Two "new" companies born

Promina's financial services group relaunched itself as Asteron and the New Zealand stock exchange listed on its own market as the New Zealand Exchange.

In a launch which was telecast to various locations in Australia and New Zealand, Asteron, made some pretty big promises about its future, ostensibly setting the bar much higher for itself.

One theme of the launch was that the company had "unshackled" itself from its English parents "burning aware the cardigans and slippers" to be an Australasian organisation which was in charge of its own destiny.

While making up only a small percentage of its parent company's business, chief executive Dennis Fox said the aim was to be the star business. (Promina's largest business is general insurance).

The other theme was the values and expectations of the group.

While it summed up the values as being creative, having integrity, excellence and making customers' day it promised to lift the bar for itself best summed up by the closing comments: "We will be the company known for reinventing the paradigm in financial services.
"We will make financial planning an essential part of the way we live."

Now to deliver.

The other big launch was the listing of New Zealand Exchange on the stock market, which was followed by a big party in Wellington.

NZX chief executive Mark Weldon pushed a similar theme saying that the exchange had to make itself exciting and interesting. More people had to buy shares and NZX had an important role to play building New Zealand's economy.

Finance minister Michael Cullen summed it up well.

"I suspect that for the majority of New Zealanders the exchange is a mysterious – if not suspicious – institution. It is seen as the rich person’s TAB, which the innocent enter at their peril: sharp practitioners ever ready to separate the battlers from their hard won nest eggs.

"That perception has to change if we are to realise our full economic potential. We need to increase our national level of savings, and channel that into productive investments that create jobs and incomes and earn foreign exchange. The Stock Exchange is a vital intermediary in that process."

Like Asteron, NZX has set big targets for itself.

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