Several new potential synergies were identified at the 2nd Korea New Zealand Business Roundtable, held yesterday in Seoul.

The roundtable was organised by the NZ International Business Forum and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and was attended by about 70 delegates from both New Zealand and South Korea.

Information technology, “clean” technology, health services, and agricultural technology took centre stage during case study presentations of actual and potential co-operation between the two countries.

Progress towards a free trade agreement with India is storming ahead, with confirmation that negotiations will begin in a matter of weeks.

Less than two weeks after Trade Minister Tim Groser and Indian Commerce Minister Sri Anand Sharma announced that negotiations towards a FTA would get underway, an April date has been set for the start of talks.

An Indian company is eyeing up Christchurch as a manufacturing base for 30,000 electric cars, spurred on by New Zealand’s new free trade agreement with China.

But the deal – understood to be under negotiation - is partially contingent on securing $US20 million private capital from New Zealand investors.

The company, Reva, is a joint venture with a New York based fund, but based in Bangalore. It has the largest deployed fleet of electric cars in 24 countries worldwide, with 3000 EVs (electric vehicles) on the road.

New Zealand exporters looking for new markets in the Middle East will benefit from a new free trade agreement successfully negotiated between New Zealand and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Trade Minister Tim Groser announced today negotiations between New Zealand and the GCC – made up of Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar - had now concluded after six rounds

Negotiations between the two groups have been running since 2007 and the agreement should be signed in the first half of 2010.

The level of import tariffs will remain set in stone for at least another six years, with the government deciding against any review until 2015 at the earliest.

Although the government had been considering a further tariff review to decide non-preferential tariff levels after June 2011, Trade Minister Tim Groser and Commerce Minister Simon Power announced today that current levels would be maintained through to the middle of the next decade.

The current 5% and 10% tariffs were described by Mr Power as among the lowest in the world.