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Investment from foreign countriesInvestment from foreign countries
About the author
Natasha Kassam
Natasha Kassam was Director of the Lowy Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program from 2019 to 2022, directing the annual Lowy Institute Poll and researching China’s politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations.
Australians’ longstanding scepticism about foreign investment persists in 2021. Revisiting a question asked in the 2008 Poll about whether companies with links to foreign governments should be permitted to invest in Australian companies, the vast majority of Australians oppose foreign government-controlled entities purchasing controlling stakes in Australian companies. However, some countries elicit stronger opposition than others.
Nine in ten Australians (92%) would oppose a Chinese-government controlled entity purchasing a controlling stake in an Australian company. Hong Kong is the fifth-largest source of foreign investment in Australia. However, 86% say they would oppose a Hong Kong-government controlled entity purchasing a controlling stake in an Australian company.
The majority of Australians would also oppose entities controlled by liberal democratic governments from purchasing a controlling stake in an Australian company. Two-thirds of Australians say they would oppose such a purchase from an entity controlled by the Japanese government (68%), the government of a European Union member (67%), and the United States government (66%). The lowest level of opposition is expressed towards an entity controlled by the government of the United Kingdom (58%). The United States, United Kingdom, Belgium and Japan are the top four sources of foreign investment in Australia.
