新西兰英语 751 Mighty River Power shares

 　　The government plans to sell 49% of Mighty¹ River Power company very soon. Mighty River is an electricity company. New Zealanders who are interested in buying shares in this company need to pre-register their interest on-line. About 150,000 people have already pre-registered in the last two days. They will not know until later how much each share will cost so they don’t have to buy any if the price is too high. The minimum each person can spend is $1,000.

　　This is the beginning of the asset sales. Mighty River Power is a state-owned enterprise (SOE) so at the moment it is a government company which must operate like a private company to make a profit. Before the last election, the government said that it planned to sell 49% of some state assets. Many people are angry about this policy because these companies pay a dividend² to the government each year; however, selling 49% will give the government between $5billion and $7bn immediately which will be used for schools and hospitals.

　　While the shares will be listed on both New Zealand and Australian stock markets, the government thinks that 85% to 90% of the shares will be bought by New Zealanders. If they keep the shares for two years, they will receive a bonus.

　　Listen to January 30th 2011 to hear more about asset sales.

　　Vocabulary

　　?pre-register – give their name to show they are interested in buying

　　?minimum – smallest number (opposite is maximum)

　　?asset – something you own like your house or car; the state (government) owns this company

　　?enterprise – company

　　?dividend – shares have to pay dividends³ from their profits every year or half a year

　　?listed on the stock market – available for people to buy and sell

　　?bonus – something extra

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 dividend   

n.红利，股息；回报，效益

参考例句：

• The company was forced to pass its dividend.该公司被迫到期不分红。
• The first quarter dividend has been increased by nearly 4 per cent.第一季度的股息增长了近 4%。

3 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。