China and India are the new sources of foreign investment and Australia has to evolve with its new trading partners, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy chief executive Jason Kuchel said.
Kuchel yesterday said China was the predominant country seeking to invest in Australian mines and “we should not be precious”.
Kuchel’s comments came after Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan vetoed China Minmetals’ takeover bid for OZ minerals on the weekend.
The Queensland Resource Council chief executive Michael Roche told MINING DAILY that there is too much paranoia about Chinese Investment in Australia.
“The resources sector in Queensland and Australia-wide has relied on heavy foreign investment over many decades starting with the Japanese, the Koreans, more recently the Indians and Chinese,” he said.
“This is just a natural evolution as our trading partners change as well.”
He says decisions about Chinese investment in Australia should be made with a cool head.
“The Chinese have the money available, we have some companies that desperately need funding and as long as the national interest is protected, then I think we need to get over paranoia about the Chinese being the latest in a long line of foreign investors in our resources sector,” he said.
The Government is yet to make a decision on Chinalco’s offer for a larger stake in Rio Tinto.