Listing Requirements

What companies qualify to list on NZX?

The companies listed on the New Zealand market cover a range of industries, sizes and stages of development.

Unlike some overseas exchanges, NZX does not apply prescribed eligibility criteria based on profit, working capital or net tangible assets. There are some eligibility criteria set out in the rules, and during the listing process, NZ RegCo may impose further requirements, or waive certain requirements, at its discretion.

The requirements below are set out in the Listing Rules dated 2020. The rule set can be found here.

Rule
NZX Main Board

Market capitalisation

At least $10 million

Investor spread

Securities are held:

- by at least 100 members of the public; and

- where those securities that are held by “members of the public” represent at least 20% of the securities on issue

Ongoing reporting

Issuers are required to release financial statements on a full and half year basis

New Zealand uses a continuous disclosure regime to ensure the market is kept informed

Corporate governance obligations apply to issuers listed on the Main Board. The key requirements are set out below:

Board of directors

A minimum of three directors

At least two directors must be ordinarily resident in New Zealand

At least two directors must be “Independent directors”. It is recommended that this is a majority

Board committees

Issuers are required to have an Audit Committee, which must:

- be comprised only of directors;

- have a minimum of three members;

- have a majority of Independent directors; and

- have at least one member with an “accounting or financial background”

The NZX Corporate Governance Code sets out further information on what type of board committees are considered best practice

Constitution

Issuer constitutions are subject to prescribed content requirements, which can be either set out in the constitution or incorporated by reference

Governance recommendations and reporting

Issuers will be required to report against their compliance with recommendations set out here.