NZX: the slow information exchange

Congratulations to the NZX and its boss Mark Weldon, who this week announced a 40 per cent increase in the firm's net profit in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the previous year. Well done Weldon, that's a great effort in tough times etc.

Ironically, though, for a business which is based on providing information, it was easier to find the full market releases relating to the result through the links in this New Zealand Herald story than on the NZX site itself.

OK, it is possible to source the three related NZX result documents on the exchange's website but I don't want to "login to My NZX to view the attachment(s) for this announcement". Why should I have to supply my email address (and try to memorise another password) to access public disclosure documents? One more tedious sidetrack off the information highway.

Another data-harvesting plot, I bet, for who-knows-what evil marketing purposes.

Across the Tasman, however, the ASX doesn't feel the need to impose itself between me and the market information I occasionally seek. Just compare how the two exchanges disclose documents for any dual ASX/NZX listed firms to see the difference. Take this recent Babcock and Brown death notice, for example,NZX-style and the ASX version here.

The NZX's reluctance to get straight to the point has also been noted by the Securities Commission over the years: "The Commission believes that attachments to announcements, particularly annual reports, should be disclosed on the NZX website without the need to make a request."

And I believe that too.

David Chaplin

Pictured: NZX chief executive Mark Weldon. Photo / Mark Mitchell