KEY POINTS:
Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel has rejected calls for statutory management of a string of Blue Chip companies and backed the approach the liquidator is taking.
However, she did give investors an assurance that the Government was watching the situation closely.
She has met with Blue Chip liquidator Jeff
Meltzer and said she had full confidence in the approach he had adopted.
Twenty-one Blue Chip companies owe at least $72.4 million and many of the 3000 investors are due take part in a meeting next Wednesday at the Ellerslie Events Centre.
This will be the first creditors' meeting and people from Northland to Southland are expected to get an idea of how much they might recover.
Many elderly investors put money into Blue Chip, using equity they had in their family homes to borrow heavily for Auckland apartments _ a market which has slumped lately, with massive discounts on few sales.
Dalziel said she was aware people were hurting and she felt for those who had found themselves in this situation.
"The liquidator has already told investors that he is reviewing a proposal that may provide interim solutions to assist those in the greatest need while this very complex situation gets sorted out.
"At this point, I'd like to reinforce Jeff Meltzer's advice that those investors who are able to manage their situation over the next 2 to 3 months out of their own resources should do so. People who cannot cope should go to their financier and request 2-3 months deferral of their repayments until a way forward becomes clearer. And, those with settlement dates still pending on Blue Chip properties should take independent legal advice," Lianne Dalziel said.
Information on Blue Chip properties is available on the liquidator's website at www.mmh.co.nz, she said.
The government would keep a close eye on the issue.
"Jeff Meltzer has assured me that he is in close touch with the relevant regulators and agencies, namely the Commerce Commission, the Securities Commission, the Companies Office and the Serious Fraud Office.
"Several people advocating for Blue Chip investors have been calling for statutory management, but it's important that I set the record straight. I am advised that the liquidator is being given access to all the information he has sought so far. People have been given unrealistic expectations about what statutory management can achieve. At this stage it offers no greater advantage or benefit to investors than the liquidation process.
"The fact that there are about 53 Blue Chip companies either in liquidation or under investigation by the liquidators and about 3000 investors involved shows how complex this issue is. In addition to all the directors and managers there is the full range of financial advisers, lawyers and valuers whose actions may require scrutiny," Lianne Dalziel said.
"I understand the fears that this uncertainty brings but urge investors to do what they can to manage their affairs in the short term. I will continue to monitor the situation and to take advice from the liquidator, the regulators and the officials who are looking into the activities of Blue Chip and its related companies."