Sanlu deal still on track

By LIAM DANN

Fonterra says its joint-venture agreement with Chinese dairy company Sanlu Group has not stalled despite the lack of any news since management said its signing was imminent almost two months ago.

In April Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier said he hoped to have the deal signed within weeks and no deal-breaking issues were unresolved.

NZ Milk's managing director for Asia, Mark Wynne, said yesterday that was still the case.

Finalising the deal was slow because of the complexity of translating Chinese law.

"The Chinese law itself is grey in many areas and is evolving at a fast rate now that China is in the WTO," he said.

Fonterra is expected to be Sanlu's second-largest shareholder, taking a 39 per cent stake. Sanlu is one of China's 10 largest dairy companies.