Rising New Zealand property values accelerated last month as the lack of listings in Canterbury and Auckland continue to overheat the market, prompting the Reserve Bank to impose low-equity home lending restrictions from next month. Property values rose at an annual pace of 8.5 percent in August, from an 8.1 percent annual pace a month earlier, according to state-owned Quotable …

Infratil, the New Zealand stock exchange listed infrastructure investor, has paid down its bank debt and is considering buying back shares and ramping up wind farm investment in Australia after reaping about $400 million from the sale of a 30 percent stake in Z Energy. Infatil has used about half its funds from Z Energy to pay back bank debt …

The Financial Markets Authority has warned the failed Allied Nationwide Finance for probably breaching securities law, but won’t pursue tougher action as it wraps up another four investigations into the collapsed finance sector. The market watchdog won’t take enforcement proceedings against Allied Nationwide, Equitable Mortgages, LDC Finance or Irongate Property, and expects to make announcements on its remaining five cases …