RBNZ governor says NZ is likely to see higher short-term inflation
Rates could rise if there are effects on medium-term inflation or inflation expectations
Economic growth likely to be dampened
The Reserve Bank governor is warning of higher inflation and weaker economic growth due to the Middle East crisis.
The Israel and United States-led war against Iran has sent global energy prices soaring due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
Economists had already warned of the inflationary impact facing the New Zealand economy.
In speech notes published on Tuesday, Reserve Bank (RBNZ) governor Dr Anna Breman echoed that sentiment.
“We are likely to see higher headline inflation over the near term, and somewhat weaker growth momentum,” Breman said.
Annual inflation was at 3.1 percent in the December quarter, above the RBNZ’s 1-3 percent target band.
The remarks come two weeks ahead of the RBNZ’s next monetary policy decision, where the Official Cash Rate is expected to remain on hold.
“A short-lived disruption and a temporary increase in petrol prices can – and should – be looked through from a monetary policy perspective if it is unlikely to have an impact on medium-term inflation outcomes,” Breman said.
“For this type of disruption, we would likely see higher inflation over the next few quarters, along with squeezed real incomes and demand.”
She said the peak impact of monetary policy on inflation took about six to nine quarters.
“So, tightening monetary policy in response to a short-lived disruption would only dampen growth without materially improving near-term inflation outcomes,” Breman said.
“If there are effects on medium-term inflation or inflation expectations, the appropriate policy response could be to increase interest rates to prevent these second round effects.”
Breman said “it is critical” for monetary policy to be forward-looking and focused on medium-term inflation pressures.
She said global supply chains were feeling the effects of the conflict, and it “will take time for the full effects of this shock on the global economy to play out”.
“We should try to avoid reacting too early to near-term inflation pressures that monetary policy can do little about – or reacting too late if above-target inflation becomes embedded in the economy.”
High near-term inflation, weaker growth
Breman said the higher short-term inflation spike would primarily be driven by higher petrol and diesel prices, which made up about 4 percent of the Consumer Price Index.
Higher fertiliser prices were another factor, and she believed it could take up to nine months to fully pass through to supermarket prices.
“Autumn fertiliser requirements are already on-hand in New Zealand, and fertiliser imports usually decrease over the winter months,” Dr Breman said.
“We expect fertiliser use to pick up for spring planting, which is when we may see more direct impacts on farms.”
Breman said the conflict meant New Zealand’s economic growth momentum would be “somewhat weaker” than the RBNZ’s previous assessments.
The bank’s February Monetary Policy Statement published forecasts of GDP growth of 1.1 percent in the March quarter, and 0.5 percent in the June quarter.
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Reserve Bank governor Dr Anna Breman.RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
RBNZ govenror says NZ is likely to see higher short-term inflation
Rates could rise if there are effects on medium-term inflation or inflation expectations
Economic growth likely to be dampened
The Reserve Bank governor is warning of higher inflation and weaker economic growth due to the Middle East crisis.
The Israel and United States-led war against Iran has sent global energy prices soaring due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and attacks on key energy infrastructure in the Gulf.
Economists had already warned of the inflationary impact facing the New Zealand economy.
In speech notes published on Tuesday, Reserve Bank (RBNZ) governor Dr Anna Breman echoed that sentiment.
“We are likely to see higher headline inflation over the near term, and somewhat weaker growth momentum,” Breman said.
Annual inflation was at 3.1 percent in the December quarter, above the RBNZ’s 1-3 percent target band.
The remarks come two weeks ahead of the RBNZ’s next monetary policy decision, where the Official Cash Rate is expected to remain on hold.
“A short-lived disruption and a temporary increase in petrol prices can – and should – be looked through from a monetary policy perspective if it is unlikely to have an impact on medium-term inflation outcomes,” Breman said.
“For this type of disruption, we would likely see higher inflation over the next few quarters, along with squeezed real incomes and demand.”
She said the peak impact of monetary policy on inflation took about six to nine quarters.
“So, tightening monetary policy in response to a short-lived disruption would only dampen growth without materially improving near-term inflation outcomes,” Breman said.
“If there are effects on medium-term inflation or inflation expectations, the appropriate policy response could be to increase interest rates to prevent these second round effects.”
Breman said “it is critical” for monetary policy to be forward-looking and focused on medium-term inflation pressures.
She said global supply chains were feeling the effects of the conflict, and it “will take time for the full effects of this shock on the global economy to play out”.
“We should try to avoid reacting too early to near-term inflation pressures that monetary policy can do little about – or reacting too late if above-target inflation becomes embedded in the economy.”
High near-term inflation, weaker growth
Breman said the higher short-term inflation spike would primarily be driven by higher petrol and diesel prices, which made up about 4 percent of the Consumer Price Index.
Higher fertiliser prices were another factor, and she believed it could take up to nine months to fully pass through to supermarket prices.
“Autumn fertiliser requirements are already on-hand in New Zealand, and fertiliser imports usually decrease over the winter months,” Dr Breman said.
“We expect fertiliser use to pick up for spring planting, which is when we may see more direct impacts on farms.”
Breman said the conflict meant New Zealand’s economic growth momentum would be “somewhat weaker” than the RBNZ’s previous assessments.
The bank’s February Monetary Policy Statement published forecasts of GDP growth of 1.1 percent in the March quarter, and 0.5 percent in the June quarter.
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The government will be hearing from officials later this week on possible steps towards “demand restraint”, Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.
Petrol prices have increased by almost $1 per litre on average in the past month, according to price tracker Gaspy, and diesel even more, as global energy markets react to Iran’s military grip on the Strait of Hormuz following the war launched by the US and Israel.
Around 20 percent of the world’s supply usually transits through the strait.
The government is expected to unveil a support package later on Tuesday which it says will be highly targeted and temporary. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has regularly stated there have been no plans to restrict usage, with stockpiles remaining healthy and supplies still arriving as scheduled.
The latest data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed stocks for about 47 days of fuel, including about 50 days worth of petrol, 46 days of diesel, and 45 of jet fuel.
Jones, speaking to Morning Report on Tuesday morning, said New Zealand consumed 24 million litres a day – nearly half of which was diesel, a third petrol and the rest aviation fuel.
Towards the end of the week… we’re going to be briefed at a granular level by the officials who are in contact with different industry groups as to the steps we would take if we move towards demand restraint.
“I am focused more on enhancing advancing, broadening and simplifying access to greater levels of supply.”
Reports from importers such as Z Energy were coming in daily, he said.
“We have never once been told that they are unable to deliver, or contracts are being terminated. Naturally, we’re watching that with a pair of hawk eyes. The challenge remains… the access of the refineries owned by Exxon and other such global giants to enough feedstock so they can produce the fuel in suitable quantities.”
Channel Infrastructure chief executive Rob Buchanan and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones atop a 30-million-litre jet fuel tank.RNZ / Peter de Graaf
New Zealand no longer refines crude oil, with the Marsden Point facility shutting down a few years ago.
“The fuel import companies are operating exactly within their statutory envelopes. They are observing what they promised to bring to New Zealand.
“If we are to increase and store more diesel fuel in New Zealand, we need to increase the storage. And I keep saying, the reason we can’t do that at scale is because they closed down the refinery, and I don’t care if you get annoyed with me saying that. I want New Zealanders to bear that in mind. This is the consequence of closing down the refinery.”
Jones has falsely claimed the Labour government closed the refinery down, repeating that claim again on Morning Report. Refining NZ (now Channel Infrastructure), a private company, made the call to end refining at the Marsden Point site and transition to being an import-only hub. The government considered stepping in, but decided against it, with advice to ministers being that risks to fuel security were “very low”, because any event that cut off the supply of refined oil would likely cut off crude as well.
Jones said the government was working with Channel to “enhance” how much product could be stored at Marsden.
“That will give us additional diesel storage. However, I don’t want any Kiwi this morning to doubt whether there’s diesel in the country on its way. There certainly is.”
Speaking to Morning Report after Jones, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it was a “private decision made by the fuel industry” that would not have hindered New Zealand’s fuel security.
“Marsden Point was refining crude oil that was imported from overseas, so the same supply constraints would be hitting us now whether MarsdenPoint was operating or not.”
He suggested it was ironic that coalition MPs were criticising Labour for having spent “too much money” during the Covid response, yet were now saying “we should have kept a refinery that was going out of business because it was obsolete technology and because it wasn’t economic”.
Asked whether the crisis had shifted his thinking on electrification and moving away from fossil fuels, Jones said it was a “fair point” to stay open-minded.
“There is a source of hydrogen energy in New Zealand. It’s called white hydrogen. It’s called natural occurring hydrogen. I met last week with the Auckland University who are doing extraordinary work in Wairarapa, and they believe they’ve tapped into a vein of infinite power of a hydrogen character, of all places in the hills and the valleys of the Wairarapa coast.
“So I think it’s a fair point that you’re making that we need to be open-minded. And then I say to Kiwis, OK, how do you imagine we’re going to pay for it? To do that, certain things, if we are to underwrite this electrification journey, will have to go by the way.
“And that’s why we have an election. No doubt people will be contesting all of those ideas.”
The finance minister will reveal “targeted and temporary” support for hard-hit families on Tuesday, as fuel costs continue to rise.
Nicola Willis gave notice of the announcement at Monday’s post-Cabinet media briefing, alongside Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones.
Jones also announced plans to align New Zealand’s fuel standards with that of Australia, allowing the import of fuel destined for Australia to New Zealand instead.
Willis said the decisions on support had been taken at Cabinet, and while some of the details were still being worked out, that would not affect how quickly families could get it.
“This conflict is impacting just about every New Zealander, it has pushed up the price of petrol, diesel and jet fuel and those increases are already hurting our people and our businesses. Unfortunately the government is not in a position to mitigate that impact on everyone,” she said.
“The approach we are taking is consistent with the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the response to the Covid pandemic, which highlighted the damage that can be done by untimely, untemporary and untargeted spending.”
It was unclear when the support would be rolled out, with Willis saying that would be made clear when it was announced.
