Mining investment set to plateau but not plummet: HSBC

Mining investment is set to peak as a share of the Australian economy this year, according to an HSBC report.

The report's authors, economists Paul Bloxham and Adam Richardson, say the last set of available RBA forecasts and the numbers from the last Australian capital expenditure survey suggest that mining investment will plateau over the coming year, rather than peak and fall sharply.

"Beyond this period, we expect mining investment will fall and be a drag on economic growth," the report says.

"However, this does not imply that mining is necessarily an overall drag on the economy. After all, this capacity has been built for a reason – to boost Australia’s resources exports."