Bright Food unit buys stake in NZ meat processor

New Zealand approved on Tuesday the sale of a 50 percent stake in the country's largest meat processor, Silver Fern Farms, to a unit of China's Bright Food Group, enhancing the South Island-based company's access into the Chinese market.

The approval of the NZ$261 million ($191 million) deal is an encouraging outcome for Chinese investors, following a high-profile rejection and complaints over the slow approval process.

The Dunedin-based company had voted in October to allow Shanghai Maling Aquarius Co, a unit of State-owned enterprise Bright Food, to take a half-share in the firm and applied for approval from foreign investment regulators the same month.