Applicant
ContainerCo (NZL) Limited
Case number(s)
202100568
Decision date
Type
Decision
Decision

Consent and retrospective consent granted
Section 12(1)(a) Overseas Investment Act 2005

Decision maker Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand
Decision date 17 October 2022
Pathway(s)

Benefit to New Zealand (Substantial & Identifiable)
National Interest Assessment

Investment

Acquisition by ContainerCo (NZL) Limited (ContainerCo) of 50% of the ordinary shares in Te Puna Industrial Limited (TPIL), which owns approximately 12.1606 hectares of sensitive land at 297 Te Puna Station Road, Tauranga (Land).

Retrospective acquisition by TPIL of freehold interest in the Land and grant of leasehold interest in approximately 4.8 hectares of the Land to ContainerCo.

Consideration $1,250,000 (ordinary shares) and $4,700,000 (land)
Applicant

ContainerCo (NZL) Limited
New Zealand 50%
People’s Republic of China 22.76%
Various 27.25%

Te Puna Industrial Limited
New Zealand 75%
Various 25%  

Vendor

Te Puna Industrial Limited
New Zealand 75%
Various 25% 

Background

ContainerCo seeks consent under the Act to acquire 50% of the ordinary shares in TPIL (Proposed Transaction) which is the current registered owner of 12.1606 hectares of Land.  

ContainerCo also seeks retrospective consent for a series of initial transactions resulting in ContainerCo's acquisition of leasehold interest in approximately 4.8 hectares of the Land (the relevant land being the entire 12.1606 hectares). Iaccoca Holdings Limited had sold the Land to TPIL who then leased part of the Land to ContainerCo.  

ContainerCo intends to develop the Land into a container facility and business park near the Port of Tauranga.  

ContainerCo intends to introduce millions of dollars of capital expenditure into New Zealand for the development of either or both of the container facility and the business park on the Land. ContainerCo also intends to introduce new technology into New Zealand in the form of an all-electric overhead gantry crane system and integrate the terminal operating system into the gantry crane system.  

Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand is satisfied that the Proposed Transaction will likely result in substantial and identifiable benefit to New Zealand.   

ContainerCo is a non-New Zealand Government Investor for the purposes of the Act and was therefore subject to a national interest assessment on the basis that it is a “relevant government enterprise”. This is because it is ultimately owned by a Chinese Government State-Owned Enterprise. 

The Minister of Finance has decided that the Proposed Transaction is not contrary to New Zealand's national interest but imposed a reporting condition that ContainerCo must notify Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand if it acquires any interest in a container facility, or land acquired to develop or further develop a container facility in New Zealand.   

More information

Cath Shirley-Brown
Russell McVeagh
PO Box 10-214
Wellington 

Retrospective penalty $30,000