Chapman Tripp supports NZX plan for board consolidation

NZX shares last traded at $1.12, having increased 19 per cent over the past year.

Top law firm Chapman Tripp says it supports the consolidation of NZX boards.

Chapman Tripp partner Rachel Dunne said the firm was pleased the stock exchange was considering ditching its "junior" boards - NZAX and NXT - in favour of one board for all its stocks.

"We were very pleased to see NZX's announcement that it is considering consolidation of the junior boards into the main equity board," Dunne said. "We are encouraged by this early sign that new CEO Mark Peterson intends to take bold and active steps to revitalise the future of NZX and our capital markets."

The NXT has, by NZX's own admission, not performed as expected, Dunne said.

"It's failed to really have the support of the broker community in New Zealand. And the NZAX is in limbo. It is closed to new listings - so there are 18 companies that are effectively stranded on there," she said.

"NZX has signalled that it is planning to consult with the wider market from the end of Q3 this year on the potential consolidation of the boards, which we strongly support as an initiative.

"Consultation with the market is going to be vitally important to the success of the transition. And also to ensure that, once the boards are consolidated, smaller cap companies can successfully list on the NZX Main Board."

Dunne said the biggest challenge NZX faced was making sure the shift from three boards to one was as pain-free as possible for smaller cap companies.

"We would like to see the transition to be a compulsory move, so issuers cannot choose to remain on those two boards. Instead, they are effectively shut down as promptly as possible," she said.

"There has also been a lot of talk about ensuring that smaller cap companies have a governance-light approach to life, so they're not overburdened with the compliance costs of listing."

NZX is currently reviewing its equity market structure in response to market feedback, adding the present set up was not effectively meeting the needs of New Zealand's smallest listed companies.