ASX-listed Chinese-backed property developer Boyuan Holdings has teamed with Westfield shopping centre owner Scentre Group and the Western Sydney University to create a major new town in western Sydney near the planned airport at Badgerys Creek. Boyuan’s other projects include a resort in Pokolbin in the NSW Hunter Valley and residential and commercial projects in…
Category: Foreign affairs
Chinese lining up for Australian agriculture businesses: HSBC
HSBC says asset hungry Chinese businesses are lining up to invest in Australian agriculture because of food production quality and tariff reductions under the free trade agreement between the two countries. The global banking giant is expanding its operations in Australia to play a much bigger role in the sector and to strengthen its connection to…
Strategic issues at play in Chinese Port of Newcastle deal
China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative has attracted global suspicion as a potential means by which the country may gain strategic control of trade links. It is in that context that last week’s report by Andrew White in The Australian, noting the transfer of ownership of 50 per cent of the Port of Newcastle from…
Hong Kong investor pays $6.48m for Byron’s Lawson Arcade
A Hong Kong based private investor has paid $6.48 million on a tight 4.7 per cent yield for Lawson Arcade, a prized retail asset in the heart of Byron Bay, one of Australia’s most popular beach resorts. Teska Carson Director Michael Ludski, who brokered the deal with Byron Bay Property Sales’ Kath Vaubell, said the…
Chinese developer’s billion-dollar proposal would move Sydney motorway
A wealthy Chinese developer is pushing the New South Wales Government to overhaul its plans for billions of dollars in infrastructure around Badgery’s Creek Airport to make way for a bold development proposal. The 344 hectare parcel of prime land north of Elizabeth Drive at Badgery’s Creek is owned by accused murderer Ron Medich and…
China an ‘extreme’ threat to Australia: ASIO
China is listed as an “extreme” threat on a secret country-by-country counter-intelligence index compiled by Australia’s domestic spy agency. ASIO’s Deputy Director-General Counter-Espionage and Interference Peter Vickery told parliament today the level of espionage and foreign interference in Australia was now worse than at the height of the Cold War. “We do have examples, current…
The true price of accepting Chinese cash – China’s debt-trap diplomacy snares our Asian neighbours
It wasn’t long ago that local entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka’s remote Hambantota district were running “white elephant” tours of the sleepy town’s Chinese-funded, multi-billion-dollar attractions. They would start at the international airport dubbed the “emptiest airport in the world” and move on to the port with no ships, and finally the cricket stadium. In symbolism…
China rejects Murray Goulburn milk, formula
Beleaguered dairy processor Murray Goulburn is blaming administrative errors for the rejection of shipments of its milk and infant formula in China last year, dismissing suggestions it was being punished for bypassing Chinese bidders in favour of a $1.3 billion takeover offer by Canadian giant Saputo. Murray Goulburn confirmed the incidents, which saw as much…
Proposed $600m Chinese – owned Songcheng theme park on Gold Coast large number of objections expected
DEVELOPERS behind plans for a $600 million Carrara theme park are bracing for a flood of objections to the controversial project. Public comment has opened on Songcheng’s Australian Legends World, which will feature a resort and residential towers of up to 25-storeys built alongside amusement rides. But members of the business community and locals are…
China eyes new Sydney airport as part of ‘belt and road’ plan
China is eyeing Sydney’s new airport as a potential project that could be linked to its trillion dollar “One Belt, One Road” infrastructure plan, according to a government-linked think tank. The interest in Sydney infrastructure follows Canberra’s decision to keep its $5 billion Northern Australia development plan separate from OBOR, despite a push from Beijing…
India imposes 30per cent chickpea and lentil tariff, slashing Australian farmers’ incomes
A new tariff imposed by India on Australian chickpeas and lentils will have immediate financial consequences for farmers, especially those who have product already in transit. The Indian Government’s 30 per cent tariff on the imported pulses is effective immediately. The Federal Government is seeking talks with India in a bid to resolve the issue….
US state of Pennsylvania spruiks power to entice Aussie firms
The state of Pennsylvania has sought to poach Australian companies with a promise of “abundant’’ energy, sparking renewed warnings from Australian business leaders that the nation risks losing jobs to offshore rivals unless it tackles its energy problems. A high-powered delegation from the Pennsylvanian government, headed by Dennis Davin, the state’s Secretary for Community and…
