Australia Would Rather Invest in Papua New Guinea Than in China
- Investing in China can be "high risk" as patents are shared
- IP safety, market access are flashpoints for global economy
Kula canoe with sail of pandanus leaf on Kitava Island, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea sets out on a mission to exchange ceremonial shells with other islands.
Photographer: Peter Essick/Getty Images/Aurora OpenThis article is for subscribers only.
Australia, the world’s most China-dependent developed economy, invests more in the obscure South Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea than it does in its biggest trading partner.
Part of the reason for such an imbalance is corporate Australia’s long history of failure abroad, which deters boards from venturing beyond their often cozy oligopolies at home. Yet when it comes to China, there’s also reason to be circumspect.