Notice of Decision
Case: 201510065
Decision Date
16 December 2015
Decision
Consent has been granted to
CFPC (New Zealand) Co Limited (a wholly owned
subsidiary of China National Forest Products Corporation) giving effect to a
transaction which will result in:
(a) an overseas investment in sensitive land, being CFPC (New Zealand) Co
Limited’s acquisition of:
(i)
a freehold interest in approximately 1,668.2157 hectares of land
at Mahoe Estate; and
(ii)
a freehold interest in approximately 1,921.6976 hectares of land
at Madaket Estate; and
(b) an overseas investment in significant business assets, being CFPC (New
Zealand) Co Limited’s acquisition of property in New Zealand used in
carrying on business in New Zealand for consideration exceeding $100m,
that property being various North Island forestry estates known as the
Mahoe Estate and the Madaket Estate including the freehold land, Crown
Forestry Licences and other associated assets, including sensitive land.
Consent is granted subject to the following conditions:
Statutory Conditions of Consent
Section 28 of the Overseas Investment Act 2005 (the “
Act”) provides that it is a
condition of every consent, whether or not it is stated in the consent, that:
(a) the information provided by each applicant to the Overseas Investment
Office or the relevant Ministers in connection with the application was
correct at the time it was provided; and
under the Official Information Act 1982
(b) each consent holder must comply with the representations and plans made
or submitted in support of the application and notified by the Overseas
Investment Office as having been taken into account when the consent was
granted, unless compliance should reasonably be excused.
For the purposes of section 28(1)(b), the representations and plans made or
submitted in support of the application and taken into account when consent was
granted are those contained in the correspondence listed in the statutory
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declaration of Yingyi Li dated 16 November 2015 and in all attachments annexed
to that correspondence.
Special Conditions
Interpretation
Any term or expression that is defined in the Overseas Investment Act 2005 and
used, but not defined, in this consent has the same meaning as in the Overseas
Investment Act 2005.
Act means the Overseas Investment Act 2005;
Application Letter means the application letter dated 14 May 2015;
Business Plan means the business plan set out in Appendix M of the Application
Letter;
Consent Holder means CFPC (New Zealand) Co Limited;
DOC means the Department of Conservation;
Individuals with Control means:
(a) the individuals who have, directly or indirectly, a 25% or more
ownership or control interest in the Consent Holder or a Parent of the
Consent Holder; and
(b) the members of the governing body of the Consent Holder or a Parent
of the Consent Holder; and
(c) includes, for the avoidance of doubt, the members of the governing
body of CFPC (New Zealand) Co Limited and China National Forest
Products Corporation;
Investment means the acquisition of:
(a) the Land; and
(b) various North Island forestry estates known as the Mahoe Estate and
the Madaket Estate including the freehold land, Crown Forestry
Licences and other associated assets, including sensitive land.
Land means:
(a) the freehold interest in approximately 1,668.2157 hectares of land at
Mahoe Estate; and
(d) the freehold interest in approximately 1,921.6976 hectares of land at
Madaket Estate.
OIO means the Overseas Investment Office;
Parent of Consent Holder means a person that has, directly or indirectly, a
25% or more ownership or control interest in the Consent Holder, and includes a
person that has, directly or indirectly, a 25% or more ownership or control
interest in another Parent of the Consent Holder;
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Settlement Date means the date the acquisition of the Investment took place;
and
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WAC means the New Zealand Walking Access Commission.
Special Conditions
When the transaction must given effect
1.
The consent will lapse if the Investment has not been acquired by and
transferred to the Consent Holder within twelve months of the date of
consent.
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Good character
2.
The Individuals with Control must:
(a) continue to be of good character; and
(b) not become an individual of the kind referred to in section 15 or 16 of
the Immigration Act 2009.
Environmental Protection
3.
