other thing that was interesting yesterday, I mean the
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: start of it. But you know, there's a strong bipartisanship.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: I think you've got Barbara Edmonds and Karen McNulty from
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: the Labor Party there. So that's good because the international community,
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: you know, those one hundred something investors that you've talked about,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: they want to see that this is in a flesh
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: in the pend, that this is something that's there for
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: a while.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: What kind of companies will be there? I know the
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: future fun from Australia is not going to be there,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: which is unfortunate, and only one from Singapore, But what
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: sort of companies will be there?
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Oh? Look, I mean it's you've got some very big investors,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: you know. So, yes, I was talking to Brookfield. You know.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: One of the numbers I remember the gentleman I was
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: talking to sathing one hundred billion investors just in Australia, right,
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: and that is literally just Australia had already quite significant
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: investments in New Zealand. You've also got the big constructors.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: You've got guys like It's the owner from Spain, a
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: very significant infrastructure company, Capella Capital, many others. So you know,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: I definitely think and in fact, you know some of
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: that the internationals there were saying to me is you know,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: g you actually have compiled a very strong list of
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: people coming to it. So you know, no one suggesting
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Rome was built in today. Walkland or Wellington for that matter,
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: won't be. But it's a really good start.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: We know that the government has just opened up for
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: registrations of interest in the Northern Expressway, that twenty eight
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: plain extension of State Highway one. What other projects might
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: they be spooking at the conference?
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: Yeah, what's a good question. I mean, I think if
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: you just look at the agenda, what you see is
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: you're going to get a high level I think from
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: the Prime minister, the finance minister, you know, the leadership
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: of the government if you like. And then and then
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: you know, it gets a bit more and I don't
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: mean this in a bad one. I mean positively a
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: more specific and workmen like you know, we're hearing about immigration, Maori, economy, health, education,
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: justice resources. So I would expect and I have no
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: special information, but I would expect you'll see the sort
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: of opening up of public private opportunities in those areas.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: And you know, of course that's in the end. They
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: want the sizzle, they want the vision, but that's in
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: the end what these investors are coming to see. And
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: we need their capital, you know, over one hundred billion
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: dollar deficit and infrastructure, and we also need to know
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: how their innovation and the competition that they bring.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: Well, good stuff, Simon, enjoy yourself, enjoy the breakfast, and
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: have a great tirement and get out there and sell,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: sell Sell. Simon Bridges, as the your con Chamber's CEO,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I can tell you that they're going to concentrate the
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: Government's going to concentrate on four growth sectors. They are aquaculture,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: renewable energy, clean technology, and advanced transportation, which includes.
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: Space for more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: live to news talks there'd be from five am weekdays,
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio