An $9.8 billion investment bid led by Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure group for APA Group will not be blocked by Australia’s competition regulator, the Financial Times reports, despite growing scepticism of aggressive Chinese investment in the region.
The chairman of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said that “in the absence of the undertaking, the proposed acquisition was likely to substantially lessen competition.”
CKI has made public its plans to buy a suite of gas pipeline and storage assets in Western Australia from APA.
The deal would become of the largest transactions of the year for Australia, but still has further hurdles to clear before getting the green light. The proposition will now go to the country’s overseas investment watchdog, which ramped up restrictions in February amid concerns over spreading Chinese influence.
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