Here's an update on New Zealand from an energy and telecom-oriented investment perspective:
-- Broadband Internet is widely available in NZ. Fiber roll-outs are starting. Speeds of 3 Mbps are common in cities; higher in areas where cable is available. Hotspots aren't perhaps as widely available yet, and when they are, they tend to be outrageously expensive. NZ ISPs charge for data transfer, which does add to the costs. Vodafone and Telecom are perhaps the two largest, but they are by no means the only ones.
-- Electricity is relatively cheap in NZ because most of it comes from hydro power, esp. on the south island
-- NZ gets much of their own natural gas from the offshore Maui fields. Much more exploration and development has been going on over the last few years.
[[MORE]]-- One advantage of using gas canisters instead of piped-in gas is that you are much more independent that way. I have two canisters that I use only for cooking, and haven't had to recharge either one after 18 months.
-- Most NZ homes north of Canterbury (the region around Christchurch) and outside of the mountain regions don't have central heat. It's just not needed. A few electric space heaters work just fine for most people, and at a fraction of the cost. In older homes, insulation is relatively uncommon. (Kiwis are a fairly hardy bunch).
-- There are plenty of industry and investment opportunities in NZ. Check out PRC (Pike River Coal) and NZR (New Zealand Refining) on the NZ Exchange, for examples.
-- NZ has some interesting tax advantages: no taxes on capital gains (for anything from the sale of a house to the sale of stocks, etc), no inheritance taxes and very, very low property taxes. The government ran a surplus this year.
-- The NZ central bank runs independently of government, and has a mandate to fight inflation. That's why interest rates are high (over 8%), and why home prices have been declining.
-- The country is entering what looks like a gentle recession. Unemployment is up, but only modestly. It's still very low by global standards.
-- NZ has a no-nuclear policy. They are proud of their "clean and green" image; rightfully so, I think. They won't even allow US warships to dock here because of the US policy of not saying which of their ships carry nuclear materials.
-- NZ has a lot of farmers, millions of sheep, and a big and powerful dairy industry. It's also fairly rich in other commodities -- lumber, coal, etc. In a SHTF scenario, that could be considered a good thing.
