FDI into South Australia peaked in 2017 with figures from fDi Markets highlighting that in 2017 38 projects were announced. This was a 100% increase from the 19 projects announced in 2015 and a 111% increase from the 18 projects announced in 2016.

Data up to September 2018 highlights that South Australia remains a desirable destination with 22 announced FDI projects so far this year. There has been a steady rise in capital investment into South Australia each year from 2014 up until 2017.

Capital investment peaked in South Australia in 2017 with $1.97bn of announced FDI, a 275.75% increase on the 2014 figure of $526.20m. Adelaide received 30 out of the 38 projects created in South Australia in 2017, with a total of $822m of capital investment into the city throughout the year.

Throughout 2017 the top sectors by number of FDI projects were Alternative/Renewable energy [6], and Food and Tobacco [6] followed by Business Services and Software and IT Services [4]. France was the top investing country, creating a total of nine projects, followed by the United States [6] and Singapore [5].

France-based Engie, a utility firm, created two projects in South Australia during 2017. In April 2017, the company expanded operations at its Pelican Point power station in Outer Harbour, investing more than A$40m. Following this, in August 2017, the company began pre-construction work on a new A$250m wind farm on Willogoleche Hill.

The South Australian government has allocated A$60m over four years to its Investment Attraction Agency (IASA) in its 2017-18 Budget, which aims to attract new businesses to South Australia, promote job creation, and further develop key industry sectors. As it stands, 2018 appears to be continuing the positive trend in terms of projects created in South Australia.

Figures from fDi Markets up to September 2018 show that 22 projects have been created in South Australia with one quarter still to be accounted for.  Capital investment is also looking healthy for 2018 with $1.73bn of announced investment thus far.