The seemingly unending Crafar Farms saga has taken yet another twist, as receivers confirm the exit of one Chinese company from the bidding, and the entry of another.

Receivers of the 16 central North Island farms formerly owned by the embattled Crafar family say Chinese group UBNZ Funds Management have officially withdrawn their offer.

The bid was conditional on meeting Overseas Investment Office approval, and when the OIO returned a negative verdict last month, it was simply a matter of time before they withdrew.

Crafar Farms receivers KordaMentha, though, have expressed confidence over an offer from another Chinese firm, Pengxin International Group.

Receiver Michael Stiassny says the offer from Pengxin was by far the best they had received, and it’s a case now of again waiting for OIO approval.

“From our point of view, what we can say is that we’ve entered into a contract, subject to approval from the OIO, and we’ll wait and see how that goes.”

Pengxin Spokesperson Cedric Allan says the company has good agricultural pedigree in China and elsewhere in the world, and believes they would  be a strong ally for New Zealand’s Dairy industry.

"It’s got to be a handy thing, to have a great entry into China, where there’s 1.4 billion people with a company that’s very well connected with business and government.

"They’re also experienced in dealing with the rest of asia.

"If the transaction’s approved, Pengxin look forward to working very closely with the dairy industry here in a number of different ways.”

Mr Allan says despite the negative reaction from a lot of the public to May Wang and the UBNZ saga, Pengxin is confident they aren’t in the same boat.

“To be realistic you’d have to say the waters have been muddied a bit.

“I think a lot of that was due to the oddity of the bid, and questions over some of the individuals involved, well Pengxin simply doesn’t have that.

“They’re a strong company, they have assets somewhere around $2b US.”

As for the man at the centre of the whole affair, Allan Crafar says he has no idea what will happen to his family if the bid is successful.

“Never heard of them before in my life.

“I haven’t had any contact with them at all.

“Obviously I hope the government will have enough gumption to turn another Chinese bid down, and give the properties back to their back to their rightful owners, which is us.”

The OIO application is expected to be submitted in late March, and Country 99TV will keep you up to date with developments as they unfold.