Australia eases foreign investment barriers

Australia is set to introduce significant changes to its foreign investment rules in order to remove the perception that its regime is too onerous. Although the changes are not specifically geared towards China, commentators have described them as “helpful” in light of the recent controversy over Chinalco's failed investment in Rio Tinto.

The changes include increasing the notification threshold for private foreign investors and removing the New Business notification requirement. This means that many proposals will no longer be subject to a formal review process by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and even those that are will likely receive a more timely response.