Chinese funds set to buy Aussie grain farmlands
Print Edition
CHINESE investors are on the verge of securing the purchase of one of Australia’s largest grain farming properties in the wheatbelt north of Perth in Western Australia.
The deal between John Nicoletti, once regarded as WA’s biggest grain grower, and Hong Kong-based CK Life Sciences was reportedly finalized yesterday pending approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board.
CK Life Sciences is expected to pay close to US$24 million for Nicoletti’s farms in the eastern wheatbelt, near Mullewa in the mid-west region of WA. At 70,000 hectares, it is the biggest single offering of freehold land in the state’s history.
CK Life Sciences already holds large investments in Australian agriculture, being a majority shareholder in the Challenger Wine Trust, which has interests in vineyards, and the owner of Cheetham Salt, Amgrow (farm products) and Accensi (crop protection).
Nicoletti told the Western Australia newspaper yesterday that poor harvesting seasons had left him heavily in debt, but the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group had understood his position and been very supportive through difficult times.
“If they had pulled the plug on me back in 2013, it would have been disastrous for agriculture out here. It might have seen land values drop to US$49 a hectare. This deal sets the land value at that close to US$208 per hectare,” he said.
Nicoletti produced about 1.2 tons of wheat per hectare in the harvesting season just completed.
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