The Consent Holder must consult with DOC to determine what the Consent
Holder can reasonably do (having regard to the proposed use of the Land)
to protect or enhance any existing areas of significant indigenous vegetation
or significant habitats of indigenous fauna on the Land (such as the
registration of new instruments) (“
Environmental Protection”). The
Consent Holder must:
(a) Write to the Statutory Land Management National Advisor of DOC
(Conservation House, 18-32 Manners Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011)
within 15 working days from the Settlement Date advising that the
Consent Holder wishes to consult about Environmental Protection and
enclose:
(i)
a copy of the Decision Summary for this consent and any
environmental consultant reports prepared in relation to this
application; and
(ii) a copy of this condition together with information identifying and
describing the Land including aerial photographs, maps and
Certificate(s) of Title;
(b) Implement any Environmental Protection recommended by DOC
(“
DOC Recommendation”) within two years from DOC making the
DOC Recommendation, or such other timeframe as mutually agreed
between the Consent Holder and DOC. The cost of any Environmental
Protection shall be borne by the Consent Holder.
4.
The Consent Holder must provide to the OIO a copy of the letter sent to
DOC under condition 3 within 20 working days from the Settlement Date.
Walking Access
5.
The Consent Holder must consult with WAC to determine what the Consent
Holder can reasonably do (having regard to the proposed use of the Land)
to provide, protect or improve public walking access over the Land or part of
that land (such as the registration of new instruments) (“
Walking
Access”). The Consent Holder must:
(a) Write to the Operations Manager at WAC (PO Box 12348, Thorndon,
er the Official Information Act 1982
Wellington 6144) within 15 working days from the date of settlement
advising that the Consent Holder wishes to consult about Walking
Access and enclose:
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(i)
a copy of the Decision Summary for this consent; and
(ii) a copy of this condition together with information identifying and
describing the Land including aerial photographs, maps and
Certificate(s) of Title;
(b) Implement any Walking Access recommended by WAC (“
WAC
Recomme
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ndation”) within two years from WAC making the WAC
Recommendation, or such other timeframe as mutually agreed
between the Consent Holder and WAC. The cost of any Walking
Access shall be borne by the Consent Holder.
6.
The Consent Holder must provide to the OIO a copy of the letter sent to
WAC under condition 5 within 20 working days from the Settlement Date.
7.
The Consent Holder must:
(a) grant any reasonable requests from the public for access over the
Land where the proposed access is by foot and no operational, safety
or fire considerations arise;
(b) appoint a person as the point of contact for any public walking access
requests; and
(c) erect a notice or sign containing contact details of the contact person
and stating that any request for access must be directed to that
contact person, to be displayed at the entrances to the Land in a
manner that ensures, as far is reasonably practicable, that it attracts
the attention of persons who may wish to access the property by foot.
Dispute Resolution
8.
Should a dispute or difference arise between the Consent Holder and WAC
or the Consent Holder and DOC in relation to conditions 3 or 5 (“
Dispute”),
then the Consent Holder must:
(a) Endeavour to resolve the Dispute by mediation;
(b) If the Dispute is not resolved through mediation within 60 working
days from the Dispute arising, endeavour to have:
(i)
the Dispute referred to and finally resolved in arbitration in
Wellington, New Zealand;
(ii) the tribunal consist of a sole arbitrator appointed by agreement
between the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, by the
President of the New Zealand Law Society; and
(iii) the arbitral proceedings conducted in accordance with the
Arbitration Act 1996 or any other statutory provision then
relating to arbitration;
(c) Share the cost of any arbitration and/or mediation equally with WAC
or DOC as the case may be; and
(d) Provide a copy of any award made by the arbitrator to the OIO within
15 working days of the award being made.
FSC Certification Condition
9.
The Consent Holder must obtain Forest Stewardship Council (“
FSC”)
certification for the Investment (including complying with the FSC policies
and regulations) within 2 years from the Settlement Date. In the event that
FSC certification cannot be obtained due to circumstances outside the
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Consent Holder’s control, then the Consent Holder will continue to manage
the forest in accordance with the ten principles underpinned by the FSC.
