Fire sale fears see govt rush new foreign investment vetting rules

Wed, 13 May 2020

Tourism operators seeking to sell to foreign buyers at low prices because of the impact of the covid-19 pandemic will face a temporary new foreign investment test announced by the government to prevent bargain-basement sales of New Zealand assets to international investors. Associate Finance Minister David Parker rushed legislation into Parliament today to introduce temporary rules that will require proposed foreign investments to be vetted, no matter how small the deal. "Hypothetically, with international tourism at a standstill, the val...

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