Foreigners more than doubled their appetite for New Zealand land in the latest year, buying an area equivalent to a South Island national park.
The 111,674 hectares or 1116 square kilometres that overseas entities bought between September 2021 and August this year is about the same size as Arthur's Pass National Park, the rugged, 1185sq km mountainous area straddling the Southern Alps.
Toitu Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand provided details of the transactions approved by the Overseas Investment Office in the year to August.
In the previous year to August 2021, foreigners bought 46,000ha. The year before that, to August 2020, 70,148ha of land was bought. Now the numbers are up to 111,674ha.
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The volume of overseas investment approvals showed a post-Covid bounceback: 122 applications were approved in the August 2020 year, remaining almost static at 124 for the August 2021 year, but rising to 152 applications approved in the latest year to August.
The value of the land sold also jumped: from $12.32 billion in 2019-20, to $15.17b in 2020-21, leaping to $37.95b in the most recent 12 months.
Only one application in the latest year was declined: Britain's Gresham House Forest Carbon (NZ) Ltd and Gresham House Forest Carbon (NZ) LP weren't allowed to buy NZCF (Invest Holdings) assets - more than 12,300ha of forestry land in various locations, which the would-be buyers intended to continue operating as permanent carbon forestry.
Cabinet ministers Damien O'Connor and Megan Woods were not satisfied that the sale of 12,356ha of land - 8871ha of it in forestry - would result in substantial, identifiable benefits to New Zealand.
In the August 2020 year, 13 applications were declined, dropping to five declined in the following year.
The three biggest deals in the August 2022 year were all for forestry land. But it remains unknown how much was paid to trade such vast tree-covered estates. The parties involved deliberately had sale prices and asset values kept confidential, avoiding any public scrutiny.
The deals weren't solely about Kiwis selling to foreigners. Some transactions involved foreign entities buying from other overseas owners.
In which areas are foreigners buying assets? The Linz information shows that 43 deals covered land in Tauranga City, 21 were in Auckland Council's area, 11 in the Gisborne district, seven in central Hawke's Bay, six in Southland and five in the Masterton area.
BIGGEST LAND AREA
From last September to August this year, the three biggest deals ranked by area were:
128,000ha: Chinese sell forestry to Dutch/British interests
Taieri Forests (34 per cent owned by Netherlands interests, 28 per cent British) was granted consent to buy huge NZ forestry assets from China-owned Sinotrans (NZ), Sinotrans & CSC Holdings and ANZFF2 NZ.
The dollar amount was not revealed. The forestry estate is 5814ha of freehold land in Otago's Mount Allen Forest and two smaller forests and three forestry rights over 23,368ha - Otago Coast Forest, Berwick Forest and Saffill Forest, all down south. About 24,170ha is planted in pinus radiata and 598ha awaits replanting.
28500ha: Swiss interests consolidate forestry holdings
This deal was an overseas investment in sensitive land, being the acquisition by a Swiss applicant of up to 100 per cent of the limited partnership interests of Kauri Forestry LP which owns or controls about 8600ha used mostly for commercial forestry.
The sale price again was suppressed but the decision does note that approval would probably result in Kauri Forestry LP's assets exceeding $100m. A Limited Partner in Kauri Forestry LP (100 per cent Swiss) won consent for the deal with Kauri Forestry LP (93 per cent Swiss, 7 per cent German).
33400ha: Kiwis sell forestry interests to Germans
Ponga Silva (49 per cent German, 18 per cent British) won consent to buy Mangatarata Forest, Mangatarata Station, Mata Forest, Onetohunga Forest and Te Rawhiti Forest - around Tauwhareparae in the Gisborne district - from Kiwi interests. The sale price was once again suppressed. ¦
