Australian treasurer: Foreign investment needed to protect jobs
Foreign investment is needed to protect jobs, the Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan says on Thursday.
Swan said foreign investment is essential to the Australian economy and jobs, and "there would also be very substantial costs to its productive capacity, given the role of foreign direct investment in building our capital stock."
A new Treasury analysis shows limiting foreign investment and relying on domestic savings would mean business investment would be about 25 percent lower. It would also cut about three percent from output, resulting in about 200,000 fewer jobs, as reported by Australian Associated Press on Thursday.
The number of Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) members will increase from three to four, broadening its expertise and experience, Swan told the Global Foundation Conference in Brisbane Thursday.
The board also will release a reader-friendly version of the foreign investment review framework which will be available in various languages including Chinese, Japanese and others for prospective investors.
Swan said over the past 24 months, Chinese investments represented only one-tenth of FIRB's largest applications.
"A robust and open foreign investment framework reflects that adventurous, entrepreneurial Australian spirit," Swan said, adding the government's stewardship was in accord with that spirit.