The New Zealand government has been told it must reconsider a decision to allow a Chinese company to buy one of the country’s largest dairy farmers in a judgment likely to spark concerns over future foreign investment in the country.
Ministers approved last month’s $210m purchase of the 8,000 hectare Crafar farm estate on the North Island, which had been placed into receivership, by Shanghai Pengxin, acting on the recommendations of New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office.
But the High Court said on Wednesday that the economic benefits of the deal to New Zealand had been “materially” overstated and ordered the government to look again at its decision.