The China Dairy Company owns 21,000 cows which graze on fertile pastures in the Heilongjiang province of north-east China that runs along the Russian border. China Dairy is owned by an opaque US-listed company that was once a small time auto parts dealer in Nevada. Now it's hoping to join other Chinese companies from coal miners to soccer boot makers, mandarin growers to therapy clinics, by listing on the Australian Stock Exchange.

The "prestige" of an ASX listing that allows Chinese business owners to win key contracts is the official reason why they are paying exorbitant brokerage costs and accepting valuations that don't reflect their cash balances to raise capital from Australian investors though a stock exchange listing.