Solid Energy privatisation candidate, says chairman

Chairman of the state owned enterprise Solid Energy John Palmer says the company should be partly privatised. File photo / Derek Flynn

Solid Energy chairman John Palmer said the state-owned miner should be partially privatised to meet up to $10 billion of capital needs and because it is a lower political risk than other state-owned businesses.

"A partially listed model, similar to Air New Zealand, is really important for Solid Energy," said Palmer, who also chairs the 75 per cent state-owned airline.

He argued partially privatising Solid Energy would not expose the government to any more commercial; risk than it currently bears and, in his judgment, "the political risks for a company like Solid Energy are very low."

"This can be one of NZ's most-important companies," he said. "It's not about selling the family silver, it is about gold plating the family silver that we have."

Palmer said that without the opportunity of partial private ownership Solid Energy would not only struggle to achieve its commercial potential but would also struggle to attract and retain top management and board talent.

He made the comments in an address in Wellington.