Good comparative data are hard to come by, but it seems likely that the New Zealand government's overall net asset position is today at least as good as the average for developed countries. It is also worth noting that the New Zealand government now has no net foreign currency debt.
The small amount of foreign currency government debt still outstanding is fully matched by foreign currency assets held by the Treasury and the Reserve Bank. The limited net amount of debt still owed by the government to foreigners is in the form of locally-issued New Zealand dollar bonds that foreign investors have bought on the local bond market. Nor is privatisation to blame.