Australia – a global investment pool
Australia Received Foreign Direct investments as below;
- Foreign economies had a total of $3.3 trillion invested in Australia at the end of 2017.
- Australia has the 13th-highest amount ($662 billion) in 2017 of direct foreign inward investment in the world.
- Property Sector received 10.7% ($91 billion) in 2017 of FDI.
- Top countries investing in Australia rank from US, Japan, Canada and China.
Which economies invest in Australia?
The United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest investors in Australia, followed by Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong (SAR of China).
China is our ninth largest foreign investor, with 2.0 percent of the total. However, the levels of Hong Kong (SAR of China) and Chinese investment in Australia have grown significantly over the past decade.
The table below shows the top 20 foreign investors in Australia at the end of 2017. Yearly values are in A$ billion and include both direct, portfolio investment and other investment.
How does this compare with other economies?
Australia has the 13th-highest amount of direct foreign inward investment in the world.
The table below shows how the level of direct inward investment compared with other economies in 2017. Yearly values are in US$ billion.
Economies ranked by direct foreign inward investment
Australian industries and foreign investment
Which Australian industries attract foreign direct investment?
Here are the countries with the largest direct investment in Australia
- The amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) globally has risen from $US14 trillion to $US26.7 trillion over the past decade.
- The amount of FDI in Australia has risen every year since 2009, reaching $796 billion in 2016.
- The United States remains the largest source of FDI.
The world is becoming more interconnected by the day, leading to increased investment from abroad.
According to Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) globally has risen from $US14 trillion to $US26.7 trillion over the past decade, an increase of nearly 90%. FDI is defined as foreign ownership of 10% or more of a business, meaning it has some control over its operations.
As an open, AAA-rated economy that has consistently run current account deficits over this period, Australia has benefited from this surge in global foreign investment, helping to meet the shortfall between domestic saving and domestic investment. Indeed, according to the FIRB, the amount of FDI in Australia has risen every year since 2009, reaching $796 billion in 2016. And that figure doesn’t even take into account portfolio investment from abroad — far larger than FDI — which includes stock or bond purchases that do not offer the investor any control over business operations.
So who are the largest foreign direct investors in Australia?
Look no further than the chart below, courtesy of the FIRB using data from Australia’s Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Source: Foreign Investment Review Board
While not as large as it once was in percentage terms, the United States remains Australia’s largest source of FDI.
Japan comes in a distant second place with the UK rounding off the podium places in third.
While China is now Australia’s largest source of foreign investment per annum, its level of FDI is still only the fifth largest on the list, sitting behind the Netherlands.
“Collectively, these trends show that historically important economies such as the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom continue to dominate the share of FDI into Australia. Emerging investor countries, especially China, are also becoming significant source countries,” the FIRB said.
“Foreign investment plays an important and beneficial role in the Australian economy because it helps drive economic growth, creates skilled jobs, improves access to overseas markets and enhances productivity.”
Sources:
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/australia-foreign-investment-firb-largest-investors-2018-5
Disclaimer
The information shared does not provide legal advice. In any token sale, there is a host of legal requirements to consider. Please consult your own securities lawyer.
