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Pellet plant developer gets more time from OIO

Pellet plant developer gets more time from OIO

Energy
2 mins to read
Pellet plant developer gets more time from OIO
ASX-listed Foresta now has until July 2026 to acquire a lease on the Kawerau site.
Foresta wants to build a wood pellet plant on a 9.5ha site at Kawerau.
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Can't see the sheep for the trees: 10 years, 100,000 hectares and $900m of foreign forestry conversions - mapped.
Can't see the sheep for the trees: 10 years, 100,000 hectares and $900m of foreign forestry conversions - mapped.

NZ Herald

time5 days ago

  • NZ Herald

Can't see the sheep for the trees: 10 years, 100,000 hectares and $900m of foreign forestry conversions - mapped.

Purchases of entire farms by overseas investors require government approval. The Herald used the information released with these government decisions to map the land. Overseas purchases make up about a third of the total conversions of farms to forestry - the other two-thirds were converted by Kiwis. During the last decade only seven farm-to-forestry applications made to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) were declined. In these seven cases, Ministers were not convinced there was enough benefit to New Zealand. In the same period of time, foreign forestry investors have spent at least $897 million on farmland in Aotearoa, and probably much more: the value of 20 large purchases has not been disclosed. Nearly 23,000ha of the land was bought within the last four years by a single overseas investor, with a disclosed sale price of $219.6 million. That investor was Ingka Investments Forest Assets NZ, owned by Ingka Group, the largest franchisee of IKEA stores. One of the concerns about increasing forestry is the impact it has on land and communities -particularly from slash and other debris left behind after harvesting. The devastation following Cyclone Gabrielle highlighted the dangers and damage forest slash can cause. Dr Steve Urlich, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management at Lincoln University, said the Government tightened the national rules around slash removal in 2023 but is now proposing to relax them with changes to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry. Beef and Lamb New Zealand, the industry organisation representing sheep and beef farmers, said farm sales and conversions have happened at an 'alarming rate' for a decade, and when good farming land is planted out in trees it affects jobs and exports in the meat sector. In May, Federated Farmers launched its 'Save Our Sheep' (SOS) campaign, calling for urgent action to support New Zealand's sheep industry. Former Federated Farmers chairman Toby Williams says sheep farming is at a crossroads Photo / Supplied Forestry advocates point to the economic benefits of forestry and wood processing, including $6 billion in export value and 40,000 jobs. Forestry is New Zealand's fifth largest export earner according to the New Zealand Forest Owners Association (NZFOA). Chief Executive Elizabeth Heeg previously told the Herald, 'We are known for our ability to manage forests effectively, and with good environmental outcomes.' To buy sensitive land, which includes any non-urban land larger than 5ha, an overseas investor must show how their investment will deliver tangible benefits to New Zealand – such as job creation, increased export revenue or environmental improvements. Benefits may also include increased public access, protection of historic heritage or alignment with other government objectives. Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) says the benefits must be proportionate to the sensitivity of the land and the nature of the investment. The OIO cannot consider any detriments when making its decision, aside from those that relate to water bottling. Investors buying land already planted for forestry, or land to be used for forestry, or more than 1000ha of forestry rights in a calendar year, must still apply through the OIO. They can also on-sell the land and forestry rights to other overseas buyers, who must also apply for consent. In these cases, no benefit to New Zealand needs to be demonstrated, only whether the land will continue to be used for forestry. The Government has moved to limit forestry conversions and its 'farm-to-forest' ban is set to become law later this year. Only 6319 hectares have been approved since the new policy was announced and 2024's 11,794 ha was already well down on the 2022 peak of 27,788 ha.

NZX50 lifts 0.5%, Metroglass cracks and Eroad climbs
NZX50 lifts 0.5%, Metroglass cracks and Eroad climbs

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time5 days ago

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NZX50 lifts 0.5%, Metroglass cracks and Eroad climbs