Motorists should fuel up as and when they needed to, she said, with the government’s solution set to target income rather than fuel prices.
‘No concerns’ about fuel supply
For now, there were no concerns about fuel supplies in New Zealand, she said.
“To date, all shipments have arrived as scheduled and fuel importers have not raised any concerns about shipments that are due here in future.
“It remains the case that we have to be prepared for the possibility of disruptions in the medium to longer term, particularly because the refineries in Southeast Asia from which we import more than 90 percent of our fuel may have challenges getting the feedstock crude oil that they need.”
Luxon said the country had at least enough fuel for the next seven weeks, although the government was preparing in case of long-term further disruption.
“If you are someone who has just faced a 30 percent increase in your fuel bill or a 60 percent increase in your diesel bill since the actual crisis, since this conflict has commenced, it’s real.
“We cannot do the Covid learnings and mistakes, which was just spray a heap of money around that has short term gain but long term pain – massive long-term pain – and equally we’ve got to find a way to get people support in a temporary, targeted kind of way.
“The reality is that we are not going to be able to alleviate the pressure of rising prices for everyone, but what we’ve been clear about are the parameters for any support that we provide, which is that it must be targeted, it must be timely, and it must be temporary and not drive inflation or debt higher.”
The latest data from Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed stocks for about 47 days of fuel, including about 50 days worth of petrol, 46 days of diesel, and 45 of jet fuel.
The data, accurate to last Wednesday, marks about two days fewer than was reported last week.
One new fuel shipment arrived on Sunday, and two more – carrying between them another 20 days of each kind of fuel – are expected to arrive in the next fortnight.
The next update is due on Wednesday, but the ministry says New Zealand is not yet experiencing the kind of sustained disruption that would justify emergency measures under the national fuel plan.
Luxon said nothing had changed about New Zealand’s position on the Iran conflict, but that Iranians “holding hostage a whole bunch of ships to bring fuel and critical supplies … that’s not acceptable”.
“What we want to see is a quick resolution to this conflict and that means that actually respecting civilians and civilian infrastructure is really important … we think the best thing is de-escalation.”
Willis confirmed some consideration had been given to which industries could be prioritised if fuel rationing was needed, but this would not be revealed until a later date.
“We will not be having to hit the button tomorrow, but we will outline what our proposed phasing of response is … we recognise that it’s useful for people to understand what could be coming under a range of scenarios,” she said.
She noted the high prices would also naturally limit fuel use.
“It is pinching people’s pockets already and that is changing people’s choices. So Auckland transport have reported they had their biggest day of public transport use in seven years, I think that’s people deciding to use their cars a little bit less because it’s pretty expensive right now.”
‘Anzac pact’ in fuel and other standards
Jones outlined the government’s plan to temporarily allow fuel that meets Australian specifications to be supplied to the New Zealand market for up to a year.
Fuel companies had said this could allow them to secure shipments more quickly, and from a wider pool of suppliers.
Jones said long-range vessels typically carried about 120 million litres, and New Zealand consumed about 24 million litres of fuel a day – with about 47 percent of that being diesel, about 35 percent being petrol, and the remainder being aviation fuel.
“Should such a vessel be on its way to Australia then we would have the ability to also benefit from such a vessel.”
He said fuel refined to Australian standards was compatible with New Zealand vehicles, and met safety and quality expectations, pushing back on the suggestion it would allow dirtier fuels than under current standards.
“It’s unkind of us to refer to our Aussie compatriots as dirty,” he said. “There’s two things – whether or not fuel used in a high-temperature northern Australian environment, we are advised that a lot of that fuel is suitable for the North Island … with the South Island the fuel importers assure us that they will have the optionality to service both of those markets.”
He said officials had spoken to Australian counterparts.
“We pushed the idea that at some point in time we should explore and ANZAC pact and I would say to you this is the first step that we’re taking to join forces.
“It’d be fair to say that I’ve got a fair degree of support in our Cabinet to actually move towards permanent harmonisation of not only these standards but a variety of other standards in the economy.”
Willis and the associate ministers of finance would make further improvements, he said.
The government would not follow Australia’s lead in relaxing standards to allow higher-sulphur fuel, he said, at least not yet.
“At this stage it’s not our intention to do so, however, we will take advice should the situation change – and that could be an option that expands our supply.
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Total Group revenue: NZ $13.9 billion, up by NZ $1.3 billion
Operating profit: NZ $1,231 million, up from NZ $1,107 million
Profit after tax: NZ $750 million, up from NZ $729 million
Earnings per share: 45 cents per share, up from 44 cents last year
Normalised earnings per share: 51 cents per share, up from 47 cents last year
Continuing Operations return on capital: 11.2% up from 10.4%
Interim dividend, fully imputed: 24 cents per share
Special Mainland dividend, fully imputed: 16 cents per share
Forecast Farmgate Milk Price range: NZ $9.40 - $10.00 per kgMS, with a midpoint of $9.70 per kgMS
Forecast milk collections: 1,565m kgMS, up 4%
FY26 full year forecast earnings range for continuing operations: 50-65 cents per share.
Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has today released its FY26 interim results, showing continued momentum in its performance with revenue of $13.9 billion in the first half of the financial year.
Fonterra announced an interim dividend of 24 cents per share, fully imputed from continuing operations and confirmed a special Mainland dividend of 16 cents per share, fully imputed, representing 100% of Mainland Group’s FY26 earnings while under Fonterra ownership.
The Co-op has also lifted its forecast Farmgate Milk Price midpoint for the season from $9.50 per kgMS to $9.70 per kgMS, with the range changing from $9.20 – $9.80 per kgMS to $9.40 - $10.00 per kgMS.
Given the strength of these interim results, and our contracted commitments for the second half of the year, we have also adjusted our full year earnings guidance for continuing operations from 45-65 cents per share to 50-65 cents per share.
CEO Miles Hurrell says these changes to the forecast Farmgate Milk Price and earnings reflect improvement in global commodity prices and the Co-op’s strong underlying margins and cost control, but notes that significant volatility remains, particularly as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
“The underlying performance of Fonterra’s continuing business is stable, allowing the Co-op to return all earnings associated with the Mainland Group business and lift our forecasts for the remainder of the year ahead. Demand for our products is strong, and we’re focused on our plan to maximise both the Farmgate Milk Price and earnings,” says Mr Hurrell.
The record date for the two dividend payments will be 30 March, and the payment date will be 14 April. This is also the date Fonterra is targeting for payment of the $2.00 per share capital return from the Mainland Group divestment, based on the transaction completing at the end of March.
Business performance
Total Group reported operating profit increased to $1,231 million from $1,107 million the year prior.
Reported profit after tax is $750 million, equivalent to earnings per share of 45 cents and up on 44 cents last year. When excluding the costs associated with the Consumer divestment, Fonterra’s normalised earnings per share is 51 cents.
The Co-op delivered a Return on Capital of 11.2%, up on this time last year and in line with the target range of 10-12%.
“The first half of the year has been shaped by strong milk flows, with the Co-op collecting record milk volumes in the South Island so far this season. When combined with several adverse weather events, these conditions have put pressure on the operations of all New Zealand milk processors.
“We have been able to navigate through these challenges due to the resilience of our network,” says Mr Hurrell. ”Our performance shows that we are growing the high-value parts of our business through optimal allocation of milk solids across our product mix, which is driving a strong return on capital for shareholders and unit holders.”
Fonterra’s market performance has been strong, with the Ingredients business delivering a return on capital of 11% and Foodservice a return on capital of 12.6%.
These results have been driven by our protein portfolio in the Ingredients channel and improved pricing in Foodservice to successfully recover the lift in butter and cream input costs seen last year.
Mainland Group performance improved during the first half of this year, primarily due to a favourable commodity price cycle.
Progress on strategy
Over the course of FY26, Fonterra has made significant progress on the divestment of its global consumer and associated businesses, Mainland Group, to Lactalis for $4.22 billion. The transaction is unconditional and expected to complete at the end of March 2026.
“Our focus now is firmly on our strategy to grow value for farmers as a global B2B dairy nutrition provider, working closely with customers through our high-performing Ingredients and Foodservice channels.
“The foundation of our Co-op is our New Zealand milk supply. Fonterra has made it easier for new farmer suppliers to join the Co-op and share up over time through changes to our shareholding requirements, with greater flexibility in the level of investment required.
“We are focused on maximising value from farmers’ milk and are building new manufacturing capacity across several New Zealand sites to help meet growing demand for our high-value proteins, butters and creams,” says Mr Hurrell.
Projects underway include:
Studholme – construction of the new advanced protein hub is now complete, with first trial products off the line in February 2026.
Clandeboye - commenced build of our butter plant expansion in January 2026, with product expected off the line in April 2027.
Edendale – construction underway of new UHT cream plant and remains on track for first products to come off the line in late 2026.
Edgecumbe – today announcing a $35 million investment in expanding our pastry butter sheet line, to support continued demand through Foodservice for butter products. Site works began in March 2026, with product off the line expected in April 2027.
In addition, the Co-op’s decarbonisation programme continues across key sites at Whareroa, Edgecumbe, Waitoa, and Edendale to help secure energy supply, reduce emissions, and support future processing growth.
Underpinning our business operations is the Co-op’s Enterprise Resource Planning system1 implementation, which has been deployed successfully at our first three locations. The five-year programme remains on track and on budget and is expected to wrap up in late 2028 with spend peaking across FY26 and FY27.
Outlook
Looking ahead, the conflict in the Middle East is having an impact on our supply chain and has the potential to increase Fonterra’s inventory levels and costs over the course of the second half of the year. There’s also the potential for further volatility in global commodity prices.
“The conflict is a complex and dynamic situation that is changing daily, but we are confident that we’re on the right track to get product to customers.
“Our business is designed to manage volatility. Our scale and strong relationships with customers and logistics provider Kotahi will help us to navigate through these challenges better than most. With this in mind, we remain focused on delivering on our strategic targets,” says Mr Hurrell.
1 An IT and digital transformation project to replace the Co-op’s ERP software, to help future-proof the Co-op’s critical processes and systems and reduce cash costs over time.
