Chinese billionaire Xingfa Ma buys two cattle stations in northern Australia
First posted 15 July 2015 at 8:46 pm
Chinese billionaire and owner of a major ball bearing manufacturing company, Xingfa Ma, has bought two cattle stations in Australia's far north for about $47 million.
Wollogorang and the neighbouring Wentworth station are located on the Northern Territory and Queensland border and back onto the Gulf of Carpentaria.
Xingfa Ma is one of China's richest men. His company, Tianma Bearing Group, established TBG Agri Holding Limited, in August last year as a subsidiary company in Australia.
The purchase of the two Gulf stations adds to Mr Ma's significant portfolio of Australian properties, which includes Balfour Downs, Emu Downs and Wandanya Station in Western Australia.
He also owns Ferngrove Wine Group, which he has invested millions into since purchasing in 2011.
Lex Heinemann, from Heinemann Rural, said the private sale, which includes 40,000 head of cattle, took three months to negotiate and was finalised on Wednesday.
He said the purchase had been through the Foreign Investment Review Board.
"All that has happened and all approvals have been received. In fact, the property has been settled," he said.
"Yesterday was the day that money changed hands."
Combined, Wollogorang and Wentworth are 705,700 hectares and have 80 kilometres of Gulf of Carpentaria coastline.
The properties have been owned and operated by Territory cattlemen Paul Zlotkowski for decades.
Danny Thomas, from CBRE, was the other agent involved in the sale and said the purchaser would continue to keep the properties as substantial beef operations.
"I think this particular purchaser sees other development opportunities," he said.
"I don't really understand, and I don't know that anybody really does, precisely what he might be thinking.
"But he certainly was very attracted to the fact that it had that long ocean frontage and he was very attracted to how spectacularly beautiful the property is."
Mr Thomas said there was domestic interest in the property.
"I think it [this sale] demonstrates there is renewed confidence in northern Australia," he said.
"To get the record straight, the interest that is in northern Australia at the moment is not exclusively foreign.
"There are a whole lot of companies including the largest beef businesses in Australia who are looking to expand aggressively."
It is the second Northern Territory cattle station to be bought by Chinese interests in the last 12 months, following the historic purchase of Elizabeth Downs by the Sichuan Ying Xiang Group.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments always welcome!