Vol. 383 No. 1
asked the Minister for Finance the value of the Government shareholdings in companies (details supplied); the number of Government shares held in each of these companies as of October in the years 1986 to 1988 inclusive; the dates and amounts received in respect of the sales, if any, of these shares; and if he will make a statement on Government policy in respect of any such sales.
90.
asked the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself that recent disposals by his Department of the State's shareholding in various exploration companies was handled in a manner most likely to secure the best possible price for the stock; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 90 together.
The bulk of the State shareholdings in exploration companies were sold in recent months. The shares in question had been acquired free of charge in the administration of the exploration licensing scheme. The Government decided in the 1988 budgetary context that it was appropriate to dispose of the shares on the grounds that, like certain items of physical property also being sold off this year by State bodies and agencies, they constituted assets surplus to requirements. I am satisfied that the disposal of the shares was conducted in a fully professional manner.
The table below sets out the State shareholding in the four companies named in Deputy Desmond's question as on 1 October in each of the years 1986, 1987 and 1988.
|
1986 and 1987 |
1988 |
|
|
Aran Energy |
1,186,215 |
Nil |
|
Atlantic Resources |
1,947,370 |
Nil |
|
Bula Resources |
8,948,264 |
Nil |
|
Tuskar Resources |
1,459,409 |
Nil |
These shares were sold by the Government Broker in a multiplicity of transactions in the normal course of Stock Exchange business. The period in which the sales took place, and the aggregate receipts, are set out in respect of each company in the table below.
|
Period of Sale(1988) |
Aggregate receipts(£) |
|
|
Aran Energy |
29 July to 13 September |
981,843.24 |
|
Atlantic Resources |
27 July to 6 September |
112,919.75 |
|
Bula Resources |
28 July to 9 September |
458,379.47 |
|
Tuskar Resources |
28 July to 2 September |
307,891.88 |
