Australia’s largest pastoral cattle empire, S. Kidman and Co., has agreed to be sold to a Chinese-led consortium for 370.7 million Australian dollars (US$287.3 million), continuing a flurry of deals in the country’s agricultural sector. Earlier proposed deal was rejected by the government last year.
Dakang Australia and Australian Rural Capital say they want to transform S Kidman and Co into a global beef brand
Des groupes chinois ont proposé 370,7 millions de dollars australiens pour racheter les terres du plus grand propriétaire foncier d'Australie
The chairman of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board has likened his role to walking a barbed-wire tightrope, as he attempts to balance the interests of investors and the need for capital with community concern about foreign sales.
The push to buy Australian farmland and buy into agribusinesses continues to grow, with one report showing an overall jump of $1.9 billion in proposed agricultural investment, year-on-year.
Chinese investors will spend nearly $2.5 billion in agriculture and $1.7 billion in financial assets. In 2014, those were numbers were $32 million and $51 million respectively.
Chinese fertilizer producer Hubei Xinyangfeng has secured its first allotment of farmland outside of China, after it purchased a farm in southern New South Wales, Australia.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Miner and commodity trader Glencore Plc's agricultural business, which has farming operations covering 270,000ha in Argentina, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine.
A new register of agricultural land will not be made public despite the Government's promise to provide more transparency over foreign investment in Australian farms.
The funds will acquire farms and farmland assets, including permanent crops, arable, and pastoral farmland, and lease to experienced operators across the focused geographical regions of Australia and New Zealand.
While most of the big corporate money has been falling over itself to buy into Australia's largest landowner, S. Kidman & Co, Rifa has quietly bought a total of seven properties in the last few months.
The Qatar backed agricultural land and food producing company Hassad has defended its financial record in Australia following a report which showed its property company had never made a profit.
