Business and Commerce News

Farmers should make the most of free collection services for unwanted agrichemicals, says Hugh Ritchie, National Board member of Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc).Mr Ritchie was responding to the Government’s ratification today of the Stockholm Convention, which bans the import and manufacture of nine persistent organic pollutant pesticide (POP) substances. The substances are Aldrin, Chlordane, DDT, Dieldrin, Endrin, Heptachlor, Mirex, Hexachlorobenzene, and Toxaphene.

By signing the convention New Zealand is required to dispose of the chemicals in an environmentally-friendly way from 27 December, 2004 (90 days after ratification).

“New Zealand farmers will not have used these chemicals for many years, but may have some forgotten in storage. Now is the time to get rid of them in a responsible manner for free,” said Mr Ritchie.

After Christmas 2004, the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) will be able to order farmers to pay for the disposal of any POPs found on their property - which in most cases will involve exporting to Europe for safe disposal.

To avoid this cost, the Ministry for the Environment is giving farmers the opportunity to have all unwanted agrichemicals collected from their farms for free, and is coordinating regional councils to undertake collections and arrange disposal.

“Farmers should contact their local regional council for more information about when the collections are being held. Until then, unwanted agrichemicals should continue to be stored safely and securely,” said Mr Ritchie.

The estimated merchandise trade balance for July 2004 is a deficit of $373 million, or 15.0 percent of exports, according to Statistics New Zealand. A trade deficit is usual for a July month. The average July trade balance for the previous 10 years is a deficit of 10.5 percent of exports. The provisional value of merchandise imports for July 2004 is $2,863 million, which is 2.8 percent higher than for July 2003. The main contributors to the higher value of imports for July 2004 were mechanical machinery and equipment; motor spirit, partly refined petroleum and diesel; and electrical machinery and equipment. Partly offsetting these higher values, were lower values of imported aircraft and ships.

The trend for the value of merchandise imports has risen 11.1 percent since July 2003. The value of the New Zealand dollar, as measured by the trade weighted index, has appreciated 4.5 percent since July 2003. The value of the New Zealand dollar has been relatively volatile in recent months, rising 3.5 percent from May 2004, following a fall of 7.2 percent from a peak in February 2004. An appreciating exchange rate generally has a downward influence on import prices, which may lead to an increase in the quantity of items imported.

The estimated value of merchandise exports for July 2004 is $2,490 million, which is 8.2 percent higher than for July 2003. Detailed exports information will be released on 6 September 2004.

The Panel has accepted enforceable undertakings from Bridgecorp Capital Limited, Bridgecorp Holdings Limited, Brent King and Snowdon Peak Investments Limited made under section 31T of the Takeovers Act relating to Dorchester Pacific Limited and involving:

 
• the compulsory sell-down of shares in Dorchester Pacific Limited, 

   

• the immediate cancellation of various agreements, and 

   

• a standstill of further acquisitions of Dorchester Pacific Limited shares until 30 June 2005 except through code-compliant offers. 

The Panel regards these undertakings as a satisfactory and expeditious means of remedying the non-compliance with the Takeovers Code of Bridgecorp and King.

Through a series of contracts executed on 13 August 2004 Bridgecorp Capital Limited acquired 19.99% of Dorchester Pacific Limited from Brent King and the interests of Grant Baker, and obtained certain rights over a further 5.05% of Dorchester Pacific shares held by King under a so called “lock-up” deed. Brent King subsequently purchased further Dorchester Pacific shares from the Vink family.

On 8 September 2004 the Panel determined, after holding a meeting under section 32 of the Takeovers Act, that it was not satisfied that Bridgecorp Capital had acted in compliance with the Takeovers Code when it acquired its Dorchester Pacific shares because Bridgecorp was an associate of King who also held shares and in aggregate they held more than 20% of the Dorchester Pacific share capital.

The Panel also determined that it was not satisfied that Brent King had complied with the Code when he acquired shares from the Vink family on 16 August 2004 because of his association with Bridgecorp and their aggregate holding of more than 20% of the Dorchester Pacific share capital.

In essence Bridgecorp and Bridgecorp Holdings have undertaken to:

 
• take all necessary steps to cancel the “lock-up” deed between Bridgecorp, Brent Douglas King and Snowdon Peak by 29 September 2004; 

   

• sell 1,056,874 Dorchester Pacific shares within 60 days through a process approved by the Panel so that neither Mr King, Snowdon Peak, the Vink family, Grant Keith Baker, nor their associates, or associates of Bridgecorp or Bridgecorp Holdings, will hold or control those shares; 

   

• not exercise the voting rights attached to those shares before they are sold; 

   

• take all necessary steps to cancel, by 29 September 2004, the clauses in the sale and purchase agreement between Bridgecorp and Mr King relating to obligations extending beyond the completion of the share sale; 

   

• not increase their aggregate control percentage in Dorchester Pacific above 14.95%, other than in accordance with an offer that complies with the Code (which cannot be made before the compulsory sell-down has been completed) until after 30 June 2005; 

   

• not obtain any additional relevant interest in any Dorchester Pacific securities, other than in accordance with an offer that complies with the Code, until after 30 June 2005. 

