A quick look at what’s been going on in Asia and the Pacific…

The New Zealand government is set to introduce a new national interest test controlling the sale of 'sensitive and high risk assets' such as farmland to overseas buyers, reinforcing last year's reform that generally banned foreign buyers from purchasing residential homes. The new powers will be used “rarely and only where necessary,” the government stated.

Associated penalties will rise from NZD 300,000 to NZD 10 million for foreign corporate investors in any jurisdiction, although some foreign companies that are majority-owned and -c...