PM Edition: Top 10 Business Articles on LiveNews.co.nz for July 10, 2026 – Full Text

Source: New Zealand First

NZFirst Announces Next Tranche of Candidates 

New Zealand First is today announcing our next set of confirmed candidates to stand in the general election. 

This latest tranche shows the growing list of candidates with a wide range of skills, experience, and backgrounds New Zealand First will have representing the party across the country in this coming election. 

Harete Hipango-Brownlie, Whanganui:  

Hipango-Brownlie is a former National Party Member of Parliament, lawyer, and dedicated public servant with more than 30 years’ experience serving New Zealand communities across law, health, governance and public policy. She is standing for New Zealand First in the Whanganui electorate, bringing a lifetime of leadership, advocacy and service to the community she calls home. 

Hipango-Brownlie served as the Member of Parliament holding the seat of Whanganui from 2017 to 2020 before returning to Parliament as a List MP in 2021 until 2023.  

Before entering Parliament, Hipango-Brownlie served on the Whanganui District Health Board. 

Grounded in both Māori and European heritage, Hipango-Brownlie brings a unique perspective shaped by decades of experience working across the justice system, public service, iwi organisations and Parliament. She is committed to strong communities, responsible governance, practical solutions and ensuring Whanganui has a strong, experienced voice advocating for its future. 

Te Kira Lawrence, East Cape: 

Lawrence is a sitting Napier City Councillor, dedicated community leader, and experienced public servant who has built her career around serving people, strengthening communities, and delivering practical results. 

With more than two decades of experience in administration, stakeholder engagement, governance, and community relations, Lawrence brings a strong record of getting things done. She currently serves as an Outreach Advisor in the New Zealand First Leader’s Office, working closely with communities, stakeholders, and Members of Parliament to ensure local voices are heard and reflected in decision-making. 

In 2025, Lawrence was elected to the Napier City Council, where she serves on several key committees, including Risk and Assurance, Community-Led Initiatives, flood resilience, and regional waste planning. She also holds the council’s multicultural portfolio and represents the council on the Waipureku Waitangi Charitable Trust, helping strengthen community partnerships and inclusive engagement across Hawke’s Bay. 

Her earlier career included roles in health, business management, architecture, and the wool industry, giving her broad experience across both the public and private sectors. 

As New Zealand First’s candidate for East Cape, she is committed to standing up for the region’s families, businesses, rural communities, and local industries, ensuring the region has a strong voice advocating for practical solutions and a prosperous future.

Tracey Coxhead, Mt Maunganui: 

Coxhead currently serves as a Western Bay of Plenty District Councillor being elected in 2022 and re-elected in 2025.  She brings more than 40 years of leadership experience across banking, financial services, business ownership and local government.  

A Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Life Underwriter, Tracey holds postgraduate business qualifications from Massey University and has served on numerous professional committees, including as a former director of the Insurance and Financial Advisers Association (IFA NZ). Her extensive governance experience has been strengthened through decades of leadership in both the financial sector and local government. 

Coxhead has built a reputation as a diligent and independent representative who values careful decision-making, strong financial management and listening to the communities she serves. 

Coxhead and her husband live in Te Puna and are proud parents of four adult children and grandparents. She enjoys spending time with family, travelling, hiking and giving back to her local community. She is standing for Parliament because she believes New Zealand needs experienced, practical leadership that puts communities first. 

Kym McDonald-King, Dunedin: 

McDonald-King is a lifelong advocate for community, public service and practical solutions. With a career spanning healthcare, business, community engagement and politics, she brings more than 25 years of frontline experience working with New Zealanders from all walks of life. 

Born and raised in the South Island, McDonald-King has made Dunedin her home and is passionate about ensuring the city and wider Otago region remain great places to live, work and raise families. She began her professional career as a registered nurse, spending over a decade in hospital and rural health services. Working in emergency care, palliative care, aged care and rural nursing, she developed a deep appreciation for the challenges facing New Zealand’s health system and the importance of compassionate, practical leadership. During her nursing career she also served as a union representative, advocating for staff and contributing to successful pay equity negotiations. 

