SWF Radar WayneSwan

The Australian reports that, “[Australian treasurer] Wayne Swan has given approval for the Chinese government-owned mining giant Chinalco to acquire up to 11 per cent of the Rio Tinto group in the first high-profile test of the Rudd Government’s stance on more than $30 billion of Chinese foreign investment bids.”

The Age reports that, “[Australian treasurer] Wayne Swan has signalled his readiness to block acquisitions of controlling stakes in Australian resource companies by Australia’s resource customers, a move that comes amid an unprecedented run of foreign investment applications from Chinese state-owned companies.”

The Australian writes that, “If [Australian treasurer] Wayne Swan is shutting down efforts to knit a 49.9 per cent ownership cap for state-owned Chinese companies wanting to invest here, he should probably get out and tell them.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that, “China’s state-owned steel makers are looking to buy a significant stake in BHP Billiton, despite a warning by the Treasurer, Wayne Swan, yesterday that he would set a high bar for state-owned corporations investing in Australia.”

ABC News reports that, “[Australian] Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says Chinese investment in Australia could rise dramatically and perhaps triple this year, promising a non-discriminatory approach to incoming funds.”

The Age reports that, “[Australian treasurer] Wayne Swan has warned China that applications for foreign investment would not be automatically approved, but tested to ensure the correct ‘market forces’ were maintained.”

Investor Daily writes that:

The [Australian] Federal Government’s heightened scrutiny of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) could jeopardise the export viability of Australia’s financial services sector, according to the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia). …

“We welcome the Treasurer’s review into foreign investment. Guidelines that apply to the national interest, however, only make the rules opaque. We should be doing everything to encourage investment and this means improving transparency and accountability in doing business in Australia,” Finsia chief executive Martin Fahy said.

The Australian Treasurer, Wayne Swan, recently said in an emailed statement that SWFs looking to invest in Australia will be screened to ensure that their objectives are in the national interest.

The Age reports that, “Australia has given foreign government-backed investment funds a blueprint for constructing investment proposals by disclosing the guidelines applied by the foreign investment regulator. Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan made public six principles applied by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) because of ‘high public interest and commercial interest in investments by foreign governments and their entities’ in recent months.”

Bloomberg reports that, “Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said overseas sovereign wealth funds looking to invest in local assets will be screened to ensure their objectives are in the national interest. Sovereign funds will be assessed for their political independence and adherence to acceptable business practices, Swan said in an e-mailed statement. They will also be screened for their impact on domestic competition, government revenue, national security and the broader community, he said.”