Luxton Announcement on Max Resources Limited

The Minister of Commerce John Luxton today announced that Max Resources Limited has been placed in statutory management.

'Acting on the recommendation of the Securities Commission, the Executive Council today made an Order declaring that the Corporations (Investigation and Management) Act 1989 shall apply to this company' said Mr Luxton.

'Statutory management is a rarely applied process and one the Government resorts to in only the most extreme circumstances after being assured that conventional market or legal remedies cannot adequately protect the public, shareholder and creditor interests believed to be at risk. The Securities Commission is strongly of the view this is the position with Max Resources' said Mr Luxton.

Max Resources Limited is a listed public company incorporated in New Zealand, with its registered office in Tauranga. The company operates from Perth, Western Australia, and has status as a foreign company in Australia.

The New Zealand Stock Exchange suspended trading of the shares of the company in March of this year. Since that time the Stock Exchange and the Securities Commission have made extensive inquiries into the company's affairs.

Chartered Accountants with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Auckland, John Waller and Richard Agnew, have been appointed as the statutory managers of the company.

Mr Luxton also indicated that the Government would ask officials to investigate other mechanisms to lessen the likelihood of having to resort to statutory management in the future.