Public may not be told

Press, 28 January 1988, Page 25

Public may not be told

The public may not receive any information on the investigation of the Registrar of Companies into the dealings between N.Z. Forest Products (NZFP), Rada Corporation, and Prorada. Under section 9AA of the Companies Act, the Registrar may refuse to disclose information relating to inspection. However, Professor John Farrar, the dean of the law faculty at the University of Canterbury, said yesterday that he expected some form of an announcement to be made on the investigation. The act did not allow the disclosure of information before the investigation was completed, and the act also allowed companies the right of appeal against an investigation. Under section 9 of the Companies Act, the investigation was very much a low profile one. It related primarily to records and documents. Once the investigation was completed the Registrar then had to decide whether to make an application to the High Court requesting a formal investigation. Professor Farrar was also critical of the New Zealand Stock Exchange in the wake of the NZFP/ Rada dealings, believing that the organisation could become more efficient in its organisation and in policing listing requirements. During the rising market companies had “got away with murder.” Like the Securities Commission, the Stock Exchange did not have sufficient resources to police the market effectively, he said.