Forum Archive Index - August 2001

["Ben Dutton" <bendutton@iguana2.com>]

Dear ShareChat user,

Following is a release ShareChat announced today.

Best Regards

The ShareChat Team.


PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NZ LISTED COMPANY COMMUNICATION GIVEN THE THUMBS DOWN BY INVESTORS

NZSE could also do a better job; use the Internet! investors say

August 7th, 2001.

New Zealand listed companies are not effectively communicating with the
investing public, according to findings released today.

Investment website ShareChat asked investors a number of questions on New
Zealand's listed companies and stock exchange in a recent survey.  In
response to the question "How well do you think New Zealand companies
communicate with the investment community?" a disturbing 58% answered "not
very well" or "badly".  Only 13% said companies communicate "reasonably" or
"very well", the rest answering "average".

"This statistic shows that some New Zealand companies are still living in
the communication dark ages," Ben Dutton, ShareChat's General Manager says.
"It is troubling that New Zealand investors are encountering companies that
seemingly have no interest in keeping the investing public informed."

When asked if investors would like to see New Zealand companies making more
of an effort to communicate with investors on the Internet a resounding 96%
responded "yes".

"It is a well established fact among international listed companies that the
Internet provides one of the best communication platforms available," Mr
Dutton says.  "But if 96% of NZ investors think our listed companies could
do a better job of communicating online, there must be a serious lack of
understanding, or perhaps apathy, from our companies on how to use the
Internet for their communications and Investor Relations."

"Perhaps New Zealand companies should start looking at themselves when
questioning their sluggish share prices," Mr Dutton says.  "After all,
implementing a good communications strategy is one of the most effective
ways of broadening your shareholder base and building value."

And the New Zealand Stock Exchange does not escape blame for NZ companies'
communication failings  When asked the question "What kind of job do you
think the New Zealand Stock Exchange makes of distributing company
information?" 38% of investors said a "bad' or "poor" job, and 49% said a
"fair" job.  Only 13% thought the NZSE does a "good" or an "excellent" job.

"Once again, the results show room for improvement.  I'd expect an
organisation like the Stock Exchange to score highly on a question like
this," Mr Dutton says.  "This result conveys that NZ investors believe the
Stock Exchange could do a better job assisting listed companies with their
communications needs."

"Through this survey, investors have made their feelings clear. New Zealand
listed companies have to improve their communication with investors, both
off and on-line. If our companies want to compete for the investor dollar in
what has become a crowded and global equity marketplace, then they must lift
their current performance," Mr Dutton concludes.

ENDS

The ShareChat User Survey was conducted in July 2001 and had over 500
respondents.  Users were asked a variety of questions including the
questions detailed above.

For more information please contact Ben Dutton:

Ben Dutton
ShareChat General Manager
bendutton@sharechat.co.nz
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/
Phone: +61 (0) 2 9211 1466
Mobile: +61 (0) 414 225 882

About ShareChat:

ShareChat was launched as a sharemarket portal for New Zealand investors in
August 1999 and quickly established itself as one of New Zealand's leading
sharemarket information website. ShareChat now has around 25,000 active
investors reading the website every month and is widely recognised as
providing comprehensive coverage of the national and overseas sharemarkets.

In May 2001, ShareChat was acquired by Iguana2, a company majority owned by
Solution 6 Holdings Limited.  Based in Sydney, Australia, Iguana2 is a fast
growing and innovative sharemarket information service provider.  Iguana2
offers a wide range of investor relations, sharemarket data, sharemarket
information and technology solutions to clients like Telstra, Access
Brokerage, Fletcher Building, Telecom, BHP Steel and the Bank of New
Zealand.




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