Labour to buy back
Labour is promising to create a new national asset buying fund, giving at least $100 million a year to help raise local ownership.
In the last major policy announcement before Saturday’s election, leader David Cunliffe revealed the details of his planned sovereign wealth fund, NZ Inc.
Keeping alive the possibility of state asset buybacks, the fund helps create a point of different from National in a bid to woo NZ First into coalition.
‘‘It will build New Zealand ownership and growth and assist the transition to a clean technology economy,’’ Cunliffe said yesterday.
Dividends from state owned enterprises would be diverted into a fund co-managed by the managers of the NZ Superannuation Fund, operated at arm’s length from the government.
Although Cunliffe said the fund would target strategic assets such as ports, or invest in renewable energy companies, it might also buy farms or shares in privatised electricity companies.
Labour has said it would not rule out buying back the state assets partially sold in the current term, and the fund appears to be an attempt to court NZ First leader Winston Peters into coalition.
Peters has named foreign ownership as a key priority for coalition talks.
Peters has said national savings would be used to fund asset buying plans, and has promised to create a state-backed KiwiSaver fund which would invest ‘‘predominantly’’ in New Zealand assets.