The collapse of the Rio-Chinalco deal means that the long-awaited ruling from the Foreign Investment Review Board – due by 14 June – is no longer required. That means we don’t get to further test Canberra’s views on Chinese investment in Australia.
Still, unless all the kerfuffle around the Rio bid has destroyed China’s appetite for Australian assets, there are likely to be plenty of future opportunities. Presumably many of these won’t have the kind of public profile that a bid for Rio had, and so will generate much less angst. Although if China decides it likes the look of one of Australia’s banks, that would give the Treasurer a whole new headache.
