THE UNOFFICIAL LIST

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 131, 4 June 1937, Page 12

THE UNOFFICIAL LIST

TO BE DISCONTINUED

STOCK EXCHANGE ACTION

The unofficial list oi: shares which for some years past has been published by the Stock Exchanges of New Zealand is to disappear. This decision was come to by the Stock Exchange Association at its special meeting held lin Wellington yesterday, at which Mr. |H. Kitson (Christchurch) presided. Kepresentatives of Stock Exchanges also present were Messrs. J. W. Frater, chairman .of the Auckland Stock Exchange; Harman Reeves, chairman ol the Dunedin Stock Exchange; and Andrew Hamilton, chairman, and Mr. o. T. George, vice-chairman, of the Wellington Stock Exchange. . Mr. Kitson at the conclusion. of the meeting stated that one of the important matters discussed was the publication of the "unofficial list," which included the stocks and shares of companies which either had not applied to be officially listed on the stock exchanges or whose articles of association did not comply with the official regulations for listing. TO SAFEGUARD INVESTORS. It did not appear generally to be known, he added, that listing regulations of the stock exchanges contained provisions deemed to be necessary to assist in safeguarding the rights of shareholders. Some ftve or six. yeais ago however, it was felt that the use of an "unofficial list" might give further protection to dealers in certain little-known shares. There had been cases in which unwary investors had been induced to pay unwarranted prices for shares. For this reason it was thought that the publication of quotations in an "unofficial list mignt act as a safeguard to investors. Experience had shown, however, that the "unofficial list" had given as good a market in the way of published quotations as the official -.list had to the shares of those companies which had complied with the listing regulations. Moreover, the stock exchanges had had no power, in the case of shares on the "unofficial list," to enforce its regulations designed for the protection of shareholders. PROBABLE PENALTIES. Consequently the Stock Exchange Association had decided to discontinue publication of the "unofficial list as from December 1, 1937, and that, in the meantime, no additions would be made to the list except in special cirCUMr. Kitson further stated that it had been decided shortly to publish a set of special listing requirements for in-vestment-trust companies on the lines of those recently adopted by the Australian- stock exchanges. . Attention was also drawn at the meeting to the fact that recently certain companies whose shares were officially listed had failed to observe some of the conditions of listing, and it was decided that any future cases of the kind would be regarded seriously, with the probable penalty of removal from the official list.