Australia

Macquarie adds to its holdings in WA farmland
- Central Advocate
- 27 Mar 2014
Investment bank Macquarie Group is buying two farms in Australia's "wheatbelt" bringing its total holdings in Western Australia to 45,000 ha.
Asian investors want $1bn farm deals but sector not ready
- The Australian
- 26 Mar 2014
Foreign companies, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are ready and willing to invest in the Australian farm sector, but many parts of the industry are still not investment-ready.
Vietnamese company after NT land for dragon fruit megafarm
- ABC
- 13 Mar 2014
The CT Group has revealed plans to grow up to 10,000 hectares of dragon fruit in Australia's Northern Territory.
The gritty side of farmland investing
- Wall Street Journal
- 03 Mar 2014
Worldwide, farmland is a hot investment area, but it’s also controversial, opaque, illiquid and sometimes relies on local operation that presents a risk of fraud.
China investors eye Undabri
- The Land
- 17 February 2014
Chinese buyers are in negotiations to buy another well-known south-west Queensland cropping property of 11,935 ha for more than $36 million.
Olam's $211m almond deal
- The Land
- 13 February 2014
Olam international has concluded a $211 million sale for its vast Victorian almond orchards on the Murray River at Mildura and Robinvale as part of a minimum 18-year lease-back deal.
PNG's land scandal inquiry names an Australian-led company
- ABC
- 12 February 2014
A Commission of Inquiry in Papua New Guinea has recommended an Australian-led company involved in obtaining leases over more than two million hectares of traditional land be investigated for criminal misconduct and conspiracy.
Mitsui begins shifting its focus to agribusiness
- The Australian
- 01 February 2014
The top priority for Mitsui's massive investments in Australia is starting to shift from resources to agribusiness
ANZ under fire for loans to controversial Cambodian sugar plantation
- Canberra Times
- 23 January 2014
ANZ is financing a Cambodian sugar plantation that has involved child labour, military-backed land grabs, forced evictions and food shortages.
Farmland: Yield-starved investors go back to the land
- Euromoney
- 13 January 2014
This year could see a surge in interest in farmland from investors with very little experience in this complicated asset class, reports Euromoney
Le pillage des forêts de Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée s’accélère
- Le Temps
- 20 December 2013
S’abritant souvent derrière des projets de développement agricole sans avoir d’expérience réelle en la matière, des entreprises étrangères ont déboisé de vastes surfaces, enregistrant sur la vente de ce bois un gain bien supérieur aux compensations versées aux communautés propriétaires des terres.
Middle East company adds spice to Australian grain
- ABC
- 09 December 2013
In four years, Hassad Foods has accumulated 255,000 hectares of agricultural land with the aim of producing 165,000 tonnes of grain and 100,000 lambs annually.