Australia's NSW state election set to greenlight blockbuster energy sell-off

By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - The Australian state of New South Wales is expected to re-elect its conservative government on Saturday, endorsing the country's largest ever privatization, the partial sale of a state-owned electricity network worth around A$17 billion ($13 billion). Electricity privatization has been a divisive issue in the country's most populous state for two decades, but opinion polls suggest the state premier Mike Baird has won over voters with his promise to use the proceeds to fund road and rail projects to ease congestion in traffic-choked Sydney. With a population of more than 7 million, New South Wales (NSW) accounts for nearly a third of Australia's national economy with gross domestic product expected to pass A$500 billion in the 2014/15 financial year. Some of the world's biggest infrastructure investors including State Grid Corp of China [sTGRD.UL] and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing's Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Ltd have lined up to bid for the NSW power asset, as have several of Australia's top investment funds, according to local media.

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