why australia - benchmark report

Why AustraliaBenchmark Report Update

June 2013

A strong, diverse and growing economy. A place where new ideas are embraced. Australia offers opportunities for growth.

Australia’s strong economic growth, highly skilled workforce and proven track record in world-class innovation add up to more opportunities.

Australia has achieved 22 consecutive years of economic growth and since 2008 has consistently ranked in the world’s top five most resilient economies.

Rated triple ‘A’ by all three global rating agencies, Australia’s real GDP growth is expected to outperform that of every other major advanced economy until 2018. Australia’s strength in mining and resources is well known, but its economy is predominantly services based, with a highly educated, multilingual workforce and an advanced innovation framework.

Strategically located in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, with strong trade links to global markets and one of the world’s most transparent and well-regulated business environments, Australia is a country in which it makes good sense to do business.

www.austrade.gov.au/invest

Australiaoffers opportunities and growth

GROWTH

World’s 20 Largest Economies 2

Australia’s Real GDP by Expenditure – Growth and Share 3

Real GDP Growth by Economic Grouping 4

Asian Economic Growth 5

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added by Industry 6

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added – Growth by Industry 7

Engineering Construction Activity in Australia 8

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added of Major 9 Infrastructure Industries

Australia’s Mining and Agribusiness Production 10 World Ranking

General Government Net Debt 11

SECTION 1

Growth

Australia’s economic resilience and strong growth create opportunities in a safe, low-risk environment. Building on 22 years of expansion, Australia’s real GDP growth is predicted to outperform that of every major advanced economy to 2018.

Australia is rated triple ‘A’ by all three global rating agencies and enjoys levels of public debt that are among the lowest in the OECD. It has been the only country to consistently rank in the world’s top five most resilient economies since 2008, and is in a unique position to benefit from and contribute to growth generated by the rise of Asia.

The country’s economy is much more than mining and resources, with almost 80 per cent of economic output generated by service sectors.

Section 1 Growth > 2

Australia’s population of 23 million is less than 0.5 per cent of the global total. By contrast, in 2013 Australia holds its place as the world’s 12th largest economy, up from 15th a decade ago. With GDP estimated at more than US$1.5 trillion, Australia is the fourth largest economy in the Asian region.

World’s 20 Largest Economies – 2013F

Percentage share of total world nominal GDP in US$

1. USA 21.9%

2. China 12.2%

3. Japan 6.9%

4. Germany 4.9%

5. France 3.7%

6. UK 3.3%

7 . Brazil 3.3%

8. Italy 3.0% 9. Russia 2.8%

11. India 2.5% 10. Canada 2.7%

12. Australia 2.1%

20. Switzerland 0.9%19. Saudi Arabia 1.0%18. Netherlands 1.1%17. Turkey 1.2%16. Indonesia 1.3%15. South Korea 1.8%14. Mexico 1.8%13. Spain 1.9%

Rest of World 20.1%

10.7%

F = Forecast GDP of the world’s 186 economies: US$74,172 billionGDP of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s 21 member economies: US$42,505 billion (57.3% of world’s nominal GDP)Sources: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2013; Austrade


The Australian economy remains resilient, sustained by sound macroeconomic policies, structural reforms and continued demand for hard and soft commodities from Asia. Australia has recorded compound annual GDP growth of 3.3 per cent per year from 1991 to 2013, driven by compound annual growth of 7 per cent in private business investment and 5 per cent in exports. Household consumption, which makes up more than half of the nation’s economy, rose by a solid 3.4 per cent during the period.

Australia’s Real GDP by Expenditure – Growth and Share

1. Business Investment total includes Cultivated Biological Resources.CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5206.0 Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, Table 2. Expenditure on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Chain volume measures (Released 5 Jun 2013); Austrade

A$ BillionYear to MarQuarter Total Dwellings New Gross(Real Value, General incl. Building & Intellectual Dwellings Corporations Private Domestic Seasonally Govern- Ownership Engineering Machinery & Property & Business & General Public Product adjusted) ment Households Transfer Costs Construction Equipment Products Total1 Total Government Sectors Exports Imports (GDP)

Mar-1991 137 382 52 32 17 7 59 112 33 145 112 63 731

Mar-2001 182 534 74 38 36 15 92 166 37 202 237 128 1,029

Mar-2007 220 671 90 70 66 26 165 255 53 309 266 209 1,257

Mar-2013 263 793 87 135 88 37 263 350 74 424 325 310 1,484

% Share of GDP 17.7 53.5 5.8 9.1 5.9 2.5 17.7 23.6 5.0 28.6 21.9 20.9 100.0

% CAGR 1991/13 3.0 3.4 2.3 6.8 7.8 7.7 7.0 5.3 3.8 5.0 5.0 7.5 3.3

Final Consumption Expenditure Gross Fixed Capital Formation

Private SectorBusiness Investment

Public Sector

Goods and Services


F = Forecast1. Composed of 27 economies in Asia.2. ASEAN-5 = Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.3. Composed of 17 economies in Europe.

Sources: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2013; Austrade

Real GDP Growth by Economic Grouping Average Growth Rate %: 2007-12 and 2013F-2018F

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

% A

vera

ge G

row

th R

ate

10.1

8.58.4

3.12.9

DevelopingAsia1

India ASEAN-52China Australia USAWorld UK Japan Euro Area3

2007 to 2012 2013F to 2018F

7.5 7.4

6.5

5.15.6

3.3

4.2

0.8

3.0

0.3

1.8

0.3

1.3

0.3

1.2

Australia has recorded 22 years of uninterrupted economic growth, an achievement unequalled by any other developed economy. Average real GDP growth over the period was nearly 3.4 per cent per year, and the fundamentals are in place for this trend to continue. According to IMF forecasts released in April 2013, Australia is expected to realise average annual real GDP growth of 3.1 per cent between 2012 and 2018 – the highest forecast among major advanced economies.


The strength of Australia’s anticipated economic expansion over the next five years reflects its unique position within the fast-growing Asian region. The pace and scale of growth and change in Asia reflect a significant shift in the world’s balance of economic power. Over the past 20 years, China and India have more than doubled their share of the global economy. The size of China’s economy has expanded nearly 10 times in that period and India’s has grown 5.5 times, both in purchasing power parity terms.

Asian Economic Growth GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity Valuation (Current International Dollar Billion)1

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

19851980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015F 2018F0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Asia % of World GDP (RHS)

China & IndiaJapan, Australia & New ZealandASEAN (excluding Singapore)NIEs (Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan & South Korea)Other Developing Asia

Cur

rent

Inte

rnat

iona

l $ B

illio

n

% o

f Wor

ld G

DP

1. An international dollar would buy in the cited country a comparable amount of goods and services a US dollar would buy in the United States. This term is often used in conjunction with Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) data.

Sources: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, April 2013; Austrade


Australia’s services sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of real gross value added (GVA). For the year to December 2012, the mining sector was the largest contributor to national output, generating 10.7 per cent of real GVA. The financial and insurance sector followed with 10.3 per cent, construction with 7.9 per cent, and manufacturing at 7.6 per cent. Professional, scientific and technical industries made up nearly 7 per cent of GVA, illustrating Australia’s highly skilled, well-educated and innovative workforce.

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added by Industry1

As a percentage of Total Industry

Construction 7.9%

Finance/Insurance 10.3%

Professional, Scientific and Technical 6.9%

Transport, Postal and Warehousing 5.3%

Health Care and Social Assistance 6.5%

Public Administration and Safety 5.2%

Education and Training 4.5%

Retail Trade 4.7%

Wholesale Trade 4.8%

Utilities 2.4%

Information Media and Telecommunications 2.9%

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate 2.2%

Mining 10.7%

Other Services2 15.7%

Manufacturing 7.6%

Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing 2.3%

1. Annual total to March Quarter 2013.2. Including Ownership of dwellings (8.1%), Administrative, Support services (2.5%), Accommodation, Food services (2.4%), and Arts, Recreational services (0.8%).

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5206.0 Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, Time Series Workbook, Table 6. Gross Value Added by Industry, Chain Volume Measures (released 05 June 2013); Austrade


Services – including financial and insurance, professional, scientific and technical, and information media and telecommunications ‒ have seen strong growth over the past two decades. On the export side, strong demand from Asia for Australia’s natural resources continues to drive Australia’s economic growth. Overall, Australia’s services industry, which makes up about 80 per cent of the nation’s economy, has expanded an annual 3.6 per cent, outpacing 3.3 per cent for the economy as a whole.

