Investor loses Kiwi directors;

By: Adairbb Mood: Date: 09/10/2010 02:32:51 Music: None

TWO New Zealand directors of Chinese investor May Wang's dairy farm-buying company have resigned after just weeks in the job, Companies Office records show.

Sir Ralph Ngatata Love and Auckland businessman Keith Rushbrook escort shanghai were appointed in March to Ms Wang's UBNZ Assets Holdings, which is the company fronting a Hong Kong entity's efforts to invest heavily in the New Zealand dairy industry.

Mr Rushbrook left in May and Sir Ralph last month. Neither could be contacted. Bill Ralston, spokesman for Ms Wang and her Chinese backers, said Sir Ralph resigned due to his "heavy workload escort shanghai with his other commercial, academic and community interests".

"He and [Mr Rushbrook] found that with the OIO application and its complexities and teams of lawyers, UBNZ was taking up too much of their time."

A new director to the UBNZ board was being sought, Mr Ralston said.

Ms Wang, who is involved in court cases and creditor settlement negotiations over failed business ventures in New Zealand, owns 80 per cent of UBNZ Assets with 20 per cent owned by Natural Dairy, a Hong Kong- registered company. She is also sole director of UBNZ Funds Management, and UBNZ Trustee company.

Ms Wang is the buying agent in New Zealand for Natural Dairy, which startled the business community early this year with a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it had entered agreements to buy dairy farms and milk processing facilities in this country for $1.5 billion.

The companies are going to the Court of Appeal over whether they should be required to have Overseas Investment Office approval to buy the farms.

And a new row appears to be brewing over the Chinese parties' understanding of the status of their offer with receivers KordaMentha, which is conditional on getting OIO consent.

Natural Dairy has "bought" the farms and "at best any Landcorp offer can only be a back-up bid" to Natural Dairy's, Mr Ralston said.

But BusinessDay understands the receivers would consider other offers as more than back-ups. Alternative offers could be accepted by KordaMentha, which would also not necessarily accept the highest tender.

Meanwhile, state-owned corporate farmer Landcorp says it will not be asking the Government for money to help buy the in-receivership Crafar farms if its bid is successful.

Chief executive Chris Kelly said a purchase of the 16 farms would be funded by a mix of equity, debt and perhaps a joint venture partner.

Landcorp's board of directors yesterday approved Mr Kelly's recommendation to compete for the central North Island farms. Tenders close with KordaMentha tomorrow.

Mr Kelly said Landcorp could go unconditional on a purchase in about a week if its tender was accepted.

Prime Minister John Key said he had not been formally advised of the Landcorp bid.

He would not comment specifically on the Crafar Farms case, but said that as a general principle, New Zealanders should be concerned if "huge tracts of productive land" were sold to foreign investors.

" . . . looking forward five or 10 years into the future, I'd hate to see New Zealanders as tenants in their own country. That is a risk if we sell our entire productive base and I think that is something that the GovernmenChristian Louboutin Shoes
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