A total of A$248 billion (US$182 billion) foreign investment has been approved in Australia, a A$55 billion (US$40.8 billion) increase compared to last year, according to the newly released Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) 2016 annual report. Chinese investors topped the list of foreign investors, especially in real estate.
Board chairman Brian Wilson said in the report Tuesday that the growing foreign investment was "predominantly driven by increased investment in the real estate sector." And Chinese investors have dominated that sector by contributing A$31.9 billion (US$23.4 billion) to the Australian property market last year, mostly in the form of residential development investment, the report said.
It pointed out that investment in residential real estate continues to be focused on new dwellings, which is in line with Australia’s policy to encourage residential real estate investment that increases housing supply. Investments in new homes made up one-third third of total foreign investment in Australia last year in terms of value, according to the report.
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A total of A$47.3 billion (US$32.1 billion) Chinese investment was approved in 2016, which accounted for one-fifth of the overall total foreign investment in Australia and made China the largest source of approved investment for the third year in a row, the report found. The United States came in second in general investment but is the largest foreign investor in the non-real estate sector.
Of the A$47.3 billion worth of approved Chinese investments, A$31.9 billion (US$23.4 billion) went to real estate.