FED: US, UK bigger investors in Oz than China
22 Jun 2009 9:39 PM
Subject: FED: US, UK bigger investors in Oz than China FED: US, UK bigger investors in Oz than China
CANBERRA, June 22 AAP - The United States and Britain remain the biggest investors in Australia, but China is fast rocketing up the ladder, a Senate inquiry was told on Monday.
Senators are examining foreign investment by state-owned entities in the wake of the outcry over the proposed investment by Chinese government-owned Chinalco in Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto.
The $25 billion deal - which had to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board - has since fallen over because of the increase in the value of Rio Tinto shares.
Patrick Colmer, Treasury's general manager of foreign investment, told the inquiry that to date in 2008/09 proposals for foreign investment in Australia came to $259 billion.
Of the total, $23 billion related to real estate.
Mr Colmer said US and Britain were the biggest proposed investors, with China coming in at number three, up from number six in 2007/08.
"The number one investor... in recent times is the US, followed by the United Kingdom and, this year, for the first time, China comes in at number three," he said.
AAP so/kms/jl/apm =0A
FED: US, UK bigger investors in Oz than China