New Zealand Law Society - NZX final NZX Corporate Governance Code published

NZX final NZX Corporate Governance Code published

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NZX has published its final NZX Corporate Governance Code, saying it is the first substantial update to the NZX Code since 2003.

The NZX Code covers eight principles that reflect internationally accepted corporate governance practices, which are intended to protect the interests of and provide long term value to shareholders while also seeking to reduce the cost of capital for issuers.

Each principle contains specific recommendations and explanatory commentary that NZX listed issuers are encouraged to adopt.

The updated NZX Code will take effect from 1 October 2017 so that it must be reported against for reporting periods ending 31 December 2017 and beyond.

During consultation with the market NZX says it received more than 80 submissions from major governance groups, issuers, corporate firms and investors in New Zealand and overseas.

NZX says it considers that the final NZX Code will result in a significant improvement to corporate governance standards among its Main Board listed issuers.

"The final NZX Code reflects the broad stakeholder views in New Zealand’s capital markets and reduces fragmentation between NZX’s Code and other existing corporate governance frameworks."