Fonterra, Sharesies join to make share trading easier
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Former Fonterra director Greg Gent says the co-op has made the right decision to change its external auditor.
Gent told Rural News that he gave the Fonterra board “a big tick” for the decision.
The co-op announced earlier this month that it was recommending KPMG be appointed its new auditor from July 31, 2020; shareholder approval will be sought at the co-op’s annual meeting in November next year.
“Fonterra’s current audit agreement with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) concludes at the completion of the FY19 financial statements,” the co-op says.
At the co-op’s annual meeting in south Waikato on November 8 this year, Gent opposed the resolution to re-elect PwC as auditor for another year.
Gent told the meeting that he felt the relationship between PwC and Fonterra had “become too close”. He says it was time to look at new auditors. Gent also noted that several PwC executives have ended up on the Fonterra board.
Farmer-elected director Brent Goldsack was a partner in PwC for more than 12 years, and appointed director Bruce Hassall had a 35-year career at PwC, including seven years as chief executive of its NZ practice.
Gent says PwC has been Fonterra’s auditor since its inception. “That’s a very long time and it’s time to change the auditor.”
Federated Farmers is throwing its support behind the Fast-track Approvals Bill introduced by the Coalition Government to enable a fast-track decision-making process for infrastructure and development projects.
The latest report from ANZ isn’t good news for sheep farmers: lamb returns are forecast to remain low.
Divine table grapes that herald the start of a brand-new industry in Hawke’s Bay have been coming off vines in Maraekakaho.
In what appears to be a casualty of the downturn in the agricultural sector, a well-known machinery brand is now in the hands of liquidators and owing creditors $6.6 million.
One of New Zealand’s deepest breeder Jersey herds – known for its enduring connection through cattle with the UK’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – will host its 75th anniversary celebration sale on-farm on April 22.
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.