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Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Tim Hurdle: How NZ could be the overnight service centre to the world


When the All Blacks front up in France, we have an early start. As any Kiwi sports fan knows, we are often on the wrong side of the planet when it comes to watching the game.

The same applies in global business, out of sync with the business hours of major economic centres like Europe and the eastern United States.

The London Stock Exchange opens at 8pm our time. The New York Stock Exchange opens at 1.30am.

We can turn this challenge into an opportunity and become the after-hours service centre for the global economy; leveraging our unique geographic position to provide professional services overnight to the economic and financial powerhouses of Europe and America. Our trade should be measured in data and PDF files.

Consider this example. Obtaining urgent legal advice in London or New York overnight is expensive, with firms often charging premium rates. By offering these services during our standard working hours, we position ourselves as an appealing and cost-efficient alternative, all while enjoying First World rates of pay.

And we can point out that tired people working late nights, make mistakes.

New Zealand’s stable political environment and common law legal framework make us an ideal place for international work. We have all the necessary ingredients to become the back office for major global organisations.

Many of our brightest talents have already ventured overseas to work for major global businesses. With the right strategy we can bring these opportunities back to our shores.

We saw people come home during the pandemic but keep their highly paid jobs in the global economy, while working from Rangiora, not Hong Kong, and Tauranga, not New York.

Working remotely is now widely accepted as a business practice. Documents don’t need to be signed in person.

The world is becoming more sophisticated. We must adapt. The new economy will require answers to our often-raised aspirations for diversification.

The debate during this election has revolved around where tax is collected. The bigger question of how to grow our economy has hardly featured.

We tend to consider export performance through the narrow lens of our merchandise trade balance, dominated by selling more traditional agricultural products to a narrow range of markets.

While they have been the backbone of our economy, this is an increasingly risky approach, locked into commodity price cycles.

The challenge of sustainability further threatens our export base, with increased scrutiny of the carbon footprint. This includes our vital tourism industry, where our best customers are often flying long haul.

Unless we can prove our product doesn’t harm the climate, we have a problem.

Professional services don’t have the same environmental impact.

The world economy increasingly focuses on technology and services. The role of manufacturing and agriculture is declining. From healthcare and education to finance and entertainment, the services sector encompasses a wide range of activities that can significantly contribute to prosperity.

Services industries are an engine of economic growth, driving innovation, creating jobs and enhancing overall quality of life.

Geographic borders for global trade in professional services have essentially disappeared with the advent of the internet.

Exporting our services capabilities offers a promising path to a broader economic base. Thanks to the hard work of our trade negotiators, we have excellent access to international markets for services.

Just as Ireland transitioned from an agricultural nation to a technology and financial services hub, we can chart our own path by capitalising on our unique time zone.

We need a consistent focus on selling services to the world, marketing our capabilities with the same energy that we apply to our tourism and agricultural industries.

Our government should take steps to facilitate legal and regulatory recognition that simplifies the use of New Zealand overnight. We must cultivate a trusted brand, renowned for its reliability and exceptional delivery.

The opportunity isn’t just for lawyers. Professions like programmer, engineer and financial analyst can now live anywhere. We need to leverage our lifestyle advantage and bring them here to build our domestic economy and contribute to the tax base.

Our future national income relies not only on the goods we make, but also providing services to the world. We need to get into the game, competitive with the likes of India and Singapore.

By embracing the export of services, we can create a thriving, diversified and prosperous economy while preserving what makes New Zealand an exceptional place to live. We can retain our best and brightest with good pay and the enviable lifestyle we enjoy.

New Zealand can return to the ranks of the wealthy nations, but not by our approach of borrowing to trade property amongst ourselves.

We need to plug into the new global economy and sell premium services.....The full article is published HERE

Tim Hurdle is a former National Party senior adviser and is a director of several companies, including Museum Street Strategies, a public affairs firm.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Its an interesting idea and has been kicked around for a while.
We will never be Ireland but we could have a quarter of Ireland's "added value" service stuff here and that would be sensational even at that level.
Additionally we have never realized our out of season capability, stuff grows fast here when it grows slow in the northern hemisphere and there are other things. The point is we tend to play the old songs and don't look for for new things to do.
We will always be on our way to Argentina or Venezuela if we don't change and central planning will not think of the way forward. Clear the road blocks and look what can happen.