The company leading the race for the Crafar dairy empire has officially filed an application with the Overseas Investment Office.

Shanghai-based Pengxin international group filed the OIO application on Thursday, which would see the company take full control of the 16 central North Island farms formerly owned by Allan Crafar.

The application will be the first received by the Office since the government revised the criteria for sensitive land purchases last year.

Federated Farmers is welcoming the opportunity to test the new guidelines, after the organisation had fought hard to get them implemented.

The Fed’s Dairy Chairman, Lachlan Mckenzie, says early indications from Pengxin about the bid are encouraging.

“From a New Zealand incorporated point of view, they are saying they’re going through Fonterra, which is great news, because it adds to the strength of the co-operative, which is good for New Zealand.

“If they go out and have independent processors, which are funded offshore, then they will by nature funnel a lot of those profits offshore as well.”

Pengxin spokesperson Cedric Allan says their bid is not a repeat of the rejected application from fellow Chinese company Natural Dairy.

“We don’t need marginal farms in New Zealand.

 “What benefit were the Crafar Farms to New Zealand when every cent of their profit was going to Australian owned banks to service their debt?

“We want successful farms, successful processes, and to be earning top dollar around the world, for an industry in which we literally do lead the world.

“But we’ve got to make it work, and Pengxin is committed to that.”

Opponents, though, don’t see any significant differences between the two.

Save our Farms, made up of a group of New Zealand businessmen intent on keeping farmland locally owned, says the bids have to be tried in the court of public opinion before they pass muster, so to speak.

Spokesman for the group, Tony Bouchier, says despite Pengxin’s promises to employ kiwis, the issue is not jobs, but land.

“This deal is absolutely no different [to Natural Dairy].

“I suppose the only difference is in the spin this organisation’s putting on, in order to cuddle up to New Zealanders.

“They’re trying to make Kiwis more comfortable with the idea of foreign ownership of our land, but I don’t think they’ll be duped.”

The OIO aims to process applications within 50 working days of the submission, which will put the last date for a result in June.