WELLINGTON: New Zealand will broaden the criteria for assessing some aspects of foreign investment, including sensitive land purchases, Finance Minister Bill English said on Monday, Sept 27.
Government ministers will introduce new tests on overseas investment applications for sensitive land, English said, after a review aimed at simplifying and speeding up the process for assessing applications.
The review was prompted by a plan by Hong Kong-based Natural Dairy NZ Holdings to buy a network of dairy farms, which sparked a debate over New Zealand's foreign investment rules. The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) is still assessing the Natural Dairy application.
"The measures I'm announcing today strike an appropriate balance," English said in a statement.
"It's important that we welcome beneficial foreign investment and recognise the positive contribution it makes to New Zealand through increased jobs, capital and access to export markets," English said, adding "at the same time, the Government recognises there are genuine public concerns about aspects of certain types of overseas investment."
Natural Dairy has proposed spending up to NZ$1.5 billion (RM3.41 billion) to buy farms and set up processing plants.
Dairy is a vital sector for the New Zealand economy, generating more than a quarter of all exports and about 7% of gross domestic product, and the Natural Dairy proposal has fuelled debate about whether the country's overseas investment rules were strict enough.
The changes take effect from December and will not be applied to current applications, such as Natural Dairy.
Under the changes, government ministers will consider a new "economic interests" factor to decide whether a proposed investment will adequately safeguard and promote the country's economy.
There will also be a "mitigating" factor, where a proposed investment could be approved by allowing for greater New Zealand involvement, for example appointing local directors to the board, English said.
Meanwhile, the government said it would lay down a clearer set of criteria to the OIO about which factors are likely to be more or less important in assessing certain types of investments. ' Reuters
Government ministers will introduce new tests on overseas investment applications for sensitive land, English said, after a review aimed at simplifying and speeding up the process for assessing applications.
The review was prompted by a plan by Hong Kong-based Natural Dairy NZ Holdings to buy a network of dairy farms, which sparked a debate over New Zealand's foreign investment rules. The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) is still assessing the Natural Dairy application.
"The measures I'm announcing today strike an appropriate balance," English said in a statement.
"It's important that we welcome beneficial foreign investment and recognise the positive contribution it makes to New Zealand through increased jobs, capital and access to export markets," English said, adding "at the same time, the Government recognises there are genuine public concerns about aspects of certain types of overseas investment."
Natural Dairy has proposed spending up to NZ$1.5 billion (RM3.41 billion) to buy farms and set up processing plants.
Dairy is a vital sector for the New Zealand economy, generating more than a quarter of all exports and about 7% of gross domestic product, and the Natural Dairy proposal has fuelled debate about whether the country's overseas investment rules were strict enough.
The changes take effect from December and will not be applied to current applications, such as Natural Dairy.
Under the changes, government ministers will consider a new "economic interests" factor to decide whether a proposed investment will adequately safeguard and promote the country's economy.
There will also be a "mitigating" factor, where a proposed investment could be approved by allowing for greater New Zealand involvement, for example appointing local directors to the board, English said.
Meanwhile, the government said it would lay down a clearer set of criteria to the OIO about which factors are likely to be more or less important in assessing certain types of investments. ' Reuters
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