McDonald-King serves as an Outreach Advisor in the New Zealand First Leader’s Office, where she works closely with MPs, community organisations and stakeholders throughout the South Island. Her role centres on building strong community connections, facilitating public engagement and ensuring local voices are heard in Parliament. 

Standing for New Zealand First in Dunedin, she is committed to championing local communities, supporting hardworking New Zealanders and ensuring government decisions reflect the realities faced by everyday families. Her focus is on listening, delivering practical outcomes and helping build a stronger future for Dunedin and New Zealand. 

Billy Brown, Rotorua: 

Brown is a respected infrastructure leader and business executive with more than 25 years’ experience delivering major civil construction and infrastructure projects across New Zealand and the Pacific.  

Brown currently serves as General Manager of MAP Projects Ltd, leading a business operating across New Zealand and the Pacific. He oversees a multi-million-dollar infrastructure portfolio, guiding strategic planning, financial governance, workforce development, and regional growth.  

Before joining MAP Projects, Brown was Construction and Operations Manager with Higgins, where he managed large-scale transport and civil infrastructure projects throughout New Zealand and Fiji. Earlier in his career, he held senior operational roles with McConnell Dowell and Civil Construction Ltd. 

Having started his career on the tools before progressing into senior executive leadership, Brown understands the challenges facing working New Zealanders and small businesses. His experience spans commercial governance, financial management, workforce development, and regional economic growth, giving him firsthand insight into the infrastructure and investment needed to strengthen local communities. 

As New Zealand First’s candidate for Rotorua, Brown is committed to delivering practical solutions, backing local enterprise, investing in essential infrastructure, and ensuring that government works for the people and communities it serves. He believes strong leadership, fiscal responsibility, and common sense are essential to building a more prosperous future for Rotorua and New Zealand. 

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/09/nzfirst-announces-next-tranche-of-candidates/

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand’s manufacturing sector has posted its strongest month of growth in nearly five years, with new data showing activity surging to its highest level since July 2021, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Cameron Brewer says.

The latest BNZ – BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) jumped to 59.7 in June, up sharply from 51.3 in May and well above the survey’s long-term average of 52.5. A reading above 50.0 shows the sector is expanding.

“This is a very strong result. Order books are filling up, production is climbing, and manufacturers are hiring again,” Mr Brewer says.

Every part of the index was firmly in expansion. New Orders led the way at 64.1, pointing to a healthy pipeline of work ahead, while Production surged to 59.4 and Employment reached 55.8, an encouraging sign for manufacturing jobs.

BNZ Head of Research Stephen Toplis said in the report that analysts were ‘staggered by the extent the Index has jumped’.

The manufacturing sector directly employs more than 220,000 people, contributes around eight per cent of GDP, and accounts for 60 per cent of New Zealand’s exports.

“Manufacturing is one of the powerhouses of our economy, and right now it’s running hot. This follows the sector being the single biggest driver of economic growth in the March quarter, so the momentum is real and it’s building,” Mr Brewer says.

“When order books fill up like this, manufacturers need to invest to keep pace, and that’s what Investment Boost is for, letting them buy the machinery and equipment that lifts productivity.

“Our manufacturers are outpacing every major economy right now, including the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Australia.

“Kiwi manufacturers are showing what they can do when they get a Government that backs them. This is all part of the Government’s plan to fix the basics and build the future.”

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/09/manufacturing-growth-surges-to-five-year-high/

Source: Media Outreach

At Shenzhen Port Global Supply Chain High-Quality Development Conference 2026
Unlocking Global Network Synergies to Build a Stable and Efficient Supply Chain

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 July 2026 – At the Shenzhen Port Global Supply Chain High-Quality Development Conference 2026, Midea Group (Midea), the global smart home and technology giant, and Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (Hutchison Ports), the world’s leading port investor, developer, and operator, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Guided by the shared vision of “Benefitting from New APEC Opportunities, Forging a New Future for Port and Shipping Cooperation”, the two parties will deepen their global strategic partnership over the next two years, combining their respective strengths and resources to co-create a highly resilient, efficient, and mutually beneficial global supply chain ecosystem.

