"The appointment of Ernst & Young as NZX Sponsor is an important and significant addition to the NZAX Market development process. Ernst & Young is one of New Zealand's largest and most well regarded professional services firms, and they act on behalf of a broad range of New Zealand businesses, who are all well suited to the flexibility the NZAX Market offers for small-medium companies.
"We expect they will become a significant contributor to the growth of this market", said Geoff Brown, NZX Markets Development Manager.
As an NZX Sponsor, the role of Ernst & Young will be to advise companies on their requirements for achieving a listing on the NZAX Market, liaise with NZX on behalf of the application, and advise companies on their obligations once listed.
"We believe this new market will bring significant benefits to many of our clients, who in the past may not have considered a listing on the New Zealand Stock Market. It is one of our core principles to seek exceptional and innovative solutions for businesses that we represent, and we believe the NZAX Market offers this, by providing a lower-cost listing environment without compromising issues of investor integrity" said Jim McElwain, Principal, Ernst & Young Corporate Finance.
NZX expects to open the NZAX Market for trading on Friday 14 November 2003, with an initial First 15 companies listed.
