The head of Blackstone’s local real estate operations, Chris Tynan, says Labor’s decision to cut the number of international students allowed into the country is short-sighted and undermines one of the largest export industries outside mining.

“These students turn up with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their back pocket to spend in Australia – and we don’t want them, which seems short-sighted,” said Mr Tynan, an influential investor whose assets include Crown Resorts and data centre giant AirTrunk.