| Decision | Consent granted Section 12(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005 |
|---|---|
| Decision Maker | Overseas Investment Office |
| Decision Date | 16 September 2020 |
| Pathway(s) | Sensitive land – substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand |
| Investment | An overseas investment in sensitive land, being the Applicant's acquisition of several freehold interests in non-urban land being approximately:
|
| Consideration | $7,100,000 |
| Applicant | Jieyu Lu and Hongzhao Huang People's Republic of China (100%) |
| Vendor | Vegar Estate Wines Limited (in receivership and liquidation) VP 568 Limited (in receivership) Patricia Anne Vegar-Fitzgerald New Zealand (100%) |
| Background | The Applicants are Chinese entrepreneurs and business owners Jieyu Lu and Hongzhao Huang. They are receiving retrospective consent for their current interests in the Investment, and consent for planned future interests in the Investment. The Investment is the land the Matakana Estate business is on, which the Applicants have been involved with since 2012. The Applicants initially focused on Matakana Estate’s wine business, but are now working on diversifying Matakana Estate into functions, accommodation and tourism. The Investment has already led to and will likely continue to lead to additional investment, jobs, oversight and participation by New Zealanders, increased export receipts, increased processing of primary products, advancing the New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy, enhancing the viability of the Matakana Estate wine business, and improved public walking access. The OIO noted Jieyu Lu is no longer an overseas person, having become ordinarily resident in New Zealand in December 2017, which was considered under the oversight and participation by New Zealanders benefit factor. |
| More information | Andrew Petersen Bell Gully (Auckland) PO Box 4199 AUCKLAND 1140 |
| Retrospective penalty | $20,000 |
See the attached assessment report linked below, which was published in response to an Official Information Act request: