Landcorp being used by Chinese - Fay
Landcorp is being used as a pawn by the Chinese company trying to buy the Crafar farms, Sir Michael Fay says.
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Landcorp is being used as a pawn by the Chinese company trying to buy the Crafar farms, Sir Michael Fay says.
Spokesman for a group of New Zealand farmers that wanted to buy the 16 central North Island farms, Sir Michael said that Landcorp's proposal to operate the farms for Shanghai Pengxin Group, which is awaiting Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval for it to buy the properties, was wrong.
“It seems to us that Landcorp have become utterly confused about their purpose,” Mr Fay said.
“In this Penqxin deal Landcorp appears to be taking on the role of the tenant farmer - working our land for an absentee foreign owner.”
Landcorp's proposed association with Pengxin gave the Chinese bid an acceptable local face, Mr Fay said.
“We don’t see that as an appropriate role for a government agency – and want to find out what’s really going on here.”
With that in mind, Mr Fay's group has filed an Official Information Act request over Landcorp's dealings with Pengxin and with the previously unsuccessful Natural Dairy/MayWang/UBNZ bid for the Crafar Farms.
The farmer group’s $171.5 million offer to purchase the Crafar farms was tabled last month and remains in front of the receivers should the Pengxin contract be rejected by the OIO.
Colin Williscroft
Wed, 12 Oct 2011
Wed, 12 Oct 2011
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
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Landcorp being used by Chinese - Fay
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