Ten good reasons to invest in Australia

1. Strong economic credentials

• Australia’s economy has been ranked the most resilient in the world for the third year in succession (World Competitiveness Yearbook [WCY] 2004).
• Australia’s strong economic growth rates (average annual real GDP growth of 3.7 per cent since 1998) have exceeded most other major OECD economies including the USA, UK, Germany and Japan (OECD 2004).
• The OECD forecasts 3.8 per cent growth for Australia in 2005 and 3.6 per cent in 2006 compared to average OECD growth rates of 2.9 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively (OECD 2004).
• In 2004, net public debt in Australia was only 1.9 per cent of GDP, compared to an average for OECD countries of 48 per cent (Japan 85 per cent, the US 48 per cent and the UK 35 per cent) (OECD 2004).

2. Democratic and politically stable

• Australia has the lowest risk of political instability in the Asia Pacific and the third lowest risk in the world (WCY 2004).
• Australia is ranked in the top four countries in the world for the effective implementation of government decisions (WCY 2004).
• Australia is ranked second in the world for understanding by political parties of contemporary economic challenges (WCY 2004).


3. Highly skilled and multilingual workforce

• Australia is ranked number one in the Asia Pacific and 4th in the world for the availability of finance skills (WCY 2004).
• Australia is ranked highly for the availability of IT skills, qualified engineers, and research and development personnel (WCY 2004).
• Australia is home to the most multilingual workforce in the Asia Pacific region, with citizens from over 200 countries. About 3 million of Australia’s population of 20 million speak a language other than English at home (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] 2004).
• Australia’s educational system is ranked 3rd in the world for meeting the needs of a competitive economy (WCY 2004), with Australian students ranked 4th in science in OECD countries (OECD 2004).

4. Growing financial services sector

• Valued at US$532 billion, Australia’s pool of investment fund assets under management is the fourth largest in the world (FEFSI).
• Australia’s position as a major centre for capital markets in the Asian time zone continues to strengthen. Turnover across Australia’s over-the counter (OTC) and exchange traded financial markets totalled A$69 trillion in the year to June 2004, a year on year increase of 23 per cent.
• Australia is an attractive destination for private equity funds, accounting for 27 per cent of all private equity invested in the region, excluding Japan (Thompson Venture Economics 2004).
• With 348,000 people employed in the finance sector, Australia’s workforce is larger than that of Singapore and Hong Kong combined.
• Axiss Australia, a division of Invest Australia, specialises in providing information on Australia’s financial services sector. Axiss seeks to position Australia as a global financial services centre in the Asian time zone.



5. Sophisticated infrastructure

• Australia is linked to the rest of the world through an extensive network of submarine fibre optic cables and
satellites providing seamless and competitively priced interconnections for global business.
• Australia’s telecommunications and IT market is the fourth largest in the Asia Pacific region (World Information Technology and Services Alliance 2004).
• Characterised by early technology adoption rates and strong B2B growth, Australia is ranked third in the Asia Pacific region for “e-business readiness” (Economic Intelligence Unit-EIU 2004).
• International business considers the quality of Australia’s air transportation as fifth best in the world, ahead of Canada, the UK and Japan (WCY 2004).

6. Innovative culture with excellent R&D infrastructure

• The Australian Government is committed to fostering a world-class innovative culture and research and
development infrastructure and is implementing an A$8.3 billion innovation strategy (Federal Budget 2004-05, May 2004).
• The Australian government provides substantial support for R&D. In 2002-03, Australia outranked major OECD countries (including the US, Japan, Canada and the UK) for public expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP (ABS 2004).
• Australia is ranked one of the top six developed economies, and second to Japan in the Asia Pacific region, in generating basic research to ensure long term economic development (WCY 2004).
• Australia has a strong Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) program that combines the research efforts of the public and private sectors in over 71 CRCs operating in a wide range of industry sectors.



7. Cost competitive location

• Australia ranks as one of the lowest cost business locations in the industrialised world (KPMG 2004).
• Cost of prime office space in Sydney is 74 per cent less than in London, 61 per cent less than in Tokyo and 12 per cent less than in New York (CB Richard Ellis, August 2004).
• The cost of peak hour telephone calls from Australia to the US is less expensive than in the UK, Japan, China, India, Singapore and Hong Kong (WCY 2004).
• Electricity costs to industrial clients are the fifth lowest in the world — only US$0.036 per kwh.
• Remuneration levels for senior management staff are substantially lower in Australia than in the US, the UK, Germany, France, Hong Kong and Singapore (WCY 2004).



8. Open and efficient regulatory environment

• Australia is the easiest place in the world to start a business with regulatory procedures taking just two days (World Bank 2004).
• In terms of patent and copyright enforcement, Australia’s modern and effective intellectual property regime is ranked first in the Asia Pacific region. (WCY 2004).
• Transparency in government policy in Australia is ranked second in the Asia Pacific region, providing predictability and certainty for business planning. (WCY 2004).



9. Strategic time zone advantage

• Australia’s unique geographic and time zone advantages, its cultural affinity with Asia, and its American/European business environment make it your perfect business bridge to Asia.
• Australia is also the perfect launch pad for Asian companies to enter the European and American markets.
• Australia’s location allows companies to benefit from ‘follow-the-sun’ operations. When it’s 9am in Sydney, it’s 4.00 pm in San Francisco; when it’s 12 noon in Sydney, it’s 9am in Shanghai, and when it’s 4pm in Sydney, it’s 8am in Frankfurt.



10. Excellent quality of life and welcoming attitude to foreign investment

• Australia is the number one place in the Asia Pacific region where expatriate staff want to live and work (EIU 2004).
• Australia’s cost of living is the third lowest in the developed world (WCY 2004).
• The majority of foreign investment in Australia does not require approval. Where approval is required, almost all foreign investment proposals are approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
• Invest Australia — Australia’s inward investment promotion agency — provides a free and totally confidential service to help investors. Invest Australia can assist you with your investment decision.