‘No blanket ban’ on Chinese investments in Australia as bilateral tensions ease
- Approval of Chinese group’s investment in Australian nickel producer a positive sign after various blocked deals amid previously frosty ties between 2018 and 2022
- China has also shown willingness to be involved in investments that matter to Australia, says business council president
On Monday, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approved Chinese investor Shanghai Decent Investment Group’s US$270 million investment in Australian-listed nickel product producer Nickel Industries.
The raised funds will go towards Nickel’s acquisition of an Indonesian nickel project.
The investment will make Shanghai Decent the company’s biggest shareholder with an interest of just over 28 per cent.
While the investment was neither unique nor related to sensitive assets, James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, said it “made the point that there was no blanket ban on Chinese investments” in Australia.
There were concerns in China-Australia investment circles that previous blocks on Chinese deals during what was the lowest point in bilateral relations between 2018 and 2022 and sweeping changes to Australian investment legislation politically targeted Chinese investors.
David Olsson, president of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC), echoed Laurenceson’s sentiment.
