Regulatory reform for NZX-listed companies according to RadioNZ

I’ve been studiously ignoring the new RadioNZ series entitled ‘RICH:  The meaning of wealth in Aotearoa’ – for no better reason than the title struck me as the sort of annoying clickbait that deserves to be ignored.

But the headlines this morning, as a result of an interview with Commerce Minister Andrew Bayly, caused me to weaken.  (Don’t judge me.)

The article reported, breathlessly, that the Government is planning to drop what it calls a “huge layering of personal liabilities for directors” to encourage more listings on the stock exchange.

In the interview signposted by that article, the Commerce Minister underlines the importance of listing as a means for companies to attract investment and grow.  And then the article says he revealed plans to scrap requirements for companies to tell prospective investors about future earnings forecasts.  And hinted that other obligations on company directors may go – including possibly removing the personal liability for climate-related disclosures.

All good – but from where I sit, the article and/or the interview should have simply said that the Government is going to implement the 2019 recommendations of the industry-led group, chaired by Martin Stearne, called ‘Capital Markets 2029’.

And, perhaps, while he was at it, the Minister might have been moved to comment on (or perhaps engage independent industry experts like Martin to examine) the challenges being faced by the SME sector when seeking capital.  Whilst the big end of town is very important, the SME sector makes up 95%+ of all New Zealand businesses, employs about 30% of all employees and generates over a quarter of GDP.

I have a few ideas, and so too do many other industry participants.  Part of the solution (I think) already exists – but it needs to be better resourced (and have some of its goals re-purposed).

I also observe that RadioNZ completely missed the boat with the Rod Duke interview – that is part of the same series.  The interviewer should have asked Rod to conduct a guided walk through of a couple of stores, and then a high street shopping precinct and finally a mall.  From a personal experience, it is only by observing how dialled in to how people think and shop – could anyone begin to see both Rod’s competitive advantage and how various physical shopping formats can be improved.  That applies not only for shoppers but also for other stakeholders – including business owners and local authorities.  That is not to say that any of these things are easy and it is not just local authorities who appear to be struggling with their parts of the shopping equation.  But, to take a leaf from Capital Markets 2029, anyone interested should start by talking to an expert – which Rod clearly is.

More information

More information about Capital Markets 2029 is available online.