Chinese infant formula maker to open in NZ

Chinese infant formula giant Yashili International Holdings will invest $NZ230 million in a New Zealand milk processing plant, according to the People’s Daily. The plant will be built just south of Auckland. Zhang Lidian, company chairman, said that Yashili still needs to obtain construction, land and resource consents for the plant. The New Zealand Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approved the investment. Yashili has joined a number of Chinese companies investing in the New Zealand dairy industry, the People’s Daily notes. These companies include Bright Dairy, which purchased a 51 percent stake in the Synlait Milk dairy-processing firm in 2010, and Shanghai Pengxin, which purchased 16 North Island dairy farms in 2013.