DFC New Zealand Limited was a state-owned enterprise that existed from 1964 to 1991, to provide venture capital and financial advice to industry.
History
The Development Finance Corporation was established in 1964 as a joint venture between the New Zealand Government, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the major trading banks of the time.[1] In 1973, the Kirk Labour government assumed full control.[1]
DFC operated two venture capital funds: the Applied Technology Programme and the Small Business Venture Capital Fund, which were both later merged into a single DFC Ventures fund.
Under the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986, it was corporatised as DFC New Zealand Limited.[2][1] In 1988 it was sold to the National Provident Fund and Salomon Brothers.[3]
DFC New Zealand Limited was placed into statutory management in 1989 and liquidated in 1991, after ill-fated investments in property speculation saddled it with a mountain of bad debts.[4][1][3]
A successor of sorts, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, was established in 2001. Another, the Provincial Growth Fund, followed in 2017.
External links
References
- DFC NZ (a cautionary tale of one company's financial failure - Christie Smith, Reserve Bank of New Zealand^
- Development Finance Corporation of New Zealand Act 1986 Parliamentary Counsel Office - New Zealand Legislation^
- Mike Booker. The state of venture capital in New Zealand Idealog, 30 January 2009, retrieved 7 February 2015