This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CHINESE appetite for Australian property surged to new heights in 2014-15 to $24 billion – double the value in 2013-14, according to the Foreign Investment Review Board.
FIRB’s annual report also recorded increases in Chinese investments for agricultural properties.
According to FIRB, China is now Australia’s biggest foreign investor with $46.5 billion in approvals last year, almost double the runner up – United States with $25 billion.
Total foreign investment approvals were $194.6 billion up from $167 billion in the previous year. The increase was largely due to continuing growth in residential real estate applications. Proposed investment in residential real estate increased from $34.7 billion in 2013-14 to $60.8 billion in 2014-15. There was also $36.2 billion of proposed investment in the commercial real estate sector.
There were 37,953 proposals that received foreign investment approval compared with 24,102 in 2013-14.
The real estate sector had a significant increase in approvals with 37,347 approvals in 2014-15, compared with 23,428 approvals in 2013-14 and is more than triple the levels of 2012-13. The majority of this increase related to new dwellings approvals.
Meanwhile the number of approvals in other sectors was broadly unchanged with 592 approvals in 2014-15, compared with 585 approvals in 2013-14. In other sectors, approved proposed investment in 2014-15 was $97.7 billion, growing at a more moderate pace of around 5.3%.
FIRB said in 2014-15, no proposals were rejected (compared with three rejected proposals in 2013-14) but conditions were applied to around 40% of all foreign investment approvals.
FIRB said one divestment order was made in March last year, relating to a Sydney property, which had been illegally purchased by a foreign-owned company.
The high profile case involved Chinese billionaire Hui Ka Yan, who was forced to sell his $39 million Villa del Mare mansion in Sydney’s Point Piper for $40 million.
The news made headlines worldwide after former Treasurer Joe Hockey ordered Hui to sell his mansion in 90 days after finding that the company, Golden Fast Foods Pty, illegally purchased Villa Del Mare at 63-67 Wolseley Rd Point Piper in November 2014.
Golden Fast Foods is owned by Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Real Estate Group through a string of shell companies in Australia, Hong Kong and British Virgin Islands.
Australian Property Journal