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added – Growth by Industry1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Manufacturing

Public Administration and SafetyEducation and Training

Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services

Accommodation and Food Services

Ownership of Dwellings

Mining

Arts and Recreation Services

Administrative and Support ServicesRetail Trade

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Wholesale Trade

Health Care and Social Assistance

Information Media and Telecommunications

Transport, Postal and Warehousing

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

Construction

Financial and Insurance Services

All Industry Average Growth: 3.3% Per Annum

5.6

5.2

5.1

4.4

4.3

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.7

3.5

3.3

3.0

2.9

2.7

2.7

2.6

2.1

1.5

1.0

Average Annual % Growth Rate 1992 to 2013

Note: Mining sector GVA measures the production side of national accounts. This data does not capture the full value of output related to mining production. Expenditure based estimates, which combine exports and investment by the mining sector (minus the imported component of mining investment), suggest that the sector realised real term annual growth for the period from 1981 to 2011 of 5.5 per cent as compared to 3 per cent for the non-mining sector. (Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Statement of Monetary Policy, August 2011, page 49).1. Annual total to March Quarter 2013.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5206.0 Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product, Time Series Workbook, Table 6. Gross Value Added by Industry, Chain Volume Measures (released 05 June 2013); Austrade


Australia’s engineering construction activity is expected to remain strong in the years ahead. The total value of projects outstanding is estimated at more than A$128 billion, an 11-fold rise over the past decade. Engineering construction in oil, gas, coal and other minerals is forecast to be the most active, with work outstanding totalling an estimated A$83 billion. The compound annual growth rate for the sub-sector is nearly 34 per cent over the decade to 2012.

Engineering Construction Activity in Australia Value of Work Yet to be Done1 (A$ Billion)

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Dec 2002 Dec 2003 Dec 2004 Dec 2005 Dec 2006 Dec 2007 Dec 2008 Dec 2009 Dec 2010 Dec 2011 Dec 2012

11.7 12.418.4

23.129.7

48.052.4

87.1

111.9

136.9

128.2Oil/Gas/Coal/Other Minerals (64.5%)Road/Highways/Subdivisions (8.2%)Bridges, Railways and Harbour (8.8%)Electricity Generation/Transmission/Distribution (6.2%)Other2 (12.3%)

Construction % Share in December 2012

1. The value of outstanding work for the project at the end of the period. Rise and fall and other cost variations can lead to increases or decreases in the value of work yet to be done.

2. Includes water storage supply, sewerage and drainage, pipelines, recreation, telecom, and other heavy industry.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 8762.0, Engineering Construction Activity, Australia, Dec 2012 (Released 03 Apr 2013); Austrade


Since 2001, real Gross Value Added (GVA) of Australia’s infrastructure construction has increased 36 per cent, primarily due to significant increases in the construction of transport and related industries. During this period, the GVA of transport, postal and warehousing, and information media and telecommunications expanded around 43 per cent each to A$67 billion and A$42 billion respectively. As a percentage of GDP, the GVA of Australia’s infrastructure industries was increasingly significant, at around 10.5 per cent in 2010-11.

Australia’s Real Gross Value Added of Major Infrastructure IndustriesA$ Million

Sources: The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, Australian Infrastructure Statistics Yearbook 2012 (released 20 July 2012), Table I 1.1a; Austrade

Energy Major Infrastructure Industries Transport, Information Water Financial Year Postal and Media and Supply and Ending June Warehousing Electricity Gas Telecommunications Waste Services Total % of GDP

1975-76 17,582 5,742 112 4,878 5,993 34,307 7.8

1980-81 23,811 7,806 294 6,967 6,421 45,299 8.9

1985-86 28,058 9,754 540 9,728 7,325 55,405 9.4

1990-91 32,198 12,156 617 14,532 8,386 67,889 9.9

1995-96 39,989 13,781 699 22,467 8,716 85,652 10.6

2000-01 47,016 15,185 836 29,761 9,366 102,164 10.5

2005-06 57,956 16,315 879 36,219 9,393 120,762 10.4

2010-11 67,506 17,921 1,039 42,434 9,933 138,833 10.5

% Growth since 2001 43.6 18.0 24.3 42.6 6.1 35.9

% CAGR 1976 to 11 3.9 3.3 6.6 6.4 1.5 4.1

% Share FY2010-11 48.6 12.9 0.7 30.6 7.2 100.0


Australia is a major global commodity producer and exporter, and a significant source of agricultural production. The country is well-placed to benefit from the global rise in demand for food, steel and energy, building on a skilled workforce, research and development capability, and advanced processing technologies. Australia is the world’s second largest producer of iron ore, the third largest producer of bauxite and alumina, zinc, uranium, and coal, and has the world’s largest identified reserves in many strategic mineral commodities. In agriculture, Australia is the world’s second largest producer of sheep meat, chickpeas and wool, and the fifth largest producer of barley and cattle meat.

Australia’s Mining and Agribusiness Production World Ranking

Global Rank Global Share Global Rank Global Share Year 2011 of Output of Output of Reserves of Reserves

Iron Ore 2 17 1 21

Bauxite and Alumina 3 30 2 21

Zinc 3 11 1 22

Uranium 3 11 1 31

Coal 3 6 4 9

Nickel 5 10 1 30

Copper 5 6 3 12

Australia’s Global Rank Year 2010 Based on Quantity

Indigenous Sheep Meat 2nd

Chickpeas 2nd

Wool (greasy) 2nd

Barley 5th

Indigenous Cattle Meat 5th

Sugarcane 8th

Wheat 9th

Sources: USA Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2012; BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2012, World Nuclear Association, World Uranium Mining, updated May 2012; Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Country Rank by Commodity, 2010; Austrade


The International Monetary Fund, April 2013 has estimated the Australian Government’s net debt will be 12.7 per cent of GDP, well below the 78.1 per cent forecast for advanced economies. The low public-sector debt reinforces Australia’s strong financial position and sound economic credentials.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Gre

ece

Portu

gal

Japa

n

Irela

nd

Italy

USA

Fran

ce UK

Belg

ium

Spai

n

Ger

man

y

Aust

ria

Net

herla

nds

Aust

ralia

Can

ada

Braz

il

Sout

h Ko

rea

New

Zea

land

Switz

erla

nd

Den

mar

k

176.1

143.4

115.0

106.2 105.8

89.0 86.5 86.1 84.3

56.2 54.0

35.9 35.5 33.6

12.7

28.8 27.8

10.3

79.1

31.1

General Government Net Debt1 – 2013As a percentage of GDP

1. International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff estimates and projections. Projections are based on staff assessment of current policies.2. Gross debt as a percentage of GDP.

Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fiscal Monitor database, April 2013, Statistical Tables 4 and 8; Austrade

Advanced Economies: 78.1 Euro Area 73.9 G7 91.5Emerging Economies: 23.6 Asia2 31.0 Europe 24.8 Latin America 30.0

How Australia’s Innovation System Compares to Leading 13 Innovative Countries

Australia’s Gross Expenditure on Research & Development 14

Annual Growth Rate of Gross Expenditure in Research 15 and Development by Country

Quality of Scientific Research Institutions 16

Australian Universities’ Ranking in the World 17

Information Technology Selected Indicators 18

Business Use of Broadband 19

BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard 20

SECTION 2

Innovation

Australia’s strong track record, quality research institutions and commitment to world-class innovation make it a proven destination to develop new ideas and bring them to life.

An advanced innovation framework, coupled with government and business investment in research and development, strong intellectual property protection and a track record of world-class outcomes, create opportunities for investors to collaborate in commercialising research and innovation.

The country’s research institutions are among the best in the world and offer opportunities for private-sector industry collaboration, while Australia’s talented and highly skilled workforce provides the resources necessary for investors to realise their potential.

InnovATIon

Section 2 Innovation > 13

How Australia’s Innovation System Compares to Leading Innovative Countries

Australia has a strong focus on innovation. Its institutions rank strongly compared to other leading innovative countries. The quality of Australia’s research institutions is well recognised. Australian researchers produce 3.7 per cent of the world’s highly cited publications and the country ranks as one of the top in terms of the number of publications in highly influential journals as a proportion of population. Australia also has a supportive government, a strong intellectual property protection regime, quality enabling ICT infrastructure, high levels of R&D investments and a generous R&D tax scheme.

