Formats and related files
Accessible version
Only the Attracting more international investment section of this Cabinet paper is extracted below in HTML. If you require a full accessible version please contact [email protected] and cite CAB-24-SUB-0340 as a reference.
Cabinet Paper CAB-24-SUB-0340: Attracting more international investment#
Attracting more international investment#
1 I seek Cabinet’s agreement to the parameters of reform to the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (the Act) to attract more international investment into New Zealand. Following discussion [EXP-24-MIN-0043 refers], I have revised the paper to include an additional option that would provide governments flexibility to manage a broader range of risks (such as aggregation risk) in a broader range of sectors (such as farmland).
2 Consistent with paragraph 2.39 of the Cabinet Manual, I submit this paper with the knowledge and approval of the Minister of Finance.
Relation to government priorities
3 This reform has been designed to support the Coalition Government’s priorities, commitments and decision-making principles, including our commitments to:
3.1 amend the Overseas Investment Act 2005 to limit ministerial decision making to national security concerns and make such decision making more timely, and
3.2 retain the general prohibition on foreign investors acquiring or speculating in residential property (which will be out-of-scope of this work).
4 I note I have already made some ‘quick wins’ to reduce the burden of the Act and speed up decision-making through a directive and delegation letter [CBC-24-MIN-0029].
5 More broadly, this reform will support us to meet our commitment to drive “meaningful improvements in...New Zealand’s productivity and economic growth to increase opportunities and prosperity for all New Zealanders.” I have also designed the reform to support or lay a foundation for the priorities the Prime Minister set out in the Speech from the Throne, including:
5.1 improving the funding and financing of infrastructure,
5.2 restoring discipline to government spending by providing increased access to financial capital to relieve pressure on the Crown’s balance sheet,
5.3 reducing costs on business by removing unnecessary red tape, and
5.4 supporting an active foreign policy and trade policy agenda, that signals New Zealand is open for business and outwardly engaged.