TVNZ buy

New Zealand

Dairy board wants

end to barter

New Zealand’s dairy board says it wants to end its long runnin! barter agreement to sell Russian Lada cars in payment for dair exports. Its subsidiary, Lada New Zealand, last year sold 371 vehicles taking it to 13th position on the country’s interna market. It also started exporting cars to other Pacific countries including New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Western Samoa Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Dairy board spokesman Neville Martin says the board is alsc reviewing its involvement in Sovenz, its subsidiary set up tc trade with the former Soviet Union. Martin says Sovenz wa; established at a time when the Soviet Union, with its centrally planned economy and single-agency buying system, was th( world’s largest importer of butter. He says a very different marketing situation exists in the present Commonwealth o

Independent States.

The board is still owed more than US$lOO million on its lasi butter and milk powder deal with the Soviet Union’s central buying agency. ***

TVNZ buy

Asian shares

Television New Zealand has taken a 36 per cent stake in a Singapore-based company formed to launch Asia’s first business television news channel later this year. The other shareholders in the company are Singapore International Pty Ltd with 10 per cent, Business News Network of Hong Kong with 18, and Tele-Communications Inc of the United States with 36.

The company will broadcast a channel to be known as Asia Business News by satellite in English (and later in other languages) to Hong Kong, the Phillipines, Thailand, Taiwan and Indonesia. The channel will be based in Singapore and will be financed by advertising. It will operate 18 hours a day during the week and six hours on Saturday.

David Nicholson, a Television New Zealand representative said the company would send staff to establish the channel and then to train locals to operate it. ***

Kiwi success in

New Caledonia

New Caledonians are flocking to buy New Zealand boats and boating products, according to figures rev ealed by the Marine Export Group of New Zealand and TRADENZ. For the year to December 31, 1992, exports of boats and boating products totalled US$3.9 million, up from just over US$l million in 1991. Boating exports now account for 33 per cent of all New Zealand manufactured goods exported to New Caledonia and 13 per cent of all New Zealand’s exports there for the year.

Peter Rachtman, director of the Marine Export Group of New Zealand, said reasons for the success in New Caledonia included a favourable exchange rate, a reduction in import duties and the recognition of the quality of New Zealand boats.