Global Trade Alert

On 11 August 2016, the Australian Treasurer announced in a press release (in a preliminary decision) that it would not approve two foreign investment proposals for the takeover of the electricity distributor Ausgrid, as it would be contrary to national interests.
The decision refers to two offers, made by the Chinese state-owned company State Grid Corporation and Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure, and follows a similar blocking on national interest grounds on the sale of S Kidman & Co. in the previous year (cf. Related Measures).
However, this decision was only preliminary (with the application deadline on 18 August 2016) and hence shall be classified as amber and not implemented.