Arabic version: تشالمرز يشير إلى توقعات أقوى للاستثمار في الأعمال

According to ABC News, Treasurer Jim Chalmers will tell investors that business investment is growing more than twice as fast as previously expected, despite stubborn inflation and a stagnant economy.

Speaking at the Citi A50 Economic Forum in Sydney on Friday, Mr Chalmers will say Treasury expects business investment to grow faster than 5 per cent this financial year, compared with its May forecast. He will say the estimate would represent an additional $50 billion in investment, while noting that potential surprises could alter the early figure.

Mr Chalmers will point to Australia’s appeal to global investors, saying he repeatedly heard that the country was increasingly reliable in a world of “ratcheting risk”. He will say $278 billion has been approved so far this year, with more than half of Foreign Investment Review Board applications now processed within a month.

Data-centre investment linked to artificial intelligence has been a major factor. Australian data-centre investment reached $35 billion for the calendar year by September, accounting for more than one-tenth of the $278 billion total investment figure reported by the ABC.

The investment outlook comes as Treasury prepares to forecast higher unemployment and lower economic growth in December’s mid-year budget update. The Reserve Bank raised the cash rate to 4.60 per cent last month, while Deputy Governor Andrew Hauser said the inflation outlook was “materially worse” than forecast. Unemployment reached a five-year high of 4.7 per cent in September.