Ingka Investments is positioning itself for a much larger role in New Zealand’s forestry sector, with plans to grow its estate to about 100,000 hectares as it hunts for long-life timber assets rather than short-term carbon returns.
Ingka has accumulated about 43,000 hectares of forest across Southland, Otago, Nelson, Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty and Northland since entering the market in 2021. The portfolio is valued at roughly $648 million and now ranks as the company’s fifth-largest forestry holding globally.
Forestland country manager Kelvin Meredith said the internal target was clear, if flexible. “A nice round number was 100,000 hectares, but we may not get there or we may exceed that. Strategically we’ve got to have a number out there.”
“While the cash returns are steady, it’s the increase in value in the asset that makes it worth owning,” Meredith said, placing New Zealand alongside long-held forests in Latvia, the US and Eastern Europe.
Early purchases focused on afforestation, a move that coincided with the carbon planting boom. Meredith acknowledged the overlap, saying: “It was a pure timber play, but we’ve obviously been swept along in the whole carbon narrative.” The company is now favouring existing, replanted forests, adding: “We want to buy existing forests where possible, and ideally with no carbon attached to them.”
Ingka is registered in the Emissions Trading Scheme and has accumulated credits, but has not committed to selling them. Meredith said the company “wasn’t sure what it planned to do with the carbon credits it had amassed” and stressed it “doesn’t need the cash for business”.
Community concern remains sharp, particularly around fire risk. After a 250ha blaze in Pōrangahau, Meredith said insurance costs were high and warned against uneven regulation. “It has to be equitable across all landowners, not just forest owners… because no one wants lives in danger.”
“Once we’re in a community, we’re established there. Our managers are all locals,” Meredith said, adding: “It’s just a matter of telling our story… we’ve got nothing to hide.”