Chinese investment in Australia rose 11.7 percent in 2016 to A$15.36 billion ($11.49 billion) thanks to growing interest in the Oceanic country's commercial real estate, infrastructure and agriculture, according to a report released Monday by KPMG and the University of Sydney.
Australian companies signed a record 103 deals with Chinese firms in 2016, the report said. In 76 percent of those deals, private Chinese companies made the investments, which accounted for nearly half of the total value of the deals.
Australia remained the second largest recipient of Chinese outbound direct investment after the U.S., the report said. In total, Australia received $90 billion in new Chinese investment from 2007 to 2016.
Commercial real estate remained the sector that attracted the most Chinese investment, receiving 36 percent of the total, the report said. Infrastructure followed, accounting for 28 percent. Infrastructure investment in 2016 was driven by multibillion dollar Chinese investments in the logistics company Asciano and the Port of Melbourne.
There was a significant change in real estate investment in 2016, the report noted. Chinese investment in residential developments accounted for 51 percent of the total value of their real estate investments in Australia, up from 27 percent in 2015.
The report pointed out that 2016 was a breakthrough year for agribusiness, which accounted for 8 percent of total Chinese investment in the country, up from 3 percent in 2015. The industry became the fourth largest draw of Chinese investment in 2016, up three places from the previous year.
