Australia

L'Australie a mis son veto jeudi au nom de l'"intérêt national" au rachat de son plus grand propriétaire foncier, qui est un de ses premiers éleveurs de bovins, par des investisseurs étrangers.

The level of Chinese investment in the Australian beef supply chain appears certain to increase as China hunts for new food sources to feed its one and half billion citizens. Nine Chinese companies have outlaid almost $430 million on Australian beef cattle holdings and downstream red meat supply chain.

PriceWaterhouse Coopers' China desk leader says clients he advises on food and agriculture deals are mostly property developers and building materials companies looking to shift their capital base abroad, given the headwinds in the Chinese construction sector.

Racecourse Projects, owned by Cargill's Black River Asset Management and Mackay Sugar, has purcahsed a 3,244 hectare cattle property in North Queensland.

Herman Shao-ming Hu and Kenny Zhang are finalising the purchase of a majority interest in the 190-year-old Van ­Diemen’s Land Company (VDL) in Tasmania, Australia.

Debt-burdened Glencore has entered early discussions with a number of sovereign wealth funds and commodities traders as it moves to offload the more than 30,000ha of cropping land across NSW, Victoria and South Australia.

Donlinks, one of China's biggest vegetable oil producers, will partner with British Virgin lslands-registered Genius Link Capital, to make an offer for S. Kidman & Co, Australia's largest landholder.

The 25 farms of Van Diemen's Land Company in Tasmania are expected to be of interest to multiple trade investors, institutional investors, sovereign funds and also agricultural funds.

Australia’s rural farming sector is witnessing a spurt in Chinese investments, backed by high expectations of the upcoming free trade agreement with China.

Chinese investors have spent $120 million in the last two months buying rural properties across Australia and the signs are that the buying spree is only the beginning, with more than $1 billion worth of deals in play.

The $150 million Rural Funds Group has increased its exposure to almonds after striking a deal to develop 1500 hectares in two new almond orchards in the NSW Riverina backed by a long-term lease to Singapore giant Olam.

The new Turnbull government is facing its first big test on foreign investment as Chinese bidders circle Australia's largest landholder, S. Kidman & Co., which owns cattle stations in the top-secret Woomera rocket range.