Note: Countries ranked are selected as having the best reputation for innovation according to the GE 2012 Global Innovation Barometer.1. As a percentage of GDP. 2. Published in the most influential 25% of the world’s scholarly journals as ranked by SCImago Journal (2009). 3. Percentage of businesses with ten or more employees; 2011 or latest available year. 4. Percentage of non-residential gross fixed capital formation, total economy.

Sources: (a) OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators, 2012/1 (b) OECD, Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2011 (c) WEF, Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13 (d) OECD, Education at a Glance 2012 (e) Global Innovation Index 2012 (f) InCites™, Thomson Reuters (2011) (g) The Global Innovation Policy Index (2012) (h) Academic ranking of World Universities (Shanghai Index 2012) (i) OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook 2012

South Australia Canada France UK Germany Japan Korea Sweden USA

High levels of innovation investment (a) Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD)1 2.2% 1.9% 2.1% 1.8% 2.7% 3.5% 3.4% 3.7% 2.8%(a) Higher Education Expenditure on R&D (HERD)1 0.5% 0.7% 0.4% 0.5% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 0.8% 0.4%(a) Business Expenditure on R&D (BERD)1 1.3% 1.0% 1.4% 1.1% 1.9% 2.5% 2.6% 2.5% 2.0%

Skilled workforce(d) Proportion of population aged 25-64 38.0% 51.0% 29.0% 38.0% 27.0% 45.0% 40.0% 34.0% 42.0%

attaining tertiary education(e) Employment in knowledge-intensive services 42.9 42.4 40.8 42.5 41.9 37.8 22.4 44.5 36.3

(% of workforce)(i) S&T occupations as a % of total employment 36.7 30 37 28.1 37.3 14.9 19.3 41.5 35.4

World-class research(b) Publications in top-quartile journals per 1000 inhabitants2 1.32 1.22 0.68 1.22 0.74 0.38 0.44 1.61 0.89(f) Share of world’s top 1% highly cited publications, 3.7% 5.1% 5.3% 9.6% 8.0% 3.3% 1.6% 2.2% 33.1%

natural sciences and engineering (c) Quality of scientific research institutions 5.8 5.5 5.5 6.2 5.6 5.6 4.9 5.6 5.8(h) Number of universities in top 100 5 4 3 9 4 4 0 3 53

Entrepreneurship (g) Administrative burden on startups (0 = best) 0.25 0.28 0.43 0.19 0.16 0.24 0.52 0.28 0.33(i) Ease of entrepreneurship index 4.9 4.9 4.7 5.2 4.7 4.6 4.9 5.1 4.8

World class ICT infrastructure (b) Business Access to Broadband3 94.4% 94.3% 93.8% 93.5% 91.1% 83.4% 98.4% 94.9% n/a(b) Median advertised Broadband download speeds (Mbps) 24.6 13.8 102.4 20.5 16.4 102.4 51.2 12.3 12.3(b) ICT Investment4 13.8% 17.0% 16.3% 23.8% 12.6% 13.5% 11.1% 24.7% 31.5%


Australia’s Gross Expenditure on Research & DevelopmentA$ Billion by Sector

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2000–01 2002–03 2004–05 2006–07 2008–09 2010–11

Gro

ss R

esou

rces

Dev

oted

to R

&D (A

$ Bi

llion

)

GER

D %

of G

DP

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

GERD % of GDP (RHS)

BERDGOVERDHERDPrivate non-profit

5.0

2.4

2.8

0.29

6.9

2.5

3.40.36

8.7

2.5

4.3

0.48

12.6

3.1

5.4

0.61

17.3

3.4

6.8

0.74

17.9

3.8

8.2

0.91

BERD = Business Expenditure on Research & Development.GOVERD = Government Expenditure on Research & Development.HERD = Higher Education Expenditure on Research & Development.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 8104.0 – Research and Experimental Development, Businesses, Australia, 2010-11, Appendix Gross Expenditure on R&D (released 11 Sep 2012); Austrade

Australia’s gross R&D expenditure rose 11.5 per cent per year over the 10 years to 2010-11 to reach A$30.8 billion. Business Expenditure on Research and Development (BERD) makes up the largest portion of this figure, rapidly expanding to A$17.9 billion in 2011 from A$5.0 billion in 2001. This represents a compound growth rate of 13.6 per cent, well above Australia’s GDP growth rate of 7.1 per cent. Australia’s Gross Expenditure on Research & Development (GERD) as a percentage of GDP lifted from 1.47 per cent to 2.20 per cent over the period, a strong indication of increased support by government and industry towards innovation and research and development.


0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Chi

na

Russ

ia

Spai

n

Aust

ralia

Sout

h Ko

rea

Irela

nd

Aust

ria

Den

mar

k

Finl

and

Tota

l OEC

D

Italy

Ger

man

y

Swed

en

USA

Japa

n

Can

ada

UK

Fran

ce

Belg

ium

20.5

14.1

12.8

11.5

11.4

10.7

8.9

8.0

6.7

5.9

5.9

5.8

5.6

5.2

5.2

5.0

4.4

4.4

4.3

Note: Data for Sweden and Denmark has been calculated over the period 1999 to 2008 as there is no data available for 2000.

Sources: OECD MSTI, Main Science and Technology Indicators, 2012/2

Annual Growth Rate of Gross Expenditure in Research & Development by Country 2000-2009

Gross R&D expenditure in Australia rose 11.5 per cent a year between 2000 and 2009, representing almost twice the OECD total rate of 5.9 per cent and positioning Australia 4th among OECD countries behind China, Russia and Spain. In terms of R&D expenditure by different areas of the economy (government, business and not-for-profit), Australia has a more balanced approach than many OECD countries.


Australia’s scientific research institutions have a high reputation for quality, supporting the country’s position as a source of world-class research and innovation. In its 2012-13 Executive Opinion Survey, the World Economic Forum found that Australia ranked 7th out of 144 countries, on par with the United States and ahead of Germany, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Isra

el (1

)

Switz

erla

nd (2

)

UK

(3)

Belg

ium

(4)

Qat

ar (5

)

USA

(6)

Aust

ralia

(7)

Net

herla

nds

(8)

Swed

en (9

)

Ger

man

y (1

0)

Japa

n (1

1)

Sing

apor

e (1

2)

Finl

and

(13)

Irela

nd (1

4)

Fran

ce (1

5)

Can

ada

(16)

New

Zea

land

(17)

Taiw

an (1

9)

Sout

h Ko

rea

(24)

Nor

way

(27)

Mal

aysi

a (2

8)

Hon

g Ko

ng (3

1)

Spai

n (3

6)

Indi

a (3

9)

Italy

(43)

Chi

na (4

4)

Braz

il (4

6)

6.3

6.3

6.2

5.9

5.8

5.8

5.8

5.7

5.6

5.6

5.6

5.6

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.4

5.2

4.9

4.9

4.9

4.7

4.6

4.4

4.2 4.2 4.

1

Note: The number in the brackets indicates the ranking of the 144 economies surveyed.

Sources: World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey, The Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013; Austrade

Quality of Scientific Research InstitutionsScores: 1 = very poor, 7 = best in their field internationally, 2011-12 weighted average, Mean = 3.8


Australia’s academic and research institutions are among the best in the world. Australia is home to 19 of the top 500 universities according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2012. Similarly, more than half of the country’s universities are listed in the Times Higher Education ranking for 2012-13 Top 400 and six are in the top 100. Australia ranks fourth behind the USA, UK and Germany in terms of the number of universities in the Times Top 400.

Australian Universities’ Ranking in the World

1. The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranks up to 1,200 universities from which the final top 500 are taken and considers six objective indicators including the number of alumni and staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields medals, number of highly cited researchers selected by Thomson Scientific, number of articles published in journals of Nature and Science, number of articles in Science Citation Index, and per capita performance with respect to the size of an institution.

2. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings is based on a worldwide poll of more than 16,500 experienced university scholars and considers 13 separate performance indicators that are brought together under five headline categories: Teaching, Research, Citations, industry Income and international Outlook.

3. Both rankings use indicators that cover data on more than 5,600 universities from more than 100 countries (Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge). Institutions within the same rank are listed alphabetically.

