New Zealand was still a good investment destination, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and nine of the country's largest listed companies told an audience of international institutions and investors in Sydney.
Organised by Craigs Investment Partners, Mr English was accompanied by executives from Fletcher Building, Telecom,Contact Energy, Auckland International Airport, Sky Network Television, Sky City Entertainment, Infratil, Nuplex and Air New Zealand. These companies represent $24 billion worth of market capitalisation and about 56% of the NZX-50.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Chris Timms said that based on current estimates, most of those companies would report double-digit earnings per share growth in 2012.
The day was planned to give the companies greater exposure to international investors and give the same investors access to Mr English.
"These companies are key players on the NZX and it gives them a chance to talk to an international audience about their companies - promoting New Zealand and their operations to a wider group of investors.
"It is a valuable exercise - spreading the good oil on New Zealand Inc. It increases the opportunity for those investors to think about New Zealand and the companies a wider base from which to raise additional funding. It's a big marketing exercise."
Most of the companies provided a brief recap of their interim results and emphasised their key strategic initiatives while touching on the impact of the Christchurch earthquake on their businesses.
While most companies were directly affected in some way, and seeking to contribute in others, the worst affected were Air NZ (tourism) and Telecom (infrastructure).
Fletcher building would be the largest beneficiary of a rebuild of infrastructure, housing and the CBD, Mr Timms said.
Mr English emphasised the localised nature of the earthquake and that 90% of the damage had been insured for, Mr Timms said.
Christchurch accounted for 10% of GDP but a significant part of that came from the productive rural sector which had not been affected.
The Government was mindful of the flow-on effects to tourism, exports and education, and those areas would receive the initial focus, coupled with infrastructure and emergency benefit initiatives.
The fundamental policy story of the National-led Government was around leveraging New Zealand's exposure to rising food prices across the Asia-Pacific region, he said.
Achieving that involved a rebalancing exercise by shrinking the public sector, re-adjusting from the pre-global financial crisis credit-fuelled housing and consumption bubbles and reallocating resources to fast-growing export markets.
Mr English highlighted the classic developed economy deleveraging path that New Zealand was now on as house prices fell, discretionary consumption fell and private savings rose - all supported by recent tax changes.
"This deleveraging process has been stronger and longer than the Government anticipated, with house price falls in particular having a significant impact given its wealth effect."
The minister also highlighted the specific government initiatives under way to reinvigorate the New Zealand capital markets, Mr Timms said.
