For those who have not visited the country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is likely to be an unknown quantity – similar to an Arabian epic novel of noble men in flowing robes, picturesque desert and perhaps the odd camel. For those who have cursory knowledge of the UAE, its significant oil & gas reserves and Dubai’s recent debt troubles may be the first matters that come to mind. Whatever camp they fall in, New Zealand businesses looking for new markets may not get too excited about either the

A large number of transactions involving foreign investment in NZ will now need to be notified to the OIO for screening.

New class exemptions to the Overseas Investment Act 2005 have been introduced and came into force on 1 February 2017.

If you are not a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident, you may require consent under the OIA to purchase rural land.

The new fee structure for the OIO screening regime was only part of the solution to lifting performance and turnaround.

The Letter sets out Government's general policy approach and the importance to be placed on certain factors by the OIO.

This update contains detail on how these overseas investment changes will impact on the property development sector.

Summary of amendments to Overseas Investment Act which regulates overseas investment in NZ.

The main focus of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill is to bring residential land within the Overseas Investment Act.

The Act requires overseas persons to obtain consent before acquiring certain assets, including certain residential land.

These changes in the SOP are primarily focussed on the acquisition by overseas persons of interests in forestry land.

The New Zealand Government has released its much awaited discussion document entitled Business Tax Review. Readers of the discussion document may feel somewhat deflated – the hope was for a document containing proposals for reform that would be of benefit to businesses across the country, however, the reality is a document that contains very little in terms of details of proposed reforms and certainly contains nothing new.

The article covers topics that foreign investors should be aware of when looking to invest in property in New Zealand.