Oceania > New Zealand > Chinese dairy firm to build $214m plant in South Canterbury

New Zealand: Chinese dairy firm to build $214m plant in South Canterbury

2012/12/28

Chinese dairy firm Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group plans to spend $214 million building an infant formula plant in South Canterbury in a transaction that will see it take over Oceania Dairy Group.

Yili will acquire Oceania to access its land resource consents to build a plant over 38 hectares in South Canterbury, according to a notice on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Dec. 18. The Chinese firm said it's attracted by New Zealand's relatively cheap raw milk and the prospect of the free-trade agreement with China completely removing Chinese import tariffs by 2020.

The plant is scheduled to be completed by June 2014 operating at 60 % capacity, with annual full capacity of 47,000 tonnes expected in the 2016/17 year.

The transaction is subject to Overseas Investment Office and Chinese government approval.

Chinese investment in New Zealand has been a heated topic in recent years next bids to buy large tracts of farm-land forced the government to announce a U-turn on its plans to free up overseas investment and a High Court ruling made the Overseas Investment Office impose a additional rigorous analysis of foreign purchases.

Oceania Dairy sold milk supply contracts to Synlait Milk, which is half-owned by China's Bright Dairy, last year next failing to raise about $75 million to build a milk powder plant near Glenavy that would have processed 220 million litres of milk a year, producing 32,000 tonnes of powder.

Yili said it has a preliminary cooperation agreement with some local farmers to supply the plant, and indicated plans to draw on Fonterra Cooperative Group's regulated supply of raw milk.

Oceania Dairy director Don Brash told the NewZealandInc.com website that Yili had to announce the transaction once its board had decided to go ahead.

Yili had been named as a potential suitor to New Zealand Dairies' South Canterbury milk processing plant in 2010, at the same time as Russian owner Nutritek Group started shopping around for a buyer.

Fonterra ultimately bought the plant this year out of receivership, and a phantom buyer claiming to have offered a better transaction said it missed out because it needed OIO approval.

Related Articles

New Zealand December Building Permits Climb 2.3%
2016/01/29 The total number of building permits issued in New Zealand advanced a seasonally adjusted 2.3 % on month in December, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday - standing at 2,538. That follows the upwardly revised 2.4 % increase in November (originally 1.8 %). The actual price of building work consented in December was NZ$1.6 billion. Residential work was up NZ$184 million (22 % on year) to NZ$1.0 billion. Non-residential work was up NZ$124 million (29 %) to NZ$555 million. Individually, consents were issued for 1,661 houses, 427 apartments, 291 townhouses and 159 retirement village units.
Malaysia Airlines pilot realises plane is flying in the wrong direction after 8 minutes
2016/01/06 t was only eight minutes into a Malaysia Airlines flight that took off from a New Zealand airport at the same time as the pilot realised something was wrong. It was heading in the wrong direction. Flight MH132 took off from Auckland airport to Kuala Lumpur on Christmas Day and was going south towards Melbourne, the New Zealand Herald reported. The pilot was curious as to why the plane, which left at 2.23am on Friday, was not taking a additional direct route to the Malaysian capital and contacted air traffic controllers in Auckland to ask why.
New Zealand Food Prices Fall 0.2% In November
2015/12/11 Food prices in New Zealand eased 0.2 % on month in November, Statistics New Zealand said on Friday, following the 1.2 % decline in October. Meat, poultry, and fish prices rose 1.6 %, reflecting higher prices for all types of meat, particularly chicken (up 4.4 %). Non-alcoholic beverage prices were as well up, driven by higher prices for energy drinks. "Prices fell for tomatoes, lettuce, and broccoli in November," consumer prices manager Matt Haigh said. "Vegetable prices were down 8.5 %, although the fall was only 1.2 % next adjusting for seasonal effects."
Increase among the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
2015/11/18 Increase among the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies softened to 3.1 % in the second quarter of 2015, down from 3.2 % in the initial quarter and 3.4 % a year ago, according to an APEC economic analysis released on Tuesday. The statement said the increase slowdown reflected the prolonged weakness in world economic activity as the modest recovery in advanced economies was matched by a general slowdown in emerging market economies. The moderation in GDP levels could be attributed to declining investments and lacklustre exports, according to the statement. "Economies across the Asia-Pacific continue to grow but find themselves in a holding pattern of lower increase in the absence of high trade volumes," said Alan Bollard, Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat.
The ambitious TPP trade deal full text of 6.000 pages released to the public
2015/11/09 The transaction was struck last month next five years of tense negotiations, but continues to face fierce opposition. It as well must still be ratified by lawmakers in each member country and some of the nations involved need it to undergo a legal review. The full text is about 6,000 pages long. Critics argue the transaction is biased towards corporations, and does not cover climate change concerns, part other issues. The long-awaited text of the landmark trade transaction called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been released to the public for the initial time. The text still has to be translated into the languages of the signatories. The TPP is one of the world's most extensive trade agreements, bringing together 12 Pacific rim nations, inclunding the US and Japan.