HK billionaire Li buys NZ waste company for $412M

(AP) A Hong Kong company controlled by Asia's richest man is buying one of New Zealand's two biggest waste disposal companies.

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings said Tuesday that it was buying EnviroWaste Services for 490 million New Zealand dollars ($412 million) in cash. Cheung Kong is controlled by 84-year-old billionaire Li Ka-shing. Forbes estimates Li's fortune at $30 billion.

EnviroWaste's assets include garbage collection facilities, a network of landfills and transfer stations and electricity generating stations that convert methane gas from waste dumps.

Cheung Kong said in a statement that the waste management business provides good opportunity for future growth. The company expects the amount of waste produced in New Zealand to grow in the long-term as the economy continues to expand.