Former PM in Mainzeal lawsuit, RMA reform stymied, $10b cottage industry attracts big players

In NBR Print today: A former prime minister and a knight are among defendants in a lawsuit filed at Auckland High Court seeking to recover money for creditors owed $151 million by defunct construction company Mainzeal. Liquidators from accountancy firm BDO filed the claim this month seeking payments of about $50 million from eight defendants, Tim Hunter reveals. They allege directors breached their duties by allowing companies in the Mainzeal group to trade while insolvent.

The defendants are current director Richard Yan, former directors Dame Jenny Shipley, Sir Paul Collins, Peter Gomm, Clive Tilby and Siew May Kwan, along with Auckland companies Richina Global Real Estate and Isola Vineyards. In a statement, Chapman Tripp lawyer Michael Arthur, representing Dame Jenny, confirmed she was in receipt of the claim and said she and others strongly deny any allegation of wrongdoing. The claim will be vigorously defended.

The New Zealand stock exchange’s new market is firing up but the small-cap companies listing on it will not have to provide financial information to investors. The NXT market has a new disclosure regime that is simpler for companies and investors to understand and comply with than the more rigorous continuous disclosure requirements of the NZX main board. Surprisingly, there is no requirement for these young and (hopefully) high-growth companies to provide prospective financial information to potential investors. Calida Smylie reports.

Corporate dentistry is in its infancy but growth is expected to be rapid amid a spree of acquisitions. Many dentists fear the rise of corporates, worrying about loss of clinical control, standards and their independence. But the economic and demographic forces driving the phenomenon are inexorable, writes Jenny Ruth. Corporates like Abano Healthcare, Bupa, Pacific Smiles and National Dental Care are looking to make a buck and they are tempting many dentists to the “dark side” as some are describing it.

For years the tech industry has been talking about the mobile takeover. Smartphones and tablets are still not killing off PCs (in fact PC sales in New Zealand actually rose last year). But over the past month there has been a string of signs that mobiles are on the rise. Chris Keall reports.

National’s plans for wholesale revamp of the Resource Management Act definitely off. Without the numbers in Parliament following the Northland by-election loss and with support partner Peter Dunne and the Maori Party firmly opposed, ministers are looking at a kind of Plan B. Mr Dunne has been the most intransigent opponent and this week told Rob Hosking he will consider “process changes” on a case by case basis but not the original reform, outlined in 2013 that would have put environmental factors on a par with economic growth in determining whether developments go ahead.

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The vexed issue of shareholder compensation for continuous disclosure violations has reared its head again, prompting plenty of discussion in the market. Shoeshine discusses the latest case, involving Dunedin-based biotech company Pacific Edge, that has sent a jolt through the market.

Primetime current affairs show Campbell Live finishes its decade-long run on TV3 tonight. Nick Grant reports on the role of MediaWorks’ news chief Mark Jennings during the upheaval.

The key benchmark of shares listed on NZX, the Top 50 Index, has been trending higher, gaining about 30% in the past two years. But as Jenny Ruth reports, the share price of the stock exchange operator looks like a mirror image, shedding 20% in the last two years. What’s going on?

All this and more in today's National Business Review. Out now.