Beyond real estate: NZ businesses need to move beyond survival mode - ASB CEO

Beyond real estate: NZ businesses need to move beyond survival mode - ASB CEO
Vittoria Shortt says businesses need to invest for growth. (Image: Dileepa Fonseka/BusinessDesk)
Dileepa Fonseka
The chief executive of ASB, Vittoria Shortt, says the country’s businesses need to move beyond “investing to survive” and start investing in growth.Shortt said this would involve re-orienting New Zealand investment away from the property market and towards a more productive economy, but this would involve changing attitudes and policy settings.As one example, Shortt observed Australia’s equivalent KiwiSaver scheme didn’t allow people to withdraw money for their first-home deposit as it did in New Zealand.“I t...

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Staff reporters 12 Sep 2025