The Australian government has unveiled plans to invest A$2bn ($1.4bn) to support renewable hydrogen production as part of its 2023 Budget published on May 9.

As part of its plans to invest A$4bn to become a renewable energy superpower, the government is spending A$2bn on Hydrogen Headstart, a new programme to help accelerate large-scale green hydrogen projects, with the aim of making Australia a world-leading hydrogen producer and exporter. It is hoped the plan will unlock A$10bn-worth of investments in renewable generation and storage. 

Announcing the budget, Australia’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said: “Hydrogen power means [cities like] Wollongong, Gladstone and Whyalla, can make and export everything from renewable energy to green steel.” 

DeSantis signs bills banning Chinese investment 

Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed three bills into state law on May 9 which ban Chinese businesses and citizens from investing in land in the US state. 

The legislation aims to prevent Chinese entities or affiliates from buying land that is either agricultural or situated near critical infrastructure. It also seeks to stop sensitive data from being stored on servers that might be owned by entities affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and blocks access to apps like ByteDance-owned TikTok on government devices.

“Florida is taking action to stand against the US’s greatest geopolitical threat – the CCP,” said Mr DeSantis in a statement. “We are following through on our commitment to crack down on Communist China.”

China invests $2bn in Afghanistan

China has invested $2bn in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in the summer of 2021, a spokesperson for the ministry of industry and trade told the Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) on May 8.

The spokesperson, Akhundzadeh Abdulsalam Javad, said the investments over the past 18 months have included the mining and processing sectors, and providing services in airports and industrial parks.

Yu Minghui, director of the China Arab Economic and Trade Promotion Committee in Kabul, told the AVA that more than 20 Chinese companies are now present in Afghanistan. If the Afghan government provides more facilities to investors, he continued, their interest in Afghanistan will increase further.

And finally: UK banking multinational Standard Chartered is set to hire at least 100 staff in China as it prepares to launch an investment banking unit in the country, Reuters reports.