New Zealand

Most other countries have much tighter controls over foreign investment than New Zealand.

At least 24 countries have been given approval to invest in New Zealand's agricultural sector, covering 154,855ha and a wide range of sectors from sheep farming to viticulture

Calls for an overhaul of rules governing foreign ownership of farm land increased in New Zealand yesterday, coinciding with the Chinese-backed company lodging an application to buy 16 North Island dairy farms with the Overseas Investment Office.

Hong Kong-based Natural Dairy says it has relodged its application with the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) to buy the Crafar portfolio of farms, and expects approval in the next few months.

Prime Minister John Key is endorsing Landcorp's bid for the 16 Crafar family farms that are in receivership.

Prime Minister John Key does not believe the sale of "very large tracts of land" to foreign investors would be in the long-term interests of New Zealand.

New Zealand's state-owned farm company Landcorp dismisses as conspiracy theory the notion that its bid for the Crafar farms is political interference

There are always concerns surrounding foreign ownership, but they're about the wider issue of land ownership and not specifically about China, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said after talks with Chinese Vice-President Xi Jingping

A lawyer advising the NZ Government how to make it easier to sell assets overseas is working for the Chinese company wanting to buy the Crafar farms, the Green Party says.

NZ government-owned farming company Landcorp may bid for 16 big farms at the centre of controversy over their potential sale to a Chinese-backed investor.

The NZ Super Fund is "going hard" on the acquisition trail for stakes in prime New Zealand assets like rural land, state-owned enterprises, smaller high-growth companies and iwi businesses.

A German investment fund that bought a majority interest in a Southland dairy farm, Aquila Capital's AgrarInvest, also has shareholdings in three other Kiwi dairy companies.