Wellington, July 14 NZPA - A big business lobby says New Zealand businesses are showing self-reliance in the face of the economic downturn.

Business NZ said this was a key theme emerging from its 2009 Mood of the Boardroom survey, which it runs with The New Zealand Herald.

The poll of 300 company directors and chief executives from a range of enterprises on key issues, showed most had made productivity-related changes by improving systems, skills or technology.

Business NZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly said businesses were determined to grow productivity and help themselves through the downturn, rather than seeking government help.

Prime Minister John Key said in February that the Government was likely to make available "last resort" government assistance in the event that there was a need to bail out an important company, such as Fisher & Paykel. Letting such an important company fail because of a temporary crisis would be unacceptable, he said.

Fisher & Paykel has since sold a 20 percent stake in its business -- worth $82 million -- to a Chinese company, Haier.

Mr O'Reilly said the resourcefulness shown by the companies taking part in the survey augured well for improved growth as economic conditions improved.

Around 87 percent of larger businesses and 70 percent of smaller businesses said they had taken active steps over the past year to grow their productive capacity.