In response to the evolving global trade landscape, these two industry leaders are actively collaborating to bring together their strategic assets and global networks. Midea’s expanding manufacturing footprint overseas seamlessly aligns with Hutchison Ports’ extensive network of global port resources, establishing a perfect synergy particularly in key markets such as Thailand, Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam and Mexico. As Midea accelerates its international expansion, its global logistics requirements are experiencing robust growth. This partnership will secure global maritime logistics corridors for Midea, ensuring stable and efficient delivery. Concurrently, Midea’s continuously growing cargo volumes will significantly boost throughput across Hutchison Ports’ terminals, in turn attracting more international shipping routes to call at its facilities.

Lewis Fu, President of Midea International, said “Under our globalisation strategy, securing reliable logistics services is fundamental to Midea’s sustained business growth. We are delighted to deepen our collaboration with Hutchison Ports. Through practical initiatives, such as data integration and priority lanes during peak seasons, we can further enhance supply chain synergy and operational efficiency. This gives us full confidence in steadily achieving our global shipping target of 1.5 million TEUs by 2027.”

Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Ports, said “As a world-leading technology enterprise, Midea Group is an incredibly valued strategic partner for Hutchison Ports. Midea’s massive and rapidly growing export volumes will inject strong momentum into our terminals. By leveraging our high-efficiency operational standards, advanced digital capabilities, and tailored service frameworks, we will provide reliable logistical support for Midea’s global expansion, establishing a new benchmark for industry collaboration.”

Under the MoU, this deepened collaboration will initially be launched using Hutchison Ports’ Yantian International Container Terminals (YANTIAN) as a key strategic anchor point, focusing on the following areas:

• Green Logistics and Digitalization Construction: Both parties will actively explore sustainable transport solutions that comply with local regulations and authorities. By integrating Midea’s business system with YANTIAN’s terminal operating system, they will achieve real-time information sharing and seamless workflow connectivity, significantly enhancing cargo handling and transport efficiency.

• Port Operation Support: Addressing industry choke points such as peak-season logistical delays and capacity constraints, Hutchison Ports will open priority lanes for Midea during peak seasons. This will expedite the pick-up, return, and reloading of Midea’s cargo, ensuring highly efficient dispatch operations and reinforcing the stability of Midea’s supply chain.

• Port Extension Services and Multimodal Transportation: The partners will jointly develop rail freight solutions connecting inland Chinese ports to YANTIAN, alongside comprehensive terminal logistics support including container yards, warehousing, and other value-added services.

Looking ahead, Midea and Hutchison Ports aim to progressively scale up the successful collaboration model established at YANTIAN across Hutchison Ports’ vast global network. Both parties will continue to strengthen their strategic alignment on a global level, jointly exploring innovative green and digital logistics solutions to set a new benchmark for smarter, greener, and more resilient global supply chains.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Source: Auckland Council

Cassandra Crowley has been appointed by Auckland Council as an Independent Reviewer and Governance Observer to support Heart of the City through the process of restoring a functioning Executive Committee. 

Auckland Council’s Chief Executive Phil Wilson, who has confirmed Ms Crowley’s appointment, says her role is to verify the Heart of the City’s membership register and support the steps required for a Special General Meeting to elect a new Executive Committee.

“Aucklanders deserve a vibrant, safe and prosperous city centre and Heart of the City’s members deserve a high-functioning business association. This appointment ensures continuity of its important services in the city centre, while supporting resolution of Heart of the City’s governance challenges. 

“The council has a significant interest in the success of the city centre and acknowledges Heart of the City and its role working for the economic benefit of the city centre.

