Property

Chinese investor plans to spend $100m on beef

Beef Central, 04/05/2015

beef-2015

 

ONE of China’s largest beef producers is looking to buy up to $100 million worth of cattle property in Australia over the next 12 months.

Chongqing Hondo Agriculture Group president, Qin Ya Liang, attended Austrade’s Australian Beef Industry Seminar in Brisbane on Thursday where he told The Australian Financial Review his company was looking for investments in farmland and abattoirs.

paraway-davenport-northern-cattle-muster“We are here looking for investments in cattle farms – the bigger size is good,” Mr Qin said through an interpreter.

“We will look to invest in partnerships with corporate farmers but we will take percentage investments in medium and small enterprises as well.”

Mr Qin, who operates three large commercial feedlots in China producing about 110,000 head of cattle a year, is part of the growing beef business in China, whose overall volume accounts for over 10 percent of global beef output.

“I like Australia because there are big farms and we are wanting to increase our consistency of supply,” he said.

“We have not made an investment yet. We are still looking. We think we will invest between $50 million and $100 million within one year,” he told the AFR.

The scale of Chinese investment looking to invest in Australian cattle stations and the beef supply chain is substantial and is starting to build momentum.

One of China’s top 500 companies, Hailiang Group, purchased more than $40 million worth of cattle and cropping land east of St George in southern Queensland in March, while another group, Yiang Xiang Assets last year purchased Allan Myers Elizabeth Downs cattle station for a price believed to be more than $11.5 million.

There are numerous Chinese groups keeping a low profile such as Rifa Australia, headed by former Elders boss David Goodfellow. The parent company is Zhejiang RIFA Holding Group.

Austrade’s trade commissioner in Chengdu, Jeff Turner, told AFR the line-up of Chinese interests was extensive with as many as 300 Chinese cattle and cattle-related companies looking to invest Australia.

“They are interested in everything from production and farms and the whole supply chain,” Mr Turner said.

“Deals are starting to get done much more quickly but Australian cattle producers need to still do the fundamentals, for example you still need to have Guanxi – the relationships.”

The Austrade seminar, sponsored by agency Colliers International, was the first leg for a visiting Chinese delegation which will attend the national Beef 2015 national beef exposition starting in Rockhampton today.

Colliers' Rawdon Briggs

Colliers’ Rawdon Briggs

Colliers International director Rawdon Briggs said the prominence of Chinese inquiries and contractual activity was growing.

“It is also notable that a number of significant deals have been made across the north by Chinese investors,” he said.

“Asian market opportunities and the depreciating Australian dollar have begun the process of revival for many sectors of Australian agribusiness.”

Chinese nationals make up almost half of the 830 international delegates registered to attend Beef 2015, through the event’s International Handshakes program.

 

Source: Australian Financial Review

 

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Comments

  1. Dave Smith, 19/05/2015

    The Xenopobia created around Chinese is quite ridiculous. It was only 50 years ago when the same nonsense was present against Europeans, then Japanese in the 80’s , then Koreans in the 90’s. American’s in the 2000’s. In each case much more was contributed to Australian growth win a positive way and no one lost out. Immigration has always being our mainstay..think Melbourne for example..where 60% of “Aussies” are Greek or Italian heritage..and ironically they now oppose immigration based on nothing more than racial factors. Its time Australia should proud and realised Immigration is what makes it great. The other wake up call is that we are surrounded by Asia and will actually be over 50% mixed Asian blood by 2050..like it or not! The capital flows from Asians create jobs too..feedlots, farms, hotels etc etc cannot be run by them..the jobs stay in Australia. About time the “bogans” woke up and smell the roses. Without regular FDI we would be toast and there would be no jobs for the “bogans” whom unfortunately make up the bulk of the belly aching “ockers” Suggest they go learn Chinese rather than waste time belly aching! With the Chinese lies great opportunities to keep Australia running in these hard financial times.

  2. Kim Nunn, 16/05/2015

    Agreed that foreign ownership is not so good – but then Rio Tinto is foreign also – on leasehold titles.
    I have promoted to attract investment by way of equity ownership of agricultural land in WA and nobody wants it. The only place to go is offshore. The problem is our political and economic structure does not included resource nationalist directives. The ‘lucky country’ owns very little because our policies are not conducive to SOEs. We should own Australia through governance but we don’t; instead Australia is becoming increasingly foreign owned through capitalism and globalization. The state should own more assets, generate more capital inflows and pass benefits onto middle class citizens through lower taxes. The state should be the wealthiest mechanism but it is not. So it leaves the choice to sell up, buy up or just shut up – there are few other choices.

  3. Trish Brown, 05/05/2015

    Many residential properties are being bought illegally by Chinese and now they want to buy into our agriculture industry.
    There has to be more checks and balances from our state and federal government to stop this creeping invasion of foreign ownership in our country because most of the profits earned by foreign companies have ingrained tax evasion practices as well.

  4. John Gray, 05/05/2015

    Let them bring their money and invest, BUT LIMIT INVESTMENT TO MAX OF 40% IN ANY DEED OF LAND OR ASSET. The rest must be owned by Australians. If the government does not move on this quickly, we might as well take down the “Australia” sign , and put up the “China down under” sign,
    Our forefathers went to two great wars to keep communism etc. out of our great nation. It is disgusting how so many realestate agents are so easily selling out our nations assets and the gutless government is standing by letting it happen.
    Anyone allowing his to happen should be had up for treason .

  5. Roger Cook, 04/05/2015

    I find the promotion of Australian agricultural land for overseas ownership incomprehensible. Within a couple of years we will find our best land and water foreign owned,but in the future it will never return to Australian ownership. Wake up and think of the future.

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