In 2015, Australia's direct investment abroad (outward investment)
decreased slightly, by 0.3 per cent to $542.6 billion. Australia was the
world's 17th largest source country for global direct investment.
The countries in which the most Australian investment took place in 2015
were the United States at $105 billion, the United Kingdom at $81 billion
and New Zealand at $61 billion.
Australia's Direct Investment Abroad 2015
Based on ABS catalogue 5352.0.
Australia's Direct Investment – Abroad Global Ranking 2015
| How we compare with the rest of the world (US$ billion) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Country | 2015 | % change | % share |
| 1 | United States | 5,983 | -4.8 | 23.9 |
| 2 | Germany | 1,812 | 5.5 | 7.2 |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 1,538 | 1.6 | 6.1 |
| 4 | Hong Kong(a) | 1,486 | 1.7 | 5.9 |
| 5 | France | 1,314 | 2.7 | 5.2 |
| 6 | Japan | 1,227 | 6.5 | 4.9 |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1,138 | 6.6 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Canada | 1,078 | -3.8 | 4.3 |
| 9 | The Netherlands | 1,074 | 3.3 | 4.3 |
| 10 | China | 1,010 | 14.5 | 4.0 |
| 11 | Ireland | 793 | 25.0 | 3.2 |
| 12 | British Virgin Islands | 751 | 11.3 | 3.0 |
| 13 | Singapore | 625 | -0.2 | 2.5 |
| 14 | Spain | 472 | -10.6 | 1.9 |
| 15 | Italy | 467 | -4.3 | 1.9 |
| 17 | Australia | 396 | -0.3 | 1.6 |
| World outward stock | 25,045 | 0.9 | ||
(a) Special Administrative Region of China.
Source: UNCTADstat database.
Australia's Direct Investment Abroad – By Industry 2015
ADI in manufacturing rose 18.7 per cent or $15.0 billion, other investments
rose by 12.5 per cent or $18.5 billion, finance and insurance investment
recorded an increase of 10.2 per cent or $15.8 billion and real estate
investment activities grew by 5.6 per cent or $0.7 billion. Conversely
mining investment fell 37.4 per cent or $49.2 billion, construction
investment fell 16.2 per cent or $1.8 billion while human health and social
work investment decreased by 13.3 per cent or $0.9 billion.