Chinese buyer Lu Xianfeng announces its recent US$280 million acquisition of Australia’s largest and oldest diary farm Van Diemen’s Land Company (VDL) in northwest.

The VDL was owned by various New Zealand entities. Late last year, its current owner New Plymouth District has agreed to sell the farm to Moon Lake Investments, owned by Lu Xianfeng. The farm produces about 100 million liters of milk per year.

The deal is yet subject to approval by the federal government’s Foreign Investment Review Board. Since the deal is one of Australia’s biggest agricultural sales to foreign investors and is significantly larger than the US$15 million threshold set earlier, it is said to be a test of Treasurer Scott Morrison’s attitude to foreign investment. In this same week, Australian federal parliament are preparing for a debate on the Chinese-Australia free-trade agreement.