Foreign Investment
Australia has traditionally drawn international capital to supplement our domestic savings. This investment has allowed Australians to enjoy higher rates of economic growth, employment and living standards that could not have been achieved through domestic savings alone.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) is where an investor holds 10 per cent or more ownership in a company. FDI benefits Australia by:
- creates new employment opportunities – foreign companies setting up subsidiaries and creating new businesses in Australia create jobs and build economic growth;
- allows access to new technologies – foreign companies often transfer technology to Australia when they invest, making us more internationally competitive;
- provides revenue to the government – profits of foreign-owned companies are taxed, spreading the benefits of these investments to all Australians;
- helps drive productivity growth – it increases the level of competition in the market.
A number of studies have examined the impact of foreign investment. For example, an Economist Intelligence Unit study found that for every $1.0 billion of foreign investment in Australia, 1,000 jobs were created.
Australian investment abroad 2014 (a)
($ million)
| Rank (b) | Country | Level of direct investment abroad |
Total Australian investment abroad (c) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 136,248 | 575,514 | |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 55,155 | 304,541 | |
| 3 | New Zealand | 61,627 | 99,927 | |
| 4 | Japan | 520 | 69,645 | |
| 5 | Germany | np | 65,427 | |
| 6 | China | 12,074 | 57,884 | |
| 7 | Singapore | 13,050 | 50,715 | |
| 8 | Hong Kong (SAR China) | 5,106 | 45,974 | |
| 9 | Canada | np | 45,403 | |
| 10 | Switzerland | np | 41,182 | |
| Total all countries | 540,743 | 1,918,321 | ||
| of which: | APEC | 287,162 | 1,035,426 | |
| ASEAN10 | 29,092 | 84,234 | ||
| EU28 | 83,473 | 529,153 | ||
| OECD | 324,627 | 1,367,552 | ||
(a) Australian investment abroad: level of investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2014, by selected country and country group.
(b) Ranked on total Australian investment abroad.
(c) Includes portfolio investment.
Source: ABS catalogue 5352.0.
Foreign investment in Australia 2014 (a)
($ million)
| Rank (b) | Country | Level of direct investment in Australia |
Level of total investment in Australia (c) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 163,410 | 758,153 | |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 87,374 | 484,157 | |
| 3 | Belgium | 4,340 | 226,084 | |
| 4 | Japan | 66,124 | 174,676 | |
| 5 | Singapore | 28,049 | 80,207 | |
| 6 | Hong Kong (SAR C hina) | 11,465 | 77,286 | |
| 7 | China | 29,970 | 64,525 | |
| 8 | Luxembourg | 2,592 | 58,839 | |
| 9 | Netherlands | 38,438 | 56,574 | |
| 10 | Switzerland | 19,020 | 54,573 | |
| Total all countries | 688,376 | 2,784,470 | ||
| of which: | APEC | 344,122 | 1,289,807 | |
| ASEAN10 | 42,277 | 111,291 | ||
| EU28 | 169,603 | 958,971 | ||
| OECD | 450,222 | 2,033,465 | ||
(a) Foreign investment in Australia: level of investment (stocks) as at 31 December 2014, by selected country and country group.
(b) Ranked on level of total investment in Australia.
(c) Includes portfolio investment.