The Chinese continue to pour money into Australian businesses, infrastructure, resources and real estate to the tune of $15.36 billion in 2016. The figure is the highest it’s been since 2008 when Chinese direct investment reached its peak of $21.6 billion, according to a report from professional auditors KPMG and the University of Sydney.
Commercial real estate was still the favorite place for the Chinese to invest, making up 36% of direct investment in Australia, news.com.eu reported.
While this includes mixed use developments, retail, office, industrial and hotels, it was residential development that attracted the most money. It made up 51% of Chinese commercial real estate projects. The year before it was attracting just 27% of investment.
Major transactions include the $700 million W. Hotel & Ribbon Residences in Sydney’s Darling Harbor and an estimated $353 million residential development in Melbourne at Hacketts Rd, Point Cook.
Professor Hans Hendrischke, a co-author of the report released Monday Demystifying Chinese Investment in Australia, said there appeared to be two key reasons why the Chinese were interested in commercial real estate in Australia.
Firstly, they see Australia as a growth market, and secondly, the large Chinese community in the country means they can sell properties to Chinese buyers, as well as Australians. “The main point is they think they are safe in the Australian market,” Prof Hendrischke said.
But the Chinese are also looking to other areas, driving up funding in infrastructure and agriculture to record levels. The Chinese spent $4.3 million, making up 28% of their total investment spent on infrastructure, driven by multi-million dollar investments in port and rail operator Asciano and the Port of Melbourne lease.
