On the Money: plane-spotting, pun-making, spin bowling and more ...

Photographic evidence that Jack Ma has in fact heard of NZ – with John Key in 2016. (Image: NZME)

Sat, 09 Mar 2024

Has Jack Ma been in town?An object of idle curiosity for anyone landing at Auckland airport is the ever-changing line-up of VIP jets at the eastern end of the runway, but it was a much larger plane parked on the apron in front of the international terminal recently that caught the eye of one of our informants.According to the Hindustan Times, a plane with the same registration marks was spotted in Pakistan this year, ferrying around Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, perhaps China’s best-known billionaire.Who flew here on this chart...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Finance

RBNZ resists capital settings-research criticisms

The RBNZ has no intention of extending the deadline for submissions beyond Oct 3.

Andy Macdonald 5:00am

Primary Sector

The NZX discount: Are local investors missing value?

The local bourse has already lost four this year.

Riley Kennedy and Rebecca Stevenson 5:00am

The NZX discount: Are local investors missing value?

Retail

Warehouse chief says layoffs on table amid profit glut

Margin pressure is compounding analyst concerns that cuts can only cut so deep.

Gregor Thompson 5:00am

Warehouse chief says layoffs on table amid profit glut

Sponsored

Fiji’s exclusive side revealed

Private islands and 5-star luxury, closer than you think.

Tourism Fiji

Sponsored

The double edge of AI in cyber security

Artificial intelligence has the potential to become both a lifeline and a liability for modern organisations, as a revolutionary tool capable of spotting threats at lightning speed, but also the ultimate weapon in the hands of cybercriminals.

Spark