Sources: The Academic Ranking of World Universities – 2012; Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2012-13; Austrade

The Academic Ranking of World Universities1 – 2012 Institution3 World Ranking

University of Melbourne 57

Australian National University 64

University of Queensland 90

University of Sydney 93

University of Western Australia 96

Monash University 101-150

University of New South Wales 101-150

Macquarie University 201-300

University of Adelaide 201-300

Flinders University 301-400

Griffith University 301-400

James Cook University 301-400

Swinburne University of Technology 301-400

University of Newcastle 301-400

University of Tasmania 301-400

University of Wollongong 301-400

Curtin University of Technology 401-500

La Trobe University 401-500

University of Technology, Sydney 401-500

Times Higher Education World University Rankings2 – 2012-2013Institution3 World Ranking

University of Melbourne 28

Australian National University 37

University of Sydney 62

University of Queensland 65

University of New South Wales 85

Monash University 99

University of Adelaide 176

University of Western Australia 190

Macquarie University 251-275

Queensland University of Technology 251-275

University of Newcastle 276-300

Murdoch University 301-350

University of South Australia 301-350

University of Wollongong 301-350

Charles Darwin University 351-400

Deakin University 351-400

Flinders University 351-400

University of Technology, Sydney 351-400

University of Tasmania 351-400


Australia is ranked in the top 10 in critical indicators such as secure internet servers, business-to-consumer internet use and an e-participation index. Australia has also become a source of a number of distinctive technologies – especially in the areas of e-health, e-government and financial services. With expected revenue of A$131 billion, investment in research and development at A$5.2 billion, and a strong workforce of 544,000, the Australian ICT Industry provides a world-class foundation for innovation.

Information Technology Selected Indicators

Economy Value

1 USA 192 Luxembourg 203 Japan 214 New Zealand 225 Australia 235 Austria 237 Belgium 247 Denmark 247 Sweden 2410 Finland 2510 Switzerland 2512 Germany 2612 UK 2614 Canada 2714 Norway 2718 Singapore 3322 France 3722 Taiwan 3722 UAE 3725 South Korea 4030 Hong Kong 4334 Italy 4840 Brazil 5358 India 6370 Philippines 7072 Thailand 7279 China 7788 Vietnam 8197 Indonesia 86

Economy Value

1 Netherlands 6.12 Japan 6.03 Taiwan 6.04 Belgium 6.05 UK 6.06 Australia 5.97 Austria 5.88 Germany 5.89 Hong Kong 5.810 Malta 5.811 South Korea 5.715 UAE 5.718 USA 5.619 Canada 5.620 Switzerland 5.621 Singapore 5.522 Sweden 5.524 New Zealand 5.528 France 5.529 Denmark 5.434 India 5.436 Malaysia 5.437 China 5.344 Vietnam 5.145 Brazil 5.150 Philippines 5.154 Thailand 5.067 Italy 4.996 Indonesia 4.4

Economy Value

1 Iceland 3,025.12 Netherlands 2,749.83 South Korea 2,496.14 Denmark 2,180.75 Switzerland 2,137.56 Australia 2,002.67 Luxembourg 1,874.38 Norway 1,810.69 Malta 1,661.110 New Zealand 1,597.411 UK 1,592.512 USA 1,563.215 Canada 1,368.619 Germany 1,023.421 Japan 743.922 Singapore 607.324 Hong Kong 570.526 Taiwan 492.731 France 354.139 Italy 190.940 UAE 180.357 Malaysia 54.458 Brazil 54.283 Thailand 16.697 Philippines 7.5101 Vietnam 4.7103 Indonesia 3.4106 India 2.9111 China 2.4

Economy Value

1 South Korea 1.001 Netherlands 1.003 Kazakhstan 0.953 Singapore 0.955 UK 0.925 USA 0.927 Israel 0.898 Australia 0.768 Estonia 0.768 Germany 0.7611 Japan 0.7411 UAE 0.7415 Canada 0.6815 Norway 0.6815 Sweden 0.6825 France 0.5825 Mexico 0.5825 New Zealand 0.5831 Brazil 0.5031 Malaysia 0.5031 Spain 0.5043 Switzerland 0.3446 Thailand 0.3254 Italy 0.2662 China 0.2162 Indonesia 0.2162 Philippines 0.2170 India 0.1891 Vietnam 0.11

Economy Value

1 UK 6.32 South Korea 6.33 USA 6.04 Netherlands 6.05 Taiwan 6.06 Finland 6.07 Japan 5.98 Czech Republic 5.99 Australia 5.810 Lithuania 5.811 Sweden 5.812 Switzerland 5.813 Norway 5.714 Germany 5.716 Austria 5.617 Canada 5.618 New Zealand 5.621 UAE 5.522 Hong Kong 5.525 France 5.426 Malaysia 5.428 Brazil 5.330 Singapore 5.334 Vietnam 5.244 Indonesia 4.947 China 4.951 Philippines 4.853 Thailand 4.876 India 4.4

Software Piracy Rate1 Secure Internet Servers3 E-Participation Index4 Intensity of Local

Competition2 Business-to-Consumer

Internet Use5

1. Unlicensed software units as a percentage of total software units installed, 2011; 2. How would you assess the intensity of competition in the local markets in your country? [1 = limited in most industries; 7 = intense in most industries] 2011–2012 weighted average; 3. Secure Internet servers per million population, 2011; 4. The E-Participation Index assesses, on a 0-to-1 (best) scale, the quality, relevance, and usefulness of government websites in providing online information and participatory tools and services to their citizens, 2012; 5. To what extent do businesses in your country use internet for selling their goods and services to consumers? [1 = not at all; 7 = extensively] 2012Sources: World Economic Forum, The Global Information Technology Report 2013; Austrade


More than 94 per cent of Australian businesses with 10 or more employees use broadband, putting Australia in the top 10 OECD nations and above most major economies, including Canada, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Japan.

0

20

40

60

80

100 98.7

98.4

98.0

96.1

95.3

94.9

94.9

94.8

94.7

94.4

94.3

93.8

93.5

93.2

92.3

92.1

91.2

91.1

90.1

89.4

89.2

88.8

88.6

88.3

87.3

87.1

85.6

83.4

81.6

81.5

77.5

51.6

Finl

and

Kore

a (2

010)

Switz

erla

nd (2

008)

Spai

n

Icel

and

(201

0)

Swed

en

Slov

enia

Den

mar

k

New

Zea

land

Aust

ralia

(201

0)

Can

ada

(200

7)

Fran

ce UK

Luxe

mbo

urg

Net

herla

nds

Esto

nia

Irela

nd

Ger

man

y

Nor

way

Aust

ria

EU27

Turk

ey (2

010)

Cze

ch R

epub

lic

Italy

Hun

gary

Belg

ium

Port

ugal

Japa

n

Gre

ece

Slov

ak R

epub

lic

Pola

nd

Mex

ico

(200

8)

Business Use of Broadband, 2011 or Latest Available Year% of Businesses with 10 or more Employees1

Note: Data not available for the USA.1. For Australia, from 2010 businesses within ANZSIC06 Division A Agriculture, forestry and fishing industry were included for the first time; For Japan, businesses with 100 or more

employees; For Mexico, businesses with 20 or more employees; For New Zealand, businesses with 6 or more employees and with a turnover greater than NZ$30,000; For Switzerland, businesses with 5 or more employees and connections equal to or faster than 144 Kilobits per second (mobile and fix).

Sources: OECD, ICT database and Eurostat, Community Survey on ICT usage in enterprises, June 2012; Austrade


Australia is ideally positioned to capitalise on the cloud computing revolution, claiming its place as a world leader in cloud computing policies for a second straight year. The 2013 BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard ranked Australia second after Japan in an annual report that gauges 24 economies which make up 80 per cent of the global ICT market.

BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard

Sources: Business Software Alliance, BSA Global Computing Scorecard (released 7 March 2013), pages 10-11; Austrade

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Intellectual Property RightsSupport for Industry-Led Standards & International Harmonisation of RulesPromoting Free TradeICT Readiness, Broadband Deployment

Data PrivacySecurityCybercrime

Japa

n

Aust

ralia

Ger

man

y

USA

Fran

ce

ItalyUK

Sout

h Ko

rea

Spai

n

Sing

apor

e

Pola

nd

Can

ada

Mal

aysi

a

Mex

ico

Arge

ntin

a

Russ

ia

Turk

ey

Sout

h Af

rica

Indi

a

Indo

nesi

a

Chi

na

Thai

land

Viet

nam

Braz

il

21.7

9.2

8.8

17.2

10.0

8.4

8.8

21.0

7.0

10.0

17.6

10.0

6.4

7.9

22.2

8.0

10.0

16.6

8.8

7.6

6.5

20.3

9.2

9.8

16.8

10.0

6.4

6.6

22.9

8.6

8.8

18.0

9.03.6

7.6

19.0

8.8

9.6

16.8

10.0

7.6

6.5

21.4

6.8

9.2

17.8

6.8

8.0

6.9

21.9

7.0

9.6

17.64.8

6.0

9.3

19.5

9.6

10.0

15.6

6.2

6.8

8.1

16.5

8.8

9.8

17.0

9.6

7.6

6.2

17.6

9.4

9.8

15.2

8.8

6.4

6.5

15.8

8.4

9.8

16.8

8.8

5.6

6.8

16.4

5.8

10.0

17.4

7.2

5.6

7.1

14.9

5.2

6.8

14.4

6.8

5.4

5.4

11.43.0

9.2

12.4

8.6

4.8

7.5

13.9

5.84.6

12.4

8.8

6.0

5.0

8.8

6.4

10.0

12.0

7.44.44.1

13.12.8

8.6

14.0

6.44.03.5

13.2

4.8

7.8

13.64.62.84.7

10.31.8

9.8

13.6

9.83.22.8

10.42.0

8.2

11.2

7.03.2

6.4

13.42.23.4

8.8

8.03.64.7

11.73.0

8.8

8.0

7.41.63.5

10.61.4

7.0

9.2

5.02.84.1

Workforce Skill Base Comparisons 22

All Overseas Students by Region Grouping 23

Percentage Employed Persons with Tertiary Education 24 by Industry

Foreign-Born Population 25

Australia’s Labour Force by Birthplace 26

Major Asian Languages Spoken in Australian Homes 27

Major European Languages Spoken in Australian Homes 28

Liveability Index Ranking 29

SECTION 3

Talent

Australia’s multilingual workforce is one of the most educated in the world. Investors can access highly skilled, innovative workers who are equally at home in both western and Asian cultures.

Australia’s education system is recognised as world leading, ranking in the global top 10 in 2012. Australian universities are world-class, attracting students from across the globe and producing great research outcomes. The nation’s premier scientific research facility, CSIRO, ranks in the top one per cent of the world’s scientific institutions.

The country also ranks very well in attracting and retaining highly skilled workers. The lifestyle and quality of life also makes Australia an attractive destination for expatriate executives.

TALEnT

Section 3 Talent > 22

Workforce Skill Base Comparisons

1. Percentage of population that has attained at least tertiary education for persons 25-34 in 2010.

(a) World Economic Forum, Switzerland and Harvard University, Global Competitiveness Report 2012 -13 (Updated: September 2012, 144 economies); (b) Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland, IMD World Competitiveness Online 1995-2013 (Updated: May 2013, 60 economies); (c) The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report 2013 (185 economies), Table 1; Austrade

South Hong Australia USA UK China Japan Korea India Kong Singapore

Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13 Ranking(a) in:

Secondary Education Enrolment Rate 1 47 24 90 22 43 107 85 15

Quality of Scientific Research Institutions 7 6 3 44 11 24 39 31 12

Tertiary Education Enrolment Rate 9 2 40 79 36 1 95 37 19

Reliance on Professional Management 10 19 9 48 17 40 46 32 11

Quality of Educational System 15 28 27 57 43 44 34 23 3

World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013 Ranking(b) in:

Ethical Practices 4 16 13 27 8 48 37 24 17

Highly Skilled Overseas Workers 6 3 8 24 48 31 35 5 4

Education System 11 21 23 48 35 27 37 22 4

Higher Education Achievement1 11 19 10 35 4 2 48 15 1

UNDP’s Human Development Report 2013 Ranking(c) in:

Human Development Index 2 3 26 101 10 12 136 13 18

International studies recognise the high levels of skill and education that characterise Australia’s workforce. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13, Australia’s secondary education enrolment rate is the world’s highest. Australia ranked second in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2013, which measures a country’s investment in its people.


Australia is a ‘first choice’ education destination across the Asian region. With about 60 per cent of the 333,000 overseas students in Australia studying management, commerce and information technology, the country is a hub for business and digital-related education in the region.

All Overseas Students by Region GroupingEnrolled in Australian Higher Education Courses – Onshore and Offshore, Full Year 2011

0

30,000

60,000

90,000

120,000

150,000

North-EastAsia

South-EastAsia

Southern and Central Asia

North Africa and the Middle East

Americas Sub-SaharanAfrica

North-WestEurope

Southern and Eastern Europe

Oceania and Antarctica

Total Overseas Students: 332,557% Change on 2010: -0.8%% Share of Top 25 Sources: 85.3%% Share of Asian students in Top 25: 78.4%% of students from China: 28.9%

Top Five Enrolled Courses:Management & Commerce: 170,447Engineering & Related Technology: 28,526Society & Culture: 26,963Health: 24,623

128,664

104,465

33,665

17,136 16,28511,919 11,509

2,561 2,478

Sources: Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, Selected Higher Education Statistics, Table 7.4 ; Austrade


Australia has one of the most highly educated workforces in the world, with an average 40 per cent of its workers holding a tertiary qualification or advanced diploma. In the professional, scientific and technical services sector, as well as education and training, the figure rises to more than 70 per cent. In six major sectors, including financial services, health care and telecommunications, over half of the workforce has a tertiary qualification or higher.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Construction

Accommodation and Food Services

Retail Trade

Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing

Other Services

Manufacturing

Transport, Postal and Warehousing

Mining

Wholesale Trade

Administrative and Support Services

Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services

Arts and Recreation Services

Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services

Public Administration and Safety

Information Media and Telecommunications

Financial and Insurance services

Health Care and Social Assistance

Professional, Scientific and Technical Services

Education and Training

All Industry Average: 39.5%

72.2

70.7

58.5

58.3

57.5

52.6

43.4

37.4

36.8

33.0

32.1

26.1

25.7

25.1

22.6

22.4

21.5

20.2

14.2

Percentage Employed Persons with Tertiary Education by Industry1 – May 2012

1. In this statistical release, tertiary education refers to Advanced Diploma/Diploma or higher. Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 62270 DO 001-201105, Education and Work, Australia, May 2011, Table 11 (released 30 November 2011); Austrade


With nearly 27 per cent of its population born overseas, Australia is the most culturally diverse country in Asia. The availability of multilingual, culturally diverse, highly skilled personnel means Australia offers access to a diverse workforce, well-equipped with cultural understanding and language capabilities to service international businesses in their own languages.

Foreign-Born PopulationAs a Percentage of Total Population – 2010 or latest available year

Sources: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), OECD Factbook 2013: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics; Austrade,

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

42.431.2

27.826.8

23.221.3

16.816.7

16.415.5

14.914.4

13.112.9

12.611.2

10.09.6

8.88.7

3.83.73.7

1.90.90.9

0.40.4

0.10.1China

IndonesiaBrazilIndia

PolandMexico

ChileSouth Africa

FinlandTurkeyRussia

ItalyDenmark

NorwayNetherlands

FranceUK

USABelgium

SpainIreland

GermanyAustria

SwedenCanada

New ZealandAustralia

SwitzerlandIsrael

Luxembourg


More than one-quarter of Australia’s 12.4 million labour force was born overseas. Many foreign-born workers are from Asia or Europe, enriching Australia’s reputation for multilingual, multicultural workplaces.

Australia’s Labour Force by Birthplace – April 2013Total labour force as at April 2013: 12,352,300

AustralianBorn72.3%

OverseasBorn27.7%

Americas 1.3%

Sub-Saharan Africa 1.6%

North-West Europe 1.3%

North Africa & The Middle East 1.2%

Southern & Central Asia 3.1%

North-East Asia 2.9%

Southern & Eastern Europe 2.6%

South-East Asia 4.0%

Oceania & The Antarctic 3.7%

UK & Ireland 6.0%

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 6291.055.001 – Labour Force, Australia, Detailed – Electronic Delivery, April 2013, data cubes LM6 (released 16 May 2013); Austrade


The spread of Asian language speakers across the country highlights Australia’s ability to offer a multilingual workforce in a variety of business locations. More than 2.1 million Australians speak an Asian language at home (almost 10 per cent of the total population) and more than 650,000 Australians speak a Chinese language.

