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Australian-based companies are ideally positioned for global business.
Asia's economies are forecast to account for 45% of world GDP by 2015 (purchasing power parity), significantly more than the US and Europe combined.[1]
Australia's unique time zone advantages in the Asia Pacific, its cultural affinity with Asia and its American/European business environment make it a perfect business bridge to Asia or western locations.
Australia has strong links with Asia, with Japan and China being its top two trading partners.
Australia has FTAs in place with the US, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. It is negotiating FTAs with China, Japan, Malaysia, ASEAN, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Chile.
Between 2002 and 2006, services exports to China increased by more than 110%, to India by 230% and to Korea by about 60%.[2]
Australia’s location allows companies to benefit from ‘follow-the-sun’ or ‘pass-the-book’ operations, such as transaction processing in financial markets, help desks, customer service, IT support and other critical services.
When it is 9am in Sydney, it is 5pm in New York; when it is 12 noon in Sydney, it is 9am in Shanghai, and when it is 6pm in Sydney, it is 8am in Frankfurt.
Australians start work before their US colleagues go home, then have an early-start advantage over colleagues in Japan, China, Singapore and India. They are at the end of their working day when the Europeans clock on.
Australia’s time zone advantage encouraged DSTi, a UK based investment management and portfolio accounting software developer to offer 24-hour global customer support from its Australian office.
“Being able to fix a European or North American client’s problem overnight and have a solution available for them first thing in the morning has some real appeal,” says Ian Mathieson, Chief Executive Officer for DSTi in Australia and New Zealand.
Looking ahead, Australia is well placed to capitalise on the growth of China and India. The country’s relative proximity to these two emerging giants of the global economy and its strong trade links with them means that Australia’s geographic location now represents a significant asset.
Advanced transport and communications networks provide Australian based companies with an edge in servicing Asian markets quickly and effectively.
Australia is also the perfect launch pad for Asian companies seeking to enter the European and American markets.
India’s biggest global outsourcing companies, for example Satyam Computers, Tata Consulting Services and Wipro Technologies, have established offices in Australia in large part to service US and European clients.
View Ten Good Reasons to Invest in Australia summary.
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[1] Consensus Economics, IMF, economics@ANZ
[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5368.0, May 2007
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