About Fonterra
Fonterra is a co-operative owned and supplied by thousands of farming families across Aotearoa New Zealand. Through the spirit of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterra’s farmers and employees share the goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredients brands. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. We are passionate about supporting our communities by Doing Good Together.
The number of electric vehicle (EV) public chargers around New Zealand will more than double thanks to $52.7 million in zero-interest loans from the Government and co-investment from ChargeNet and Meridian, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Energy & Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say.
“Many New Zealanders have thought about getting an EV, even before the fuel challenges we’re currently facing. But research shows that the lack of public chargers is holding many back from making the switch to an EV,” Mr Bishop says.
“The private sector is reluctant to invest in charging infrastructure until there’s sufficient demand, but demand won’t grow until the lack of public chargers stops putting buyers off. Just as the previous National-led Government did with the ultrafast broadband network rollout, we’re taking action to break that deadlock.”
ChargeNet and Meridian Energy were selected through a contestable, value-for-money bid process. Both companies are co-investing a combined $60 million of their own capital alongside the Government loans, taking the total investment to over $110 million.
“Concessionary loans bring forward private investment in public EV charging infrastructure by lowering the cost of capital, while keeping the taxpayer’s contribution to a minimum,” Mr Bishop says.
“In this case, the average loan per charge point is $20,000, but once repayments are factored in, the net cost to the Crown is around $10,000 per charger, roughly a quarter of what a direct grant would cost.
“We’re also changing our planning rules to make the installation of public EV chargers a permitted activity under the RMA, meaning in most cases no consent is required – another factor that will help to speed up delivery.”
The 2,574 new charge points include 1,374 DC fast chargers and 1,200 AC chargers. DC fast chargers deliver power directly to the battery and can charge a car in 20 to 60 minutes, making them suited to highways and destinations where people stop briefly. AC chargers are slower and better suited to places where cars are parked for longer periods, like shopping centres, workplaces, and residential areas.
“About half the new chargers will be spread across Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, the Wellington region, Christchurch, and Dunedin, with the other half throughout the regions, so drivers outside the main centres will benefit too,” Mr Bishop says.
“New Zealand currently has a bit over 1,800 public charge points, which is among the lowest charger-to-EV ratios in the OECD. Another 161 charge points are also in progress. Combined with the investment being announced today, the national total will be around 4,550. The Government is working towards 10,000 charge points by 2030, roughly one for every 40 EVs.”
“Owning an EV in New Zealand already makes strong financial sense. Electricity is cheaper than petrol and almost entirely generated from renewable sources like wind, geothermal, solar, and hydro,” Mr Watts says.
“Kiwis are already making the shift to electric vehicles as a cost-of-living choice, and we have seen uptake grow. In February 2026, EV sales were up 10.5 per cent on the same month last year – and anecdotal evidence suggests even greater interest over the past couple of weeks as conflict in the Middle East has seen fuel prices increase.
“At a time when global fuel markets are volatile, that matters.
“A better charging network means more New Zealanders can take advantage of it, and that’s good for household budgets and our emissions profile alike. EVs produce at least 60 percent fewer lifecycle emissions than petrol vehicles.”
Notes to editor:
Concessionary loans are loans at below-market interest rates (in this case, zero-interest) which incentivise charge point operators to invest in charging infrastructure ahead of demand. The repaid capital can be used for new loans if co-investment is still required or allocated to other initiatives.
The loans are administered by National Infrastructure Funding and Financing (NIFFCo), the successor organisation to Crown Infrastructure Partners (which delivered Ultra-Fast Broadband). EECA will provide assistance as required.
The Government has allocated $66.145m of capital funding for concessionary loans.
The concessionary loans will fund up to 50 percent of project capital costs, have a zero percent interest rate, and a maximum tenure of 13 years. The loans have been awarded through a contestable co-investment bid process.
Applications were assessed against value-for-money criteria to ensure loans are awarded to projects of greatest benefit and that New Zealand’s EV charging network grows at pace.
Consumer monitoring by EECA consistently shows that some of the main perceived disadvantages of EVs include that the driving range is not suitable for long distance travel, and that there are not enough public chargers available. Increasing the availability of public charging infrastructure gives drivers the confidence to switch to an electric vehicle. See EECA’s EV Charging research October 2025 update – EV Charging Research
Three different water bottles, three different health labels.Supplied
Two bottles of sparkling water. One, a Pam’s product has two Health Stars. The other, a Schweppes brand, has 4.5.
It prompted one shopper to email RNZ and ask: What is going on?
Shouldn’t water with the same ingredients have the same rating? And why isn’t water five stars?
Foodstuffs said in this instance, it was a labelling problem.
“The rules changed in 2020 and plain water is now automatically given a five-star rating, while unsweetened sparkling water gets 4.5,” a spokesperson said.
“We can see why this looks confusing at first glance. Health Star Ratings follow a standard approach across New Zealand and Australia. Most products are calculated, but some, like plain water and unsweetened flavoured water, including sparkling, are automatically given high ratings.
“In this case, the rating on our Pam’s sparkling water is out of date following a 2020 update to the rating system. The product hasn’t changed, but the label hasn’t caught up.
“That’s on us, and we’re fixing it, so customers have clear and consistent information.”
But experts say the water situation highlights some of the confusion that still persists about the scheme.
Health Star ratings are set using a standard system that considers the balance of energy, saturated fat, sugar and sodium, offset against protein and fibre. Points are also awarded for fruit, vegetable, nut and legume content.
Consumer NZ senior research writer Belinda Castles said Foodstuffs was quite late in updating its water rating.
But she said, generally, products were displaying the star rating that the calculator suggested they should.
She said the main issue with the scheme was that it was voluntary. “Only 36 percent of the products that it’s intended for have the rating so that’s not particularly helpful.
“Consumers need to be able to look at the food supply as a whole because the consensus is the Health Star rating is useful. We don’t have time to be looking at all the nutrition information panels on the back.”
She said there was concern that some companies were cherry picking their healthier products to have the star.
“They’re going ‘ok we’ve got this five-star product we’ll put the rating on our fours and fives but we’ll leave it off the ones and twos’.”
She said people should also only use it to compare similar products. “The calculator has slightly different calculations depending on what the product is. Like if it it’s a cooking oil, for example versus a dairy product versus a cereal… use it to pick a healthier cereal, don’t use it to pick a cooking oil versus a cereal.”
She said the intended target was for 70 percent of products to have a rating at the end of last year and it was only halfway there.
But Rob Hamlin, from the University of Otago marketing department, said the regime was ineffective when it came to driving consumer choice.
“This disconnect between our legislative powerhouses with regards to nutritional labels and reality has led to some very unfortunate outcomes.
“The Heart Foundation tick is what’s known as a binary cue… It was an image that communicated by being there or not being there… we do know the Heart Foundation tick was effective because it was much more similar to the pictorial nominal cues that the food industry used to effectively communicate with consumers.”
The Heart Foundation tick was discontinued in 2016.
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Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ)
20 March 2026 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) is expanding its communications approach for the 8 April Monetary Policy Review.
This approach aligns with the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) commitment to greater transparency. Future Monetary Policy Reviews will also follow this revised format. We will review and adapt this format over time in response to stakeholder feedback.
The RBNZ’s quarterly Monetary Policy Statement, which includes updated economic forecasts, an Official Cash Rate projection and more detailed forecasts will continue as normal. Monetary Policy Statement releases will also continue to be followed by in-person media conferences. The next quarterly Monetary Policy Statement is scheduled for release on 27 May.
Change of focus for Business NZ speech On Tuesday 24 March, Governor Breman is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech to Business NZ’s CEO Forum in Auckland. The RBNZ previously advised that the speech would touch on the current economic outlook, drawing on insights from the February Monetary Policy Statement, and outline how the Reserve Bank is working to modernise New Zealand’s payments system.
Due to the wider economic impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, this speech will now focus on the potential impacts of this evolving situation on the New Zealand economy.
The speech will be published on the RBNZ website at 9am on Tuesday 24 March ahead of two planned external engagement events with Governor Breman that morning. The first engagement is with external economists and analysts, and the second is with Auckland media representatives. The Business NZ CEO Forum event that Governor Breman is speaking at will commence from 2pm. The RBNZ is releasing the speech earlier in the day to ensure that all stakeholders have equitable access to information.
A speech outlining how the Reserve Bank is working to modernise New Zealand’s payments system will be delivered at a later date.
This speech will not pre-empt the MPC’s April Monetary Policy Review decision. The global environment, and other salient factors, will be discussed in full by the MPC when it meets ahead of its April decision.
How TVB’s ACN is shaping the creator economy by empowering brands to leverage premium talent-turned-creators for authentic, multi-platform storytelling
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 19 March 2026 — As the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) matures, cross-media platforms must innovate at pace to meet the demand for forward-looking marketing solutions. Today, at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) flagship events, MarketingPulse and eTailingPulse, themed “Generate New Growth,” industry leaders gathered to explore the frontiers of agentic AI, phygital commerce, and the evolution of content creation.
The sharing session titled “Beyond Broadcast, Beyond Borders: The Social Appeal and Commercial Value of TVB Artiste-Creators” was moderated by Mr. Kevin SHUI, Chief Marketing Officer of Starry (1st left), and featured in-depth exchanges with Ms. Alexandra LO, CEO of TaRa Innovation Limited & TaRa Bloom (HK & Asia), and Assistant Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School (1st right); popular TVB artistes Bowie CHEUNG (2nd left), and Tony HUNG (2nd right).
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), a world renowned cross-media platform, marked the occasion by introducing the TVB Artiste-Creator Network (ACN). This strategic initiative integrates TVB’s robust marketing ecosystem with its extensive roster of talent to offer a digital-first, influence-driven solution for modern brands.
Mr. SIU Sai Wo, General Manager (Business Operations) of TVB, stated, “With the largest talent pool of artistes in Hong Kong and an unparalleled, loyal audience, TVB remains at the forefront of influence. In this new AI-driven landscape, we are capitalizing on the inherent credibility our artistes have built on the TV screen and extending it across digital and social ecosystems through the Artiste-Creator Network.
