NZX welcomes rules easing financial disclosure requirements for IPOs - initial public offers

It is hoped the law change easing financial disclosure requirements for initial public offers will help encourage more companies to list on the stock exchange. Photo / NZME

Market operator NZX has welcomed new regulations that make the disclosure of prospective financial information in initial public offers (IPOs) optional.

Changes to regulations – Financial Markets Conduct Amendment Regulations 2025 – have been published on the Parliamentary Counsel Office website.

They come into force on June 12.

“One of the most difficult and expensive requirements for a company when listing on the NZX, is mandatory prospective financial information or PFI,” NZX chief executive Mark Peterson said.

“NZX understands the cost of providing PFI ranges from around $150,000 to $500,000 and is a major factor that causes New Zealand advisers to recommend companies list elsewhere where PFI isn’t mandatory,” he said.

NZX and other New Zealand market participants have been engaging the Government on ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the capital markets.

“Creating flexibility on how the future performance of a business can be portrayed in disclosure documents, is one of the initiatives we have been seeking,” Peterson said.

Making the requirement optional would provide investors more choice of investable product and enable better access to capital for New Zealand businesses.

“The change removes unnecessary red tape and will assist in New Zealand’s capital markets being more competitive with international peers,” he said.

NZX, and representatives of New Zealand’s capital markets sector, continued to engage with the Government on removing further regulatory roadblocks hindering investment and access to capital for New Zealand companies and projects, Peterson said.

This included changes to director-liability settings, “right-sizing” mandatory climate-related disclosures, specific changes to disclosure documents, and the NZX exploring possible tax reforms that would encourage greater investment.

“As a package, these reforms will materially improve the viability for companies wanting to meet their growth aspirations via the listed market,” he said.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.