"They all required the presence of meaningful international investment. The 15 per cent restriction of the mixed ownership model (MOM) obviously meant that was tempered for the government assets, but it's been fundamental to getting these offers off the ground," says Simcock.
New pools of equity have emerged, with local funds under management in particular increasing in scale - bolstered by the significant wall of cash building in Kiwisaver. Yield-focused Asian funds and mid-cap Australian funds have also become more prominent within the market.
"We're set up well now. Like you see with Hirepool, you're off to Asia and you're confident you'll get your investment. The mixed-ownership model has really, significantly improved the understanding of investment opportunities within New Zealand," says Simcock. "Investors are up to speed and many now have a portfolio here whether it's in the MOM assets or one of the recent high profile IPO's. It makes it much easier to attain incremental investment, because they understand what is happening in the economy.
"That's been a really positive spin-off, not one that was necessarily explicitly intended, but certainly in terms of creating new pools of capital and providing an ongoing source of liquidity and support to the capital markets has been very positive," says Simcock.
Maintaining a positive business and economic environment will be essential if New Zealand is to continue to be able to leverage the gains made with international investors. GDP growth and the terms of trade have improved significantly in recent years, but the economy remains exposed to exchange rate risk. "I think the New Zealand dollar is going to be a constant challenge. That's been muted a bit by the strength of the commodities but with a mild inflationary environment, we are in a tightening situation," says Pearce.
"Our interest rates are higher than nearly every other OECD country in the world and we've got a higher exchange rate. That's going to continue to create challenges. We need to make sure that we have a diversified economy and the exchange rate is a headwind to that."
Making sure that New Zealand continues to bring quality businesses to market and widening the range of opportunities for investment and exposure therefore remains imperative. So far, so good though according to the investment bankers.
"I don't think we've had a genuine dud yet," says Simcock, who sees the trend of problem free issuances continuing "as long as the technology companies are communicating what they are and what they're not.
"We spend a lot more time in terms of investor education.
"Even before the formal IPO process happens, with a number of our clients we're going through a process of asset seasoning and introducing the company and the management team to key institutional investors 12 months out or longer before any potential liquidity event. By the time these assets are coming to market they're well understood and they are known to investors.
"That de-risks the investment both from our side and from the institutional side."
Market forces
NZ equity capital markets are receiving unprecedented levels of attention.
• Investors are attracted to a stable and growing economy underpinned by attractive fundamentals
- access to investment in food, agribusiness and consumables
- ever-improving relations in Asia
• New pools of equity have emerged
- increased scale of local fund managers
- mid-cap Australian funds
- yield-focused Asian funds offshore institutional property investors
Regional investors are looking at the market due to an increased number of investment opportunities
Lack of ASX diversification and favourable NZX comparison (low-beta, high-dividend yield)
•Predictable and stable pro-business government with a transparent and high-integrity operating environment
- perception of a stable government leading into a September 2014 election.