Major Asian Languages Spoken in Australian Homes1 – 2011

1. This list of languages consists of the most common Language Spoken at Home responses reported in the 2006 Census. The count of persons is based on place of usual residence.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 2001, Census of Population and Housing, Basic Community Profiles (released 21 June 2012); Austrade

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT AUSTRALIA

Chinese languages: Cantonese 136,374 72,902 22,255 9,000 18,007 840 685 3,475 263,675 Mandarin 139,825 103,744 38,117 16,499 28,035 2,089 1,198 6,677 336,410 Other 19,279 18,481 4,347 2,612 4,540 327 783 839 51,243 Total 295,478 195,127 64,719 28,111 50,582 3,256 2,666 10,991 651,328Indo-Aryan Languages: Hindi 52,782 32,705 13,188 4,417 5,011 506 430 2,315 111,352 Punjabi 21,538 31,066 7,911 4,426 4,819 225 275 977 71,230 Sinhalese 9,386 28,165 4,282 1,728 2,933 159 225 1,316 48,193 Other 75,647 36,218 14,051 9,183 11,139 966 997 3,853 152,069 Total 159,353 128,154 39,432 19,754 23,902 1,856 1,927 8,461 382,844Other Asian Languages: Arabic 184,252 68,436 11,422 7,468 11,959 910 303 2,422 287,178 Vietnamese 87,501 86,594 21,853 15,970 16,523 284 879 3,787 233,388 Southeast Asian Austronesian Languages: Tagalog and Filipino 58,225 31,063 21,104 6,794 13,962 792 3,034 1,873 136,860 Indonesian 24,781 13,877 4,427 1,549 9,084 172 950 1,012 55,869 Other 4,496 6,145 3,049 1,485 6,464 263 510 380 23,461 Total 87,502 51,085 28,580 9,828 29,510 1,227 4,494 3,265 216,190 Korean 47,420 10,329 12,737 3,058 3,942 506 257 1,544 79,786 Iranic Languages 27,508 21,875 5,947 7,238 7,959 234 71 1,091 71,933 Tamil 21,527 17,451 3,479 1,702 4,079 214 281 1,416 50,150 Japanese 14,369 8,550 13,085 1,774 4,423 414 195 886 43,692 Thai 15,713 7,638 5,508 1,371 4,568 370 710 798 36,680 Assyrian 21,044 9,873 211 25 124 8 0 42 31,323 Khmer 10,286 11,842 1,887 3,673 1,311 15 167 339 29,518

GRAND TOTAL 971,953 616,954 208,860 99,972 158,882 9,294 11,950 35,042 2,114,010


Almost 1.3 million Australians speak a European language at home other than English, with Italian, Greek and Spanish the most common. Australia’s linguistic diversity is nationwide, ensuring a ready supply of personnel with foreign language skills in all major centres.

Major European Languages Spoken in Australian Homes1 – 2011

1. This list of languages consists of the most common Language Spoken at Home responses reported in the 2006 Census. The count is based on place of usual residence. 2. Excluding languages not identified individually, ‘Inadequately described’ and ‘Non-verbal, so described’.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 2001, Census of Population and Housing, Basic Community Profiles (released 21 June 2012); Austrade

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT AUSTRALIA

Italian 83,174 124,857 21,713 33,290 31,445 1,285 750 3,311 299,833

Greek 86,601 116,803 11,402 25,250 5,325 1,201 2,853 2,776 252,217

Spanish 55,627 29,014 15,605 4,909 8,228 835 361 2,923 117,497

German 23,426 20,083 16,349 7,458 8,713 1,667 771 1,882 80,370

Macedonian 29,453 30,945 1,193 729 5,896 20 23 582 68,846

Croatian 22,882 22,166 4,406 3,435 5,936 262 56 2,402 61,548

Turkish 22,269 32,898 1,898 672 1,502 86 50 244 59,624

French 19,012 16,286 9,888 2,143 7,687 702 429 1,598 57,740

Serbian 22,236 17,582 4,643 4,281 5,058 126 48 1,143 55,116

Polish 14,857 16,476 5,107 6,240 6,022 761 95 1,143 50,692

Russian 16,471 16,506 4,817 3,115 2,093 257 71 720 44,059

Dutch 9,290 9,513 7,846 3,106 5,567 1,110 224 592 37,249

Maltese 13,266 18,176 1,419 916 429 27 11 150 34,396

Portuguese 16,300 5,126 4,806 1,056 4,962 90 531 476 33,352

Hungarian 7,023 7,364 3,292 1,474 1,127 151 73 356 20,881

GRAND TOTAL(2) 441,887 483,795 114,384 98,074 99,990 8,580 6,346 20,298 1,273,420


With one of the highest standards of living in the world, Australia offers a superb climate, a unique and beautiful environment, low personal risk, an effective infrastructure and quality social and cultural infrastructure. Australia’s major cities are regularly judged to be among the most liveable in the world by a range of international surveys. In the Economist Intelligence Unit Liveability Ranking 2012, four of Australia’s mainland capital cities were ranked in the top 10 most liveable cities in the world: Melbourne (first), Adelaide (fifth), Sydney (seventh) and Perth (ninth).

Liveability Index Ranking – 2012

Sources: The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Liveability Survey, A Summary of the Liveability Ranking and Overview, August 2012, Page 6; Austrade

Culture & Country City Rank Overall Rating Stability Healthcare Environment Education Infrastructure

The top 10 cities (100 = ideal; 0 = intolerable)

Australia Melbourne 1 97.5 95.0 100.0 95.1 100.0 100.0

Austria Vienna 2 97.4 95.0 100.0 94.4 100.0 100.0

Canada Vancouver 3 97.3 95.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 92.9

Canada Toronto 4 97.2 100.0 100.0 97.2 100.0 89.3

Canada Calgary 5 96.6 100.0 100.0 89.1 100.0 96.4

Australia Adelaide 5 96.6 95.0 100.0 94.2 100.0 96.4

Australia Sydney 7 96.1 90.0 100.0 94.4 100.0 100.0

Finland Helsinki 8 96.0 100.0 100.0 90.0 91.7 96.4

Australia Perth 9 95.9 95.0 100.0 88.7 100.0 100.0

New Zealand Auckland 10 95.7 95.0 95.8 97.0 100.0 92.9

Australia’s Exports and Imports of Goods and Services 31

Australia is a Partner for Growth in Asia 32

Australia’s Two-way Merchandise Trade 33

Australia’s Merchandise Exports by Industry 34

Stock of Foreign Direct Investment in Australia 35

Foreign Direct Investment Inward Stock by Economy 36

Time Zone Advantage 37

SECTION 4

Location

Australia is a major trading nation, with eight of the country’s top 10 export markets within the Asian region. Australian businesses have been trading with the Asia-Pacific for more than half a century and understand these markets, offering the benefits of experience and established trade and investment ties.

With these trade links, strategic location and highly educated, multilingual workforce, Australia is uniquely positioned as a platform for growth.

Australia also bridges the world’s major time zones, offering 24-hour access for global organisations.

locATIon

Section 4 Location > 31

Australia’s integration with the world economy, particularly the dynamic Asian region, drives its wealth creation and overall growth. Australia’s two-way trade in goods and services in 2012 totalled more than A$600 billion, making up about 41 per cent of GDP and up sharply from about A$450 billion five years earlier. Australia’s trade with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries continued to strengthen, with a total value of more than A$436 billion, or 72 per cent of Australia’s total trade.

Australia’s Exports and Imports of Goods and ServicesA$ Billion1

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate1. All data is on a BOP basis, except for goods by country which are on a recorded trade basis.