This represents more than a new career trajectory for our talent; it is a sophisticated, integrated marketing engine. By precisely matching brands with the right creators, we provide seamless coverage across every consumer touchpoint—from primetime television to personal mobile screens—enabling brands to scale effectively within the Greater Bay Area and beyond.”
Industry Leaders and Artiste-Creators Convene to Explore the Path to Brand Conversion
At MarketingPulse 2026, TVB hosted a high-level sharing session titled “Beyond Broadcast, Beyond Borders: The Social Appeal and Commercial Value of TVB Artiste-Creators.” Addressing an audience of marketing industry leaders, the session was moderated by Mr. Kevin SHUI, Chief Marketing Officer of Starry and a digital marketing veteran with over 20 years of Asia-Pacific expertise.
The panel featured Ms. Alexandra LO—former Head of Digital at Nestlé HK, current CEO of TaRa Innovation Limited, and Assistant Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School—alongside popular TVB artistes Bowie CHEUNG and Tony HUNG. Together, they explored the strategic cultivation of “cross-platform hybrid content creators,” focusing on how to extend an artiste’s broadcast authority into a powerful, multi-channel digital influence.
Bowie CHEUNG and Tony HUNG shared their first-hand insights on navigating dual identities as traditional artistes and digital creators, highlighting how they engage diverse regional audiences.
Bowie CHEUNG remarked, “Television provided the foundation of recognition and credibility, but social media allows me to layer in my authentic self—sharing my genuine interests, lifestyle, and personal style. This creates a unique point of resonance for fans across different regions, transforming the ‘out-of-reach’ celebrity persona into a relatable, trusted figure who bridges the distance between the screen and the audience.”
Tony HUNG added, “After years as a TVB artiste and a digital creator, I’ve found these two identities to be deeply complementary. By merging the massive reach of broadcast media with the interactivities of social media, brand collaborations can achieve a broader, more multi-layered reach that speaks to consumers at every level of the engagement funnel.”
Strategic Partnership with Starry: AI-Powered Precision in Talent Matching
In a move to further modernize its commercial offering, TVB announced a strategic collaboration with Starry, a leading KOL marketing platform. By integrating Starry’s proprietary AI-driven engine, TVB now provides brand partners with data-backed, high-precision matching for its Artiste-Creator Network (ACN).
Mr. Kevin SHUI, Chief Marketing Officer of Starry, explained, “Traditional platforms often rely on static, pre-set criteria that fail to capture the nuances of influence. Our AI-powered system makes intelligent, real-time adjustments based on the specific DNA of each brand. By analyzing a comprehensive data set—including an artiste’s personality, specialized talents, content sentiment, and social media performance, alongside their broader media reputation—we ensure a seamless, high-conversion match from within TVB’s extensive talent ecosystem.”
Expert Insight: The Irreplaceable Value of Broadcast Trust
Ms. Alexandra LO, CEO of TaRa Innovation Limited & TaRa Bloom (HK & Asia), and Assistant Adjunct Professor at HKU Business School, shared her strategic perspective on the criteria for selecting high-impact KOLs. Ms. LO observed, “In the current marketing landscape, brands have moved beyond simply chasing follower counts. Today’s priorities are engagement quality, brand compatibility, and cross-platform influence. KOL partnerships now allow brand messaging to become truly multi-dimensional through authentic interactions.
TVB artiste-creators hold a significant advantage across all these metrics. The deep-seated trust they have built with the general public through the television screen translates directly into higher brand affinity and business conversion rates, making them a premium commercial asset that is exceptionally difficult to replicate.”
TVB ACN – A Stellar Lineup of Artiste-Creators, The Catalyst for Business Success
A prominent delegation of TVB’s popular artiste-creators attended the event in person, including Judy KWONG, Niklas LAM, Hilary CHONG, Ellyn NGAI, Andrew CHAN, Lucy LI, Karen WU, Derek WONG, Kris LAM, and Arthur SY. The ACN signifies a strategic evolution for TVB’s talent—spanning actors, singers, and performers—who now leverage their massive public recognition to ensure brand communications carry an elite level of credibility. By bridging their established television profiles with deep social media engagement, these creators drive higher-quality digital discourse and superior conversion rates for brand partners.
At this year’s MarketingPulse exhibition, TVB showcased its innovative e-commerce and marketing technologies, demonstrating a seamless transition from Television Primetime to Personal Screen Time. This one-stop content solution, powered by unparalleled star power and advanced matching technology, empowers clients to seize new growth opportunities and achieve sustainable business success.
Hashtag: #TVB #Artiste-Creator #MarketingPulse
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster spoke on Tuesday 17 March at Takina in Wellington
It’s great to be here today to:
share some observations, from my perspective as Privacy Commissioner, about the place of cyber security in the minds of decision-makers, organisations, and the everyday person in the street, and
talk about the linkages between privacy, stewardship of personal information, and cyber security.
But, before I get into that – a pop quiz …
Who said, less than a month ago, “It’s a reason why I have been advocating very strongly that we need to strengthen our cyber security laws here in NZ and also make sure that we are not laid back … I think in 2026 sometimes our New Zealand business environment has been way too laid back, and not taking the risks and the threats seriously enough.”
Yes, that was Prime Minister Chris Luxon.
And who said, again less than a month ago, “digital threats are growing and New Zealand must strengthen its defences … Every New Zealander who provides data to a government agency, or to a company contracted by one, is entitled to the same standard of care. When that data is breached, it is a violation of trust … We could improve incentives for entities holding New Zealanders’ data. We could increase penalties for hackers and scammers. We should also question whether it is even reasonable to demand New Zealanders provide sensitive information or digital identification for everyday activities.”
Yes, that was Deputy Prime Minister, David Seymour.
Now, like a lot of organisations, at my work we subscribe to a media alerts service, for media and other stories about privacy and related matters – including cyber. I arrived at work a week ago, the morning email from the service had just popped into my in-box … no privacy breach stories this time … but every story was a cyber one … every story!
It seems that the public policy and media spotlights have swung their beams of light on to you.
You have to wonder, given this sort of political, public, and media interest, if we are on the cusp of cyber security leaving the wings, and coming to centre stage.
The question is, are we ready – and if we are, what are we going to do next?
Surveys and attitudes to cyber security
It’s always instructive to take ourselves out of our busy day to day context, and see how other organisations, and even other countries, are seeing cyber-security, and cyber threats.
Each year the Institute of Directors conducts a Directors’ Sentiment Survey and publishes the results with some commentary.
In the 2025 report, the IoD noted, and I quote, that:
“Technology epitomises this shift from curiosity to commitment. Six in ten boards are now working with management on how AI and automation can lift productivity – the second-highest result since records began. Digital oversight has re-entered the mainstream, no longer the preserve of tech committees or early adopters. But the enthusiasm is tempered by uneven assurance: cyber vigilance has plateaued, with the proportion of boards discussing risk or receiving breach reporting barely moving in three years. In effect, boards are accelerating innovation without upgrading the brakes.”
While 57.2% of directors said their board discusses cyber risks, this figure has softened slightly from 2024, which was 62.2%.
Likewise, 55.2% of boards report receiving comprehensive data breach or cyber-risk reporting, largely unchanged for three years after a sharp rise in 2023.
Privacy and data protection show similar stagnation; 57.2% of directors said their board regularly reviews privacy risks, a figure largely unchanged from 2024.
Internet NZ’s recent survey results show New Zealanders continue to have concerns in the data space.
65% of those surveyed were extremely concerned or very concerned about the security of personal data.
Kordia have just released their 2026 NZ Business Cyber Security Report.
Some key take outs from that:
44% of large businesses were subjected to a cyber attack or incident in the past 12 months
17% of cyber incidents resulted in personal information being accessed or stolen
61% of businesses impacted by a cyber incident suffered a serious business disruption
30% of businesses surveyed said they lacked confidence that they could recover from a major cyber-attack.
25% said they had no cyber security awareness or training programme for their employees, and
Around half had not practiced their incident response plans.
That’s not a brilliant picture.
Hence, the International Telecommunication Union’s global cybersecurity index last year ranked New Zealand in the third of five tiers, as an ‘establishing’ nation along side the likes of Kiribati and Myanmar.
The heightened cyber security risk environment has seen countries like Australia and Singapore among others, implement new cyber security legislation.
New regulatory frameworks are also increasingly being backed up with tools and manuals to support businesses to aim for and stay on the right side of the regulatory line.
And that is something the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner is also focused on.
Privacy and cyber security
It’s clear that there are many linkages between privacy and cyber security – and I want to begin by acknowledging that while my focus is on the stewardship of personal information, those working in cyber security are concerned about keeping all information – personal, financial, commercial, legal, marketing, the list goes on – safe and secure from harm.
Some of you here today will of course be working in or managing the IT/IS/cyber teams in organisations, ensuring systems are hardened against cyber-attack, and that your work colleagues engage in cyber smart practices.
Some of you will be advisors, providing organisations with advice on the latest developments in cyber threats and defences.
Some of you will be involved in research and development, seeking to get ahead of the cyber criminals and threat actors in the never-ending cyber war we all seem to be engaged in these days.
And some – like my Office – are focused on the risks to personal information.
My focus is making privacy a core focus for your agencies – in order to protect New Zealanders from harm, to enable organisations to achieve their own objectives, and to safeguard our free and democratic society.
And when things go wrong – when there’s a serious privacy breach which might see personal information exfiltrated, or deliberately corrupted – we ask questions about what happened and why, and – if it’s needed – we can hold agencies to account.
Security of information and IT infrastructure is a critical component of a robust privacy programme.
Both security and privacy staff must work together to identify external and internal risks, and to ensure that security is prioritised and resourced accordingly.
The Privacy Act 2020 is built around 13 privacy principles that govern how agencies (organisations and businesses) can collect, store, use and share personal information.
The Privacy Act makes sure that:
you know when your information is being collected
your information is used and shared appropriately
your information is kept safe and secure
you can get access to your information.
