A business thinktank says the government's refusal to allow a Chinese firm to buy a large Hawkes Bay farm could create real costs for the economy.
Yesterday the government withheld approval for Shanghai Pengxin to buy the 13,800 hectare Lochinver sheep and cattle station despite the Overseas Investment Office given it the all clear.
A senior fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, Bryce Wilkinson, says the decision will send a confusing message to other potential overseas investors.
He says it does not make economic sense and signals New Zealand is not open for business.
