WELLINGTON -- A major Chinese property company Friday pledged to invest "millions of dollars" in developing a New Zealand luxury resort into an exclusive holiday destination for wealthy Chinese.

Shanghai CRED Real Estate announced it had bought Peppers Carrington from its US owner Paul Kelly on the Rangaunu Bay in the far north of the North Island with approval of New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office.

The resort is set on more than 1,000 hectares looking over the Pacific Ocean and includes a vineyard and a 18-hole golf course as well as the main resort lodge and associated villas.

New Zealander Simon Jones, who had been with the resort for nearly six years, had been appointed CEO of the resort and its associated companies, and all 40 staff have been offered continuing employment, said a statement from Shanghai CRED.

The company said it intended to promote the resort to high- income Chinese tourists drawing on its experience in creating and marketing developments in China, including hotels, golf courses, residences and conference centres.

It would also upgrade and expand the existing 188 hectare vineyard, which was already exporting to China, with the aim of increasing exports.

Existing farming and quarrying operations would continue and a trial manuka oil extraction plant would be build.

Shanghai CRED general manager Guo Gui said the resort could provide the sort of holiday experience that high-income Chinese and other international tourists were seeking and revitalize tourism in the area.

Affluent Chinese tourists tended to use Chinese tourist agencies, which, in turn, preferred to recommend Chinese-owned resorts internationally.

"We will promote Peppers Carrington through our own resorts and our many contacts in tourism in China," he said in the statement.

China is New Zealand's second largest tourism market after Australia, hosting 222,000 Chinese tourists in the year to the end of June with a further 100,000 tourists expected next year.