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Cat. No. 5368.0 International Trade in Goods and Services, Tables 14a & 14b; ABS Cat No. 5368055004 – International Trade in Services by Country, by State and by Detailed Services Category, Calendar Year, 2012, Tables 5.13 & 5.17; Austrade

Selected Cumulative % Change CAGR % Rank Economies 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Share % % Share 2010-12 2007-12

1 China 58.1 73.9 85.0 105.0 121.0 125.2 20.7 20.7 3.5 16.6

2 Japan 54.5 75.8 59.1 66.0 72.5 71.1 11.8 32.5 -1.9 5.5

3 USA 48.3 55.2 47.2 46.8 51.2 53.5 8.9 41.3 4.4 2.1

4 South Korea 21.8 27.2 24.4 30.0 32.6 31.9 5.3 46.6 -2.2 7.9

5 Singapore 21.9 31.0 22.9 21.6 27.7 29.1 4.8 51.4 5.1 5.9

6 UK 24.4 28.6 24.3 23.0 23.3 22.3 3.7 55.1 -4.1 -1.8

7 New Zealand 21.7 23.3 20.6 21.2 21.6 21.2 3.5 58.6 -1.4 -0.4

8 Thailand 14.8 18.5 19.1 19.8 18.4 18.4 3.0 61.7 0.0 4.5

9 Malaysia 12.9 15.5 13.3 15.5 16.0 17.7 2.9 64.6 10.3 6.5

10 India 13.3 19.0 20.7 22.0 20.4 17.4 2.9 67.5 -14.3 5.6

11 Germany 13.5 15.8 14.3 14.8 15.3 15.7 2.6 70.1 2.9 3.0

12 Indonesia 10.4 11.7 11.3 12.8 14.8 14.6 2.4 72.5 -0.9 7.1

13 Taiwan 11.0 13.5 10.7 12.8 13.7 12.6 2.1 74.6 -7.4 2.8

14 Hong Kong 7.5 8.1 7.6 7.9 7.9 7.5 1.2 75.9 -4.4 0.0

15 Italy 7.4 8.3 7.0 7.3 7.7 7.5 1.2 77.1 -2.6 0.3

World 453.5 558.0 502.0 548.6 598.4 604.4 100.0 1.0 5.9

APEC 308.5 383.9 346.7 387.0 428.5 435.7 72.1 1.7 7.1

ASEAN 70.9 89.4 76.3 80.2 88.3 91.7 15.2 3.8 5.3

EU 80.5 92.2 77.3 78.1 81.5 81.6 13.5 0.1 0.3

OECD 242.9 292.1 244.5 259.0 278.7 279.7 46.3 0.3 2.9


Japan$49.8Bn

SouthKorea$21.6Bn

Australia

Thailand

Malaysia$6.8Bn

Indonesia$6.1Bn

NZ$11.1Bn

Singapore$10.3Bn

India$14.0Bn

China$78.9Bn

Taiwan$8.6Bn

Credit Rating, 17 January 2013

Baa3

A3Baa1

Aa3Aaa

Australia is a Partner for Growth in AsiaOf Australia’s top 12 export of goods and services markets in 2012, 10 were from the Asian region

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Cat. No. 5368.0 International Trade in Goods and Services, Tables 14a; ABS Cat No. 5368055004 – International Trade in Services by Country, by State and by Detailed Services Category, Calendar Year, 2012, Tables 5.13; Austrade

Australia’s goods and services exports totalled A$300 billion in 2012. Demand from fast-growing Asian economies ‒ China, South Korea and some ASEAN countries ‒ remained strong. Of the top 12 exports in 2012, 10 were in Asia. Their combined value was more than A$213 billion, making up 71 per cent of Australia’s of total export earnings in 2012.


Australia’s trading relationship with Asia has grown and developed over the last 60 years. In 2011, trade with Asia represented over 70 per cent of Australia’s total two-way merchandise trade. Eight nations in the Asian region are now top 10 trade partners, including China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand, India, Thailand and Malaysia. The USA and the UK round out the top 10. While today Australia is much more integrated in trade with its closest neighbours in Asia, trade continues to grow with the Americas and Europe, and two-way merchandise trade was A$118 billion in 2011.

Australia’s Two-way Merchandise Trade

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Two-

way

mer

chan

dise

trad

e A$

bn

Perc

enta

ge o

f tra

de

Asian Region1 (RHS)

Americas & Europe (LHS)

Asian Region1 (LHS)

1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011Year

3 3 515

41

81

118

1 1 318

54

137

354

1. Including New Zealand and other Oceania countries.

Sources: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Australian Bureau of Statistics; Austrade


Commodities form the backbone of resource-rich Australian exports, with mining and agriculture making up nearly 75 per cent of total merchandise exports in 2012. Although mining investment appears to have peaked, mining exports remain strong. In the five years to 2012, iron ore exports posted compound annual growth (CAGR) of just over 20 per cent, fuelled by strong demand from China and other growth markets in Asia. Demand from Asia has also helped drive the agriculture sector’s CAGR to a strong 15.5 per cent over the five years to 2012.

Australia’s Merchandise Exports by Industry1

A$ Billion

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate.MFG = Manufacturing.1. Calendar year ending December. Australian New Zealand Standard Industry Classification 2006 (Trade version).

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Cat. No. 5368.0 International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, Table 32a. MERCHANDISE EXPORTS, Industry (ANZSIC 2006), FOB Value (Latest issue released 07 May 2013 ); Austrade

Share % Cumulative CAGR % Rank Exports by Industry 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2012 % Share 2007-12

1 Metal Ore Mining 26.7 40.5 38.4 60.7 76.5 66.9 27.0 27.0 20.2

2 Coal Mining 20.8 46.6 39.4 43.0 46.7 41.3 16.6 43.6 14.7

3 Primary Metal and Metal Product MFG 34.3 36.9 31.5 33.2 34.9 33.4 13.5 57.1 -0.6

4 Oil and Gas Extraction 14.2 20.8 15.8 21.0 23.5 25.5 10.3 67.3 12.5

5 Food Product MFG 13.4 15.2 14.2 14.3 15.2 16.1 6.5 73.8 3.8

6 Agriculture 6.7 9.4 10.0 9.4 13.0 13.8 5.6 79.4 15.5

7 Machinery and Equipment MFG 10.9 11.6 10.7 10.9 11.3 11.5 4.6 84.0 1.0

8 Basic Chemical and Chemical Product MFG 7.4 7.6 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.6 3.1 87.1 0.6

9 Transport Equipment MFG 5.7 6.8 4.2 4.2 4.2 4.7 1.9 89.0 -3.9

10 Petroleum and Coal Product MFG 3.4 3.7 2.6 2.6 3.2 3.6 1.5 90.4 1.4

Other Industries 25.0 23.2 22.5 24.7 26.1 23.8 9.6 100.0 -1.0

Total 168.4 222.3 196.6 231.1 261.7 248.0 100.0 8.1


Australia is a top global destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), with total inward FDI stock up 8.6 per cent in 2012 to a record A$549.6 billion. The US and UK remain the most dominant direct investors, making up a combined 40 per cent of Australia’s FDI stock. However, major Asian nations have been fast-growing sources of direct investment, with Japan up 13 per cent over 2012, Singapore 19 per cent, and China 16 per cent.

Stock of Foreign Direct Investment in Australia by EconomyA$ Billion

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2007 to 2012, except China from 2008 to 2012; np = not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated; na = not applicable

Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics Cat. No. 5352.0 – International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics, 2012 (Released 2 May 2013); Table 2. Foreign Investment in Australia: Level of Investment by Country and Country Groups by type of investment and year; Austrade

% CAGR Change % 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 % share 2007-12 2011-12

1 USA 100.9 99.9 98.2 112.1 117.8 131.3 23.9 11.4 5.42 UK 62.4 59.6 61.5 54.9 70.2 79.4 14.4 13.1 4.93 Japan 31.1 36.7 45.6 51.1 54.1 61.2 11.1 13.1 14.54 Netherlands 24.8 19.2 32.4 30.1 32.9 32.3 5.9 -1.8 5.45 Singapore 14.2 10.4 16.7 18.8 20.0 23.8 4.3 19.2 10.96 Switzerland 16.4 19.5 17.8 20.9 22.9 22.5 4.1 -1.6 6.67 Canada 7.2 7.3 12.2 14.9 19.0 21.2 3.9 11.8 24.08 Virgin Islands, British np np np np np 19.2 3.5 na na9 China np 3.6 9.1 12.9 14.4 16.7 3.0 16.2 46.410 Germany 19.8 15.5 18.1 16.8 14.1 13.6 2.5 -3.4 -7.211 France 12.6 12.9 13.0 13.0 7.2 7.6 1.4 5.4 -9.712 Hong Kong 7.2 9.1 5.4 6.6 7.6 7.3 1.3 -3.9 0.213 Bermuda 5.6 5.8 9.7 7.9 6.3 6.4 1.2 1.5 3.014 Belgium 2.9 5.2 5.6 6.2 6.2 6.1 1.1 -2.6 16.015 Malaysia np np 4.5 3.7 np 5.7 1.0 na na16 New Zealand 7.8 5.6 6.2 6.4 5.3 4.3 0.8 -19.3 -11.317 Luxembourg np np 3.2 1.5 3.4 4.3 0.8 24.5 na18 South Korea np 1.0 1.3 2.1 np 2.1 0.4 na na19 Sweden 1.7 1.7 1.3 1.7 1.5 1.6 0.3 4.1 -0.920 India np 0.1 np np np 1.3 0.2 na naTotal all economies 396.9 396.0 441.2 472.6 506.1 549.6 100.0 8.6 6.7 OECD 302.6 299.3 328.9 346.3 367.9 398.3 72.5 8.3 5.6 APEC 174.0 179.8 200.7 233.0 249.4 276.4 50.3 10.8 9.7 EU 136.0 127.7 146.3 137.7 145.8 155.5 28.3 6.7 2.7 ASEAN 17.7 16.1 22.1 25.9 28.1 32.5 5.9 16.0 12.9 Total Unspecified 23.7 23.0 24.3 27.5 30.8 34.5 6.3 12.0 7.8


Australia was the thirteenth largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the world for 2011. Its global share of FDI, measured in US$, remained at 2.4 per cent in 2011. UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2012 shows that FDI into Australia was about US$500 billion in 2011, up from US$122 billion in 2001. This represented a 15 per cent annual compound growth rate over the past decade. As a percentage of GDP, FDI in Australia rose to almost 33 per cent in 2011 from 31 per cent a decade ago on the back of continued strong economic expansion.

