-
Mark Weldon - Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
The CEO of sharemarket operator NZX says he has never been more optimistic looking forward than he does now.
NZX figures released on Tuesday show that more capital was raised in the first four months of this year - at $3.2 billion - than in all of 2008 which recorded $3.1 billion.
Trades were also up, with 2,225 daily average trades in April. This is the highest since last October although down 5% on a year before.
"The market did what markets are supposed to do which is get capital to companies...and investors supported their local markets so it was a very positive month," says NZX CEO Mark Weldon.
The improvement comes as investors around the world appear to be contemplating the possibility the worst of the global economic crisis could be over.
Total debt raised year-to-date is up 39% on the same period last year, with total equity up 308%.
In April, $997 million of equity was raised and $747 million of debt raised, taking the totals for the year-to-date to $1.1 billion in equity and $2.1 billion in debt.
"I think the capital market will ultimately be beneficiary of the systemic weaknesses we've seen in the financial system, in the banking system and in the restrictions of credit," says Weldon.
The full year capital raising record was the $5.5 billion raised in 2007, and the market is tracking well to exceed that in 2009.
Listed issuers were taking advantage of recent listing rule changes, while further developments to enable a broader range of organisations - including local authorities and state owned enterprises - to access the debt market to raise capital were under way.
Last month the average daily value traded on the NZX was $102 million, down 17% on a year ago but the best result since September.
"I've never been more optimistic about the next three-year period, and certainly feeling a lot better today about life than a couple of years ago looking forward. You can't call the bottom but you can call a long-term momentum play which certainly is around the corner," says Weldon.
The total value traded on the NZX in April was $2.04 billion, down 21% from a year earlier.
The number of NZX market data terminals is down 17% from a year
ago, and down 9% year-to-date, to 9,110.
