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July 3, 2012

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Talk hopes for NZ farm deal

A NEW Zealand indigenous Maori trust said yesterday it still hoped to resume talks with a Chinese firm that is bidding to buy 16 North Island dairy farms after launching another court hearing to stop the deal.

The Tiroa Te Hape Trust has been part of the Crafar Farms Independent Purchasers Group (CFIPG), led by former merchant banker Michael Fay, which has been fighting a legal battle to overturn the government's approval for Shanghai Pengxin to buy the farms.

Yesterday, the CFIPG argued in the Court of Appeal in Wellington that Shanghai Pengxin directors failed to meet New Zealand overseas investment requirements that they have relevant business experience or acumen to run New Zealand dairy farms.

Shanghai Pengxin has reportedly offered NZ$210 million (US$168.73 million) to buy the farms, but the deal is on hold, pending the legal challenge.

The Chinese firm has agreed that New Zealand state-owned company Landcorp would manage the farms, but the CFIPG argued this was inadequate as the people making the decisions - Shanghai Pengxin - had to understand the business.

The three Appeal Court judges yesterday reserved their decision.





 

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