FED:Chinese state investment 'not welcome'

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
FED:Chinese state investment 'not welcome'

CANBERRA, Aug 17 AAP - Australia should be careful of investment from Chinese state-owned
entities, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.

Echoing a sentiment previously expressed by Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce, Mr Abbott
said he was concerned about sovereign wealth funds buying shares in Australian businesses.

"A Chinese business is much more an arm of the Chinese government than an Australian
business would normally be an arm of the Australian government," Mr Abbott told the National
Press Club in Canberra on Tuesday.

"I would be very careful about majority ownership of Australian assets by government-controlled
entities and I'm not singling out China here."

But Mr Abbott said he did not envisage a need to change Foreign Investment Review Board
rules regarding overseas investment.

"We welcome foreign investment, we welcome Chinese foreign investment but it does have
to go through the ordinary foreign investment review board rules," he said.

The coalition is opposed to foreign state-owned entities buying shares in Australian
firms, but Labor has argued this policy would jeopardise foreign investment.

The federal government in 2009 blocked Chinese government-run Minmetals from buying
a gold and copper mine, near a South Australian weapons testing range, on defence grounds.

AAP saj/rl/maur

KEYWORD: POLL10 CHINA ABBOTT

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