Chinese cash flows to Nats

Crafar Farm cattle. Photo / Christine Cornege

Chinese New Zealand businesses, including one formerly owned by the businessman spearheading Shanghai Pengxin's bid for the Crafar dairy farms, have boosted the National Party's coffers by more than $100,000 in recent days.

Recent filings to the Electoral Commission show National received $50,000 on November 22 from Citi Financial Group, a Queen St foreign exchange and financial planning firm owned by Yan Yang and Qiang Wei.

The same day, the party got a $1600 donation from Oravida NZ, which also gave $55,000 on November 30.

Oravida's directors are Jing Huang, Julia Jiyan Xu and wealthy but reclusive businessman Deyi Shi.

In September last year when it was called Kiwi Dairy, Oravida was bought from Terry Lee, a businessman associated with Shanghai Pengxin, which has applied for Overseas Investment Office approval to buy the Crafar farms.

Mr Lee is one of two directors of Milk New Zealand, set up by Shanghai Pengxin as the vehicle for its Crafar bid. The other director is Shanghai Pengxin Group chairman Jiang Zhaobai.

The recent donations mean National has topped Act in attracting big sums from supporters this year. Act has had $312,855 in donations over the $30,000 threshold above which they must be reported to the Electoral Commission.

National's big donations total $404,933 while Labour got just one - $50,000 from the Todd Corporation in September.