Trade NZ to bring its corporate head office to exporters

By Yoke Har Lee

The New Zealand Trade Development Board (Trade NZ) is moving its corporate headquarters from Wellington to Auckland to help the organisation develop closer links with exporters.

Foreign trade experts calculate that Auckland businesses are involved in some way with about 70 per cent of the country's exports.

Trade NZ's Auckland office in the Coopers and Lybrand Tower will be expanded to accommodate additional staff from Wellington. Sources said the communications department, finance, information management, marketing, corporate assets and corporate services were among divisions involved in the move.

The board has more than 300 staff globally, of whom about 140 are in New Zealand. Of those, about a third are at present in Wellington.

Trade NZ officials could not be reached to comment on the move but sources said the chief executive of Trade NZ, Fran Wilde, already spends half her time in Auckland.

The chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Michael Barnett, who has argued for government departments to be moved to Auckland, said: "Any additional government resources that would be allocated to Auckland to enhance the business environment, is welcomed.

"There is an anti-Auckland syndrome but the reality is it is the commercial hub and any government resources geared towards generating foreign exchange earnings should be used to focus on Auckland, where business is centred."

Trade NZ is entrusted with the role of helping New Zealand raise its foreign exchange earnings.

It does so by supporting exporters with market research, networking and building capabilities.

Its other role is to help New Zealand attract foreign investments.