Region first for economic summit

Nelson will hold an economic summit next week, the first region in the country to take the initiative to help businesses battle the recession.

The three-hour economic meeting will be open to all business owners.

The summit will have high-calibre speakers - Reserve Bank forecasting manager Tim Hampton, cabinet minister and Nelson MP Nick Smith, Westpac senior research economist Dominick Stephens and Management Focus regional champion John McCliskie.

It is being organised by the Nelson Region Economic Development Agency and the regional office of the Ministry of Social Development to help business owners gain a broader picture of how an uncertain world economy might affect their trade.

Agency chief executive Bill Findlater said not everyone knew how the world economy might affect Nelson.

"Because we don't know the full extent of this, some people are getting quite concerned. We are not saying it is going to be easy but it is not all doom and gloom."

Mr Findlater believed Nelson would be better served than other regions because of the heavy reliance on primary industry.

"You have to look at the business over the next 10 to 20 years. You would think that those in the food industry are going to be better off than those in commodities. Then you look at China and ask, why would a country like China want to do the first free-trade deal with a country like New Zealand?"

It is not known how many businesses will turn up to the summit.

Nelson-based Kiwi Orchids managing director Peter Moffatt, who exports to Japan and the United States, said he would find out more about the summit before deciding whether to attend.

"I guess you get a bit cynical about economic forecasters.

"You get such diverse views from economists, so there is a terrific amount of uncertainty.

"Export markets are so vital to New Zealand. If New Zealand does not export, New Zealand does not thrive."

New Zealand King Salmon chief executive Paul Steere encouraged smaller business owners to attend but did not think there was much for his business to gain.

"We keep in contact with the EDA and they know our position, but we keep up on the play ourselves."

Mr Steere was positive about what the future held.

"People still have to eat, they may have to sell their plasma TV but they still have to eat so we are still very much in a growth period."

The summit initiative comes as the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research on Tuesday released its December 2008 quarterly predictions, a commentary on New Zealand economic forecasts covering the next five years.

With the added effects of the global financial crisis and economic slowdown, the report predicts the current recession will remain relatively shallow. However, economic recovery will be slower than previously thought, partly due to the weaker growth of New Zealand's trading partners dampening the export market.

"We are trying not to wait for the world to close in, so we hope community leaders and business leaders will come," Mr Findlater said.

The summit will be held at the Nelson Suburban Club on Friday, December 12. Email paula@eda.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News