| Japan’s direct investment in Australia is expected to increase this year, but experts warn global competition for capital, policy uncertainty in Australia and red tape over approving deals at the state and federal levels may hold back flows.
It said Japanese companies were concerned about the interaction of federal and state laws in the project approval process, government policies, legal actions by environmental activists and courts introducing social policies.that this had been a problem with states, in some cases, slow to follow up on potential investment in hydrogen and other industries where there was support at a federal level.
Desperate for new energy sources, including traditional fossil fuels and green energy sources, companies continued to invest in Australian projects. Some of the biggest deals were also in the consumer sector as companies in Japan look for new high-growth markets to offset an ageing population in their home markets.
However, exports to Japan fell in value in 2023 from a record the previous year as the price of coal and LNG fell.