Originally Posted by
SailorRob
During 2013 and 2014, John Key’s National-led Government sold just under half of Mighty River Power (now known as Mercury NZ), Meridian Energy and Genesis Energy and listed them on the NZX.
A few years after that, I recall asking the chief executive from one of those companies about the biggest change he’d noticed since the sharemarket float.Without hesitation, he said “scrutiny” because of the added pressure to manage the business sensibly, spend every dollar wisely and have a clear strategy.
There’s nowhere to hide when you have an army of experienced analysts and savvy investors watching and judging your every move. Those three companies are much better businesses today than they were 10 years ago and that’s reflected in the earnings and share price growth we’ve seen since. Contrary to popular belief, this success hasn’t come at the expense of consumers.
According to MBIE, electricity costs per unit have increased at less than half the rate they did when these companies were in government ownership. The Crown still owns 51 per cent of each of them, as is the case with Air New Zealand, so the taxpayer has continued to benefit from any further success while also retaining control.