Canadian oil company Apache has been talking up the prospects for onshore oil finds on the North Island's East Coast and is trying to play concerns about fracking and the local environment.

The former CEO of Pike River Coal has been criticised for refusing to appear at the Greymouth District Council hearings into the deaths of 29 miners in November last year. Gordon Ward was the chief executive until seven weeks before the final blast..

Cerebos Pacific says it may "just walk away'' from its takeover bid for New Zealand-listed honey company Comvita.|