''Don't worry.'' That is the message from the head of the Chinese company proposing to take a 50% stake in Silver Fern Farms, to any farmers concerned about foreign investment in the company.
Earlier this month, Silver Fern Farms announced a proposed 50:50 joint venture with Shanghai Maling, China's largest meat processor.
The $261 million the listed company plans to invest in Silver Fern Farms is the largest single amount ever invested in New Zealand's red meat industry.
Some shareholders have expressed concerns about the implications of foreign investment, while other farmers have said there is nothing to fear from it.
Speaking through an interpreter at Silver Fern Farms' headquarters in Dunedin yesterday, Shanghai Maling president Weiping Shen told the Otago Daily Times that maximising returns for farmer shareholders was a ''key agenda''.
The company understood the Chinese market and was happy to share Chinese market insight with shareholders to improve returns in the farming sector.
Shanghai Maling, a subsidiary of state-owned food giant Bright Food Group, was the first food-processing company to list on the main board of the Shanghai stock exchange in 1997.
Red meat (pork, beef and lamb) was its major focus, making up between 80% and 90% of its business, while snack foods such as confectionery and bakery products played a minor role.
Its strategy was to develop value-added products and build brand recognition in China.
There were 10 brands in the group, some of which were more than 100 years old.
It has 750 retail stores, 56 specialist meat stores and 19 wholesale facilities, while Bright Food Group, China's largest food company, has 800 hypermarkets and 8000 stores across China.
Given it had such strong penetration in terms of its distribution network, Mr Shen was ''very confident'' his company could help Silver Fern Farms build its market and branding recognition in China.
Demand for beef and lamb was growing fast in China and brand name and value-added products were ''key things'', he said.
The company had been discussing opportunities in overseas markets over the past four years, including Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Uruguay.
When Silver Fern Farms' management team made a presentation to Mr Shen during his first visit to New Zealand, he found the company's Plate to Pasture strategy was ''definitely in line'' with his company's values and vision.
Over the past few months, there had been comprehensive discussions with Silver Fern Farms' board and management and the feelings from that first meeting had been cemented.
He believed New Zealand was the right place to build the partnership, he said yesterday.
Brand-name recognition was not that well developed in the red meat sector in China, with consumers knowing only what territory it came from.
But after the partnership with Silver Fern Farms, Mr Shen was ''very confident'', through leveraging the distribution networks of Shanghai Maling and Bright Food Group, that Silver Fern Farms would become a well-recognised brand name in the Chinese market.
He expected fast growth in red meat consumption in China in the next 10 years.
Food safety was the most important thing for consumers, and local sheep and beef farms lacked that kind of confidence from consumers.
Traditionally, pork was the most widely consumed red meat in China, but beef and lamb had been growing fast and he expected it to be ''booming'' in the next few years.
Mr Shen, who comes from a farming background - his parents were farmers and he worked on farms after graduating from university - has had a long involvement in the red meat sector.
Asked his thoughts on the Chinese economy, he said he did not expect growth to slow down, but it would be developed more rationally.
He saw high growth in food consumption, particularly in the high end, and he remained ''very confident'' about the country's economy.
Silver Fern Farms chairman Rob Hewett remained excited by the joint-venture opportunity, which included the expectation of no debt in about 12 months, and was pleased to have Mr Shen and his party in Dunedin.
''President Shen and I have been working on this together for a while. It's great to see and [we] have reaffirmed today the meeting of the minds around our strategy and the opportunity for Silver Fern Farms and Shanghai Maling, not only within China but also around the world.''
Mr Hewett described Silver Fern Farms as being in ''quite a privileged position''.
No other meat company had the same sort of access to China, and alongside that was a supply chain that was vertically integrated and well into retail.
The deal is subject to Overseas Investment Office and Chinese regulatory approval.
While it did not need shareholder approval, either by law or company rules, Silver Fern Farms had decided it wanted a buy-in from farmers and was seeking 50% shareholder support.
Shareholder meetings were being held before a special general meeting in Dunedin on October 16.
So far, the feedback had been ''overwhelmingly positive'', exceeding what Mr Hewett had expected.
''Farmers want to know who Shanghai Maling are and why they want to partner with Silver Fern Farms, what the benefits are for the company ... [and] for them as a shareholder.
''Once we explain what they are and they can see the benefits ... they're quite relaxed about it,'' he said.
Five meetings had already been held, attended by 650 farmers, and Mr Hewett was delighted with the high degree of interest.
He remained confident the deal would be approved.
''This is a great opportunity for Silver Fern Farms. It ticks the box on so many levels. We've got a meeting of the minds, we've got alignment around strategy, we've got an opportunity for a very privileged position inside China, inside a global food strategy.
"This is going to unleash Silver Fern Farms. It's going to be great,'' he said.
The company would be governed by a 10-person board comprising five directors from Shanghai Maling, three farmer directors and two independent directors.
Both Mr Shen and Mr Hewett were comfortable with the board being co-chaired by themselves.
''We'll be doing things by consensus; we have to,'' Mr Hewett said.
Mr Shen felt ''very happy'' about the 50:50 partnership, not only the shareholding percentage but also the board make-up.
Everything discussed should be of benefit to both shareholders, he said.
Silver Fern Farms' Dunedin-based management team would be left to develop the business with as little interference as possible but with the right incentive to develop it under the board's high-level strategy, he said.
Yesterday, Clinton farmer John Cochrane, who has been among a group of farmers pushing for merger discussions with rival co-operative Alliance Group, encouraged fellow Silver Fern Farm shareholders to ''ask some hard questions'' about the proposal.
While he retained ''an open mind'', he believed initial communication about the proposal failed to address risks and costs, something farmers needed to fully understand.