“Cassandra will provide independent oversight and assurance over the membership verification process, communications to members and BID affiliates, and the steps required for a Special General Meeting to elect a new Executive Committee.

“This is about ensuring there is a fair, transparent and credible process that gives confidence to Heart of the City members and the public,” he says.

Importantly, we have agreed with the organisation’s Chief Executive that, while these membership and governance matters are resolved, Heart of the City will continue to deliver its day-to-day operations, including marketing, security and events. Major new decisions will not be made until a new Executive Committee is in place.

“While we can’t yet say how long Ms Crowley will need to be in this role, the priority here is ensuring that all the necessary steps to having a new Executive Committee in place are carried out as quickly as possible,” says Mr Wilson.

About Cassandra Crowley

Cassandra has extensive executive and governance experience including in and around local government and membership organisations.

She is a chartered accountant, barrister and solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. She is also a member of the Institute of Directors in New Zealand.

As well as her commercial advisory work, she’s a non-executive director in several sectors of the New Zealand economy, including Deputy Chair of the NZTA Board, NZX listed South Port and a number of other businesses.

Cassandra is an independent (external to Auckland Council) member of the council’s Audit and Risk Committee. She also chairs several audit, finance and risk committees and committees overseeing digital transformation. She’s a past president of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/09/auckland-council-appoints-independent-reviewer-for-heart-of-the-city/

Source: Media Outreach

COLOMBO, SRI LANKA- Media OutReach Newswire – 9 July 2026 – On July 4, 2026, the cultural exchange event Encounter & Insight: Dialogue Between Ningbo, China and Colombo, Sri Lanka took place in Colombo.

Separated by thousands of miles, the two millennia-old port cities reconnected, leveraging their ports as a bond and cultural exchanges as a cohesive force to hold in-depth talks on integrated port-city development and bilateral economic and trade connectivity.

This cross-Indian Ocean dialogue echoes the ancient Maritime Silk Road while charting a brand-new outbound development path. As a pivotal starting port of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, Ningbo is building a new global trade landscape powered by smart manufacturing.

A thousand years ago, merchant vessels from Mingzhou Port set sail southward loaded with Yue Kiln celadon porcelain, passing through Ceylon to deliver Oriental crafts across the Indian Ocean coasts. Precious gemstones and spices traveled the same sea route back to regions south of the Yangtze River, laying the groundwork for the earliest cultural exchange between the two ports through trade. Today, the cargo carried by giant cargo ships has undergone a dramatic transformation. Beyond traditional daily necessities, intelligent equipment, digital home appliances and industrial robots now dominate shipments.

Official statistics show that Ningbo’s exports of intelligent equipment, including mechanical arms and industrial robots, hit 440 million yuan in 2025, surging more than 40% year-on-year. From January to May this year, Ningbo’s exports of mechanical and electrical products maintained steady growth, reaching 247 billion yuan, a 4.1% year-on-year increase and accounting for 58.0% of the city’s total export volume. The new energy foreign trade sector saw explosive growth, with exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products jumping 138.4% year-on-year, with electric vehicle exports skyrocketing 215.9%. Smart manufactured goods are continuously expanding the scope of Ningbo’s foreign trade.

Complementing the Colombo forum, an exhibition highlights Ningbo’s outstanding going-global enterprises and their products, vividly illustrating the profound shift in Ningbo’s trade structure.

Alongside time-honored Maritime Silk Road staples such as celadon porcelain and silk, Ningbo’s smart manufactured products—including AI translation glasses, intelligent outdoor gear and digital small home appliances—occupy prominent display spaces across the venue. In Sri Lanka, Ningbo smart water meters are widely adopted nationwide, while handheld cooling fans and intelligent kitchen appliances have entered ordinary households.