As many of you will know, Principle 5 is concerned with storage and security of information.
It states that organisations must ensure there are safeguards in place, that are reasonable in the circumstances, to prevent loss, misuse or disclosure of personal information.
There are a number of different aspects to consider, including physical security, electronic security, operational security, security during transmission and during destruction.
What steps are appropriate will depend entirely on the circumstances, including:
How sensitive is the personal information involved?
What are you using the personal information for?
What security measures are available, and how will using these measures impact on your agency’s functions?
What might the consequences be for the individual if the information is not kept secure?
I thought you might be interested to get a sense of the state of play with privacy breaches in New Zealand.
So, this morning, I have the latest breaking stats and news for you.
In the most recent quarter, 61% of serious privacy breaches were due to intentional or malicious activity, and 36% were due to human error … the days of most breaches being due to an email whoopsie seem to be long gone.
For the reporting year to date, 21% were unauthorised access breaches (including ransomware), and 28% were unauthorised sharing or employee browsing.
Employee browsing
Can I take the opportunity to touch on an increasingly serious privacy risk: that is, employee browsing.
The greatest threat to your workplace information security could be sitting in the office next to you at work.
Employee browsing or the unauthorised access and misuse of personal information is becoming one of the most common privacy breaches.
NZ is a small place, and there’s a good chance a familiar name will crop up in a database or on a file at work, and it can prove very tempting for some to have a look.
In some circumstances employees look up information and then pass it on for the explicit purpose of causing harm of some sort.
If your business or organisation holds sensitive personal information that your customers or clients would really, really not want to be revealed to someone else, like a violent former partner, or revealed to the public if someone happens to be a bit of a celebrity – then your organisation’s employees will, one day, come under pressure from others to access and hand over that information.
Attempts will be made to coerce, bribe, blackmail or threaten employees to access and misuse the personal information the organisation holds.
So, my question for you is, has your organisation invested in the systems, regular database audit checks, employee induction processes, and so on, to deter and, if it happens, identify unauthorised access and misuse of personal information?
Of course, my Office doesn’t always want to occupy the space of the privacy “ambulance at the bottom of the cliff”; increasingly, our focus is on working with people like you to “build the fence at the top”.
As I think I mentioned at last year’s conference, Poupou Matatapu is guidance on our website to help New Zealand agencies do privacy well – you can find it at privacy.org.nz.
It sets our expectations about what good privacy practice looks like and then helps organisations toward achieving that.
One of the components of this guidance focuses on security and internal access controls.
The obligation to keep information safe and secure applies to information that is held by the organisation (for example, in on-premises servers) and information that is held on the organisation’s behalf by a service provider (for example, a cloud-based data storage provider).
Remember, organisations are liable under the Privacy Act for the personal information stored and processed on their behalf.
The most effective strategy is having a well-thought-out security plan for all personal information you hold.
At a high level, this component of Poupou Matatapu describes key security controls across three areas – physical, technical, and organisational.
These controls are not exhaustive and are continually evolving.
Organisations need to ensure that they update their knowledge on security risks, including seeking advice from external experts where necessary, and implement all reasonable security safeguards in a timely way.
I don’t need to tell this audience that there’s a world of cyber security guidance and standards out there.
Providing security and IT advice is not a core function of my Office, so, in our guidance, we have provided links to advice and resources from other authoritative sources, such as NCSC, and others.
But, of course, like you, I have seen commentary around how to assess whether an organisation had reasonable security safeguards in place at the time of a security or privacy incident.
Reasonable security safeguards are those that are proportionate to an organisation’s role, scale, and risk exposure.
They reflect recognised national expectations at the time the safeguards were implemented and operating prior to the breach.
This approach does not require best-in-class or exhaustive controls, instead focusing on intent, decision-making, and proportionality.
It anchors reasonableness in nationally recognised frameworks, uses well-understood national standards like the NCSC Minimum Cyber Security Standards as a defensible baseline, and applies sectoral-specific standards – such as those applying to the health sector – as contextual overlays.
This approach provides a clear basis for determining whether reasonable security safeguards were in place at a given point in time.
The other day I was reminded of a comment from Misti Landtroop, the NZ country manager for cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks.
She said that many cyber breaches were preventable, with things like security culture, level of knowledge, and willingness to invest, all factors that left organisations vulnerable to cyber-attack. Organisations also make mistakes because they either don’t understand the value of privacy, or don’t care.
Sometimes privacy is as easy as just ensuring your IT systems are up to scratch and making sure you’ve thought about access, have got the permissions set correctly, and have tested them.
For example, a while back the UK Information Commissioner issued a 4.4million pound fine to a company which, in the Commissioner’s view, failed to follow up on the original alert about some suspicious activity, used outdated software systems and protocols, and had a lack of adequate staff training and insufficient risk assessments – all of which ultimately left them vulnerable to a cyber-attack.
The Commissioner commented at the time: “The biggest cyber risk businesses face is not from hackers outside of their company, but from complacency within their company. If your business doesn’t regularly monitor for suspicious activity in its systems, and fails to act on warnings, or doesn’t update software, and fails to provide training to staff, you can expect a similar fine from my Office.”
From my perspective, and reflecting on all this commentary, since taking up my role I have made it clear that agencies need to keep front of mind that, in the case of a cyber security incident resulting in a data privacy breach, one of the first questions I will ask is “has the agency undertaken all reasonable security safeguards” to protect the personal information under their care.
Health sector
Turning to the cyber elephant in the room, recent events in NZ would suggest that one sector which is well and truly facing some cyber security challenges, is the health sector.
Just a reminder: on 22 February, MediMap — a private portal used by aged-care homes, hospices, disability services and community health providers to coordinate prescriptions and record medication histories — was taken offline after it was discovered that some patient records had been tampered with by an unauthorized actor.
MediMap’s early investigations identified changes to fields including names, birthdates, assigned prescriber, and location of care and resident status, with some living patients incorrectly marked as “deceased.”
This event was unsettling not only because of the direct impact on individuals and clinical operations, but also because it followed another high-profile breach —the Manage My Health breach in late 2025, which involved the exfiltration of hundreds of thousands of medical documents.
One of New Zealand’s leading privacy commentators, Daimhin Warner, commented at the time:
“Taken together, these events suggest a broader pattern of cyber risk in health tech that goes beyond isolated vendor errors.”
“Several key themes are starting to emerge. First is the need for clarity of expectations. What baseline technical and organizational safeguards should be required for systems handling highly sensitive health information? Mandatory controls — for example, multifactor authentication, encryption at rest and in transit, regular independent security audits and incident response obligations — could help raise the floor of protection.”
“Second is making sure the health sector understands who is really accountable for ensuring these baseline safeguards are in place. It is alarmingly clear from these recent breaches that many organizations in the health sector do not fully understand their accountabilities and responsibilities.”
Daimhin Warner notes that the recent publication of the National Cyber Security Strategy has occurred at a time when some of the government agencies tasked with cyber security are making it clear that New Zealand has a long way to go before we can say our standards and approach meet international good practice.
And by the same token, then, we have a long way to go before we can assure New Zealanders, whoever they are … customers, clients, citizens … that their privacy is being protected and respected.
GCSB Director-General Andrew Clark said recently that “unfortunately, there are … pockets, including in our critical infrastructure, where cybersecurity is barely meeting that foundational level that we would expect.”
AI
And of course, AI is only making the challenge facing the cyber security industry even harder.
Reports show increasingly that AI agents are supercharging cyber-attacks by industrialising the scale of them.
In the Internet NZ survey I referred to earlier, 59% of those surveyed were very or extremely concerned about the use of AI to violate privacy.
And the Kordia survey found that a quarter of medium to large businesses now rank staff misuse of AI among their biggest cyber challenges, and that attacks involving AI-related vulnerabilities have more than doubled year on year.
Director-General Clark also noted that while smaller organisations might not meet the critical infrastructure description, many still hold a lot of sensitive personal information that needs protection.
So, no matter the sector, and no matter the size, there are questions we all need to be asking, and expectations that need to be met, in today’s increasingly super-charged threat environment:
From where I sit, those expectations include:
Security controls are specific to the type and sensitivity of information held across the organisation, rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Regular auditing of systems is undertaken to ensure appropriate access.
An organisation follows industry guidelines and security standards relevant to its business context.
There is a remediation plan for managing and/or replacing legacy systems (where necessary).
Identified risks are proactively managed – for example, by incorporating them into the organisation’s risk and assurance reporting processes to ensure visibility, and Organisational controls – policies, procedures, and decisions – are regularly reviewed and fit for purpose.
Conclusion
People of cyber … at this time in New Zealand’s history you face your greatest challenge, and your greatest opportunity.
The latestBusinessNZ Planning Forecastshows that while the economic outlook largely depends on how the conflict in Iran evolves, current forecasts still point to encouraging growth through to March 2028.
Chief Economist John Pask says even as we navigate stormy seas internationally, there are reasons to remain optimistic at home.
“Our construction sector is showing signs of recovery, with increased consenting activity and a strong infrastructure pipeline, as has been outlined by the Infrastructure Commission.
“Tourism has rebounded too, and international visitor numbers are back to pre-covid levels, aided in part by a lower NZ dollar.
“On the agricultural front, Fonterra’s sale of several consumer brands for around $4 billion is expected to boost incomes and support rural communities. On the downside, input costs, including fertiliser, are likely to rise significantly if the conflict continues.
Pask says this latest Planning Forecast comes with a special note, due to a developing geopolitical situation.
“Given the fluid international economic situation at present, forecasts on economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, and unemployment, should be seen for what they are – the best available information to date. These forecasts will likely be subject to significant change as both the global and domestic scene continues to evolve over coming weeks.”
The BusinessNZ Economic Conditions Index (ECI) is a measure of some of NZ’s key economic indicators. It sits at 18 for the March 2026 quarter, down 6 on the previous quarter, and up 13 on a year ago. An ECI reading above 0 indicates that economic conditions are generally improving overall; below 0 means economic conditions are generally declining.
The latest BusinessNZ Planning forecast is available now on theBusinessNZ website.
