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Saturday, March 15, 2025

Mike's Minute: The Investment Summit looks like a winner


I suppose technically it is only halfway through, with today still to go, but the Investment Summit looked good to me on day one.

There seems no doubt that a lot of people with a lot of money turned up and some of them spoke of their desire to bid for projects.

The Prime Minister, who needs some runs, I think has some and he hasn’t even left for India.

His pitch that we are a shelter from the storm was smart. He looked like he had done this before. Perhaps we are seeing a little bit of what all the other delegates on the international sojourns see - that this is what he does well.

He networks, he presses flesh, he pumps ideas, and he has a plan.

Nothing specific as in “sign on the dotted line” or "write a cheque here and now” will come out of this.

But already you can see, given the thing is oversubscribed, that the Prime Minister is right - the world is awash with cash, and they are keen to invest.

$6 trillion is a stunning amount of money and if only a small chunk of it comes our way, and if only a tiny slice builds some roads or future proofs some infrastructure, this will have all been worth it.

Eventually the proof will be in the pudding. Someone needs a signing ceremony and maybe a spade or two to be stuck in some ground.

But I got the sense, as a frustrated punter, that it is these sorts of days and events that make us look like we might be on some sort of path back.

We looked a bit professional and interested and that we might just have some decent adults about the place looking to put our stake in the global game and bring the world, so long locked out of this place, back into the room.

If Luxon leaves this and can come back with something tangible post India, then it may well be we feel things are starting to roll.

As I have said many times, it is hard to overstate the economic carnage they were handed and it's still far from over.

The immigration numbers just yesterday reminded us of this. No, they are not leaving in the numbers they once did, but they are still leaving, and the arrivals are slowing as well.

Fewer people means less economic activity. But you fix all that with reputation - a reputation of a rock star, of a success story or of a go-getter.

Yesterday, and hopefully today, it looks like they are part of that bigger success story.

Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.

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