Sell Auckland airport shares to slash debt by $2b – Wayne Brown

Plane sailing: privatise the airport, Wayne Brown says. (Image: NZME)

Thu, 01 Jun 2023

The centrepiece of Auckland mayor Wayne Brown's budget is the sale of the city's full 18.1% stake in Auckland international airport (AIA) as a tradeoff to keep a lid on rate increases and maintain services.In his final budget proposal on Thursday, Brown reiterated his desire to sell Auckland council's holding in the airport, allowing for an inflation-linked rates rise of 6.7% versus pushing up rates by "double-digits and making bigger cuts".At its current New Zealand stock exchange market capitalisation of about $13 billio...

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