Overseas investment decision for case 201520022 - Ramsay Dairy Farm Limited

An overseas investment in sensitive land, being Ramsay Dairy Farm Limited’s acquisition of:

• a freehold interest in approximately 322.8995 hectares of land at 249 Domain Road, Oxford, Canterbury; and
• a freehold interest in approximately 34.6068 hectares of land at 282 Domain Road, Oxford, Canterbury.

Oxford Pastures Limited
New Zealand (100%)

Farm Partners Limited
New Zealand (100%)

The Applicant is ultimately, indirectly, owned by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

The land is currently being used as a dairy farm. The Applicant intends to acquire the land for the purpose of dairy farming and milk production and will engage FarmRight to manage the land for that purpose.

The Applicant intends to invest in the farm so as to increase productivity. In particular, the Applicant intends to:

• increase the milking platform on the farm, largely through significant investment in irrigation infrastructure;
• increase the herd size run on the farm;
• increase storage for effluent and increase the effluent dispersal area;
• carry out roading and other improvements that will improve stock flow, and allow for the higher stocking rate; and
• carry out aggressive re-grassing of the milking platform.

The overseas investment transaction has satisfied the criteria in section 16 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005. The 'substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand' criteria were satisfied by particular reference to the following factors:

Overseas Investment Act 2005
17(2)(a)(iii) – Increased export receipts
17(2)(a)(iv) – Increased productivity
17(2)(a)(v) – Additional investment for development purposes
17(2)(a)(vi) – Increased processing of primary products
17(2)(f) – Offer to gift lakebed to the Crown

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005
28(a) – Consequential benefits
28(e) – Previous investments