NZ news snippets

The Cameron Partners’ report is expected to validate estimates a merger would have delivered an annual NZ$50m ($37.7m) benefit. However, ARH chairperson Judith Bassett said the particular deal proposed “was not in the interests of the Auckland region” and added “no commercial entity in its right mind makes its confidential commercial advice public”.

Meanwhile, Ports of Auckland returned a comparable 35% drop in net profit after tax to NZ$61.1m ($46m) for the 2006-2007 financial year. As the port also achieved a 13% rise in container throughput to 773,160 teu, analysts believe it must have agreed to a poor deal to win Maersk Line’s northern hub port status.