Chinese investment in Australia up, but US still leading foreign investor

Chinese deals in Australia – mostly in real estate – fell dramatically from their 2014-16 peak, but have started to rise again in recent months

Meanwhile, Canberra approved US$16.7 billion of US deals in the last quarter of 2022, more than three times the value of China deals over that period

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Tourists from China stand in front of the Sydney Opera House. Chinese investments in Australia have begun to rise from a pandemic-induced slump, but deals with the US are still higher. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:30am, 15 Mar 2023Updated: 8:36am, 15 Mar 2023

Chinese investors are showing renewed interest in Australian investments but some may have forfeited their plans amid the onerous screening of Chinese deals, analysts say.

Approved Chinese investment deals rose to A$6.7 billion (US$4.4 billion) in the last quarter of 2022, up from A$1.7 billion the quarter before, according to Australia’s latest foreign investment report.

That’s a significant increase on the A$4.6 billion in total approvals for the 2021/22 financial year.

Chinese investments in Australia have fallen dramatically in both number and value since their peak between 2014 and 2016 – mainly in real estate – while the United States is now the leading foreign investor in Australia.

People walk past a property agent’s window in Melbourne earlier this month. Chinese investment in Australia, mainly in real estate, peaked between 2014 and 2016. Photo: AFP

“I am sure there are degrees of self-restraint … all Chinese investors are asking the same questions [about the difficulty of being approved]. It shows this issue is at the front of their mind,” said Helen Zhi Dent, China Business Practice partner at KPMG in Australia.