According to the 2019-2020 annual report released by the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), China has not only become one of the largest investors in Australia's agricultural land, but also a surge in investment in residential and commercial real estate in Australia. These figures reflect that even during the pandemic and tensions between the two countries, China's enthusiasm for investment in Australia has remained undiminished. The Chairman of the Australian Overseas Investment Review Committee and related sectors continue to welcome investment applications from China.
Active investment The largest investor in Australia's agricultural land is China
According to a report recently released by the Australian Overseas Investment Review Board, China has been the largest investor in Australia's agricultural land for two consecutive years.
Between 2019 and 2020, overseas investment in all Australian states has increased, with the Northern Territory having the largest increase in investment area at 411,000 hectares, followed by Queensland with 234,000 hectares.
It is reported that China holds a total of 2.4% of Australia's agricultural land, or 92,000 square kilometers, an increase of 46,000 hectares over the previous year. It is followed by the United Kingdom, which holds 2.1% of Australia's agricultural land, or 81,600 square kilometres.
It is worth noting that Australia's cotton and wool are mainly processed in China, and Chinese companies have invested in Australia's cotton and wool industry, in addition, China's investment in the livestock sector is more active.
In response, David Goodfellow of CBRE, a commercial real estate company, said that a joint venture between Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart and China's Shanghai Zhongfang Real Estate acquired the ranching company Kidman & Co, giving Chinese companies a large amount of land. According to the data, Shanghai Zhongfang Real Estate owns 33% of Kidman's shares, which is equivalent to owning Kidman's 80,000 square kilometers of land. In Australia, Chinese companies have become the largest overseas landowners in terms of the area they own.
Hong Kong's South China Morning Post reported that some analysts pointed out that stable returns and the growth of China's demand for food are likely to continue to promote Chinese investment in Australian farmland. Given food security concerns, Australia, home to one of the world's largest agricultural plots, has become an attractive place to invest.
Increased attractiveness China's property investment in Australia increased by about 16%
According to the Australian Overseas Investment Review Board's 2019-2020 annual report, investment from China surged from $6.1 billion to $7.1 billion, an increase of about 16%, including residential and commercial properties.
SBS Chinese network reported that the data shows that in 2019-2020, In terms of Australian property investment, China ranked third, second only to the United States and Singapore. Previously, between 2016 and 2018, China ranked first.
Elite Agent network reported that HSBC recently found that the traditional concept of "feng shui" into architectural design can help Australian real estate attract more investors, especially Chinese investors.
SBS Chinese network reported that in 2019 to 2020, overseas investment in Australian residential properties soared by 15.5%, reaching 17.1 billion yuan. Georg Chmiel, co-founder of IQI Group and an Australian investment expert, said: "2020 is an unprecedented year, with a once-in-a-century pandemic and a massive disruption of global travel and trade. This growth is surprising given the difficult global environment in the first half of 2020. "Although the closure of the country during the epidemic has discouraged overseas people from investing in australians, Australia is now more attractive to overseas property buyers than before." "With australia's international borders open, this situation may gradually be reversed."
In addition, Schmir said few overseas people would leave the properties they invest in in Australia vacant. "Overseas investment helps create housing supply for the rental market, not to get property out of the market."
FIRB Chairman Welcomes Chinese Investors Experts Interpret Australia's Charm
Alex Cartel, Citi's general manager for corporate finance and advisory, hinted at a group meeting on October 14 that Australia had "closed the door" to investment from China. In response, David Irvine, chairman of the Australian Foreign Investment Review Committee, completely denied this claim.
The Australian reported that Owen said more than 20 per cent of the investment applications approved by the FIRB last year involved "some Chinese involvement", including 250 applications. Australia's overseas investment policy does not discriminate between potential investors based on the source of investment. "We continue to welcome investment applications from Chinese stakeholders."
Commenting on the impression of Chinese investors, Owen said: "The Chinese I understand is that they will continue to maintain economic relations with Australia when they feel it is favorable. I look forward to this continuing, as investment continued last year when relations were at a low point. ”
It is reported that FIRB is "working hard" to simplify the approval process. In response, Owen said the number of overseas investment applications reviewed by Treasury staff more than doubled last year, from about 80 to about 170. Information technology systems and case management systems have also been significantly upgraded.
The increase in the number of overseas investment applications is enough to show that Australia is an attractive destination, according to the official website of the Australia Trade Commission. What makes Australia one of the most attractive investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific region?
In this regard, QANT economist Edmund Tang recently said that overseas investment in Australia reached a record 4 trillion yuan in 2020.
Edmund Don said one factor in Australia's success in attracting overseas investment was having a stable and efficient business environment. In addition, fair and effective governance in Australia is seen as the foundation of economic growth, and Australia's regulatory regime, corruption controls and public accountability are highly regarded by the World Bank. Australia's reputation for good governance has inspired confidence among global investors.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute, Australia has the most entrepreneurial culture in the world.
In addition, there is another fundamental reason for overseas companies to invest in Australia, that is, people love to live in Australia. Australia offers a free and relaxed lifestyle that attracts immigrant families and global professionals to settle here. (Meta Pure Spirit Compilation)