Chinese state-owned enterprises and foreign investment regulation in Australia

Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have become one of the biggest foreign investors in Australia. This has caused some anxieties among the public as well as muddled thinking in Australia. The public views are clearly mixed towards foreign SOE investment. In its efforts to strengthen and modernise its foreign investment framework, the Australian Government has made a number of changes, for example the agricultural land register. This article examines Australia’s foreign investment regulatory system, particularly its regulation of foreign SOE investors. Focusing on Chinese SOE investment in Australia, it considers how Australia might maximise the associated benefits and minimise the potential risks of foreign SOE investment.