Leveraging Colombo Port’s transshipment advantages, massive volumes of Ningbo smart manufactured goods are distributed onward to Europe, the Middle East and beyond. What Ningbo exports today is no longer mere commodities, but a complete outbound solution integrating technology, brand value and after-sales services.

Faced with mounting challenges including homogeneous global market competition and rising trade barriers, Ningbo’s manufacturing sector has abandoned the old model of low-cost OEM production, relying on intelligent transformation to consolidate its competitive edge in overseas markets.

Over more than a decade of digital transformation efforts, Ningbo has achieved full digital upgrading of all industrial enterprises above designated size. A large number of local factories have built unmanned black-light workshops and flexible production lines, escaping vicious price competition through continuous technological iteration. Represented by five specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative enterprises dubbed Ningbo’s “Five Little Tigers”—famous for their core proprietary technologies, including highly sophisticated visual inspection equipment, heat-resistant materials, sun-proof coatings, puncture-proof materials and self-drilling fasteners—these niche manufacturers have developed differentiated technical routes and full-spectrum production capacity, cementing irreplaceable competitiveness for Ningbo smart manufacturing on global markets.

Beyond trade expansion, Ningbo has built a supporting cultural communication system to ensure “products go global, accompanied by local culture”.

The launch of Sri Lanka’s first “One-Meter Cultural Space” cultural station during the Colombo event marks a tangible milestone of Ningbo’s go-global initiative. Built on enterprises’ overseas outlets, these miniature cultural exhibition halls integrate intangible cultural heritage crafts, urban stories and smart products, enabling overseas clients to experience cutting-edge manufacturing while gaining insight into Ningbo’s profound cultural heritage.

During the twin-city story-sharing session, Ningbo entrepreneurs based in Sri Lanka and local designers blending Chinese and Sri Lankan aesthetics shared stories of bilateral exchanges. Economic and trade ties have evolved into a bond for people-to-people communication, bridging divides in cross-cultural trade.

From Tang-dynasty celadon porcelain sailing across the Indian Ocean to intelligent equipment shipping to every corner of the globe, Ningbo, the ancient Maritime Silk Road port, has preserved its enduring gene of openness. Where exchanges once relied purely on commodity trade, today smart manufacturing underpins a stable, diversified and high-value-added global trade network.

The Ningbo-Colombo dialogue stands as a vivid microcosm of this transformation: the port still links lands and seas, yet the core of its trade has undergone a full intelligent upgrade.

Rooted in its historical legacy as a key Maritime Silk Road hub, Ningbo has consolidated its industrial foundation through a decade of digital development, expanded global market reach via worldwide port networks, and softened trade cooperation through cultural exchanges. This brand-new outbound shipping route forged by smart manufacturing has not only reshaped the city’s foreign trade landscape, but also delivered a replicable port-city development model for Chinese manufacturing to go global.

Hashtag: #NingboSmartManufacturing #MaritimeSilkRoad #GlobalTrade

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

MIL OSI

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government is removing costs for thousands of food businesses by launching another free online food safety course, says Minister for Food Safety Andrew Hoggard.

“Food safety training can cost food businesses between $50 and $200 per staff member, so making free resources available puts money back in the till.” 

“This kind of training for food business provides an important line of defence for consumers and is a good investment in preventing foodborne illness.
The first of six Food Safety Basics training modules was launched back in May and it was well received by food business. Today we’ve launched the second module, focusing on personal hygiene.”

The new module covers why personal hygiene is essential for anyone working with food and how everyday habits can protect customers from foodborne illnesses. 
The full series of modules – developed with input from the Restaurant Association, Hospitality NZ, restaurants, cafes and local authorities – will all be published online by early next year. 

The remaining modules will cover maintaining a food safe workplace, handling food safely, allergens, and traceability and recalls.

“Providing this free training is part of an ongoing series of practical changes to make food safety simpler and smarter for food businesses of every size.”

The free online courses can be completed here. 

