NEW ZEALAND

Part of Electrical Transmission System May Go Private: The government has agreed to partial privatization of the country’s electrical transmission system, the Dominion newspaper reported. Trans Power, valued at $2.7 billion, owns the country’s electricity transmission system, including the valuable Cook Strait cables that carry power from the South Island’s large hydroelectricity lake system to the more industrialized North Island. The Dominion said a partial sale of Trans Power could net the government up to $1.5 billion. It said no timetable had been decided on, but the government apparently wants to expedite the sale to improve this year’s budget deficit.