Consider foreign investment needs: Stevens

Outgoing Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens believes Australia needs to attract more foreign investment to build new businesses, while being cautious about existing assets.

Mr Stevens, who steps down next month, has weighed into the debate about foreign capital, saying there needs to be consideration about what type of investment Australia wants.

"Foreign capital that builds new assets - like some of the capital that funded the mining boom - that's one thing. Foreign capital that buys up the existing assets, I'm not saying that we should be closed to that, but that's not creating new capital for the country," he told The Australian.