13 hot tech companies sold offshore: Did NZ benefit?
13 minutes to read This month has seen two substantial technology companies sold offshore, with Auckland-based retail software firm Vend going to NYSE-listed Lightspeed for $450 million, and Christchurch geologic 3D modelling outfit Seequent acquired by Nasdaq-listed Bentley Systems for $1.45b.
Backers were quick to claim that jobs would stay in New Zealand (Vend and Seequent employ some 400 locally between them) and that investors like Movac and Punakaiki Fund (Vend) and Pencarrow (Seequent) would recycle money back into the local tech ecosystem.
A look back at 13 past high-profile tech sales (from a field of many more) reveals that sometimes that happens … and sometimes it doesn t.
Dr Jacqueline Rowarth: The problem with cheap tomatoes
16 Mar, 2021 12:30 AM
5 minutes to read
The Country
Opinion: While cheap tomatoes may be good news for consumers, the benefits for growers are yet to be seen, Dr Jacqueline Rowarth says.
Tomatoes being sold for 9c/kg in Hastings hit the news in the second week of March, only to be beaten by 8c/kg in Auckland the following day.
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The reason for the low price was a glut caused by, at least in part, inability to export to Australia and the Pacific Islands. Shortage in freight space meant the cost of transport escalated and the tomatoes could not then be sold in the overseas markets at a price that would cover the costs.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Star Says Saw Turned His Film Into a Comedy
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The back half of the 90s saw the return of teen-aged slasher, all of which ranged in their actual effectiveness, with star of the first two I Know What You Did Last Summer films Freddie Prinze Jr. recently joking that James Wan s work in the subsequent decade made his films feel so tame that they might as well be comedies. Kicking off with
Saw, which he followed with films like
Insidious and
The Conjuring, it s hard to argue with just how frightening of adventures Wan has delivered audiences over the years, but for those who have a soft spot for slashers, Prinze s earlier efforts are likely just as effective as they were back then.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Business leaders call for more transparency on Covid advice
16 Mar, 2021 07:23 PM
4 minutes to read
Auckland Airport chairman Patrick Strange says the government needs to be more transparent about the advice it gets on Covid. Photo / Nick Reed
Auckland Airport chairman Patrick Strange says the government needs to be more transparent about the advice it gets on Covid. Photo / Nick Reed
A group of senior business leaders say unless there is full transparency on the recommendations from a new Government Covid advisory panel it risks being seen as a cynical tactic aimed at dampening criticism.
The public call is the latest move by the group which includes chairman of Chorus NZ and Auckland Airport, Patrick Strange; Mercury Energy chair Prue Flacks; The Warehouse Group chairwoman Joan Withers; chairman of SkyCity, Summerset and Tourism Holdings Rob Campbell; and University of Auckland chancellor and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare chairman Scott St John.