Joint Media Statement by MBIE, NAGHL and NZSF

Bilingual Version

First steps taken towards Māori Co-Investment Fund

A fund which would see Māori organisations working together to invest in New Zealand businesses is a step closer today with the announcement of a partnership project between He kai kei aku ringa – the Crown-Māori Economic Partnership, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Limited (NAGHL) and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

The project will carry out a scoping study and engagement with approximately 30 Māori organisations that have expressed an interest in contributing capital, resources and assets to a Māori Co-Investment Fund.

The concept of Māori pooling capital for collective investment has been discussed in Māori and investment circles for several years.

Earlier this year the concept was formally raised by the NAGHL and the NZ Super Fund through a series of well-attended hui in Auckland and Rotorua.

In announcing the project, Liz Te Amo, Te Tumu Whakarae at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) says: “Mobilising Māori investment is important from two angles. First, some Māori organisations now have significant assets and cash to invest. At the same time, we have a lot of underutilised assets in the Māori economy, particularly land, that need investment to grow. Mobilising this investment is a core plank of He kai kei aku ringa, so we’re pleased to support Māori enterprises who will collaborate for growth, and it’s great to see NZ Super Fund and Ngāti Awa taking this initiative for our people.”

NAGHL CEO Geoff Hamilton says a Māori Co-Investment Fund would enable Māori investors to access and participate in much larger scale opportunities than could be achieved individually. “We see the fund as an opportunity for mahi tahi (working together), creating a smart effective alliance that gives Māori better options for enhancing investment returns, diversifying our portfolios, and creating significant benefits for our communities and stakeholders.”

The total value of investments and assets currently managed by Māori collectives exceeds $15 billion. 

“As long-term guardians of collective wealth it is important that Māori organisations optimise their investment portfolios in a way that meets both commercial and kaupapa indicators,” Mr Hamilton says.

The NZ Super Fund has committed to the project, providing input from its investment professionals and access to research data. Chief Investment Officer Matt Whineray said the NZ Super Fund saw the initiative as a way to stimulate new investment opportunities and foster co-investments in New Zealand. “As long-term, inter-generational investors, we consider Māori organisations are highly compatible with the NZ Super Fund’s investment approach.  We believe this kind of partnership is integral to the NZ Super Fund’s direct investment model.”

The Māori Co-Investment Fund concept was included in discussions at the He kai kei aku ringa – E RERE Māori economy conference in Rotorua on 16 June 2017. MBIE is funding the scoping study as part of its commitment to He kai kei aku ringa.

This first stage of the project will consider potential models for the fund and prepare background materials for engagement with Iwi and other Māori organisations over the next three months.

ENDS

Ko ngā tapuwae tuatahi ki te whakatū i te Pūtea Haumi Māori

I tēnei rā, ka oti tētahi wāhanga o ngā mahi whakatū i tētahi pūtea e mahi tahi ai ngā whakahaere Māori ki te tuku pūtea haumi ki ngā pakihi o Aotearoa, arā, ka whakapuakitia he kaupapa mahi tahi ki waenga i a He kai kei aku ringa (te rautaki mahi tahi a te Karauna me Ngāi Māori e tipu ai te ōhanga Māori), i a Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Ltd, i Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana Kaumātua o Aotearoa (New Zealand Superannuation Fund).  

Māna, mā tēnei kaupapa mahi tahi, ka kōkiritia tētahi mahi rangahau, ka whiriwhiri kōrero ki ngā whakahaere Māori āhua 30 nei e whai whakaaro ana ki te tuku mai he moni tōpū, he rauemi, he rawa hoki ki tētahi Pūtea Haumi Māori.  

Kua roa e kōrerohia ana e te ao Māori me te hunga tuku pūtea haumi te whakaaro me whakarite mai a Ngāi Māori he moni tōpū hei pūtea haumi.

I ngā marama tōmua o tēnei tau, ka āta whakamarewatia tēnei kaupapa e Ngāti Awa me Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana i ētahi hui ki Tāmaki-makaurau me Rotorua.

Ka whakapuakina te kaupapa e Liz Te Amo, he Tumu Whakarae ki Hīkina Whakatutuki (Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment), ka mea ia “e rua ngā āhuatanga matua o te whakakao mai i te pūtea haumi Māori. Tuatahi, tērā ētahi whakahaere Māori he nui tonu ā rātau rawa me ā rātau moni hei tuku haumi. Heoi anō, tērā tonu rā ētahi rawa i te ōhanga Māori kāore i te tino whakamahia, pēnei i ētahi whenua, me whai pūtea haumi e tipu ai. Ko te whakaoreore i te pūtea haumi tētahi wāhanga nui o He kai kei aku ringa, nō reira e hākoakoa ana mātau ki te tautoko i ngā whakahaere Māori e mahi tahi ana ki te whakatipu i te ōhanga Māori. Me mihi ka tika ki Te Kaitiaki Pūtea Penihana me Ngāti Awa e kōkiri nei i tēnei kaupapa hei painga mō tō tātau iwi”.

