Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Chris Nixon: NZIER Principal Economist on the slowing Chinese investment in NZ

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Chris Nixon: NZIER Principal Economist on the slowing Chinese investment in NZ · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Chinese investment in New Zealand isn't as robust as you
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: might think it is, but it is growing sort of.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: A new report from the Chinese Business Council and INSIDIR
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  Speaker 1: shows China ranks twelfth for direct foreign investment to New Zealand.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: Growth averaged about nine percent a year over the past decade,
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: but it has been flattening or declining since COVID. Chris
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  Speaker 2: Nixon is principal economist at ENSIDII and with me this morning. Morning, Chris,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: good morning. The fact investments.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Slowing is them not us, right, Like they're not investing
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  Speaker 1: as much globally.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: I think that's right. But our investment with China is
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  Speaker 3: also growing rather slowly as well that our trade numbers.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they are our largest trading partner, but then only
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  Speaker 1: twelfth on investment.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Is there normally a stronger relationship between the.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: Two well, I mean the problem here is that investment
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: is a long term game, and with other countries who
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: have traded for Australia, for example, for over one hundred
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  Speaker 3: and fifty years, they have a much greater advantage than
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  Speaker 3: the Chinese. Because we've only really been training trading with
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  Speaker 3: the Chinese for the last twenty years, so you would
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  Speaker 3: expect that it will take time for the relation to
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  Speaker 3: ship to build.
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  Speaker 2: Chris, what do they want to invest in?
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think they if you look at the spread
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  Speaker 3: of investments so far, they are investing in almost everything.
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  Speaker 3: I think there are going to be opportunities for New
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  Speaker 3: Zealand to invest in China and China to invest in
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  Speaker 3: New Zealand in all sorts of things like what Well,
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  Speaker 3: for example, New Zealand has invested in dairy in China,
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  Speaker 3: also in things such as pet food in New Zealand.
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: It's pretty clear that I've invested in consumer goods given
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  Speaker 3: that twenty one percent of our trade comes from China.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: John McKinnon says we're entering a no stone unturned period
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  Speaker 1: of investment attraction here and we've seen announcement after announcement
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  Speaker 1: from the government on you know, basically come here, invest, emigrate, spend,
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  Speaker 1: We're open for business. Do you think the message is
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  Speaker 1: getting through?
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  Speaker 3: Well, look, I mean I'm not really that focused on
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  Speaker 3: the short term. I want consistency over the long term.
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  Speaker 3: We need because it's a long term business. We want
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  Speaker 3: consistency between as governments change in New Zealand, so our
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  Speaker 3: bipartisan approach is really important and are consistent bipartisan.
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  Speaker 2: Approach Do you think we'll get that?
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Well, time will tell, but I mean it's my advice
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  Speaker 3: as an economist to point this out.
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  Speaker 2: Message hurdlard and clear.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Chris Nickson, thanks for your time this morning, principal economists
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: at ENZIR and those new numbers this morning. For more
• 3:15
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• 3:18
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• 3:21
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