Energised by Tuesday's business forum, cabinet ministers Michael Cullen and Pete Hodgson are hatching ways to lift the Government's profile overseas in a bid to attract investment.
Prime Minister Helen Clark cited ideas on foreign direct investment as one of the highlights of the forum. She named Deutsche Bankchief executive Scott Perkins as the main proponent of a promising plan to help attract more foreign money.
Yesterday, Treasurer Dr Cullen said he and Associate Minister for Economic Development Mr Hodgson had met twice subsequently and were developing strategies.
"We want to talk to people like Scott and so on before we go much further, but we want to mount a more active mission in foreign direct investment."
Ideas included senior ministers going overseas, accompanied by some business people, "using the contacts of Deutsche Bank and others to really hunt out potential foreign direct investors into New Zealand - the kind of thing we used to see on the trade side with Mike Moore in the 80s but this time much more on the investment side."
Dr Cullen acknowledged that Trade NZ's investment arm did similar things.
But he said the clear message from the forum was that the Government needed to do more.
Mr Perkins was unavailable for comment.
A spokesman for Helen Clark said the forum cost $5500, including facilitators' fees and some printed material but not the airfares of ministers, who travelled regularly anyway.
The day's events were sponsored by Buddle Finlay and the evening dinner at the city art gallery by Ernst and Young.
