NZX has hit refresh with a spring clean for its rule book

In the stock market equivalent of a fridge clean-out, the NZX has has “refreshed” its market structure and updated its listing rules.

The new rules are the first rewrite for 15 years and are being touted by the NZX as shorter, less complex, more user-friendly. They dispense with references to fax, telex or the word “forthwith” and have taken a year to draft. The revised market structure coincides with a move to a single equity market, getting rid of the failing NXT and AX small-cap company boards and moving all listings to the main NZX board.

The listing eligibility rules have been relaxed. Instead of needing 500 members of the public to be holding at least 25 per cent of the securities for a company to list, the new rules require only 100 unaffiliated investors holding 20 per cent of the stock. This is considerably easier than the 300 holders proposed in the consultation document released in April. The minimum market capitalisation has gone up from $5 million to $10m, down from the $15m in the April draft.

Other moves designed to reduce costs and encourage participation include removing the requirement for companies to get their constitutions approved by NZX Regulation, and dropping the need for all listed firms to produce a separate half-year report on top of their annual reports. The NZX has simplified rules around overseas companies listing and extended the foreign exempt regime to include companies which are incorporated in New Zealand but listed overseas.