NZX to run Fonterra's in-house share-trading

Friday 10th February 2012 2 Comments

NZX, the stock exchange operator, has been given the nod that Fonterra Cooperative Group wants it to run its private shareholder market.

The Fonterra Shareholders’ Market will let farmer-owners trade shares among themselves as part of the Trading Among Farmers (TAF) regime scheduled to kick off in November. NZX will operate the market independent of its other bourses, and will provide trading, clearing, settlement, surveillance, regulatory and other reporting services.

NZX will operate the market under a flat fee structure, and is ironing out the finer commercial details, it said.

The TAF regime will see farmers hold so-called ‘wet’ shares equivalent to the volume of milk solids they produce each year, and ‘dry’ shares equalling up to 100 percent of their ‘wet’ shareholding. Both types of shares will be open to trading, and a fund will be set up which could hold a farmer’s shares on their behalf, paying out cash to farmers or helping purchase shares if need be.

The fund would also be open to public investment, something that has raised the ire of some Fonterra shareholders.

NZX shares were unchanged at $2.70.

(BusinessDesk)

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

On 10 February 2012 at 11:56 am brian billing said:

Yes time this cosy closed shop was opened up.

On 11 February 2012 at 8:13 pm William Smith said:

What closed shop are u talking about? A company owned by its shareholders is a closed shop is it. Buy a dairy farm and u could be a shareholder.