In essence Brent Douglas King on his own behalf and on behalf of Snowdon Peak has undertaken that he will:

 
• take all necessary steps to cancel the “lock-up” deed he entered into with Bridgecorp and Snowdon Peak and to repay Bridgecorp the $600,000 fee, by 29 September 2004; 

   

• ensure that Snowdon Peak sells within 30 days the 183,740 Dorchester Pacific shares purchased from the Vink family, through a process approved by the Panel, so that neither Bridgecorp, Bridgecorp Holdings, the Vink family, Grant Keith Baker, nor their associates, or associates of Snowdon Peak or Brent King, will hold or control those shares; 

   

• not exercise, nor permit Snowdon Peak to exercise, the voting rights attached to those Dorchester Pacific shares before they are sold; 

   

• take all necessary steps to cancel, by 29 September 2004, clauses in the sale and purchase agreement he made with Bridgecorp relating to obligations extending beyond the completion of the share sale; 

   

• not increase the aggregate control percentage in Dorchester Pacific held by him and the companies he controls above 5.05% other than in accordance with an offer that complies with the Code (which cannot be made until the compulsory sell-downs have been completed) until after 30 June 2005; 

   

• not obtain, and ensure that companies he controls do not obtain, any additional relevant interest in any Dorchester Pacific securities other than in accordance with an offer that complies with the Code until after 30 June 2005.

Economic activity increased 0.9 percent in the June 2004 quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand. This follows increases of 2.1 and 0.9 percent in the March 2004 and December 2003 quarters, respectively. In the year ended June 2004, the economy grew 4.4 percent, up from the 4.1 percent increase in the June 2003 year.

Internal demand rose 2.2 percent in the June 2004 quarter. Household spending remained at high levels and grew by a further 0.3 percent, following the strong 2.6 percent increase in the previous quarter. Investment in residential housing was also maintained, rising 6.6 percent to be 13.0 percent higher for the June year. Business investment increased as well this quarter – investment in fixed assets was up 5.3 percent and there was a further build-up in inventories.

External demand was also up. Export volumes lifted 2.9 percent, with goods up 1.6 percent and services up 7.5 percent. The increase in service exports largely reflects a strong rise in in-bound tourism spending.

Much of the increase in internal demand was met by imports, which were up 6.7 percent. Merchandise imports rose 9.0 percent, with major contributions from transport equipment (up 16.0 percent) and machinery and electrical equipment (up 9.1 percent). Imports of services fell because the increased spending by New Zealanders travelling abroad was more than offset by falls in other imported services.

Industry production was mixed this quarter. Growth continued in the service industries (up 0.7 percent), with wholesale trade and the transport and communication group the main contributors to the increase. Activity in goods-producing industries showed little change, with the lift in construction activity (up 6.6 percent) mostly offset by a decline in manufacturing (down 1.9 percent). Although manufacturing sales were up for the quarter, much of this was met from finished goods inventory, and overall production fell. Activity in primary industries decreased 0.5 percent.

The expenditure-based measure of gross domestic product (GDP), released concurrently with the production-based measure, recorded a 1.1 percent increase for the June 2004 quarter compared with the March 2004 quarter.

NEW ZEALAND - The New Zealand Pork Industry Board has created a technological first for New Zealand agriculture with the launch of the first electronic Animal Status Declaration in the New Zealand in this country.
The launch has been timed to coincide with the law change on 1st October making it mandatory under the Animal Products (Specifications for Products Intended for Human Consumption) Notice 2004 for suppliers of pigs to processing plants to complete a signed statement to the primary processor on presentation of the animal.

Until now the Animal Status Declaration for Pigs (ASDP) has operated on a voluntary basis, following its development and implementation by the Board 18 months ago. Traditionally the New Zealand pork industry has been domestically focused and has not been required to provide the trace-back required of other meat exporting sectors.

The New Zealand Pork Industry Board took the initiative and developed the ASD for pigs in order to provide the consumer with information relating to how when and where New Zealand Pork is produced. The Board’s Chief Executive, Angus Davidson, said producers are aware that this is the sort of information that consumers are demanding and that 100% New Zealand Pork now has a very distinct advantage over the imported product being brought into this country which is not able to provide any assurances regarding production techniques.

“Consequently we had a phenomenal uptake of the original ASD that was introduced last year and we have now trialled and are launching an electronic version which will do away with an enormous amount of paperwork and provide instant information on the status of the pig back through the various production stages,” he said.

