Business Desk

State-controlled power company MightyRiverPower will join the benchmark NZX 50 index later this month as the sixth biggest company on the stock market. With MRP’s inclusion in the index from July 22, four of the country’s 10 largest NZX companies by market capitalisation will be electricity sector players, with Meridian Energy’s $3.3 billion or so float hanging over the market …

Energy Mad, whose shares have jumped more than 20 percent this week since it said first-quarter earnings were ahead of budget without giving details, has now released numbers showing it had only expected to earn $7,000. Unaudited earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation were $120,000 in the three months ended June 30, of which $95,000 related to year-earlier depreciation and …

Companies expecting to benefit from a lower New Zealand dollar may get only a short reprieve as the kiwi appreciates towards the end of the year buoyed by the prospect of an improving economy and higher interest rates, according to a BusinessDesk survey. The local currency has dropped about 5 percent this year as improving data out of the US …

SkyCity Entertainment Group has agreed to buy Queenstown’s Wharf Casino for $5 million from Malaysia’s Lasseters, adding 74 electronic gaming machines and six gaming tables to its existing operations in the resort town. The deal is subject to Commerce Commission and Gambling Commission approvals. The company moved to 100 percent ownership of Queenstown Casino in December, buying out Skyline Enterprises’ …

Jade Corp spin-off Wynyard Group has all but announced it will list on the NZX within the next two months, subject to the fast-growing intelligence software group’s shares being accepted by the local bourse. Chaired by former Treasury Secretary Murray Horn, Wynyard has appointed advisers and a broker to raise funds “to accelerate its international growth strategy and meet the …

SkyCity Entertainment Group has gained a 27-year extension to its Auckland casino licence and can add 230 slot machines and 40 gaming tables in exchange for meeting the $402 million construction, fit-out and land costs of a new convention centre in the city. The company is gaining concessions with a net present value of $316 million, according to a base …

Following a bookbuild with the country’s major institutional investors today, Finance Minister Bill English has announced that Mighty River Power will be priced at $2.50 a share. The government is set to net $1.7billion from the partial privatisation whilst retaining a controlling 51% stake in the company. More than 400,000 New Zealanders registered their interest in the issue, with 113,000 …

T he New Zealand dollar may rise this week as stronger global equity and commodity markets stoke demand for the currency and an improving local economy boosts employment. The kiwi dollar recently traded at 85.41 US cents, from 85.32 cents on Friday in New York. It has risen 3.1 percent so far this year, or 5.2 percent on a trade-weighted …

APN News & Media, whose stable of publications includes the New Zealand Herald newspaper, has appointed News Ltd’s Michael Miller as its new chief executive, effective from mid-June. Miller, who has been with Rupert Murdoch-controlled News Ltd since 1997, is currently its regional director for New South Wales, and has experience in New Zealand, sitting on the board of pay-TV …

New Zealand shares rose as companies in regulated markets, such as Contact Energy and Chorus, recovered from last week’s selloff and among small caps, Ecoya soared after beating its earnings guidance. The NZX 50 Index rose 39.156 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4483.65, a record high close. Within the index, 35 stocks rose, 10 fell and five were unchanged. Turnover …