Removal ‘will benefit country’

Press, 2 November 1985, Page 30

Removal ‘will benefit country’

PA Wellington The removal of restrictions on foreign investment in New Zealand will benefit the country in many ways, says the Governor of the

Reserve Bank, Mr Spencer Russell. Addressing a seminar in Wellington, he said it was clear the economy would need infusion of foreign 1 capital, foreign technology, and foreign expertise. “Certainly this is a necessary part of the adjustment process to ensure that our economy is internationally competitive,” Mr Russell

said. “It should be realised that the capital inflows from foreign investors that have contributed to the recent appreciation of the dollar are not merely speculative funds. “They are the savings of foreigners and are not short-term investments seeking out windfall profits. A large proportion of the

investments is for about three-year to five-year terms. “The placement of their savings in New Zealand reflects confidence in our economic prospects. In the end, any final judgment on the present economic policies must rest on whether that confidence in the New Zealand economy is justified.”