Chinese Embassy in Vanuatu. Photo: Vanuatu Daily Post / Len Garae
The Vanuatu Forest Industry Limited is a Vanuatu company and not a Chinese company, according to China's Embassy in Port Vila.
The Vanuatu Department of Forests suspended the business activities of the Vanuatu Forest Industry Limited early in December.
The Embassy said the owner of the company, Li Hong Qi, has a Vanuatu passport and is a Vanuatu citizen and his company is registered through the Vanuatu Financial Service Commission.
According to the Embassy, Li lived in New Zealand and had a New Zealand passport before he moved to Vanuatu and became a citizen there.
The Embassy said when he arrived in Vanuatu, he was interested in investing in tourism, but he ended up in logging with his partner who was a Chinese national at the time. She's now a Vanuatu citizen, based in Santo.
The Vanuatu Citizenship Office was not able to confirm the status of Li or if he held a Vanuatu passport.
The Chinese Embassy said there are few Chinese companies in Vanuatu such as CCECC and they operate in Vanuatu within its laws.
On December 27, five landowners on the Island of Santo sought money from the Vanuatu Forest Industry Limited and the Vanuatu Department of Forests for trees felled on their land.
One landowner said that over 10,000 logs were stocked at Palekula.
Logs at Palekula Photo: Hilaire Bule
The Vanuatu Department of Forests said the important work now is to not let the trees go to waste, and for the landowners and the government to get what they are owed.