The BusinessNZ Network including BusinessNZ, EMA, Business Central and Business South, represents and provides services to thousands of businesses, small and large, throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand will release oil tickets to fulfil its commitment to the International Energy Agency’s collective action in response to the oil supply issues created by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
New Zealand’s contribution under the action, announced last week by the International Energy Agency (IEA), is 1.577 million barrels of crude oil or the equivalent.
“New Zealand holds oil tickets, which are options to purchase different types of oil or refined fuel. We will release some of the tickets we hold to the global market,” Associate Energy Minister Shane Jones says.
“Under the action, IEA members have agreed to release 400 million barrels of crude oil or equivalent to global markets. This is significantly greater in volume than the collective action taken in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.
“This will add much-needed supply globally, helping reduce pressure on global refineries which ordinarily access oil from the Middle East. The action should help to calm global markets,” Mr Jones says.
IEA members met at 1am (NZT) today to share their respective plans for responding to the collective action.
“It’s important to note that the tickets we are releasing are for crude oil or fuel we cannot use in our own domestic system. While this is an important contribution to the global situation, the release has minimal impact on New Zealand’s domestic fuel security position,” Mr Jones says.
Editors’ note
Oil tickets are contracts that give the Government the option to purchase different types of fuel. New Zealand is not releasing physical supply to the market.
The purchase options New Zealand will release are for crude oil and a form of fuel incompatible with New Zealand specifications.
SHANGHAI / HONG KONG – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – HealthMutual Group (HMG) and SinoUnited Health (SUH) today signed a collaboration agreement to establish a comprehensive cross-border medical service framework. This partnership is designed to meet the clients’ growing demand for high-quality medical services in China.
Under this agreement, SinoUnited Health will serve as HMG’s anchor hospital and primary healthcare hub in Shanghai. The partnership establishes a standardized framework for cross-border care, focusing on clinical excellence and financial predictability. HMG members will gain access to SinoUnited Health’s elite specialist network across Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, supported by fully transparent fee structures.
The collaboration is backed by HMG’s significant operational scale. Currently ranking within the top three in the industry for total new business premium, HMG supports its insurance partners in serving over 700,000 clients. With HK$150 million in medical expenses processed to date, HMG’s network connects 700 specialists and 13 private hospitals in Hong Kong with over 2,000 hospitals across Mainland China.
“The demand for cross-border medical services is increasing rapidly,” said Mr. KC Chan, Founder of HealthMutual Group. “Partnering with SinoUnited Health is a natural expansion of our robust GBA network. SUH’s reputation for excellence ensures that our vision—maintaining medical insurance as a sustainable funding source for quality care—now extends firmly into the Shanghai region.”
Sharon Cheng, Vice President of Business Development, SinoUnited Health added: “This collaboration aligns perfectly with our ‘patient-first’ philosophy. By combining HMG’s massive regional reach with our world-class medical care, we are creating a seamless ‘home-away-from-home’ experience for patients. We are proud to serve as the Shanghai gateway for HMG’s 700,000+ policyholders, offering them professional integrity and access to the latest medical technologies.”
To ensure long-term service quality, the two groups will conduct quarterly professional exchanges and site inspections, allowing Hong Kong insurance partners to directly interface with SUH’s international medical teams and advanced clinical facilities.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – On the opening day of Hong Kong FILMART, global leading game enterprise, MOONTON Games, hosted a film-game intellectual property (IP) launch conference under the theme From Spark to Spotlight, officially announcing its cross-border upgrade from the game industry to full ecological incubation of film-game IPs. At the event, MOONTON Games unveiled three flagship original IPs—You Ming Zhi, Cetus, and Project: Lovania—spanning Eastern fantasy, sci-fi adventure, and cozy genres, with diversified formats including feature films, animated series, and video games. An industry forum was held to explore the new-era development of film-game integration.
Distinguished guests attended the conference, including Cloud Zhang, Head of ByteDance’s Game Business and CEO of MOONTON Games; Yaguang Ma, also known as Link Ma, Head of MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio; renowned screenwriter Ran Ping; celebrated author Jiang Nan; acclaimed animation director Shen Youbafang; Wang Shanshan (Film and Television Director of Science Fiction World); as well as leaders from the National Radio and Television Administration; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; numerous media representatives; and industry peers.
Founded in 2014, MOONTON Games has crafted a portfolio of classic game IPs loved by gamers worldwide. Its debut at Hong Kong FILMART marks the launch of MOONTON Games’ global incubation journey for premium IPs with a brand-new vision, completing a cross-dimensional creative leap from a digital game kingdom to a cinematic light and shadow realm, and empowering Chinese culture-rooted original content to shine on the international stage. MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio, the core vehicle for its film-game IP development, made its official debut at the conference, and its unwavering commitment to long-termist creative philosophy has become the cornerstone of Moonton’s film-game integration layout. The three distinctive original IPs form MOONTON Games’ first film-game IP matrix; all anchored in high-quality content, they pose profound emotional inquiries around What it means to be human, what it means to live, with unique themes and expressive formats.
You Ming Zhi: Rooted in Chinese Folk Customs, Forging a Benchmark for Eastern Fantasy Theatrical Animated Films
As MOONTON Games’ maiden cross-border film and television project, the Eastern fantasy IP You Ming Zhi—deeply rooted in Chinese folk culture—officially kicked off at the conference. The IP builds a distinctive worldview where the world is governed by animal Spirits of Light, and humans embark on a quest to uncover their own history and the meaning of survival. Breaking free from the clichés of traditional immortal and chivalric fantasy, it returns to a narrative core rooted in mortal life and journey experiences. The growth story of protagonist Zhou Chu mirrors the self-discovery and identity exploration of contemporary young people, embodying both profound Chinese cultural heritage and universal emotional resonance.
The IP’s first concept short film made a stunning debut at the conference. Wanzhou Yu, the IP producer, shared that creative inspiration stemmed from personal emotional resonance, aiming to create a humanistic Eastern fantasy work where the protagonist achieves inner growth through witnessing rather than conquering. Cloud stated that this IP was chosen as the starting point of MOONTON Games’ cross-border endeavor for its compelling narrative rooted in Chinese folk customs that transcends media boundaries; it reflectsand MOONTON Games’ aspirations to set an aesthetic and narrative benchmark for it with the ceremonial essence of film. Yaguang Ma highlighted the IP’s pure creative team, original worldview and systematic aesthetic system, believing it to be an IP seed with sustainable growth potential for a decade. A landmark announcement was made: national first-class screenwriter Ran Ping officially joined the project as the animated film’s screenwriter. Ran Ping noted that the IP’s allure lies in exploring profound propositions of civilization, loneliness and coexistence through a fantasy lens, integrating the traditional heritage of ancient supernatural tales with modern narrative consciousness, and a great fantasy work ultimately reflects reality. The MOONTON Games team presented Ran Ping with a framed original art poster of the IP, marking his official joining in a highly ceremonial way.
Cetus: Debut of a Dieselpunk Sci-Fi IP, Launching a Global Co-creation Plan
Following You Ming Zhi, MOONTON Games released the high-concept sci-fi IP Cetus, with the first concept short film of its dieselpunk post-apocalyptic adventure animated series also unveiled at the event. The IP constructs a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in a sea of clouds, where humans have built a unique civilization based on whaling in an isolated island setting, and cling to hope and resolve amid ruins and steel.
Cetus boasts celebrated author, Jiang Nan, as co-creator and acclaimed sci-fi animation director, Shen Youbafang, as director—two core creative forces with profound expertise in building grand worldviews and crafting sci-fi animations. Yaguang Ma commented that Jiang Nan has endowed Cetus with a profound textual foundation and epic grandeur, while Shen Youbafang masterfully captures and presents the distinctive texture of this sea of clouds world to audiences. Jiang Nan explained that the core of Cetus is to depict the essence of humanity in desperate situations: even if only one tower remains in the world, there will still be stories, warmth, and dignity. Shen Youbafang frankly shared that the challenge and joy of creation both lie in building a dieselpunk visual system that blends industrial ruggedness with the warmth of life, making every gear and rust mark an integral part of the narrative. Moonton also announced the official launch of the Cetus Global Co-creation Plan at the conference, opening up the IP’s worldview setting to global sci-fi writers, illustrators, animators and game designers, and inviting creators worldwide to jointly build this magnificent sea of clouds universe. The plan is jointly promoted by MOONTON Games and Science Fiction World, the benchmark platform for Chinese sci-fi literature. Cloud, Wang Shanshan and three other distinguished guests launched the plan with a jigsaw puzzle ceremony, marking Cetus as the first Chinese dieselpunk sci-fi IP nurtured by global creators.
Project: Lovania: A Cozy Game Surprise Debuts, Creating a Spiritual Haven
As a delightful surprise at the conference, MOONTON Games launched the original cozy game, Project: Lovania, whose promotional short film brought a warm and heartfelt experience to the audience. The game builds a fairy-tale wonderland named the Hometown Never Forgotten, where players take on the role of a little puppet and embark on a magical adventure following a long-eared star. In the game, players can build exclusive homes, customize their avatars, and pursue the starlight and the moon hidden in fascinating stories. In an era driven by efficiency, Project: Lovaniacenters on the core of healing, serving as a warm emotional complement to MOONTON Games’ IP matrix and adding greater diversity to the company’s film-game IP layout.
For The Future: MOONTON Games Releases the Core Strategy for Film-Game Integration
At the conference, MOONTON Games showcased the creative aspirations and team spirit of Lighthouse Studio through a corporate short film, with original aspiration and unwavering faith as the studio’s core tenets. On behalf of the studio, Yaguang Ma released MOONTON Games’ core strategy for film-game integration, stating that the establishment of Lighthouse Studio stems from MOONTON Games’s persistent commitment to long-termist content creation. The studio rejects rushed content production, focuses on returning to the essence of creation itself, and builds a tailored creative ecosystem for the sustainable growth of premium IPs.
