Chorus, whose shares have gained 40 per cent in the past two years, will join the S&P/ASX 200 Index on May 2, bringing to eight the number of New Zealand companies with a primary listing on the NZX that are also on the Australian benchmark index.
Chorus will replace Duet Group, which is being acquired by an investment group, subject to a scheme of arrangement. Chorus has a market capitalisation of A$1.6 billion (NZ$1.72b). Its shares have outperformed the ASX 200 in the past five years, gaining 50 per cent while the index rose 35 per cent. The stock rose 3 per cent to $4.34 on the NZX today.
While there will be only eight NZX-listed companies on the ASX 200, the Australian stock exchange counts 50 New Zealand companies that have sought to list their shares on the Australian bourse, either through a conventional listing or an ASX foreign exempt listing, which accounts for 35 of the companies. The foreign-exempt category was introduced in 2015, making it easier for Kiwi companies to dual-list by removing requirements to meet compliance with both sets of listing rules.
They include seven New Zealand-based companies that bypassed the NZX in favour of an ASX listing that offers access to deeper pools of capital and greater liquidity, including Neuren Pharmaceuticals, which develops biopharmaceuticals to treat brain injuries and disorders, 9 Spokes International, which sells business tools for smaller companies, jetpack maker Martin Aircraft, and wifi services company Tomizone.
The ASX 200 have a market capitalisation of about A$1.67 trillion while the NZX All Capital Index has a value of about $112b.
