John MacDonald: Less eyebrow raising, more glad-eye for foreign investors

I think we need to get over ourselves here in New Zealand when it comes to foreign investment.

And it looks like we’re going to have to get over ourselves - whether we want to or not - with the Government’s plan to make it easier for foreign investors to buy New Zealand companies and properties.

The way I’d describe it is that, at the moment, the Government thinks we treat overseas investors as if they’re going through customs - and we’re all suspicious about their motivations for coming here.

Whereas it thinks we should be more like the duty free shop, putting down the welcome mat and selling New Zealand to overseas investors. You know, give them a bit more of the glad eye and less of the raised eyebrow.

And I’m all for that. Because modern New Zealand was built on overseas investment.

I’m not saying it’s been perfect. But I agree with the Government’s plan to open the doors more to foreign investors.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from Newstalk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
I reckon, we need to get over ourselves here in
New Zealand when it comes to foreign investment, and it
looks like we're going to have to get over ourselves,
whether we want to or not. Worth the government's plan
to make it easier for foreign investors to buy New
Zealand companies and properties. Now, the way I describe it
is that at the moment, the government thinks we treat

(00:35):
overseas investors as if they're going through customs, you know,
all suspicious and what the hell are you doing here?
All suspicious about their motivations for coming here, Whereas the
government thinks we should be more like the duty free
shop putting down the welcome map selling New Zealand to
overseas investors, you know, give them, what's another word putting.
I give them a bit more of the glad eye

(00:57):
and less of the raised eyebrow. And I'm all for that.
I'm all for it because modern New Zealand was built
on overseas investment, was built on overseas investment. I'm not
saying it's been perfect, but I agree with the government's
plan to open the doors more to foreign investors, because
the alternative is to keep languishing, you know, blindly pressing

(01:19):
on under our own steam, convincing ourselves that we're a
country that can do without foreign money. And anyone who
thinks that is dreaming. So we had two announcements about
this at the weekend. The first came on Saturday when
an associate of Finance Minister David Seymour announced that the
Coalition government had agreed to change the laws around foreign investment,

(01:39):
saying that the way we're doing it at the moment
makes us the worst in the world. Oh really, yep.
Out of thirty eight countries, we come last in terms
of being open to investment from overseas. And he says
the government wants to reverse the idea that you know
that investors need to convince the government why they should
be allowed to invest here and changing it to us

(02:01):
telling them why they should be coming. So you no
more encouragement, less policing, less to the customs officertain approach.
You might heard Oliver hat Which he's a foreign investment
expert with the New Zealand Initiative think tank. He was
on with Mike this morning, and he was saying that
he thinks we shouldn't just be making it easier for

(02:22):
investors to spend money on businesses here. He thinks we
should be going the howle hog have listen to this.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
We should actually say we make it easy for you
to come and invest in a business, and by the way,
of course, we also make it easy for you to
buy a house. I would even go a step further.
I would say, and then we make it easy for
you to get visa for your staff, and we actually
roll out the red carpet to make it all happen,
because it has to be a consistent package. If you
go to the most successful countries in the world when
it comes to foreign liked investment, like Ireland, like Singapore,

(02:49):
that's exactly what they do. There are dedicated agencies making
it as easy as possible for these international investors to come.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
So that's the new Zealand initiative. Think tank guy saying,
let the foreign let the foreigners buy the businesses, but
also let them buy houses. And wouldn't you know it,
Winston Paiters, who's always been anti foreigners buying houses here,
he says he would be open to changing his position
if the right investors came along. So after David Seymore

(03:15):
announced on Saturday that the government plans to loosen the
rules about for or around foreign investment, Winston Peter's made
his big announcement yesterday that New Zealand First wants to
see a one hundred billion dollar future funds set up
to ensure we have the money for all the big
infrastructure projects that need doing. Money, of course, would have
to come from overseas, which is why he said to

(03:36):
Mike this morning that he might not be so hard
lying on foreigners buying houses here if it means getting
the type of investment he wants.

Speaker 4 (03:44):
So he's going to come in with the lousy twenty million. Now,
I think we're not going to be cutting ice for him.
But if he's in with a whole she's in with
a whole lot of money. Beyond that, we'd consider it,
because you know, the first thing they're going to do
is spend about five or six million on twenty five million
dollar investment on our dreaming goneves on the house, and
then one quarter gone straight up.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Okay, okay, all right, you're open that you are open
to the idea. But because here's my point. My point
is that if you want to invest.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
In as a center for the right investor, we'll consider
anything you see.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
I thought it was a little there was a little
bit of weirdness about the two announcements. I thought it
was kind of weird that mister Peters said this morning
that he hadn't sent anything before David Seymour announced the
changes to the foreign investment rules on Saturday. But nevertheless,
that was the only bit of weirdness. Nevertheless, they seem
to be on the same page, and I'm with them
on this one. I'm with the government. I think we

(04:36):
have no choice but to make it easier for foreign
investors to buy New Zealand companies and properties for the
simple reason that we're a tiny outfit and we are
dreaming if we think we can do it all on
our own, and also because if we don't attract these investors,
they will go somewhere else, somewhere else that doesn't put
up as many barriers as we do.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
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