The Queen in Right of New Zealand. In March 1991 the first liquid 10-year was issued, and between 1992 and 1994 the Debt Management Office began a program to allow holders of older illiquid issues to switch to tranches of new liquid issues. Consequently, market activity is now concentrated in eight liquid bond issues. Government stock exists in registered form only. Most NZGs are noncallable with bullet maturities.
Pricing is similar to the Australian IABs.
Further, reciprocal tax treaties exist with several countries. Foreign investors should appoint a custodian in New Zealand to handle settlement, although NZGs can be cleared through Euroclear and Cedel. A domestic alternative, Austraclear, is also available and is now used by most domestic banks. Counterparty risk is market only, as delivery is against cleared payment. This means that the value date is the same as the settlement date.