Foreign investment uncertainty jumps Save Share Foreign investment uncertainty for Australia doubled last year as the federal government imposed tough screening restrictions on offshore investors during COVID-19, according to a new âForeign Investment Uncertainty Indexâ. The index, developed by US Studies Centre economist Stephen Kirchner, is based on a keyword search of major Australian newspapers from 1997 through to the end of 2020. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has rejected several China-backed acquisitions. Rhett Wyman The rise in uncertainty for foreign investors was largely due to the temporary COVID-19 requirement for all foreign direct investments to attain government approval and the introduction of a permanent tougher national security test, tacitly targeting China-related investments.