Chinese investment into Australia plunges in 2018
Chinese investment in Australia dropped by more than 36 per cent in 2018, to its second lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2008. The latest report from KPMG and the University of Sydney Business School found that Chinese firms invested a total of $8.2 billion in Australia last year, down from $13 billion the year before. That was despite Chinese foreign investment globally increasing by 4.2 per cent last year. Mining led the decline, with a 90 per cent slump in investment to $464 million — a similar level to 2016, after the 2017 result was boosted by Yancoal's $3.4 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto's thermal coal assets. Commercial real estate also posted a decline, with data compiled with the assistance of real estate firm Knight Frank showing Chinese investment fell from $4.4 billion in 2017 to $3 billion last year. This segment includes office buildings and other commercial property, but includes apartment development sites. KPMG Australia's head of Asia and international markets Doug Ferguson said in a statement, there were a couple of factors behind the decline in this sector.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL