Strengthening New Zealand’s capital markets

Strong capital markets play a crucial role in providing access to capital for New Zealand businesses to invest, innovate and grow, and in supporting New Zealand investors looking to grow their financial wellbeing. 

While the current settings are generally working well, there are adjustments that could be made to strengthen and grow our markets and keep up with international competitors.

As a first step, the Government is making it easier for businesses to raise money from the public by making it voluntary to provide forward-looking financial information as part of an Initial Public Offering of shares. This will give businesses more flexibility and bring New Zealand closer in line with other countries like Australia. These changes are expected to be in place by May 2025.

The Government has also opened consultation today on two specific proposals that will help create more effective capital markets: 

1. Enabling KiwiSaver investment in private assets – most KiwiSaver funds are invested in ‘public’ assets listed on global stock exchanges. These proposals aim to provide a wider range of investment options and potentially higher returns for KiwiSaver members, and to make it possible for more of the funds in KiwiSaver to flow into productive domestic projects in need of capital. This includes things like infrastructure developments and companies that aren’t yet in public ownership.
2. Potential adjustments to the climate-related disclosures regime – this regime promotes consideration of climate risks and opportunities in business decisions to help smooth the transition to a low emissions economy. Similar regimes are being implemented around the world, and international investors are asking for this information from New Zealand companies. We are consulting on options to make adjustments to aspects of the regime to ensure they are appropriate and not a barrier to listing on the NZX.

Interested parties can read the proposals and provide feedback on MBIE’s website. Both consultations close on 14 February 2025. 

The reforms announced today are phase one of a 2-phased package; phase 2 will begin in 2025 and include broader work on the capital markets regulatory system.

Read the Government's announcement(external link) — Beehive.govt.nz

Find out more about the 2 consultations and have your say