Time to buy, page-88

I can't agree with you that Foreign Investment controls are automatically xenophobic.

There are many reasons for such controls, and a lot of political complexity behind them.

While it would be nice for all those of us who are rich enough to even own shares to profit even more from a 'free for all' investment by foreign investors and governments... there are other considerations that need to be made.

A level playing field for one. Can the New Zealand government purchase meaningful stakes in the flagship Chinese airlines and other critical industries? Should we be allowing our best companies, as you put it, be bought up by foreign owners? China certainly isn't letting foreigners buy up theirs. And they've been doing rather well of late.

We're seeing globally right now what happens with over-reliance on foreign capital and supply chains. FDI is crucial to countries like New Zealand, but it needs to be regulated and considered strategically, in the interests of our long term future... not the short term interests of making the rich, richer.

I appreciate this is only indirectly linked to discussion of AIZ, but it's important in the interests of discussion around the macro-environmental factors that affect the the organisation.