New Zealand government woos foreign investment in regions

The New Zealand government on Tuesday unveiled a strategy for channeling overseas investment into specialist industries in its 14 regions.
Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce unveiled the Regional Investment Profiles at the annual New Zealand and Australia Economic Development Forum in Auckland to promote investment opportunities in each region of New Zealand.
The profiles provided information about sector strengths and how they were supported by each region's workforce, raw materials, services and infrastructure, Joyce said in a statement.
The profiles would be used by the government agencies to identify investment opportunities and to help guide investors more quickly and effectively to those regions where opportunities were strongest, Joyce said.
"It's the regions that have led New Zealand's recovery from the Global Financial Crisis. These profiles will help regions attract more new investment and further strengthen their local economies," he said.
The government's New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) agency already provided investors with information about how New Zealand as a whole compared with other countries as a business and investment location, and the regional profiles would do the same for each region.
"Investors have a lot of choice across countries, sectors and regions so they need a clearly-defined value proposition. It's important for everyone working to attract investment to the regions to get to grips with how investors see the world and how best to communicate with them," Joyce said.
"By clearly articulating the key business opportunities in each region we will be in a better position to attract more new investment into regional New Zealand."