New Zealand

The two European pensions have acquired a controlling stake in Wenita Forest Products, with their investments to be managed by Sydney-headquartered New Forests.

The vehicle aims to raise A$500m in its first 12 months, providing loans of A$10m-$150m to counterparties across a variety of commodities.

The firm has set its sights on two funds that will invest across the UK and Northern Europe, with a further two targeting Australasia and potentially the US, says managing director Olly Hughes.

The asset class has seen a flurry of fund launch activity as its uncorrelated credentials and inherent sustainability chime with new and returning investors.

A third of the fund’s returns will be derived from carbon credit sales marketed in New Zealand’s internal marketplace which is not open to foreign purchasers or credits.

Climate change minister James Shaw says the annual reporting requirements will apply to all institutions with more than NZ$1bn in AUM.

The firm’s first regional Australia-New Zealand fund will convert from a 10-year closed-end fund in a move that could be replicated in its other funds.

Rabobank’s Global Dairy Quarterly finds upwards price growth in late 2019 stalled early this year, with the uncertainty over covid-19 leading to investors scrambling to assess the impact.

New Zealand is one of the few western countries to still export phosphate from the disputed territory, which the legal action from the Polisario Front seeks to highlight and curtail.

Market participants are ‘nervous and cautious’ as the coronavirus crisis drags on, with no end yet in sight.