This paper examines the nature of state capital, its increasing prevalence and impacts in the global economy, and the implications of current state capital trends for Australia. The paper classifies several key state capital actors and maps their scale, scope and investment strategies in both global and domestic Australian contexts. Finally, the paper focuses on the impact to date of state capital in Australia and the prospect of future impacts in light of diminishing global demand for resources and growing competition for foreign direct investment.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Centre for International Finance and Regulation (for project Enter the Dragon: Foreign Direct Investment and Capital Markets, E002), which is funded by the Commonwealth of Australia and NSW State Government and other consortium members (see www.cifr.edu.au).