John Key made one of his last speeches as Prime Minister of New Zealand at the International Sovereign Wealth Fund Forum (IWSWF) on 8-11 November. He made his shock resignation announcement about one month later on 5 December, and will step down a week after that.

Everyone had an early start that morning, gathering to listen to Key at a breakfast meeting at 8am on 10 November at Auckland’s ANZ Viaduct Events Centre.  He was certainly more engaging than I had expected, was better in person than on television, could read an audience and knew his stuff.

The 171st Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, 30th November 2016.

In a press release issued by OPEC: “It observed that global economic growth forecasts were reasonable for both 2016 and 2017, at 2.9% and 3.1% respectively, that non-OPEC supply is expected to contract by 0.8 million barrels per day (mb/d) in 2016, before returning to growth of

Saudi Arabia and Egypt have never had an easy relationship. For the most part though, Egypt has always supported Saudi Arabia, and vice versa, except when the Morsi government took charge. A Sunni country being led by the Muslim Brotherhood was not Saudi Arabia’s idea of loyalty.

I’ve been sent some background on the Constructive Journalism Project, a UK initiative that aims to innovate and strengthen journalism by developing methods for journalists to bring more positive and solution-focused elements into conventional reporting. I hadn’t heard about it before.

Bonds to raise up to £1 billion of UK inward investment for affordable housing and other priority infrastructure

Shanghai, November 3, 2016 – Gaw Capital Partners and InvestUK today signed an MoU to launch the “Education Bond,” an innovative investment product that allows Chinese and other international students to invest in the UK and gain Permanent Residence.

I was interested to come across this “Education Bond” that is being launched in the UK- between private equity firm, Gaw Capital, and InvestUK. It aims to allow Chinese, and other foreign students, to invest in property in the UK and thereby acquire permanent residence.

This made me think about the appropriateness of such a “bond” in New Zealand. Some 33,000 Chinese student visas have been granted in this country, as at July 26 2016, according to an article by Radio NZ.

The article also states: “Immigration New Zealand figures showed it approved 33,425 visa applications from Chinese students in the 12 months to the end of June.

That figure was up from 29,880 in the preceding 12-month period and a significant increase from a low of 21,777 in 2009/10.Annual study visa approvals for China had not been so high since 2006/07, when 34,448 were approved.”

Surely, such a bond would be the way New Zealand should go? But imagine if it were approved.There would certainly be an uproar. The question, however, whether it would be the right thing to do.

The New Zealand Government has been embroiled in the long running saga known as the Saudi sheep deal. The auditor-general, Lyn Provost, has taken about a year to investigate the deal, principally looking at whether all the facts about the transaction were sufficient. Finally, she acknowledged that although there were “significant shortcomings” in the report to Cabinet about the deal it was not corrupt.

Why do you think he’s a successful businessman? Because he says so?

Here’s how Donald Trump made his money: he got a $1 million loan from his father, and then borrowed an additional $19 million against his future inheritance from banks. So his father’s wealth allowed him to start with $20 million in capital that Trump himself had done nothing to earn (he’d eventually inherit $200 million from his father.)

Investment in coworking space platform complements Gaw Capital Partners’ successful track record in creative office investments

SHANGHAI, November 1, 2016 – Gaw Capital Partners today announced the completion of the investment in naked Hub, the Shanghai-based network of coworking spaces through one of the funds under its management.

Fintech Blogs and Forums give you fresh and unique analysis of trending events in the Fintech industry. Fintech is heating up every day in workplaces, events, and homes. Some people ask us occasionally: “What are your favorite sources of latest Fintech news?” If you want to keep up with the Fintech industry, the following are our 10 popular specialist Fintech blogs and forum websites to keep you updated frequently with high quality content.

In June, we published an article on advantages and disadvantages of Brexit in the fintech industry. Now, two months after Brexit, let us look at what is happening in the London fintech sector.

The subject of refugees is highly topical; the global media carries many stories about refugees, mostly from Syria. Yet, refugees come from all over the world, especially from Asia and the large continent of Africa.

New Zealand has agreed to take in only 1000 of these refugees. The number has just gone up from 750, with an agreed number of 250 from Syria. On 7 September 2015 the Government announced New Zealand will welcome 750 Syrian refugees in response to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Of the 750 places, 600 will be by way of a special emergency intake above New Zealand’s annual quota, and 150 places will be offered within the quota.

FuturePRoof: Edition Two is a series of 39 essays from more than 40 contributors around the world. See http://www.futureproofcomms.co.uk for a daily dose of new essays.

I'm excited to say that I wrote one chapter. Here it is:

CHAPTER 26
WHY GREAT LEADERS ARE GREAT COMMUNICATORS
by Lucia Dore

By David French, Tom Arnold and Katie Paul | DUBAI/RIYADH

The Saudi Arabian government has ended talks aimed at saving construction giant Saudi Oger, which is now facing the prospect of a multi-billion-dollar debt restructuring to stave off collapse, according to sources aware of the matter.

Oger, owned by the family of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, was one of two mega-contractors charged with implementing the grand infrastructure and development plans of the kingdom, building everything from defense installations to schools and hospitals.

The investment implications of climate policy and low global growth will be key topics at this year’s annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF).

The theme of the November meeting is Investing in a Climate of Uncertainty: The Sovereign Wealth Fund Response.

Corporate investment in people and technology and an individual focus on continuous professional development (CPD) will drive the public relations industry forward.

This is the key message from #FuturePRoof: Edition Two, published today [Wednesday 7 September].

RIYADH: A plan to grant long-term visas to businesspeople from developed countries will be implemented, according to an official from the Foreign Ministry.
Osama Al-Sanusi, undersecretary at the ministry for consular affairs, said the ministry is preparing agreements that would be signed between the Kingdom and such countries. Those organizing trade shows would also be allowed visas. Arrangements were being made to issue these visas online, he said.

LCD recently ensured media coverage of the activities of the chairperson of the New Zealand National Youth Refugee Youth Council, Daniel Gamboa.

An abridged screening of a documentary, “Stepping up: NZ’s response to the refugee crisis” was shown to a full house at the Rees Hotel on Saturday 1 August.

Stepping Up? New Zealand’s Response to the Refugee Crisis, is a recently produced documentary by Lucia Dore intended for the New Zealand general population and policy makers.