“More specifically, this conference is about private investment in Government projects.
" So the Government’s basically got a lot of infrastructure projects that it is keen to get some private finance for, and these investors from overseas are coming to have a look at them and see if they stack up.”
That could include public-private partnerships, where the Government partners with overseas investors to raise the capital, partner with builders and deliver the project themselves, rather than the Government borrowing the money itself.
Several domestic and international banks will be in attendance, including the American Citibank and the China Construction Bank, alongside Canadian investment fund CDPQ, a member of the Hyundai group, and Mitsubishi.
Coughlan said several New Zealand law firms will be attending, seeking to partner with the international firms to serve as their partners through the New Zealand system.
“Credit to the Government, I guess they’ve managed to find a fairly solid slate, but the list is mainly full of firms that have money to invest and then firms that have the construction [and] legal professional services ability to deliver on that investment.”
The summit comes amid low polling for the coalition Government. A Taxpayers Union-Curia poll released on Monday showed the left bloc of Labour, Greens and Te Pati Maori would win 62 seats in the next election, compared to 58 seats for National, Act and NZ First.
Horizon Research polling, also out on Monday, showed 39% of respondents feel concerned about the Government’s performance, and 38% are disappointed. Twenty-two per cent were hopeful and 10% were pleased.
Coughlan says the poor poll results will not necessarily put pressure on the summit to succeed.
“But it does put pressure on the Government to sort of actually deliver something tangible to voters before the next election, just so it does have something to say to voters, ‘Well, we’re making the country better because of XYZ’.
“And I suppose, where the summit might be successful in achieving that aim is if the summit’s able to court investment from someone, and because of that investment, an infrastructure project has accelerated.”
Listen to the full episode for more on what to expect from the Investment Summit.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
