New Zealand approved on Tuesday the sale of a 50 percent stake in the country's largest meat processor Silver Fern Farms to a unit of China's Bright Food Group, enhancing the South Island-based company's access to the Chinese market.
The approval of the NZ$261 million ($191 million) deal is an encouraging outcome for Chinese investors, following a high-profile rejection and complaints over the slow approval process.
The company had voted in October 2015 to allow Shanghai Maling Aquarius Co, a unit of Chinese State-owned enterprise Bright Food Group, to take a half-share in the company and applied for approval from foreign investment regulators the same month.
Minister for Land Information Louise Upston, who approved the deal after it received the go-ahead from the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) of New Zealand, said in a statement it would "put the company in a better financial position and allow it to increase its exports."
Silver Fern Farms Chairman Rob Hewitt told -Reuters the capital invested will allow the company to develop its brand and strategy.
The company is particularly focused on the -China market, its biggest by volume, and can take advantage of Bright Foods' supply chains and 8,000 Chinese supermarkets.
"It's the fastest-growing protein market in the world so it's going to bring significant benefit," Hewitt said of Bright Foods' involvement.
Shanghai Maling President Shen Weiping said in a statement the regulatory approval "clears the way for us to move ahead with the partnership."
However, some Chinese investors have hit roadblocks in overseas markets.
In September 2015 the New Zealand government blocked the NZ$88 million purchase of a local farm by China's Shanghai Pengxin, despite the OIO approving the sale.
The New Zealand government said at the time it was not satisfied there would be "substantial benefit" to New Zealand.
Investors have also complained the OIO process is slow and uncertain, a problem the government acknowledged in May when it announced plans to speed up approvals by employing more staff.
Neighboring Australia has also grappled with concerns around foreign ownership of farmland and rural businesses.
Early this year, the Australian government rejected a bid by a China-led consortium to buy Australia's S. Kidman & Co, the country's largest agricultural land owner, concluding the offer for Kidman and its agricultural land was not in the national interest.