“We are very pleased with the trials to date and have had some extremely positive feed back from all sectors of the supply chain,” he added.

Chris Hull, Site Manager at Landmeat Ltd, Wanganui, endorses Davidson’s comments saying the electronic Animal Status Declaration is a great asset for the industry.

“The use of the Animal Status Declaration in an electronic format no doubt assists traceability and traceability means a safer product for the consumer,” he says.

He points out that one of the main advantages of the electronic Animal Status Declaration is the fact that only one person, usually the owner of the stock, can sign off the Declaration and this eliminates any possible abuse of the system what can occur with a paper version.

Angus Davidson says the Board is confident there will be a very good up-take of the electronic version as more and more producers are utilising computer based programmes to run their businesses. As is the case with the paper ASD forms we developed (which are identical) the Declaration is very straight forward and user friendly and will ultimately save producers a huge amount of time and effort,” he said.

The Commerce Commission has granted clearance to iSOFT NZ Limited to acquire certain assets currently owned by Hewlett-Packard New Zealand, comprising five customer contracts for the provision of software support services, and associated goodwill and intellectual property rights in the HOMER and ORA*CARE software.

The five customer contracts are with the following organisations:

§ Healthcare Otago Limited (using ORA*CARE software);

§ Good Health Wanganui Limited (using ORA*CARE software);

§ Nelson Marlborough Health Services Limited (using ORA*CARE software);

§ Midcentral Health Limited (using HOMER software); and

§ Canterbury Health Limited (using HOMER software).

iSOFT was recently incorporated in New Zealand and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of iSOFT Overseas Holdings Limited. Its business activities will consist of supplying software for use primarily in hospitals and related implementation, consulting and support services.

Commission Chair Paula Rebstock said the Commission was satisfied that the proposed acquisition would not have, or would not be likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in the New Zealand markets for the supply of patient administration software systems and related services and of clinical information systems and related services to District Health Boards.

The Commerce Commission has cleared the acquisition by a yet to be formed joint venture company, Newco, owned 50 percent by Port of Tauranga Limited and 50 percent by Toll Limited, of all the shares in The Owens Cargo Company Limited, Toll Logistics (NZ) Limited and Leonard and Dingley Limited.

In making its decision, the Commission considered a number of markets involving the provision of land-based services for the import and export of different types of cargo.

Commission Chair Paula Rebstock said the Commission was satisfied that the proposed acquisition would not have, nor would be likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in any of the relevant markets due to existing competition or countervailing power in those markets.

A public version of the Commission’s decision will be available shortly on the Commission’s website www.comcom.govt.nz, under Adjudication.

Background

Port of Tauranga is a Tauranga based port company listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Its main activities are the ownership and operation of the wharf infrastructure and marine services at the Port of Tauranga.

Owens Cargo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Port of Tauranga. Its main services are log and general cargo marshalling, inventory management, storage, consolidation and container handling.

Toll is owned by Toll Group (NZ) Limited, which is wholly-owned by Toll Holdings Limited (Australia). In NZ, Toll has an integrated national network of rail, road and sea freight transportation, distribution and logistics management services, and inter-island and urban passenger services.

Toll Logistics is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toll. Its services include log stevedoring services and general cargo marshalling and stevedoring at several ports in NZ.

Leonard & Dingley is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toll, and specialises in stevedoring services at the Ports of Auckland.

Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc) applauds new government policies for Zimbabweans living in New Zealand on temporary permits.“Many Zimbabweans work on New Zealand farms and this policy change gives them some security that they and their families can stay,” said FFNZ Vice President Charlie Pedersen.

His comments follow the government announcing yesterday that the current arrangements around temporary permits will be extended; and Zimbabwean citizens who are lawfully in New Zealand but do not qualify for permanent residency permits will be encouraged to apply under a special policy.

Due to a shortage of farm staff, many farmers are dependent on skilled migrants to help run their businesses.

Previously, many Zimbabwean farmers did not meet the standard to apply for permanent residence.

Mr Pedersen urged all Zimbabweans to ensure their permits were kept up to date, and that the immigration department had their current address.

“The government should take a similarly proactive look at its policy which defines farm managers as unskilled under current immigration rules. A classification as unskilled workers makes it very difficult for these valuable people to work in New Zealand.

“It is ridiculous that people who manage multi-million dollar businesses which contribute a lot to the New Zealand economy are deemed by the government to be unskilled, yet a person pulling pints behind a bar is considered a skilled worker.

“The government’s policy to define farm management as unskilled shows arrogance and ignorance of the reality of modern farm management, which requires controlling a complex biological system using an array of technology, skills, and equipment,” Mr Pedersen said.