New Zealand cannabis company granted license, plans stock listing

Tairawhiti, New Zealand-based Rua Bioscience has received a commercial license to grow and supply cannabis-derived medicines, and is planning an initial public offering to list its shares on New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX), the company announced this week.

Rua Bioscience says it is one of the first to be licensed for commercial production after New Zealand’s Medicinal Cannabis Agency started accepting business applications earlier this year.

The IPO is expected to occur in the last quarter of 2020.

“With New Zealand’s medicinal cannabis industry still in its infancy, Rua Bioscience is focused on a ‘doable’ export strategy to drive revenue over the next three years by making our first material sales through wholesale exports of dried cannabis flower to Germany,” board chair Trevor Burt said in the press release.

The company says it has a binding sales agreement with German distributor Nimbus Health.

More information for New Zealand businesses, including application forms, can be found here.