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Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has rejected on "national interest" grounds Hong Kong-based consortium CK Group's proposed purchase of Australia's biggest gas pipeline company.
Mr Frydenberg said in a statement on Wednesday the purchase of APA Group would result in a "significant concentration of foreign ownership".
"Mr Frydenberg said, 'I am making a final decision under the formal process within two weeks.
The Foreign Investment Review Board and the Critical Infrastructure Center.
The preliminary decision came against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's approval of the creation of the biggest pipeline player on the nation's east coast.
The ACCC expressed concern over the $ 12.98 billion acquisition would give CK Group a monopoly grip on most gas transmission and storage facilities in the west.
But it said the group has taken up the responsibility of having made acquisitions had addressed anti-competition worries.
Mr Frydenberg said the concentration of foreign ownership had not been considered by the ACCC.
"The FIRB was unable to reach a unanimous recommendation, expressing its concerns about aggregation and the national interest implications of such a dominant foreign player in the gas and electricity sectors," he said.
The APA Group is the largest gas transmission system in Australia, owning 15,000 km of pipelines representing 56 percent of Australia's gas pipeline transmission system.
This includes 74 per cent of NSW and Victorian pipelines and 64 per cent in the Northern Territory.
It also includes gas consumption, gas-fired power generation and liquefied natural gas exports.
© APA 2018
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