NZX facts for kids

The New Zealand's Exchange (Māori: Te Paehoko o Aotearoa), often called the NZX, is New Zealand's main stock exchange. It's a place where companies can raise money by selling parts of their business (called shares) to investors. It's also where people can buy and sell these shares. The NZX is a company that is owned by the public.

As of 2022, there were 184 companies listed on the NZX. Their total market value was about NZ$161.4 billion. The main trading hours are usually from 10am to 4:45pm.

History of the NZX

NZX Centre (the taller building), 2007

The NZX started a long time ago, in the 1860s. Back then, during the gold rush, different cities in New Zealand had their own small stock exchanges. The first group of brokers (people who buy and sell shares for others) began in Dunedin in 1867. Other cities like Auckland and Wellington soon followed.

Over time, these smaller exchanges decided to work together. In 1915, many of them formed the Stock Association of New Zealand. Their goal was to create one national stock exchange. This finally happened in 1983, when all the regional exchanges joined to form the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE).

Before computers, people would shout out their offers to buy or sell shares on a trading floor. But on June 24, 1991, the NZSE started using a computer system for trading. This made buying and selling shares much faster and easier. Later, in 2010, NZX Clearing was set up to handle the final steps of trades, like making sure money and shares are exchanged correctly.

In 2002, the New Zealand Stock Exchange changed how it was set up. It became a limited liability company. This meant it was now owned by shareholders, just like the companies listed on its exchange. In 2003, its name officially changed to New Zealand Exchange Limited, or NZX. It even listed its own shares on its market.

The NZX Centre building in Wellington is quite old. It was built in 1907 and is an example of Edwardian architecture.

In August 2020, the New Zealand Exchange faced some online attacks. These attacks stopped trading for five days. The NZX worked with internet experts and the country's security agency to fix the problem.

What the NZX Does

The NZX does many important things. It runs and manages markets where people can buy and sell different types of investments, like shares (called securities) and other financial agreements (called derivatives). It provides services for trading, and also for what happens after a trade, like making sure everything is settled correctly. It also keeps records of who owns what investments.

The NZX is the only official stock exchange in New Zealand. It also runs a market for futures, which are agreements to buy or sell something at a set price in the future.

The NZX also helps people save money for their future. It offers products like Smartshares, which are groups of different investments that you can buy easily. It also provides retirement savings plans like SuperLife and KiwiSaver.

Beyond shares, the NZX also helps run other important markets in New Zealand. It manages the market where wholesale electricity is bought and sold. It also runs the Fonterra Shareholders’ Market, which is where shares in the dairy company Fonterra are traded.

NZX as a Company

The NZX itself is a company whose shares can be bought and sold on its own exchange. This means you can invest in the NZX company!

Here's a quick look at some of NZX's financial information from 2022:

NZX 2022 Annual Report

Information	Figure Reported
Revenue	NZ$95.7 million
Operating Income	NZ$19.5 million
Net Income	NZ$14.1 million
Assets	NZ$233.1 million
Equity	NZ$111.7 million
Employees	319

• Revenue is the total money the company earned from its services.
• Operating Income is the money left after paying for the day-to-day costs of running the business.
• Net Income is the company's profit after all expenses and taxes are paid.
• Assets are all the things the company owns, like buildings, equipment, and money.
• Equity is the value of the company that belongs to its owners (shareholders).
• Employees is the number of people who work for the company.

See also

• NZX 50 Index
• List of companies listed on the New Zealand Exchange
• List of stock exchanges in the Commonwealth of Nations