New Zealand's government on Thursday unexpectedly blocked the NZ$88 million ($56 million) purchase of a local farm by China's Shanghai Pengxin amid public concerns about foreign land ownership. The move was a surprise as the Overseas Investment Office, a body that supervises foreign bids for sensitive assets in New Zealand, had previously given its approval for the sale of the 13,800 hectare Lochinver farm in the country's North Island.
