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Speaker 1: So as we sit at the start of the show,

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Speaker 1: the opening day of this investor face looks a bit promising.

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Speaker 1: Serious players representing large fortunes looking to invest here and

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Speaker 1: get this country back in the game. Eberdeen is a

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Speaker 1: Scottish based infrastructure fund with more than a trilling dollars

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Speaker 1: worth of assets. The head of Infrastructure Funds, Bill Hoffey,

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Speaker 1: is in the country and well there's Bill morning, Good morning.

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Speaker 1: What's your summation of day one?

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Speaker 2: Very positive. I think quite a few investors came here

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Speaker 2: with a degree of cautious optimism and the government has

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Speaker 2: been looking to knock down some of those cautious barriers

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Speaker 2: and give people an opportunity to have some real promise

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Speaker 2: to invest and put their people into this country.

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Speaker 1: I thought the Prime Minister's message that with a shelter

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Speaker 1: from the storm was a good one. Did it lend

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Speaker 1: well in your view?

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Speaker 2: He did, a number of compelling reasons have been given

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Speaker 2: as to why now is the right time to come

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Speaker 2: to New Zealand for those foreign investors and foreign construction

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Speaker 2: companies and grow their business locally.

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Speaker 1: Did you get enough out of day one project wise

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Speaker 1: to be tempted or do you need day two with

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Speaker 1: more projects. In other words, you need to hear more.

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Speaker 2: It's very much a two part sessions. So they've covered

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Speaker 2: some high level projects during the first day, but there

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Speaker 2: are more to come as I understand it today, So

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Speaker 2: very much looking forward to hearing about some of the

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Speaker 2: other sectors where they've got some projects in development.

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Speaker 1: The Second Harbor crossing is one that we're apparently looking

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Speaker 1: forward to. Does your company look to specific projects or

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Speaker 1: types of projects or any projects potentially?

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Speaker 2: The Eberdeen Concession Infra team has about eight billion enz

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Speaker 2: globally under management in PPPs and concession infrastructure projects, so

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Speaker 2: we're very much targeting those projects which have a public

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Speaker 2: private partner ship flavor to them, So that's the kind

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Speaker 2: of projects that we are looking at. We're very much

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Speaker 2: interested in the Northern Corridor as well as some of

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Speaker 2: the social accommodation projects which have been signaled to be

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Speaker 2: coming out from the government.

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Speaker 1: How aware, and this has been the great debate in

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Speaker 1: this country post COVID and post our lockdown for such

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Speaker 1: a long period of time, and the Prime Minister goes

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Speaker 1: on about it all the time. How are where are

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Speaker 1: you guys of New Zealand being open for business? Or

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Speaker 1: has this been a revelation to you And it's good

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Speaker 1: to hear from your point of view.

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Speaker 2: It's certainly good to hear. From my point of view.

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Speaker 2: Aberdeen was involved in bidding the previous round of public

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Speaker 2: private partnerships, which I think last has an investment opportunity,

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Speaker 2: probably about seven years ago, so it has been very

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Speaker 2: quiet for the past six seven years. From my perspective,

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Speaker 2: as a green field investor into this landscape, we obviously

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Speaker 2: look and have capacity to invest globally and New Zealand

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Speaker 2: is one of those places where we can do business

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Speaker 2: if the pipeline that's right and the government is coming

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Speaker 2: forward with the right kind of projects.

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Speaker 1: That was my next question. So you've had three or

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Speaker 1: four decent projects more come today? Do you need to

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Speaker 1: see the pipeline which is beyond project number one or

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Speaker 1: maybe two? You want to see something multi year.

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Speaker 2: Yes, and certainly that has been signaled during the first day,

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Speaker 2: and I expect a bit more through the second day

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Speaker 2: for companies, particularly the design and construction companies and operating

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Speaker 2: companies to come and put quality people in Australia where

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Speaker 2: maybe the local skills don't exist. It's probably be more

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Speaker 2: than just one project in one sector.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff, Bill good and so I appreciate it very

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Speaker 1: much and enjoy us down in the country Bill Hoffey,

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Speaker 1: who's with the Eberdeen he's the head of Infrastructure Funds.

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Speaker 1: For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to

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