Primary sector index planned by NZX

AUCKLAND: NZX wants to capture New Zealand’s ‘‘natural advantage’’ in the primary sector with a new index tracking listed industry players and build on the early success of its dairy derivatives market, chief executive Mark Peterson says.

The Wellingtonbased company is refocusing on its core market business to revive investor interest in the capital markets.

Among those initiatives is a drive to capture New Zealand’s comparative advantage in agriculture and horticulture, and Mr Peterson told shareholders at the annual meeting in Christchurch on Friday a new index would be launched in the second quarter, including stocks such as a2 Milk Co, Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund, Comvita, New Zealand King Salmon, Scales Corp, Sanford, and Seeka.

‘‘This sector generates a significant portion of our country’s wealth and our exchange is home to several high profile names,’’ Mr Peterson said in speech notes published on the NZX.

‘‘To give these companies the exposure they deserve, we will launch a primary sector index in Q2 so that local and global investors can better track the performance of this growing part of the market.’’

NZX’s new strategy consists of four parts: refocusing on the core market; pursuing growth in debt, dairy, environment and energy markets; expanding funds management and administration divisions; and operational efficiency.

Mr Peterson said NZX’s dairy derivatives market has already registered gains. Active users were up 60% last year and longer trading hours were on track to begin in July.

‘‘This will provide more opportunities for European and Asian firms to participate in the market, which was previously closed for the majority of their trading day,’’ he said.

The derivatives website is being redesigned to include Mandarin translation, and NZX is preparing to open a new office in Singapore. — BusinessDesk