State-owned enterprises of New Zealand
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in New Zealand are registered companies listed under Schedules 1 and 2 of the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986. Most SOEs are former government departments or agencies that were corporatised. They are responsible to the Minister of State Owned Enterprises.
Many other government-owned companies and statutory trading organisations are referred to informally as "state-owned enterprises" although they are not SOEs in the strictest sense. These are also listed here.
Contents
Function
The function of SOEs is to operate successfully as a business, as profitable as those not owned by the Crown. The section of the Act defining this is usually interpreted as meaning that SOEs are expected to ready themselves for privatisation, though this is not always the case.
Two Ministers of the Crown act as the shareholding ministers in the company. In the case of SOEs these are usually the Minister of State Owned Enterprises (see article for list) and the Minister responsible for the particular company.
The Crown is assisted in the running of SOEs and other Crown-owned companies by the Treasury's Commercial Operations group (formerly the Crown Ownership Monitoring Unit).
List of current state-owned enterprises
Current state-owned enterprises include:
| Name | Date created | Formerly | Government ownership | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air New Zealand | 1 April 1965 | Tasman Empire Airways Limited, National Airways Corporation | 51.95%[1] | Largely privatised in 1989, government subsequently bought a 73% stake in 2001, and sold down to 53% in November 2013. |
| Genesis Energy Limited | 1999 | Part of Electricity Corporation of New Zealand | 52.4%[2] | Floated on the sharemarket April 2014. |
| New Zealand Post | 1 April 1987 | New Zealand Post Office | 100% | Telecom New Zealand, PostBank split off 1987. |
| Kiwibank | 2002 | 100% | Subsidiary of New Zealand Post | |
| Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited | July 1992 | Part of the Ministry of Transport | 100% | Known as MetService |
| Airways New Zealand | 1 April 1987 | Part of the Ministry of Transport | 100% | Air traffic control and air navigation providers |
| Transpower New Zealand | 1994 | Subsidiary of Electricity Corporation of New Zealand | 100% | National grid operator |
| Kordia | 1 July 1989 | Subsidiary of Television New Zealand | 100% | Formerly Broadcast Communications Limited or BCL, renamed 2006. |
| Landcorp | 1 April 1987 | Commercial arm of Department of Survey and Land Information | 100% | |
| Meridian Energy | 1999 | Part of Electricity Corporation of New Zealand | 51.02%[3] | Floated on the sharemarket in October 2013. |
| Mighty River Power | 1999 | Part of Electricity Corporation of New Zealand | 51.76%[4] | Floated on the sharemarket in May 2013. |
| Solid Energy | 1 April 1987 | State Coal Mines Department | 100% | Formerly Coal Corporation (or Coalcorp), renamed 1997. In Voluntary Administration |
| KiwiRail | 1 July 2008 | Toll NZ (rolling stock and inter-island ferries) ONTRACK (track and infrastructure) | 100% | Formerly New Zealand Rail (1990—1995), Tranz Rail (1995—2002), Toll Rail (2002—2008) |
Former state-owned enterprises
Former state-owned enterprises come in three forms - those removed from the Schedules of the Act and made Crown entities, those removed and not privatised, and those removed and privatised. Well-known SOEs that became Crown entity companies include broadcasting companies Television New Zealand (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand (RNZ).
Privatised state-owned enterprises
Privatised state-owned enterprises include:[5]
- Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited – copper network later unbundled between 2006–2008
- State Insurance Office
- Health Computing Service
- Contact Energy – sold to cornerstone shareholder and sharemarket float in 1999
- DFC New Zealand Limited – went bankrupt in 1989 and later liquidated
- Post Office Bank Limited (Postbank) – sold to ANZ
- Shipping Corporation of New Zealand – sold to P&O, 1989
- New Zealand Steel Limited – purchased by BHP
- Air New Zealand Limited (government later bought a controlling share in the company in 2001)
- Rural Banking and Finance Corporation – purchased by the National Bank of New Zealand)
- Government Printing Office – now GP Print
- National Film Unit – purchased by Peter Jackson and renamed Park Road Post
- Tourist Hotel Corporation of New Zealand Limited
- Export Guarantee Office
- Government Supply Brokerage Corporation (NZ) Limited
- Bank of New Zealand (BNZ); sold to National Australia Bank in 1992
- New Zealand Rail Limited (The rail operations of the Railways Corporation) – later renationalised as KiwiRail.
- GCS Limited – formerly Government Computing Services, purchased by EDS New Zealand
- Terralink International
- Radio New Zealand (Commercial Stations) – Sold to Clear Channel to form The Radio Network. Non-commercial stations Radio New Zealand National and Concert remain.
- Vehicle Testing New Zealand, sold in 1999 to the Motor Trade Association
Shell state-owned enterprises
Some SOEs, such as ECNZ, are effectively small SOEs or shell companies. Companies that are still SOEs but are now shell companies, having had most of their assets privatised, include:
- Electricity Corporation of New Zealand Limited (ECNZ).
- New Zealand Railways Corporation owns the land underneath KiwiRail's network. Demerged from KiwiRail on 31 December 2012.
- Works and Development Services Corporation New Zealand Ltd which remained in state ownership after the sale of Works Civil Construction Ltd to Downer and Company Ltd. Company has been struck off Companies Office register on 21 May 2005.
Former, non-SOE state-owned corporations
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- State Insurance Corporation
- Tourist Hotel Corporation
- Government Life Insurance Corporation - later renamed Tower Insurance
- National Airways Corporation - merged with Air New Zealand in 1980
Other Crown-owned companies
Other, non-SOE Crown-owned companies are the Crown entity companies. These are the Crown Research Institutes (CRIs), the broadcasting companies Television New Zealand Limited (TVNZ) and Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ), and the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Limited.
See also
- Constitutional economics
- Council-controlled organisation – a New Zealand local government equivalent
- Crown entity
- List of government-owned companies
- Political economy
- Public sector organisations in New Zealand (lists SOEs and Crown entities)
References
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- State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 as consolidated and amended at the www.legislation.govt.nz site
- State sector organisations at the State Services Commission site
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