Chinese investment into Australia plunges by nearly $5b in 2018

PHOTO: Chinese firms cut investment in Australia last year overall, but doubled their investment in healthcare. ABC News: Alistair Kroie

Chinese investment in Australia dropped by more than 36 per cent in 2018, to its second lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2008.

Key points:

Chinese investment in Australia fell from $13b in 2017 to $8.2b last year
Mining saw a 90pc fall in investment, while commercial real estate investment fell 32pc
Chinese investment in the US and Canada fell even more — by 83 and 47pc respectively

The latest report from KPMG and the University of Sydney Business School found that Chinese firms invested a total of $8.2 billion in Australia last year, down from $13 billion the year before.

That was despite Chinese foreign investment globally increasing by 4.2 per cent last year.

Mining led the decline, with a 90 per cent slump in investment to $464 million — a similar level to 2016, after the 2017 result was boosted by Yancoal’s $3.4 billion acquisition of Rio Tinto’s thermal coal assets.