New Zealand’s position New Zealand, like the rest of the Asia-Pacific, has thus far held up better than many developed economies. The global financial crisis hit the Northern Hemisphere first, and hardest.
The transmission of the shock to us through Asia and Australia – which together account for half our trade in goods – has been slower than the transmission from the US to Europe. However, we haven’t escaped unscathed either financially or economically. New Zealand investors have lost money. Sectors of the New Zealand economy exposed to external demand have weakened sharply.