Headline: No guarantee 85% of MRP in Kiwi hands
The Government is no longer willing to assure New Zealanders that Mighty River Power remains 85% Kiwi owned, says Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker.
“National has until now repeatedly assured New Zealanders that Mighty River Power would be 85% Kiwi owned. Just two weeks after being listed they can no longer provide that guarantee.
“Today I asked Bill English a direct question. Can he confirm that Mighty River Power is 85% Kiwi owned?
“He said: ‘I can’t give that assurance … what we always said is that at the time of the float it would be’.
“That directly contradicts what John Key said in November 2011. When asked, ‘Can you guarantee that no more than 10 to 15 per cent of these shares will end up in foreign hands’ he said: ‘Yes. I spent my life starting in investment banking. I know how these things work’.
“When Mighty River Power was floated New Zealand shareholding was just 1.5% over the Government’s target. Despite John Key’s bluster Bill English has admitted that many of the New Zealand investors in Mighty River may well have already sold their shares offshore and can’t guarantee 85% Kiwi ownership.
“Labour has always said these asset sales would see our companies fall into foreign hands. Within two weeks the flight of shares overseas has already begun. It appears more than 30 per cent of the shares sold have already passed into foreign hands.
“New Zealanders have been sold down the Mighty River,” says David Parker.
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