Claims through an anonymous email circulating the country that the mainstay company of the Christchurch earthquake demolition and rebuilding, Fletcher Building, has been taken over as a state-owned enterprise holds no credence, according to stockbrokers.
The email claims the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has "bought" Fletchers and it has "become a state-owned enterprise", through the stake held by New Zealand Central Securities Depository Ltd. In Fletcher being awarded work in Christchurch the Crown would therefore ultimately benefit financially as a Fletcher shareholder, it said.
"They [Fletchers] are just appointing themselves as project managers to clip the ticket and then getting the original tender winners to do the work," the unsigned four-page email said.
Craigs Investment partners broker Peter McIntyre said the New Zealand Central Securities Depository Ltd was a custodian, fully owned by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and also acted as a clearing house for overseas funds.
It also represented the New Zealand Superannuation Fund and in this transaction held the 2.45% stake held by the Super Fund in Fletchers, while ACC held 3%.
Mr McIntyre said funds such as ACC and the Super Fund were mandated to have stakes in top-10 listed companies "to invest in long-term growth shares for the benefit of New Zealanders". As well, they required an allocation of New Zealand-based shares.
The Super Fund had stakes in more than 40 companies, including Auckland International Airport (10.1%) Sky City (2%), Telecom (2.3%), Vector (0.2%), Freightways (2.8%)and Mainfreight (1.9%) as part of achieving balance in its overall portfolio, he said.
