\u201cThis is the first company in about five years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The solar power company wants to raise up to $100 million and will issue up to 206.66 million shares, giving it a potential market capitalisation of $465m. <\/p>\n
This was a big vote of confidence in the NZX, Liam Dann said.<\/p>\n
Often in the past decade, good companies had looked straight to the ASX or Nasdaq, or stuck with private capital raising, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Bridgeman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere you have one new company announcing a listing, sometimes it starts a chain reaction and you may see some other firms that were thinking about it, then the downstream effects of that could be really significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw that in the mid 2010s when we had a real wave of listings. Then that gives people a sense that things are actually starting to look good. \u201d<\/p>\n
Fonterra\u2019s bumper result was another big boost for the country, Bridgeman said.<\/p>\n
Fonterra delivered a full-year profit of $2.6 billion<\/a> last week and a full-year operating profit of $3.4b \u2013 including the $1.2b from the sale of its Mainland brands to French dairy giant Lactalis.<\/p>\n That was probably the largest corporate profit in New Zealand history, Dann said.<\/p>\n It surpasses ANZ New Zealand\u2019s $2.532b statutory profit for the year to September 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not such a corporate result. It\u2019s like a big stimulus package to the rural community,\u201d Bridgeman said.<\/p>\n The staggering figure was that Fonterra\u2019s cash return to farmers would top $20b this year when the payout, dividend and return from the brands sale were tallied, he said.<\/p>\n Fonterra has also announced plans to invest more than $1b in new production facilities in the South Island.<\/p>\n The big question now was how long it would take for cash injected into the rural economy to circulate through to cities like Auckland and Wellington.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like if you keep pouring money into New Zealand, it\u2019ll reach Auckland or Wellington at some point,\u201d Dann said.<\/p>\n Farmers were conservative by nature, and a large portion of the returns would go on debt repayment or maintenance, Bridgeman said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut sooner or later it\u2019s the new ute, the new tractor, some spending.\u201d<\/p>\n This week on the podcast, Bridgeman and Dann also examine a new report by CMC Markets, which looks at the long-term productivity challenge facing New Zealand\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n It includes perspectives from David Kirk, Bill English and Simon Bridges.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately there are three things that drive productivity,\u201d Kirk says in the report.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first is capital. We need access to investment, and we need that capital at the lowest possible cost. That comes from stable government, sensible economic policy and creating confidence for long-term investors.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe second is people. We need an education system that produces adaptable, capable people who can keep evolving as technology changes the nature of work.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe third is ideas,\u201d Kirk said.<\/p>\n \u201cSome ideas create entirely new industries, but most productivity comes from thousands of businesses continuously finding better ways to do what they already do. That\u2019s where New Zealand\u2019s biggest opportunity lies.\u201d<\/p>\n Listen to the full episode<\/a> for the complete conversation.<\/p>\nFormer All Blacks captain, business leader and current NZ Rugby Chairman David Kirk. Photo \/ Andrew Cornaga, Photosport<\/p>\n