WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Shanghai Pengxin Group, a Chinese property developer and owner of agricultural and mining ventures, is seeking to buy 16 dairy farms in New Zealand after the government rejected an earlier bid by a different Chinese company.

Shanghai Pengxin will apply to the Overseas Investment Office by the end of March, Chairman Jiang Zhaobai said in a statement on Thursday posted on the website of KordaMentha, the farms' receiver. KordaMentha, which took control of the farms more than a year ago, accepted the offer, it said.

The bid for the assets, known as the Crafar farms, renews debate over foreign ownership of New Zealand's farm and dairy industries. New Zealand farmers' groups have voiced objections to the sale of farmland to buyers from outside the country on the grounds that such sales weaken control of industries that account for about a third of the country's exports. "We have made proper arrangements for financing the purchase of the Crafar farms, if approved, and also financing our subsequent development plans," said Jiang, who along with his brother was ranked 293 among the 400 richest Chinese by Forbes magazine in 2010. The company, which didn't disclose financial terms, will release plans for the properties when it submits the application, he said.

New Zealand's government last month rejected a bid by China's Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Ltd and UBNZ Funds Management Ltd to buy the 16 North Island properties after the application failed to meet "good character" criteria.

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The government in September gave ministers greater power to quash sales of large farm blocks and other sensitive land. The tightened rules require buyers to show how an acquisition benefits the nation's economy.

"We will bring substantial benefits to New Zealand, some of them, perhaps, outside the dairy industry," Jiang said.

Shanghai Pengxin owns a 930 hectare sheep-breeding farm in China's Shandong province and purchased a majority interest in a soybean and corn farm in Bolivia for $20 million in 2005, according to the statement.

Bloomberg News