The Port of Melbourne, which deals with more than 3,000 ships annually, was snapped up by a consortium including Australia's second-largest wholesale funds manager the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and multinational firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
The Australian newspaper reported that GIP was acting partly on behalf of China's sovereign wealth fund CIC Capital, which it said had effectively secured 20 percent of the port.
A source close to the consortium confirmed to AFP that CIC Capital was represented by GIP but would not reveal the size of its investment.
The new rules, introduced in March this year, state that sales of crucial infrastructure to private foreign investors must be subject to a formal review by Australia's foreign investment advisory body.
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China was also part of an Australian-led consortium that secured an 98-year lease in 2014 for the world's biggest coal export port in Newcastle.
That deal followed the long-term lease of Sydney's Port Botany and Port Kembla further south as a growing number of major Australian ports are privatised.
"Our consortium has developed a long-term vision and business plan. Leveraging our global port and regulated asset experience, QIC is focused on delivering long-term stewardship and improvements to the port and for its users."
The price tag was well above expectations, with the Victorian state government initially seeking Aus$6 billion for one of Australasia's largest maritime hubs for containerised, automotive and general cargo.
"The lease, worth in excess of USD 9.7 billion, reflects strong bidder interest and the port's value, as the biggest container and cargo port in the country," the state government said.