Overseas investment decision for case 200810057 - Fletcher Concrete and Infrastructure Limited

The application has been approved as it met the criteria.

The Overseas Investment Office is satisfied that the individuals with control of the Applicant collectively have business experience and acumen relevant to the overseas investment, and that the Applicant has demonstrated financial commitment towards the overseas investment.

The Overseas Investment Office is further satisfied that each individual that exercises control over the Applicant is of good character and is not an individual of the kind referred to in section 7(1) of the Immigration Act 1987.

Background to the Investment:
Through its operating division, Winstone Aggregates, the Applicant has leased the land from the Crown since 1990, using it as a quarry until 1999, when the land ceased to be economically viable as such, and as a storage site thereafter. The Applicant is acquiring the land and one other property from the Crown in exchange for a third property the Applicant owns nearby.

Rationale for the Investment:
Purchasing the land will allow the Applicant to:

1. rehabilitate the land by filling in the large quarry pits it previously excavated;
2. subdivide the land; and
3. on-sell the new sections for heavy industrial land use.

The proposed overseas investment will, or is likely to, benefit New Zealand (or any part of it or group of New Zealanders) having regard to the following benefits:

Overseas Investment Act 2005:
s17(2)(a)(i) - new job opportunities
s17(2)(a)(iv) - added market competition

Overseas Investment Regulations 2005:
r28(a) - consequential benefits:

1. the Crown is able to protect two areas of significant historic value on the property the Applicant is transferring to the Crown; and
2. the public will have access to the foreshore over the property.

r28(e) - previous investments of benefit to New Zealand.