Christopher Kent: Australia's external position and the evolution of the FX markets

Address by Mr Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) of the Reserve Bank of Australia, to the Australian Financial Markets Association, hosted by Bloomberg, Sydney, 29 April 2025.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

I would like to thank Bloomberg for hosting this event. Today I will discuss Australia's evolving external position and the development of foreign exchange (FX) markets. I will emphasise the growing footprint of superannuation funds in Australia's capital flows and the importance of these and other 'buy-side' firms of adopting best practices in FX markets.

Australia's capital account and FX markets since the float

The removal of capital account restrictions and the floating of the Australian dollar in 1983 reshaped our economy. Free capital movement facilitated large increases in foreign investment in Australia and allowed Australian households and firms to diversify their portfolios by investing overseas. Deep, well-functioning FX markets that developed following the float helped banks, businesses and fund managers to manage their foreign exposures.

Australia's integration into global capital markets saw two distinct trends in our net investment position with the rest of the world (Graph 1). First, in the decades after the float, Australia's high investment rate was associated with rising foreign debt. This saw net foreign liabilities rise substantially to around 50 per cent of GDP. Second, over more recent years, outbound investment has grown as a share of GDP as Australia's saving rate rose and domestic investment declined. This accumulation of foreign assets has contributed to an extraordinary decline in Australia's net foreign liabilities to levels last seen prior to 1983.