Australia's largest cattle empire to go hi-tech under
new Australian, Chinese owners
(Xinhua) 10:13, February 13, 2017
People’s Daily
Australia's largest cattle empire is set to become hi-tech under a new ownership consortium made up of Australian
and Chinese investors.
The new owners of S Kidman cattle empire, including China's Shanghai CRED, have agreed to introduce new
technology to the cattle stations to streamline production.
The push for the introduction of the technology was led by Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman and majority
stake holder in the consortium, and will be similar to technology already used by Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Gui Guojie, principal of Shanghai CRED, agreed with Rinehart at the meeting in Melbourne that technology such as
remote monitoring of cattle and walkover weighing for livestock should be introduced at Kidman's stations which
encompass 101,000 square-kmof pastoral land.
"This increased investment in technology approach will involve more training and some cultural change at Kidman, as
the company gears to become one of the best cattle companies in Australia," Hancock Prospecting said in a
statement on Monday.
Before the board meeting, Rinehart travelled to Kidman properties including stations in the Northern Territory (NT),
South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA) and Queensland to show staff the technological improvements.
"Mrs. Rinehart was delighted that this was met with great enthusiasm from many of the Kidman station managers
for such changes," Hancock said.
Hancock, which Rinehart chairs, said the Kidman stations were currently running herds well below their usual
average but is still one of the biggest cattle operations in Australia with a herd of 150,000.
It said the investment in technology would transform and improve the Kidman stations.
Rinehart purchased the pastoral portfolio, which accounts for 1.3 percent of Australia's total land area, with
Shanghai CRED in December 2016 for 300 million U.S. dollars.
The consortium has since flagged that exporting top quality beef to China would be a major focus of Kidman's new
strategy.
Australia's Largest Cattle Empire to Go Hi-tech Under New Owners
13 February 2017
The Cattle Site
AUSTRALIA - Australia's largest cattle empire is set to become hi-tech under a new ownership consortium made up of
Australian and Chinese investors.
The new owners of S Kidman cattle empire, including China's Shanghai CRED, have agreed to introduce new
technology to the cattle stations to streamline production.
The push for the introduction of the technology was led by Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest woman and majority
stake holder in the consortium, and will be similar to technology already used by Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Gui Guojie, principal of Shanghai CRED, agreed with Rinehart at the meeting in Melbourne that technology such as
remote monitoring of cattle and walkover weighing for livestock should be introduced at Kidman's stations which
encompass 101,000 square-km of pastoral land.
"This increased investment in technology approach will involve more training and some cultural change at Kidman, as
the company gears to become one of the best cattle companies in Australia," Hancock Prospecting said in a
statement on Monday.
Before the board meeting, Rinehart travelled to Kidman properties including stations in the Northern Territory (NT),
South Australia (SA), Western Australia (WA) and Queensland to show staff the technological improvements.
"Mrs Rinehart was delighted that this was met with great enthusiasm from many of the Kidman station managers for
such changes," Hancock said.
Hancock, which Rinehart chairs, said the Kidman stations were currently running herds well below their usual
average but is still one of the biggest cattle operations in Australia with a herd of 150,000.
It said the investment in technology would transform and improve the Kidman stations.
Rinehart purchased the pastoral portfolio, which accounts for 1.3 per cent of Australia's total land area, with
Shanghai CRED in December 2016 for US$300 million.
The consortium has since flagged that exporting top quality beef to China would be a major focus of Kidman's new
strategy.