'New Zealand dairy is still in demand, which is good and bad for them. It's an input cost for the consumer business, but generally good for farmers and their cooperative members.' Infratil continued its solid run since mid-June, gaining 1.77% to $7.67. The infrastructure investor traded at under $10 as recently as April. Takeovers, small caps Metro Performance Glass shares fell 20% to 4 cents after the glass supplier unveiled its plan to shore up its finances and secure new banking facilities. The company has agreed a deal with Amari Metals for the latter to take a 51% stake in the company following its proposed recapitalisation. The equity raise combines an $8.9m pro-rata rights offer with an additional placement to Amari Metals of up to $15m. Both tranches are priced at 3 cents per share (cps). Metroglass said an independent report by Grant Samuel concluded there were 'no viable alternatives'. Also on the takeover front, Vital's board urged investors to accept Tait Communication's takeover offer, warning the deal could collapse if the 90% minimum acceptance condition is not met before the mid-September deadline. In June, Tait Communications, a Christchurch-based critical communications systems provider, made a formal offer to purchase NZX-listed Vital for 45cps. On Friday, the board reiterated its unanimous recommendation, urging shareholders to accept 'without delay'. Vital shares fell 3.3% to 44c, having traded above the offer price towards the end of last week. Eroad continued its run from last week, rising 7.18% to $2.09 on Monday. The share price for telematics and fleet management rose to a three-year high after the Government announced it would transition the light vehicle fleet to road user charges. Earnings season Robertshawe noted that due to continuous disclosure requirements, companies had already confessed their sins in June and July. Subsequently, he said markets were unlikely to be too surprised by earnings reports. 'People will be looking for the quality of results. Are there abnormals? Are there provision releases? Are there one-off sale processes? That will be the key. 'And then obviously the reporting on trading since the balance date, and what does trading look like for the first half of the 2026 financial year? Vista Group, which reports its half-year results on Thursday, would be the most interesting stock to watch this week, he said. 'They hinted at a slight slowdown in uptake and migration to their new product, but it feels almost like they don't have the resources to go faster, as they've tried to hit free cash flow break-even. 'There could be an interesting announcement where they say they're going to push the company back into short-term cash flow deficits because they want to accelerate the growth to the new revenue model.' Vista traded flat at $3.50 on volumes worth nearly $1.5m.

Macquarie Data Centres, Dell Deliver Sovereign AI Factories To Australia
Macquarie Data Centres, Dell Deliver Sovereign AI Factories To Australia

Scoop

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Macquarie Data Centres, Dell Deliver Sovereign AI Factories To Australia

Press Release – Macquarie Data Centres The collaboration combines Dells global AI leadership with Macquarie Data Centres sovereign data centres, enabling organisations to capitalise on AI while meeting their data security obligations and national regulatory requirements. Macquarie Data Centres, part of Macquarie Technology Group (ASX: MAQ), is collaborating with Dell Technologies to provide a secure, sovereign home for AI workloads in Australia. The collaboration combines Dell's global AI leadership with Macquarie Data Centres' sovereign data centres, enabling organisations to capitalise on AI while meeting their data security obligations and national regulatory requirements. Macquarie Data Centres will host the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA within its AI and cloud data centres. This will power enterprise AI, private AI and neo cloud projects while achieving the highest standards of data security within sovereign data centres. This solution is especially significant for critical infrastructure providers and highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, finance, education and research which have strict regulatory compliance conditions relating to data storage and processing. This collaboration gives them the secure, compliant foundation needed to build, train and deploy advanced AI applications in Australia, such as AI digital twins, agentic AI and private LLMs. As a leading data centre provider, Macquarie's 10-year growth pipeline will offer flexibility for customers to scale as demand for AI continues to grow in Australia. Answering the Government's Call for Sovereign AI The Australian Government has linked the data centre sector to its Future Made in Australia policy agenda. Data centres and AI also play an important role in the Australian Federal Government's new push to improve Australia's productivity. 'For Australia's AI-driven future to be secure, we must ensure that Australian data centres play a core role in AI, data, infrastructure, and operations' said David Hirst, CEO, Macquarie Data Centres. 'Our collaboration with Dell Technologies delivers just that, the perfect marriage of global tech and sovereign infrastructure.' Sovereignty Meets Scalability Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA infrastructure and software will be supported by Macquarie Data Centres' newest purpose-built AI and cloud data centre, IC3 Super West. The 47MW facility is purpose-built for the scale, power, and cooling demands of AI infrastructure today and into the future. Ready in mid-2026 with the entire end-state power secured, IC3 Super West reflects Macquarie Data Centres investment to meet Australia's AI ambitions. 'Our work with Macquarie Data Centres helps bring the Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA vision to life in Australia,' said Jamie Humphrey, General Manager, Australia & New Zealand Specialty Platforms Sales, Dell Technologies ANZ. 'Together, we are enabling organisations to develop and deploy AI as a transformative and competitive advantage in Australia in a way that is secure, sovereign and scalable.' A Proven Collaboration Enters the AI Era Macquarie Technology Group and Dell Technologies have collaborated for more than 15 years. As a certified Dell Titanium Partner, Macquarie Technology Group is uniquely positioned to bring AI-enabled infrastructure to the Australian market, underpinned by a proven track record of supporting mission-critical and government-grade workloads. This next chapter marks a pivotal moment in Australia's AI journey. One that reinforces national digital sovereignty, accelerates enterprise transformation and sets a new benchmark for AI infrastructure.

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