NO.014

The Foreign Investment Review Board’s 1997-98 Annual Report was released

today.

The main points in the FIRB’S 1997-98 annual report are as follows:

• Foreign investment policy continued to be applied with the objective of encouraging

  worthwhile foreign investment.

• Of the 4,375 proposals decided in 1997-98:

• 4,261 were approved (2,567 with conditions, mainly in the real estate sector) and 114

  were rejected (mainly in the real estate sector). This compared with 4,096 approvals

  (2,610 with conditions) and 105 rejections in 1996-97.

• During 1997-98 there were 14 divestiture orders.

• Approvals in 1997-98 (either alone or in partnership with Australians) involved proposed

  investment of around $79.5 billion ($58.6 billion in 1996-97). Approvals do not

  necessarily mean investments proceed (see below).

• Compared with approvals in 1996-97, proposed investment increased; for services

  (excluding tourism) from $13.9 billion to $19.5 billion, for real estate from

  $11.4 billion to $16.3 billion, for mineral exploration and development

  $4.8 billion to $8.6 billion and for manufacturing from $21.2 billion to

  $23.5 billion.

• The 224 largest proposals (each with proposed investment of more than $50 million)

  accounted for about $64 billion or 80 per cent of total proposed investment.

• Investors from the United States doubled their proposed investment in Australia compared

  to the previous year. The increase was reflected across all sectors. United States total

  proposed investment in relation to approvals increased from $18.0 billion in 1996-97 to

  $36.3 billion in 1997-98. As a percentage of total proposed investment by all countries,

  United States proposed investment increased from 30 per cent to 45 per cent.

The FIRB statistics relate to the administration of foreign investment policy. Major

qualifications apply to these statistics, particularly the estimates of proposed

investments associated with approvals. For example, the proposals approved may or may not

be implemented. If implemented, it could be over a period of years. The Board’s

statistics are substantively different from the ABS estimates of foreign investment in

Australia.

Copies of the FIRB Annual Report can be purchased at Australian Government Info Shops

and accessed at http://www.treasury.gov.au/firb

on the internet.

Canberra, ACT

30 March 1999

Contact:

Ms Janine Murphy

Executive Member

FIRB/Treasury

(02) 6263 3763