Easier investment under TPP

Investors from the 12 Trans Pacific Partnership countries are likely to get easier access to investing in high-value New Zealand businesses, Dunedin lawyer Sally Peart says.

The agreement, which was hammered out at the weekend and signed on Tuesday, increased the threshold above which an investor must get approval from $100million to $200million.

''In practice, this would affect relatively few transactions in New Zealand. But obviously businesses with assets of up to $200million are significant and can now pass into foreign hands without scrutiny, as a result of this change,'' Ms Peart, the principal of Marks & Worth said.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the TPP made it a lot easier for foreign money to take over businesses in New Zealand.

''We have foolishly agreed to the lifting of the background check threshold, opening us up to even more to dubious investment practices.''

The original threshold of $100million was already far too high and doubling it proved how much international corporates, through puppet negotiations, had been able to circumvent the will of sovereign nations, he said.

Ms Peart said one of the effects of the TPP was it protected people wanting to invest in New Zealand from being targeted in a grossly unfair or unjust way, or discriminating against them on the basis of nationality or expropriating assets without compensation.

That was beneficial when applied to New Zealanders wishing to invest in other countries.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, regulations which were inconsistent with TPP obligations were carved out of the agreement, she said.

''This enables New Zealand to continue to apply the Overseas Investment Act to foreign purchasers of sensitive land, including farmland, and ensure such purchases meet the current `benefit to New Zealand test'.''

Based on the information available, it appeared there would not be any significant change to the ability of New Zealand to ensure sensitive land - rural land, land considered due to being located on the coast, lake front or next to reserves - was protected, Ms Peart said.

The non-discrimination provisions in TPP apparently prevented the Government from banning nationals from TPP countries from buying property in New Zealand.

That did not prevent New Zealand from imposing new, discriminatory taxes on property. However, it was not clear how those provisions would interact with the current legislation, she said.

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