MOONTON Games’ film-game integration layout is not a simple cross-media expansion, but is centered on building a living, evolving world. Each IP is enabled to naturally evolve into diverse formats including games, films and animations, based on a complete worldview and a profound emotional core. Cloud emphasized that MOONTON Games has always believed that a good story transcends media and time, and the core of film-game integration is to take high-quality original content as the foundation, allowing IPs to realize value amplification and enduring vitality across different media. The three IPs released at the event represent the first implementation of this core strategy, and Moonton will continue to deepen its focus on original content creation, fueling the incubation and growth of more film-game IPs in the future.
Industry Elites Gather at the Forum to Explore the Key to Success for the Future of Film-Game Integration
After the IP release session, MOONTON Games hosted an industry forum themed What is the Decisive Factor for the Future of IP-Based Film-Game Integration, moderated by Li Xingwen, a famous cultural critic and Chief Editor of Film and Television Critic. Cloud, Ran Ping, Jiang Nan, and Huang Haibo, Director of Phoenix TV Movie Channel, engaged in an in-depth discussion from diverse professional perspectives.
The forum delved into core topics including the key factors for translating film-game integration concepts into practical execution, the essential traits of IPs with sustainable cross-media vitality, the creative differences between animation and traditional film and television production, the creative adaptation of literary IPs for film and game cross-border development, the new forces urgently needed in the film and television industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges for game enterprises venturing into the film and television sector. Combining their rich practical experience and insightful industry observations, the guests offered multi-dimensional insights and ideas for the industrial development of film-game integration, helping the on-site audience gain a clearer and more in-depth understanding of its future development trends.
MOONTON Games’ film-game IP launch conference at Hong Kong FILMART marks the official launch of the company’s global film-game IP layout, emerging as a pivotal practice for game enterprises in cross-border film-game integration. From deepening its roots in the game industry to incubating film-game IPs, MOONTON Games takes these three original IPs as its starting point, integrating the essence of Chinese culture with modern creative expression. With its long-termist creative philosophy and open co-creation operation model, Moonton sets a new paradigm for the development of the global film-game integration industry. As the conference theme From Spark to Spotlight implies, this launch is not the end of MOONTON Games’ cross-border film and game journey, but the beginning of a new chapter. In the future, Moonton’s Lighthouse Studio will continue to polish high-quality original content, drive the in-depth integration and global development of film-game IPs, and let Chinese original film-game IPs shine brightly on the world stage.
Hashtag: #MOONTONGames
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TrendAI to support NVIDIA OpenShell open source runtime to add security for autonomous AI agents
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – TrendAI , the enterprise AI security leader, today announced expanded collaboration with NVIDIA to support NVIDIA OpenShell, a new open source runtime for agentic AI introduced at NVIDIA GTC. The solution enables organizations to deploy autonomous AI agents with built-in governance, continuous risk visibility, and runtime enforcement, addressing key barriers to production adoption of agentic AI.
TrendAI is teaming with NVIDIA to add security for the open source NVIDIA OpenShell runtime as the ecosystem evolves. Learn more:https://resources.trendmicro.com/2026-nvidia-gtc.html
Rachel Jin, Chief Platform and Business Officer, Head of TrendAI : “Agentic AI changes the security equation. When AI systems can plan, take action, and interact with other tools on their own, the risk profile looks very different from traditional AI. Our collaboration with NVIDIA allows us to bring security directly into the architecture so organizations can adopt agentic AI with the visibility and control they expect.”
Traditional AI security models were built for short-lived interactions between users and models. Agentic AI changes that dynamic by operating continuously and taking action across environments.
NVIDIA OpenShell is an open source runtime for long-lived, self-evolving agents capable of planning, memory, and tool execution. While these capabilities unlock significant productivity gains, they also introduce risks related to unauthorized skills, hidden behaviors, prompt injection, and unintended system access.
Pat Lee, vice president, Strategic Enterprise Partnerships at NVIDIA: “Agentic AI opens the door for a new class of applications that can plan, reason, and take action. By working with TrendAI , we’re helping developers add visibility and controls to make it safer to run autonomous AI.”
TrendAI can transform agentic AI from a high-risk experiment into an enterprise-ready architecture. Organizations gain the ability to define trust boundaries, enforce policy at runtime, and maintain continuous visibility into autonomous AI behavior, all while preserving the flexibility and power that make agentic systems valuable.
TrendAI adds an enterprise-grade security layer that governs how agents behave, what tools they can access, and how risk is detected and enforced, before, during, and after execution.
The collaboration extends across the NVIDIA AI-Q blueprint and the NVIDIA NeMo Agent Toolkit, enabling consistent security, governance, and observability as agentic systems scale across enterprise environments.
TrendAI Vision One ’s layered security architecture for OpenShell provides:
Centralized AI governance and compliance enforced directly in the agent runtime
Skill and tool risk visibility, including continuous scanning of agent skills and MCP integrations
Dynamic behavioral analysis to detect hidden or malicious actions
Inline policy enforcement that blocks untrusted skills and actions at runtime
AI specific threat protection, including prompt injection and sensitive data exposure detection
Continuous monitoring and auditability through agentic telemetry and SIEM integration. These capabilities allow organizations to define trust boundaries, enforce policy, and maintain visibility across autonomous AI agents without limiting innovation.
As part of its Shared Value Creation (SVC) commitment, AEON Bank continues to drive its flagship community impact initiative, Salam Prihatin. Targeted Support and Value Added Impact This year, Salam Prihatin 4.0 engaged 100 households, amounting to more than 400 beneficiaries from the community Perumahan Pantai Permai, Kuala Lumpur. The engagement was held on 3 March 2026, in collaboration with AEON BiG Wangsa Maju and a local NGO, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Masyarakat Penyayang Lembah Pantai (PERKEMP) Lembah Pantai.
Fostering Financial Inclusion and Enabling Budget Savvy Autonomy Among the Beneficiaries
Fostering financial inclusion among the community, the beneficiary families were guided by AEON Bank team to plan for purposeful purchase of grocery and essential items, giving them the autonomy to optimise their budget, based on the needs of their respective families – be it multigenerational households, or families with small children or those caring for persons with disabilities (PWD).
Each beneficiary family received a RM300 grocery budget, which rounded up AEON Bank’s contribution this year to RM30,000 in total. In order to assist the families with their grocery shopping on the event day, more than 50 of AEON Bank employees, including the Bank’s senior leadership, were paired up with the families during the engagement. To date, AEON Bank has engaged almost 2,000 beneficiaries throughout 4 years, under its Salam Prihatin community impact initiative.
Now in its fourth year, AEON Bank has engaged almost 2,000 beneficiaries throughout 4 years, under its Salam Prihatin community impact initiative.
NIAT TO BE MORE RINGGIT SAVVY : SMART SAVINGS AND VALUE ADDED REWARDS
In the effort to help Malaysians manage the rising cost of living, AEON Bank has introduced several financial tools in its digital banking app and meaningful rewards for its customers, including :
(i) Neko Sensei : AEON Bank’s very own in-app financial coach designed to empower customers to track and manage their finances wisely.
(ii) RM30 Raya Cashback : Customers can earn RM30 cashback when paying with their AEON Bank Debit Card-i at stores participating in the MyDebit campaign, valid from 1 February to 15 April 2026.
(iii) Competitive Rate for Savings Pot : Enjoy a high 3.00% p.a. profit rate for the Savings Pot to help keep your financial goals on track, valid until 31 May 2026.
(iv) Personal Financing-i (PF-i) : Financing options from RM1,000 to RM100,000 with a profit rate starting at 3.88% p.a. and flexible tenures from 3 to 84 months. PF-i application process fully takes place online via the app, available to Malaysians with a minimum monthly gross income of RM2,500 including salaried employees, self-employed individuals, freelancers and gig economy workers.
(v) Neko Missions : A gamified digital banking experience that offers RM5 cashback for DuitNow QR transactions via AEON Bank app, valid until 15 May 2026.
(vi) JomPay : Customers can also make their JomPay transactions, including telco and utility bills via the AEON Bank app. providing a centralised platform for all essential online payments.
(vii) Inclusivity and Flexibility : Effective 17 March 2026, AEON Bank has removed the minimum balance requirement, ensuring Shariah-compliant digital banking is more inclusive and accessible for Malaysians.
NIAT TO FULFILL RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS : SAH AND SEAMLESS ZAKAT PAYMENT VIA AEON BANK APP Starting from the month of Ramadan this year, Zakat payment feature has been made available on the AEON Bank app. With just a few easy steps, customers can fulfill the contribution for 11 types of Zakat with a sah Aqad, including Zakat Fitrah, Zakat Pendapatan (Income), Zakat Perniagaan (Business), Zakat Emas (Gold) and more.
Made possible through the strategic partnership with Tulus Digital, the Zakat payment feature currently facilitates payments to Lembaga Zakat Selangor and PPZ-MAIWP, with more states and Zakat authority to be added in the near future.
NIAT TO BRING DIGITAL BANKING TO THE MASSES : O2O WONDERS
Beyond the digital screens, throughout four weeks of Ramadan, AEON Bank brought the O2O (online to offline) wonders to the crowd at the Bazaar Ramadan Seksyen 2 and 23, Shah Alam, in partnership with Persatuan Penjaja & Peniaga Kecil Melayu Negeri Selangor (PPPKMNS). On 16 March 2026, from 4.00 pm onwards, come on over to the Bazaar Ramadan Seksyen 23 and stand a chance to win AEON Bank merchandise and surprise goodies.
Better Banking – The Digital Way, Better Banking – The Shariah Way
As a cloud-native AI-powered digital bank, AEON Bank remains dedicated in its commitment to provide accessible financial solutions for Malaysians, while empowering communities to pursue their financial aspirations and achieve economic independence. Striving to foster a more inclusive financial future for all, AEON Bank will continue to offer a better banking experience for the larger demographic and contribute towards the development of Islamic banking in the region and the nation’s digital economy.
Click HERE to visit AEON Bank’s website and download the AEON Bank app. Don’t forget to view AEON Bank’s Ramadan Aidilfitri 2026 video, available on the Bank’s official YouTube channel.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 March 2026 – AutoCount, a leading provider of financial management software solutions, successfully held its first AutoCount Philippines Partner Conference 2026. Bringing together 60 partners to strengthen collaboration and showcase innovations.
