Dairy farming cooperative Fonterra will use the NZX to operate the Fonterra shareholders' market as part of Trading Among Farmers (TAF) scheme, NZX said today.
The market will be a platform where Fonterra farmer shareholders will trade Fonterra shares among themselves as part of the planned TAF scheme, which ison track for launch in November.
The market will be operated independently from other securities markets operated by NZX, such as the NZX main board, NZX alternative market, the NZX debt market and the NZX derivatives market, NZX chief executive Mark Weldon said.
NZX's role with the Fonterra market will have parallels to its operation of the wholesale electricity market, which is operated by NZX on behalf of the Electricity Authority, he said.
Weldon said NZX will provide a suite of trading, clearing, settlement, surveillance, regulatory and other reporting services to Fonterra.
Final commercial terms are still under discussion, but NZX said it will operate the market using a flat fee licence structure.
Under the Securities Markets Act 1988, the Fonterra shareholders' market must be operated by a registered exchange approved by the Financial Markets Authority. NZX is New Zealand's only registered exchange operator.
