Assistant Treasurer, Stephen Jones, has suggested superannuation funds invest in neighbouring countries like Singapore and Indonesia.
The volume of assets in super was expected to grow from $3.4 trillion currently to $5 trillion over the term of the current Government.
This needed to be invested in other areas than Australian equities, Jones said, and super funds were already taking action by investing in renewable energy and infrastructure.
However, another option would be investing in countries near to Australia such as Indonesia and Singapore.
This would allow funds to align national interests with the best interest of super fund members.
“But in our near region we’ve got the pension funds of other countries investing in Indonesia, in Singapore, in the Pacific whilst Australian pension funds are relatively absent. So, it must strike us as a little bit strange – it certainly does our neighbours – to know that we’ve got the Canadian pension funds who are more deeply invested in Indonesia or Malaysia than they are – than Australian pension funds are.
“So, what the government of Australia is saying, what the Albanese Labor government is saying is let’s get our heads above the desk and look abroad.”
