Australian Foreign Investment Review June 2017

We are delighted to welcome you to the June 2017 edition of Herbert Smith Freehills Australian Foreign Investment Review.

In this edition of the Australian Foreign Investment Review, we focus on the key takeaways from FIRB’s 2015-16 Annual Report, the upcoming changes to Australia's foreign investment laws and some of the key recent developments in foreign investment in Australia.

Firstly, Tony Damian and Malika Chandrasegaran provide a summary of the recent FIRB 2015-16 Annual Report, highlighting the key messages and themes.

Simon Haddy takes a look at the upcoming changes to Australia’s foreign investment laws announced in the recent Federal Budget and flags the proposed key changes youneed to be aware of. Damien Hazard and Jenny Altherr also consider the proposed changes in the context of financial sponsors and discuss some issues with the legislation that still require further clarification.

Robert Nicholson recaps the six months since the introduction of the Critical Infrastructure Centre. Paul Branston and Nick Harding review the Kidman saga, one of the most high profile FIRB decisions in recent years, and extract the lessons learned for those considering Australian agribusiness investments.

Finally, Matthew FitzGerald and Ben Sheehan look back at the 18 months since the introduction of FIRB application fees and consider any impact this may have had on Australian M&A and inbound foreign direct investment.

We trust you will enjoy the June 2017 edition of the Australian Foreign Investment Review.

Please click on the download link above to access the English and Chinese versions of Herbert Smith Freehills’ Australian Foreign Investment Review.