The Foreign Investment Review Board Annual Report shows mainland Chinese investment into Australian real estate in 2018-19 decreased to AUD6.1 billion, down by more than 50 per cent from 2017–18 while Hong Kong Chinese investment into Australian real estate has tripled from $2.8 billion in 2017–18 to $9.3 billion in 2018–19, according to a report by Reb (11 May 2020). Factors limiting mainland Chinese investment into Australia include foreign buyer stamp duty and Beijing’s crackdown on capital control. However, Chinese investors are setting their sights on Australia’s property market again. “Australia was already appealing as a safe country where your investments are protected. Now, the country seems to have managed the pandemic well. That makes it even more appealing to foreign buyers. Marketers in China are already using Australia’s good performance to persuade parents of children who have been studying in the US and the UK to look at Australia instead,†said Juwai IQI executive chairman Georg Chmiel.
