Decade Low Chinese Investments In Australia

Chinese investment into Australia declined for the third year in a row last year, marking the lowest level of investment since 2008 according to KPMG. Investments are unlikely to pick up in the short or medium terms. Back in 2008, Chinese Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) into Australia’s mining and energy sectors boomed, to the extent that the total investments for the year exceeded $16 billion. Investment levels have fluctuated since, but have remained in and around the $10 billion mark since 2010. A sharp decline began in 2017, while 2018 marked an eight-year low with investments plunging to just over $6 billion. The downward trend has continued into last year with a fall of nearly 60% in investment value to just over $2 billion. According to KPMG’s researchers, the trend of declining investments is here to stay. The decline is indicative of broader dips in Overseas Direct Investment from China in several developed markets, brought about by tighter regulations within China among other shifts. Although Australia registered the largest decline in investments, ODI declined across the US and Canada last year as well.