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Post by twoupman on Jul 3, 2011 10:51:37 GMT -5
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Post by douglaslam on Jul 4, 2011 2:20:31 GMT -5
Shades of what was old is new again. For Chinese money to snap up land, it must meet the strict guidelines of Foreign Investment Review Board. A couple of years ago, China's foray into Rio Tinto the big miner was thwarted on strategic grounds, amongst other things, one of the mine is too close to a disused rocket testing site. Ostensibly, the current outcry is on productive farmland bought by Chinese interests are earmarked for mining and thus destroying fertile arable land, polluting underground water, and rendering food security in jeopardy. All very valid points at first glance. Are there hidden agendas, or is it the old boogie at play again ? But when millions of dollars are on the table, many farmers find it simply irresistible. Australia has some of the world's biggest cattle properties, some of them are bigger than the smaller European countries like Belgium. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Creek_station There is nothing new about overseas money buying large tracts of land in Australia. Arabs, for example, have large holdings of inland cattle stations. The Sultan of Brunei I believe, has extensive interests in cattle properties and horse studs. I am sure there are British and European money in the mix. I didn't hear of any audible outcry. My take on land acquisition is that you can never take the land out of the country. People will carry on buying and selling when the price is right. |
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