How Much Have Chinese Investors Invested in Australia?

Abstract

Chinese outward direct investment (ODI) in Australia has been debated for many years. Different data sources provide quite different indications of how much Chinese investors have actually invested in Australia. This study analyses each data source's application and limitations, and provides some guidelines on how to interpret and use these data.

Chinese Influence in Australia: What Do Financial Markets Tell Us?

“… 10 Liu [ 29 ] asserted that ABS data may underestimate the real value of Chinese investments in Australia, because they measure direct rather than ultimate ownership of foreign investments. Another dataset designed and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) tracks the ultimate ownership of foreign investments in Australia, and shows that the real value of Chinese investment is higher than the ABS data suggests.…”