9 Aug 2012

Chinese Crafar farm buyer still open to Maori bids

6:43 am on 9 August 2012

The Chinese firm poised to own 16 former Crafar farms says its door is still open to Maori groups - if they're still interested in buying some of the land.

Shanghai Pengxin has moved closer to owning the central North Island farms, after the Court of Appeal rejected an attempt by the Crafar Farms Independent Purchaser Group to block the deal.

Shanghai Pengxin spokesperson Cedric Allan says they'd be happy to hear from the Maori interests.

He says there's still a possibility because Shanghai Pengxin has offered to sell them two or three properties, but they weren't happy with the price.

Mr Allan says the offer is still on the table of they wish to revisit it.

Affiliates of Ngati Rereahu and Tuwharetoa pulled out of discussions to buy three farms in June, saying the asking price of nearly $66.5 million from Shanghai Pengxin was too high.