Overseas investment decision for case 202200044 - Aquila Capital Timber Investment Fund S.A. SICAV-SIF

The Applicant received consent to acquire freehold interests in approximately 993.2043 hectares of land, being the Waitaanga Forest, Taranaki, comprising seven freehold titles (the Land). The Applicant intends to acquire the Land through a subsidiary limited partnership, the Waitaanga Forestry LP.

The Applicant is a Luxembourg-based alternative investment fund and operates forests in New Zealand (namely, the Te Rata Forest), Australia, United Kingdom, and Finland. The Applicant is part of the larger Aquila Group, who manages over EUR10 billion of assets for investors worldwide.

The Land is used for forestry purposes and the Applicant intends to continue using the Land for forestry purposes (as required by the special forestry test). The Applicant will enter into a forest management agreement with a New Zealand-based forestry manager, who will manage and operate the Land. Of the 993.2403 hectares of Land, 80.7% hectares are existing forestry. The remainder of the Land are used for infrastructure, such as roads and tracks, or used as buffer land and set-backs. There are also some indigenous areas (which will be managed as a permanent forest) and some unplantable areas, such as ridges, gullies, and steep land. Approximately 788 hectares of the Land is managed by Crown Forestry pursuant to a Forestry Right. Upon expiry of the Forestry Right, the Applicant will replant this area for harvesting. 

The OIO is satisfied special forestry test and the investor test have been met.