South Australia leads the nation in business investment, Commsec’s latest State of the States Report shows

IN a promising sign for South Australia’s economy, business investment lifted by the highest amount in the nation during the March quarter.

BUSINESS investment in South Australia lifted by the highest amount in the nation during the March quarter, according to Commsec’s latest State of the States report.

SA was ranked sixth out of the eight state and territory economies in the report which measures a series of indicators, including economic growth, retail spending, unemployment, population growth and housing finance.

In a rare win for SA, business spending on equipment rose by 7.2 per cent during the March quarter compared with the past decade, beating all of the other states and territories. The figure was up 19.3 per cent over the past 12 months, indicating an increase in investment albeit off a lower than average base.

Commsec chief economist Craig James said SA had edged out the Northern Territory to the sixth position in the overall rankings.

“South Australia is now top-ranked on business investment. But the next best ranking is fifth on dwelling starts and housing finance,’’ Mr James said.

“The South Australian economy is showing promising signs with investment lifting over the past quarter.’’

Mr James said Australia had a multi-speed economy with little to separate NSW (first place), Victoria (second) and the ACT (third).

Sixth-placed SA was stuck in a middle group along with Tasmania and Queensland (joint fourth), and the Northern Territory (seventh).

South Australia led the nation in business investment during the March quarter, Commsec’s latest State of the States report shows.

Western Australia, which has suffered a hard landing after the mining boom, is trailing the rest of the states in last place. In contrast to WA’s strong performance on business investment, equipment spending fell by almost 30 per cent in WA during the June quarter.

The WA Government is trying to boost the state’s economy by demanding a bigger share of national GST revenue and by trying to snatch naval shipbuilding work from SA.

“Overall the Australian economy is doing well,’’ Mr James said.

“But it is clear that much of the momentum is being provided from Australia’s south-east with New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory leading the way.”