The European Union has confirmed its position as the leading investor in Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data on May 8 that revealed the total EU investment stocks had risen in Australia by 11 per cent to $A951.8 billion last calendar year.

This equated to 34 per cent of total foreign investment in Australia.

This figure exceeds the United States' $A720.3 billion and Japan's $A174.4 billion, as well as being almost 15 times larger than China's $A64.5 billion.

The European Union's Ambassador in Australia, Sem Fabrizi, said "The result underlines the importance of European investment to the Australian economy".

Ambassador Fabrizi said these investment figures reflected the strong economic relationship between the EU and Australia.

"The EU is Australia's second largest trading partner after China and largest trading partner in services," he said.

The numbers confirm the European Union is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Australia for the 10th consecutive year.

For media inquiries please ring;

Nick Pedley

Media, Policy and Culture Officer

European Union Delegation of Australia

02 6271 2744