E kī ana a Geoff Hamilton, kaiwhakahaere matua o Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Ltd, mā te Pūtea Haumi Māori e whai huarahi ai ngā kaituku haumi Māori ki ētahi angitu tuku pūtea rahi tonu, e kore pea e taea ā-takitahi nei. “E mahara ana mātau, he huarahi tēnei pūtea e mahi tahi nei tātau, ka hua mai ko tētahi kotahitanga e whai wāhi ai a Ngāi Māori ki ngā kōwhiringa whai hua i ngā mahi tuku haumi, e whakawhānuitia ai ā tātau kōpaki kaupapa ōhanga, ā, e nui ake ngā hua ka puta ki ō tātau hapori me te hunga whaipānga”.

Hui katoa, ko te wāriu o ngā tukunga haumi me ngā rawa e whakahaeretia ana e ngā kāhui Māori, he kō atu i te $15 piriona. 

“He kaitiaki ngā whakahaere Māori i ngā rawa ōhanga mō ngā whakatipuranga, ā, he mea nui kia whakapikitia ā rātau kōpaki tuku haumi e tutuki ai ngā whāinga ōhanga me ngā āhuatanga kaupapa Māori hoki” hei tā Geoff Hamilton.

Kua mārō te ū mai o Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana ki tēnei kaupapa, ā, e tuku mai ana ia i ngā mātauranga o āna mātanga tuku haumi me āna rangahau. E kī ana a Matt Whineray, ko te Kaituku Haumi Matua, e mahara ana Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana he kaupapa tēnei e para ai he huarahi tuku haumi hou, e whakatipuria ai te mahi tahi ki te tuku haumi i Aotearoa nei. “Kei te hāngai pai mai ngā whakahaere Māori ki ngā tikanga tuku haumi a Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana, arā, hei kaituku haumi wā roa hei painga mō ngā whakatipuranga. E whakapono ana mātau, ko tēnei momo mahi tahitanga te tino iho o te tikanga tuku haumi o Te Kaitiaki Tahua Penihana.”

I kōrerotia te kaupapa nei ki te whakatū i tētahi Pūtea Haumi Māori ki te hui-ā-motu mō te ōhanga Māori, ko He kai kei aku ringa – E RERE i tū ki Rotorua i te 16 o Pipiri 2017. Kei te tautoko a Hīkina Whakatutuki i te rangahau nei, he wāhanga tēnei o āna mahi mō He kai kei aku ringa.

Kei te wāhanga tuatahi nei o tēnei kaupapa, ka tirohia ētahi tauira whakahaere mō te pūtea, ka whakaritea mai he rauemi e matapakitia ai te kaupapa ki ngā iwi me ngā whakahaere Māori a ngā marama e toru e tū mai nei.

KA MUTU

For further information, please contact:

MBIE:                     Liz Te Amo, Te Tumu Whakarae, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, 021 224 8406, [email protected]

NAGHL:                 Geoff Hamilton, Chief Executive Officer, Ngati Awa Group Holdings Ltd, 07 307 0760 [email protected]

NZ Super Fund: Catherine Etheredge, Head of Communications, 09 366 4905, [email protected]

More Details:

He kai kei aku ringa is the Crown-Māori Economic Partnership. It is designed to lift Māori achievement in Employment, Rangatahi, Enterprise, Regions and Education (E RERE). It is jointly led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Te Puni Kōkiri. Visit http://www.erere.māori.nz

Ngāti Awa Group Holdings Limited is the company undertaking commercial activities on behalf of Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa.  Like many other iwi corporate organisations, it seeks to grow the real capital value of the tribe’s commercial assets over the long term, provide funds to the parent organisation, maintain prudent corporate governance, and integrate its activities with broader tribal aspirations

The NZ Super Fund is a $35 billion investment fund established by the New Zealand Government to help pre-fund the rising cost of universal superannuation. The NZ Super Fund, which is considered one of the world’s leading sovereign wealth funds, has more than $5 billion invested in New Zealand, including co-investments with Ngāi Tahu in property development at Hobsonville Point in Auckland, and with Kakano Investments Limited in Kaingaroa Timberlands.