Since 1998/1999, when the business cycle caused by the Asian crisis and drought bottomed out: •  the total output of the economy has expanded by about 20 per cent;  •  the volume of retail sales has expanded by about 25per cent;  •  export volumes have risen by nearly a third, driven heavily by the primary sector;  •  the annual operating surplus in the agricultural sector has risen, in real terms, by around 35 per cent;  •  the number of people employed, either full time or part time, has increased by around 220,000;  •  net immigration has added 67,000 new people to the normally resident population, and when increases in foreign students and those here on work permits are included, the figure is considerably larger still;  •  the annual number of tourists visiting New Zealand has risen by nearly 1 million; and  •  there are about 40,000 more business units now operating throughout the country across a variety of industries.
The funding provided by Next Generation EU is an opportunity for Greece 2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  The funding from Next Generation EU creates an extraordinary opportunity. For the first time in history, the European Union will issue common debt to counter a common shock.