AutoCount top management members and Euronet representative unveil the BIR-Accredited POS with Euronet QRPH Integration
The event was attended by an official delegation from the Embassy of Malaysia in the Philippines, Mr. Norjufri Nizar Edrus, Deputy Chief of Mission; Ms. Azlina Che Dir, Trade Commissioner; and Mr. Mohd Amsyari Yahya, Assistant Trade Commissioner from MATRADE Manila.
The conference highlighted AutoCount’s product developments, software localization for Philippines BIR compliance, and 2026 roadmap, reinforcing its commitment to helping SMEs thrive in the country’s digital economy and cashless payment ecosystem.
Driving the Cashless Revolution: Euronet QRPH Integration
The key highlight of the conference was the unveiling of AutoCount’ integrated Point of Sale (POS) solution. By partnering with Euronet Services Inc., AutoCount now enables merchants to accept standardized QRPH payments directly within their existing POS workflow.
This integration eliminates the need for additional external hardware and complex manual entry, addressing the growing consumer preference for contactless transactions in the Philippines. Key benefits for merchants include:
Faster Checkout: Reduced wait times through instant QR scanning.
Future-Ready Tech: Aligned with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) direction towards a cashless ecosystem.
Full BIR Compliance for Philippine SMEs
Navigating tax regulations is a challenge for local businesses. Retailers can now operate with confidence that their system meets BIR requirements for official receipts, sales reporting, and proper record-keeping, eliminating compliance concerns and allowing them to focus on growing their business instead.
Speaking at the launch, AutoCount CEO, Mr. Choo Yan Tiee highlighted, “The retail landscape is changing fast. Customers expect convenience, cashless options, and faster checkout. QR payments are no longer optional. They are becoming the standard. With this integration, we are equipping our partners, and support merchants with a future-ready solution that aligns with the Philippines’ digital payment direction.”
Empowering a Growing Partner Ecosystem
The conference was attended by over 60 partners from the Philippines, and Malaysia, reflecting the growing strength of AutoCount’s regional network. A dedicated session showcased partner-developed plugins, proving the software’s flexibility and extensibility to support diverse industries and business requirements.
Strategic Vision for 2026
The event concluded with a roadmap focused on deeper localization and strengthening the Authorized Partner network in Philippines. As the digital economy accelerates, AutoCount remains committed to delivering compliant, scalable, BIR CAS-ready accounting and POS solutions for SMEs.
Rising food prices are hitting New Zealanders in the pocket and driving them to hunger says MP Ricardo Menéndez March, Green Party spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
“While the supermarkets have been making $1 million a day in excess profits, food prices have surged 4.5% over the last year. Fruit and vegetables, a core staple, are up a massive 9.4%.”
“The stark contrast is appalling, and these ridiculous prices are not sustainable for New Zealanders who are being strong-armed by a duopoly.”
“Woolworths NZ made $100 million in profit over the past six months while one in three households are experiencing food insecurity, yet the Government is doing nothing to address rising food prices.”
“Can we really trust that the supermarkets won’t exploit the emerging fuel crisis to needlessly increase their prices? Supermarkets must be held accountable.”
“This only has the potential to get worse, unless the Government actually steps up to take on the supermarket duopoly.”
“Consumers have been waiting for structural change for years, yet no government has been willing to take on the duopoly and stop them from price gouging ordinary New Zealanders.”
“While large corporations are generating record profits, thousands of families are forced to make impossible choices about what they can spend their income on.”
“Banning price gouging, taxing excess profits, or breaking up the duopoly are all simple and effective ways to make sure massive corporations stop exploiting New Zealanders, ensuring all of us can afford to have food on the table, a safe place to call home, and live a good life.”
“We can end corporate exploitation of ordinary New Zealanders so that everyone can make ends meet,” says Ricardo.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 16 March 2026 – The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, Royal Thai Government, continues to promote Thailand’s content and entertainment industry in international markets. This initiative is carried out through business networking activities at “Thai Night Hong Kong 2026”, alongside Thailand’s participation in the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) 2026, one of Asia’s most prominent marketplaces for film and television content.
FILMART 2026 will take place from 17–20 March 2026 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The event provides an opportunity for Thai content companies to connect with international buyers, investors, and industry partners while showcasing the strengths of Thailand’s entertainment industry on the global stage.
Ms. Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), stated that the department places strong emphasis on supporting Thailand’s content and entertainment industry in international markets. DITP aims to help Thai entrepreneurs expand business opportunities and strengthen partnerships with global industry players, while enhancing the competitiveness of Thai companies in the global marketplace.
“Thailand’s participation in FILMART and the organization of Thai Night Hong Kong 2026 provide an important platform to present the capabilities of Thai content companies and to foster new partnerships with international producers, distributors, and investors. These activities will help expand business opportunities and further promote Thai content in global markets,” she said.
At FILMART 2026, Thailand will showcase the strengths of its entertainment industry through four strategic pillars: Talents, Locations, Production, and Post-production. These pillars highlight Thailand’s skilled creative professionals, diverse filming locations, internationally recognized production standards, and advanced post-production capabilities, including visual effects and animation, supported by government measures that help facilitate international investment.
At the same time, DITP continues to capitalize on the growing global popularity of Y and GL series, one of the fastest-growing segments of Thailand’s entertainment industry, with valued at more than THB 4.9 billion in 2025. These genres have gained strong international fan bases and present significant opportunities for Thai content to reach global audiences.
Thailand is also encouraging the development of new content formats such as short-form dramas, which are increasingly popular on digital platforms and streaming services. These formats allow Thai creators to expand their presence across global distribution channels and reach wider international audiences.
With the remarkable growth and international recognition of Thailand’s entertainment industry in recent years—driven by talented filmmakers, diverse filming locations, and high production standards—Thai Night Hong Kong 2026 aims to move beyond showcasing industry capabilities toward fostering concrete international business collaboration.
A key highlight of the event will be the creation of a strategic platform for partnership discussions between Thai entrepreneurs and international industry partners. The event is expected to welcome more than 500 global investors, producers, directors, and media representatives, providing opportunities to expand business partnerships and further strengthen Thailand’s presence in the global entertainment industry.
For more information and updates about Thai Night Hong Kong 2026 and Thailand’s participation in FILMART 2026, please visit: www.ditp.go.th www.facebook.com/thailandfilms
Hashtag: #DITP
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 16 March 2026 – MyRepublic has entered into a collaboration with Singapore Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) to support digital adoption, strengthen cyber resilience, and enable AI readiness among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the wider business community in Singapore, following the signing of a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) on 21 January 2026.
MyRepublic and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCCI) collaboration
The collaboration aims to support businesses through structured programmes, capability-building workshops, and accessible transformation pathways to accelerate digital adoption. It also focuses on strengthening cyber resilience by equipping SMEs with practical tools, assessments, and best practices to protect and sustain their digital operations, while enabling AI innovation and readiness through education, proof-of-concept opportunities, and pilot initiatives to future-ready businesses.
Tech Symposium 2026
The signing of a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) on 21 January 2026.
Mr Mark Lee, Chairman of SCCCI’s Technology Committee, said: “As businesses navigate a rapidly evolving economic and technological landscape, AI and digitalisation are becoming essential tools for improving productivity, competitiveness, and long-term resilience. This Tech Symposium is designed to help SMEs move beyond awareness towards practical adoption, with a strong focus on real-world applications that deliver measurable business outcomes. SCCCI works with Institutes of Higher Learning and technology providers to co-develop and pilot AI-driven solutions that address fundamental SME challenges such as operational efficiency, cost management, and scalability. By grounding innovation in actual business problems, we aim to make AI adoption more accessible, practical, and commercially meaningful for our members. As digital adoption accelerates, cyber risks inevitably rise, making cybersecurity a core business risk rather than just a technical issue. While national cybersecurity frameworks are led by the relevant authorities, SCCCI supports awareness and readiness among its members through engagement with government agencies and ecosystem partners.”
The collaboration aims to support SMEs through structured programmes and initiatives that strengthen digital adoption, cyber resilience, and AI readiness across the business community.
Imran Nazi, Head of ICT at MyRepublic, said: “Singapore’s SCCCI SME community has always been resourceful and adaptive, and AI opens a new chapter in that journey. Our collaboration with SCCCI is centred on bringing meaningful AI enablement to businesses of all sizes, alongside strengthening cyber resilience and wider digital adoption. The goal is simple: equip SMEs with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to thrive in a digital-first world.”
Collaborative Areas of Focus and Impact
Through the collaboration, MyRepublic and SCCCI will work closely to support SMEs and the wider business community across several key areas, combining business network access, industry expertise, programme management capabilities, and technology expertise.
The collaboration will focus on community access and engagement by providing access to SCCCI’s extensive business network for outreach and engagement initiatives, promoting digital transformation programmes and activities through relevant communication channels, and curating relevant business segments for targeted digitalisation programmes.
Programme development will include the co-development of workshops, masterclasses, clinics, and outreach events with ICT partners to introduce digital tools and encourage adoption. Activities will be hosted and organised either at SCCCI facilities or partner venues, supported by programme management, training, demonstrations, and hands-on support at engagements.
The collaboration will also emphasise advocacy and thought leadership, championing digital adoption initiatives in alignment with national strategies. This includes supporting the development of co-branded thought leadership materials such as case studies, guides, and digital readiness resources, as well as sharing success stories and adoption outcomes to raise awareness of digital transformation benefits.
Industry insights, including SME challenges and sectoral digitalisation needs, will guide programme design and support the tailoring of solutions to better meet SME requirements and address capability gaps. Where relevant, pilot projects and proof-of-concept initiatives may be supported for selected SCCCI members, alongside data insights on programme outcomes to support continuous ecosystem improvement.
Together, MyRepublic and SCCCI aim to create business-relevant initiatives that help SMEs adopt digital solutions with greater clarity, confidence, and sustainability.