27 October 2023

American Dominance Over Australia's Biggest Businesses

In Whose Interest Are Big Businesses Working?

US Investors Hold Sway Over Australia’s Largest Corporations 

Analysis of corporate ownership data reveals that US investors wield significant influence on Australian economy and politics through their ownership in Australia’s largest companies.

  • Fifteen of Australia’s largest corporations are majority owned by US investors, including Commonwealth Bank, BHP (“the Big Australian”), Wesfarmers (owner of Coles) and Woolworths.

  • All of Australia’s “big four” banks are majority US-owned.

  • Large Australian food manufacturing companies like Kraft Foods are majority owned by US investors. Until 2007, Kraft was owned by tobacco giant Altria (formerly Philip Morris).

  • The UK is the second largest foreign investor in Australia, comprising around 30 percent of foreign investment. 


Why Does This Matter? US investors' overwhelming influence in Australian business matters because it affects our democracy, financial interests, and Australia’s sovereignty. The overwhelming American influence on our biggest businesses places significant pressure on Australia’s politicians and public services, and distorts decision-making in favour of overseas interests rather than Australian interests.

Tracking foreign investment in Australia is challenging. The threshold for scrutiny of foreign investment decisions was increased from $5 million to $310 million. Under Australia's free-trade agreement with the US, the threshold for scrutiny increased to $1.3 billion for US investors.

Who are the US investors? The largest global investors are massive investment corporations that own trillions of dollars of shares and other assets. The largest is Blackrock Investments, a virtually unregulated firm that owns more wealth than Japan and Germany have in GDP.

What could be done? As a minimum transparency measure, a public register of foreign ownership should be established. Australia is one of the few advanced economies without this kind of register. This basic mechanism would be a first step into a larger public inquiry into foreign ownership, examining lobbying and other influence overseas investors have on Australia’s democracy, economy and national interest. 

Source: newhorizon.news

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