News Round Up

Salvus partially shows its hand, Tax cuts for trusts called for, Promina posts strong result, AMP Capital gets into the retirement village game, Proposed hedge fund gives away shares.

Monday, February 28th 2005, 6:31AM

Salvus reveals some of its holdings
Investment company Salvus has for the first time revealed some of the companies it has invested in.

Until now the company has been reticent to disclose its holdings. It says 72% of the $20.1 million raised in an IPO six months ago has been invested and the balance is in cash.

The portfolio is currently made up of 19 holdings of which two are NZAX-listed and one unlisted company. To find out what it holds [CLICK HERE]

Trustees Association calls for tax rates to drop
The New Zealand Trustees Association says that income tax rates for trusts should drop when company rates are lowered.

"There has been no indication yet from Minister for Revenue Dr Cullen that trust tax rates will automatically drop with company rates from the current 33% in the dollar,” Trustees Association executive officer Errol Anderson said.

NZTA have raised the question and are lobbying Government to address what would be an anomaly if it were allowed to happen. “This is also a clear opportunity to review the income tax rate of minor beneficiaries, also taxed at the same 33%. This rate has been described as a cruel tax on people without a voice,” he said.

Hedge fund begins free share give-away
A proposed new hedge fund which got off to a shaky start last month has started its new plan of giving away shares.

Hedge Fund Patrol ran advertisements over the weekend aimed at giving away 100,000 shares to the public.

Earlier the fund tried listing on the Unlisted market, but pulled its offer after a couple of days because of regulatory problems.

Lawyers Chapman Tripp are advising the fund on its offering with the likely structure being a unit trust holding the monies for the investors.

Home loan war 2
Bank of New Zealand is trying to start another home loan price war in the two-year fixed rate market.

This time its strategy is a little different. To find out what it is doing [CLICK HERE]

AMP joins retirement village developer
AMP is getting into the retirement village market with one of its funds, AMP Property Opportunity Fund, signing a joint venture with Vision Senior Living.

The joint venture will assume ownership of Vision's existing Papamoa Beach Gardens $50 million development in the Bay of Plenty. Another 250 units should be completed in 2008.

AMP Capital Investors' research of the retirement village sector identifies lifestyle retirement resorts as the growth sector of retirement living. This is a sector quite distinct from the healthcare sector.

AMP Capital Investors has a strategy of partnering with skilled and experienced operators when investing in specialist property types. Vision Senior Living's track record in developing and managing villages was important to the decision to invest, it says.

Promina posts solid result
Standard & Poor's says Promina’s solid year-end results for Promina were in line with its expectations given the favorable insurance and investment market conditions throughout 2004.

“The strong 53.7% rise in net profit after tax to A$458 million, maintenance of premium levels, improvement in underlying margins, and consolidation of capital and reserve strength are compatible with our decision to raise the ratings on Promina and its general insurance businesses in August 2004,” Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Michael Vine said.

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