New Zealand

Foreign ownership of farm land is a sensitive issue in Australia and "across the ditch" in New Zealand.

New Zealand is one of many countries upon whom China’s entrepreneurs have cast their eyes for opportunities to buy farmland, mineral and power resources to shore up China’s looming food shortage and resource-hungry economy.

The decision to approve the sale of NZ dairy farms to a Chinese company has prompted an "Aotearoa is Not for Sale" hikoi, which starts at dawn tomorrow with prayers at Cape Reinga.

The estimate used by the Prime Minister John Key that less than 1 percent of New Zealand farmland is foreign-owned is far below the mark according to an analysis of Overseas Investment Office decisions carried out by CTU Economist, Bill Rosenberg.

After a year-long legal battle, China will be allowed to buy farmland in new Zealand. Some experts say these purchases are less about business and more about rich countries securing their own food supply at the expense of less well off nations.

New Zealand's reputation will be damaged in Asia if the sale of the Crafar dairy farms to Chinese interests does not go through, says a Kiwi managing investments in China.

The Government clearly hopes the Crafar Farms' controversy will be put to bed before China's fourth-ranked leader Jia Qinglin visits Christchurch and Wellington in mid-April.

The proposed Overseas Investment Amendment Bill would prevent foreign investors from buying rural land unless they could prove it would bring substantial benefits to New Zealand

IP-rich New Zealand is a logical partner for resource-rich Gulf states as a producer of food in places like Africa, says New Zealand's Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Central North Island Maori are seeking to challenge Shanghai Pengxin's purchase of the Crafar farms using the same Treaty of Waitangi clause in legislation the Maori Party has fought to retain for partially privatised state-owned assets.

A new poll has shown more than three-quarters of New Zealanders want to make it tougher to sell land to foreigners.

La haute cour de Nouvelle-Zélande annule l’autorisation accordée fin janvier par le gouvernement de la vente de 16 fermes laitières à un investisseur chinois. Selon le juge, le gouvernement a surestimé les bénéfices économiques de la transaction.