Australia's bi-polar attitude to foreign investment has again come under the spotlight after a News Ltd report claimed a Chinese property conglomerate won a land development tender at "taxpayer expense".

However, the Chinese company in question, Shanghai Zhongfu, has refuted the report, saying that it had not been officially notified of any decision regarding the bid for 515 million Australian dollars of potential farming land in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

As report on Wednesday in the national broadsheet The Australian, owned by Rupert Murdoch, it has won the right to develop land in the second stage of the Ord Valley expansion in Western Australia.

The massive "Ord expansion" project is part of a government strategy to continue the development of farming in the area.

Meanwhile, Duncan Calder, vice president of the influential Australian China Business Council (ACBC), joined a growing chorus of criticism for Australian media's hysterical reporting of foreign investment, particularly from China. He said Chinese investment should be welcomed not wasted.

Calder said, "There has been a fueling of fears of 'selling the farm' and negative perceptions surrounding China-backed investment. "

Calder told Xinhua that he had spoken with representatives of the WA Farmers Federation, the Pastoralists and Graziers Association and the Australian Farm Institute.



"Without exception, all were seeking overseas investment, including Chinese investment, to help tackle the many serious challenges facing our agriculture and agribusiness sector," he said, adding "All parts of the sector need transformation. Some parts need transfusion."

He also said that "Such positive, unified support for Chinese investment unfortunately does not appear to be deemed to be as newsworthy as the more extreme and negative positions taken by some."

The Ord expansion covers more than 15,000 hectares of land in a region desperate for an injection of capital.

Last month Opposition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull told Xinhua that Australian agriculture would benefit from increased investment and had for decades suffered without it.

"We have to understand, as Premier (Colin) Barnett (Western Australia) said that the vast bulk of Chinese investment in Australia has been from state-owned corporations we need that investment its creating jobs in Australia, its deepening our engagement with China - and that's very important - and benefiting all enterprises; both Chinese and Australian - whether they're privately owned or in China's case, state-owned."

Turnbull, the former Opposition Leader and a highly-respected businessman in his own right with a track record of successful ventures with Chinese enterprise, described agriculture as critical to the Australian economy and identity.

"Is agriculture an important part of our economy yes. Do we want to sell more agricultural production into Asia and China

absolutely. Do we need more in capital in agriculture - yes," he told Xinhua.

According to Calder, Chinese investment in Australia has actually been falling since its peak in 2010 and China "continues to be massively outspent" by the traditional investment partners such as the United States and the UK.

"Australia is still a long, long way from being swamped by Chinese capital. In fact, as a country, Australia is now facing falling investments from China as other countries court China for its investment dollars. This declining share of Chinese investment, in my view, is far more concerning to our economy than any perceived issue that may arise from 'too much' Chinese investment. "



According to KPMG research, in the first half of 2012, China's outbound M&A was spread across 34 countries, with America and Canada receiving the largest investment flows.

Calder said, "We need to understand that China is flexible in relation to investment and operating models of co-operation. We need to be proactive in saying what we want. This is especially the case in the area of agriculture.



"We may not want to sell the farms but we do want investments in Agricultural supply chains and infrastructure and in large scale agribusiness projects such as the Ord."

According to the ACBC, should the Ord expansion bid prove successful "it would be a terrific boost both to the region and to our relationship with China."