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/09/putting-money-back-in-the-till-for-food-businesses/

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government will not proceed with a blanket legislative ban on crypto ATMs, instead taking a targeted and proportionate approach to reducing the criminal misuse of virtual assets, says Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee.

In June 2025, Cabinet agreed in principle to ban crypto ATMs, subject to further policy analysis. That analysis has now been completed and found that a more flexible approach is available.

“Banning something is a serious decision that should not be taken lightly. Cabinet has now considered the evidence and agreed that a blanket ban is not the right response at this time,” says Mrs McKee.

“Crypto ATMs present real risks, particularly where criminals use cash to move funds into virtual assets quickly and anonymously. But the analysis also found they can have legitimate uses, including for cash-reliant New Zealanders who want to access or invest in virtual assets.

“New Zealand should be a country that welcomes innovation while taking criminal misuse seriously. That is why Cabinet’s earlier decision was made in principle and subject to further analysis. If there was a less restrictive way to manage the risks, we wanted to find it.

“Instead of an outright ban, Cabinet has agreed to establish regulation-making powers that would allow the Government to place restrictions on cash transactions for virtual assets. These could include maximum transaction thresholds or, if clear evidence of harm emerges in New Zealand, prohibit cash payments for high-risk virtual assets.

“This gives the Government practical tools to respond to risk while preserving space for legitimate business, investment, and personal choice.

“These decisions form part of the Government’s wider reform of New Zealand’s Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism system, aimed at making it easier to do business and harder to commit crime.

“Cash remains attractive to organised crime because it is difficult to trace. When cash is converted into virtual assets, such as cryptocurrencies, criminals can move funds rapidly across borders in ways that are difficult for law enforcement to detect or disrupt.

“That is why we are not ignoring the risks. We are putting practical tools in place so the Government can act quickly if the evidence justifies it, while avoiding unnecessary restrictions on lawful users.

“I have asked officials to consult with crypto providers and users on options for implementing protections that strike the right balance.”

The AML/CFT (Omnibus) Amendment Bill will be introduced later this month and will incorporate a regulation making power to give effect to this decision.

Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/07/09/crypto-atms-to-get-guardrails-not-the-guillotine/

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 July 2026 – XTransfer, the world’s leading B2B cross-border trade payment platform,has been recognised in The Payments Power 50 2026, becoming the only company in China’s cross-border payment sector to receive this honour. The annual list is published by the authoritative international organisation, The Power 50, celebrating the companies and industry voices making their mark across the global payments industry.

Now in its second year, The Payments Power 50 recognises 40 companies and 10 industry influencers making a meaningful contribution to one of the most competitive areas of financial services.

The 2026 list comes at an important moment for payments. Merchants are looking to improve approval rates and customer experience, providers are balancing fraud, resilience and regulation, and banks and fintechs are exploring new ways to support open banking, cross-border payments, digital wallets, embedded finance and settlement.

XTransfer has been recognised for its state-of-the-art work in cross-border B2B trade payments, connecting SMEs with top-tier financial institutions to enable secure, compliant collections and payouts across key trading corridors and emerging markets. Serving more than 890,000 registered SMEs globally, XTransfer helps businesses improve payment efficiency and reduce operational friction in international transactions.

Bill Deng, Founder and CEO of XTransfer, said, “Being recognised in The Payments Power 50 is a meaningful milestone for our team and a validation of our long-term mission: to make cross-border trade payments simpler, safer and more accessible for SMEs worldwide. We will continue to invest in compliance and product innovation, and deepen collaboration with financial institutions to help more businesses trade globally with confidence.”

Jason Williams, CEO of The Power 50, said, “We’re proud to recognise XTransfer as part of this year’s cohort. The Payments Power 50 is designed to celebrate the companies and individuals driving the industry forward, bring the payments community together and give those shaping the sector a platform throughout the year. Congratulations to XTransfer and everyone included in The Payments Power 50 2026.”

https://www.xtransfer.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtransfer.cn

Hashtag: #XTransfer

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

MIL OSI