"I think there has been a blatant manipulation of the market to drive the price of Bellamy's down," Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie said.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Senate crossbenchers are demanding an inquiry into relations with China,including its military expansion and foreign investment,while some question whether Chinese officials and investors undermined Bellamy's to buy the company at a bargain price.
"I think there has been a blatant manipulation of the market to drive the price of Bellamy's down,"Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie said. "It is a striking example of the closeness of the relationship between the Chinese government and so-called private enterprise in China."
Based in Launceston,Bellamy's has experienced soaring growth as an exporter of organic infant formula but saw its shares plunge from a peak of $22.09 in March last year when China withheld access to its market.
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The company's shares fell below $10 within months and settled around that leveluntil China approved market access in April this year andChina Mengniu Dairy lodged its bid in September.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said companies in other sectors had told him of similar problems when they were shut out of the Chinese market,not only reducing revenue but also the value of their companies.
Senator Whish-Wilson,a former Merrill Lynch executive before entering politics,said the Chinese government appeared to have suppressed the value of Bellamy's ahead of the takeover bid.