Chinese Doubled Investment in Australia

Chinese investment in the country has doubled in 2011. According to the Ministry of Commerce, China remains one of the most important investors in Australia.

Just recently, the Foreign Investment Review Board has approved the sale of Cubbie Station to a Chinese consortium. Cubbie Station is the country’s largest cotton producer.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, a total of $3.2 billion has been invested by Chinese companies in Australia last year. This is a whopping 86 percent increase from 2010.

China has also been investing in other country. Data showed that the country has about US$74 billion worth of overseas investments last year. This is 8.5 percent higher compared to the year before.

It is, however, worthy to note that is much lower than what China has previously invested. Between 2002 and 2011, Chinese investment has averaged about 45 percent.

Data also showed that Chinese investors have a preference for the mining industry, electricity generation, and manufacturing. Chinese investments for non-financial sectors also increased more than 50 percent compared to 2011.

According to Shi Ziming, Chinese private companies instead of state-owned firms are likely to invest more in Australia over the next few months. Ziming added that private companies would play a more significant role in China’s overseas investments.

Ziming is a senior trade official from China.