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Special Land Condition
10. The Consent Holder must, upon becoming the registered proprietor of the
Land:
(a) Adopt and be bound by any offer, arrangement or agreement that the
vendor has made, reached or entered into with the Crown in relation
to the special land that forms part of the Land;
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(b) If so required by the Crown, enter into a deed of covenant with the
Crown to be so bound; and
(c) Deal with the Crown in accordance with the requirements of the Act as
if it were the party making the initial offer of the special land to the
Crown.
Third Party Submission
11. The Consent Holder must comply with the terms of its agreement with Te
Uri O Hau Settlement Trust as set out in the letter from Rachel Petterson to
the OIO dated 29 September 2015.
Reporting to the OIO
12. The Consent Holder must notify the OIO in writing as soon as practicable,
and no later than twelve months from the date of consent, whether
settlement of the acquisition of the Investment took place. If settlement of
the acquisition of the Investment did take place, the notice must include:
(a) the Settlement Date;
(b) final consideration paid (plus GST, if any);
(c) the structure by which the acquisition was made, and who acquired
the Investment;
(d) where applicable, copies of transfer documents and settlement
statements; and
(e) any other information that would aid the OIO in its function to monitor
conditions of consent.
13. The Consent Holder must report in writing annually to the Overseas
Investment Office detailing progress of its Business Plan (“
Annual
Report”), including the following:
(a) the Consent Holder’s compliance with conditions 3, 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11;
(b) any increases in efficiency created by the Consent Holder as a result of
the Investment including efficiencies due to increased vessel
frequency, reduced port storage and reduced port handling costs; and
(c) any increase in export receipts created by the Consent Holder for New
Zealand exporters as a result of the Investment.
The first Annual Report is due on 31 March 2017 and the final report is due
on 31 March 2021.
14. The Consent Holder must notify the OIO in writing within 20 working days
if:
(a) the Consent Holder, any Individual with Control, or any person in
which the Consent Holder or any Individual with Control has, or had at
the time of the offence or contravention, a 25% or more ownership or
control interest, commits an offence or contravenes the law (whether
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convicted or not); or
(b) any Individual with Control:
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(i)
ceases to be of good character; or
(ii) commits an offence or contravenes the law (whether convicted
or not); or
(iii) becomes aware of any other matter that reflects adversely on an
Individual with Control’s fitness to have the Investment; or
(iv) be
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of the Immigration Act 2009;
(c) the Consent Holder:
(i)
ceases to be an overseas person; or
(ii) disposes of the Investment.
15. If requested in writing by the OIO, the Consent Holder must provide a
written report within 20 working days (or such other timeframe as specified)
on any matter relating to its compliance with:
(a) the representations and plans made or submitted in support of the
application and notified by the regulator as having been taken into
account when the consent was granted; or
(b) the conditions of this consent.
Monitoring Conditions of Consent
For the purpose of monitoring conditions of consent, the Overseas Investment
Office may, under section 38 of the Act, require the consent holder to provide
information or documents, or both, that are specified in the notice. Under section
40 of the Act, the Overseas Investment Office may also require a consent holder
to provide a statutory declaration verifying the extent to which the consent holder
has complied with the conditions of consent, and, if the consent holder is in
breach of a condition or conditions, the reasons for the breach and the steps the
consent holder intends to take to remedy the breach.
Sanctions
The Act provides for civil and criminal sanctions for breaching the Act, failing to
comply with the conditions of consent and failing to provide information required
by the Overseas Investment Office. The Overseas Investment Office has an
obligation to investigate and act upon alleged and suspected breaches of the Act.
General
A reference to the “Overseas Investment Office” in this Notice includes a
reference to the regulator (as defined by the Act). A reference to the Applicant
includes a reference to the consent holder.
[ s 9(2)(a) ] er the Official Information Act 1982
Anneke Cockerell u
Senior Solicitor
Overseas Investment Office
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