Overseas investment decision for case 201310072 - Coronado Resources Ltd.

An overseas investment in sensitive land, being:

• the Applicant's acquisition of rights or interests in up to 100% of the ordinary shares of Opunake Hydro Limited which owns or controls a leasehold interest in approximately 5.008 hectares of land at Domett Street, Opunake, South Taranaki; and
• TAG Oil Limited’s acquisition of rights or interests in the ordinary shares of Coronado Resources Ltd. to be issued as part of the consideration for the transaction referred to in paragraph (a) above.

The Applicant is a small Canadian mining company with operations in Montana, USA. It has decided to diversify into the power generation and retail business segment and to invest internationally. To this end it has sought and been granted consent to acquire Opunake Hydro Limited (“OHL”), a small electricity generator and supplier based in Taranaki. Coronado wishes to expand OHL’s business by funding the acquisition and installation of additional gas fired generators capable of generating 4 MW of power.

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

Overseas Investment Act 2005
17(2)(a)(i) – Creation of jobs
17(2)(a)(iv) – Added market competition
17(2)(a)(v) – Additional investment for development purposes

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005
28(a) – Consequential benefits
28(f) – Advance significant Government policy or strategy
28(i) – Economic interests
28(j) – Mitigating factor