AUSTRALIA'S booming mining sector will continue to underpin domestic growth thanks to significant project investments that will provide an economic buffer against further global downturns, according to HSBC.
The bank's economists expect mine construction to pick up even further; they say the investment boom is only just "hitting its straps".
"While confidence has declined and financial market turbulence is weakening parts of the economy, mining investment is still expected to keep ploughing ahead," HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said. "We are forecasting that around two-thirds of 2012's GDP growth will be mining investment."
With Australia in the midst of the largest mining boom in its history, resources investment is forecast to rise from 4.5 per cent of GDP to a record 7 per cent of GDP over the next year or so. Most of the increase is set to be driven by a small number of very large projects, in contrast to previous booms.
The rise of liquefied natural gas projects to feed Asia's energy demand is leading the charge.
The Australian
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