Foreign Direct Investment: Inward Stock by Economy

CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate. Source: United Nations Conference Trade and Development (UNCTAD), FDI/TNC database (www.unctad.org/fdistatistics), Web tables 3 and 7; Austrade

FDI Stock (US$ Billion) FDI as a % of GDP FDI Stock – % Market Share % CAGR Economy 2001 2010 2011 2001 2010 2011 2001 2010 2011 2001 to 2011

World 7,478 19,907 20,438 22.8 31.6 28.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 10.6USA 2,560 3,397 3,509 24.8 23.4 23.2 34.2 17.1 17.2 3.2UK 507 1,163 1,199 34.5 51.6 49.8 6.8 5.8 5.9 9.0Hong Kong 419 1,090 1,138 251.7 485.6 467.3 5.6 5.5 5.6 10.5France 384 1,046 964 28.7 40.8 34.7 5.1 5.3 4.7 9.6Germany 272 698 714 14.5 21.3 20.0 3.6 3.5 3.5 10.1China 203 588 712 15.4 10.2 10.1 2.7 3.0 3.5 13.4Brazil 122 675 670 22.0 32.3 27.7 1.6 3.4 3.3 18.6Spain 177 641 635 29.1 45.5 42.1 2.4 3.2 3.1 13.6Canada 214 585 595 29.9 37.1 34.3 2.9 2.9 2.9 10.8Netherlands 283 593 589 70.6 76.1 70.2 3.8 3.0 2.9 7.6Switzerland 89 559 583 34.5 104.9 90.6 1.2 2.8 2.9 20.7Singapore 128 461 519 146.2 207.2 203.8 1.7 2.3 2.5 15.0Australia 122 497 500 31.1 39.1 32.8 1.6 2.5 2.4 15.1Russia 53 491 457 17.3 33.1 24.8 0.7 2.5 2.2 24.1Italy 115 332 333 10.3 16.2 15.2 1.5 1.7 1.6 11.2Mexico 142 330 302 20.8 32.0 26.3 1.9 1.7 1.5 7.9Japan 50 215 226 1.2 3.9 3.9 0.7 1.1 1.1 16.2India 20 205 202 4.1 11.9 10.4 0.3 1.0 1.0 26.2Indonesia 15 154 173 9.5 21.8 20.5 0.2 0.8 0.8 27.5Thailand 33 137 140 28.8 43.0 40.4 0.4 0.7 0.7 15.4South Korea 53 127 132 10.5 12.5 11.8 0.7 0.6 0.6 9.5Malaysia 34 102 115 36.6 42.7 41.1 0.5 0.5 0.6 12.9UAE 2 78 85 2.2 26.1 23.7 0.0 0.4 0.4 43.8New Zealand 21 71 74 39.1 49.9 45.5 0.3 0.4 0.4 13.5Vietnam 23 65 73 70.4 62.9 60.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 12.2Taiwan 35 64 56 11.8 14.9 12.0 0.5 0.3 0.3 4.9Philippines 10 26 28 13.6 13.2 12.3 0.1 0.1 0.1 10.3


Frankfurt New York

5 8

11

6

Perth Sydney

5pm in Perth = 11am in Frankfurt 8am in Sydney = 6pm in New

York

Australia bridges the world’s major time zones, offering 24-hour access for global organisations. Australians start work before their US colleagues go home; they have an earlier start than their colleagues in China, India, Japan, and Singapore; and they end their working day as colleagues in Europe and the UK start theirs.

Time Zone Advantage

Index of Economic Freedom World Ranking 39

Key Indicators of Doing Business 40

Business Efficiency and Environment 41

Worldwide Governance Indicators 42

Global Real Estate Transparency – Composite Index 43

Financial Development Index – 2012 Global Ranking 44 by Economy

Assets of Australian Financial Institutions 45

Global Significance of Australia’s Investment Fund 46 Assets Pool

Australia’s Financial Markets Annual Turnover 47

Size of Key Stock Markets in the Asian Region 48

International and Domestic Debt Securities – 49 Amount Outstanding

SECTION 5

Business

Doing business in Australia is easy. With one of the world’s most transparent and well-regulated business environments, Australia offers political stability and a regulatory framework that provides confidence and security, while avoiding time-consuming processes.

Australia has a sophisticated financial sector that provides access to one of the world’s largest pools of investment funds under management and the region’s third largest pool of bank assets.

More than 18,000 foreign companies are registered in Australia, including 18 of the Top 20 FT Global 500 companies and 8 of the Top 10 Fortune 100.

BuSInESS

Section 5 Business > 39

Australia ranks third in the 2013 Index of Economic Freedom, a position it has held for the past five years. The index is jointly compiled by The Wall Street Journal and Washington-based think tank The Heritage Foundation. It measures freedoms ranging from property rights to entrepreneurship in 185 countries. “Australia’s strong commitment to economic freedom has resulted in a policy framework that encourages impressive economic resilience,” The Heritage Foundation said in its country report on Australia.

Index of Economic Freedom World Ranking1 – 2013The higher the score, the better the ranking

Economic Freedom Score 80 to 100 Free 70 to 79.9 Mostly Free 60 to 69.9 Moderately Free 50 to 59.9 Mostly Unfree 0 to 49.9 Repressed

0 20 40 60 80 100

89.388.0

82.681.481.0

79.479.0

76.976.176.075.7

74.873.5

72.872.7

71.871.1

70.368.0

66.164.164.1

60.658.2

57.756.9

55.251.9

51.0Vietnam (140)China (136)

India (119)Indonesia (108)

Brazil (100)Philippines (97)

Italy (83)France (62)

Thailand (61)Malaysia (56)

Spain (46)South Korea (34)

UAE (28)Japan (24)

Taiwan (20)Germany (19)

Netherlands (17)UK (14)

Ireland (11)USA (10)

Denmark (9)Mauritius (8)

Chile (7)Canada (6)

Switzerland (5)New Zealand (4)

Australia (3)Singapore (2)Hong Kong (1)

1. The 2013 Index of Economic Freedom covers 185 economies and measures 10 separate components of economic freedom (Business Freedom, Trade Freedom, Fiscal Freedom, Government Spending, Monetary Freedom, Investment Freedom, Financial Freedom, Property Rights, Freedom from Corruption and Labour Freedom). The 10 component scores are equally weighted and averaged to get an overall economic freedom score for each economy. The number in brackets in the chart indicates the country’s world ranking.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal and The Heritage Foundation, 2013 Index of Economic Freedom; Austrade


Australia remains one of the world’s easiest places to do business, according to the 2013 World Bank IFC Doing Business report. Australia ranks 10th of 185 economies overall and 4th in a comparison of economies with a large population. Australia was rated second (after New Zealand) in terms of the number of days needed to start a business. The strength of Australia’s legal rights index was superior (10 out of 10), while credit information was deep, with an index of 5 out of 6. Private credit bureau coverage was among the highest at 100 per cent of the adult population.

Key Indicators of Doing Business – 2013

NA = Not Applicable 1. Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1 to 185. A high ranking on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory environment is more

conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. This index averages the country’s percentile rankings on 10 topics, made up of a variety of indicators, giving equal weight to each topic. The rankings for all economies are benchmarked to June 2012.

Sources: The World Bank and International Finance Corporation, Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises (released 23 October 2012); Austrade

Starting a Business

Getting Credit

Trading Across Borders

Enforcing Contracts

Resolving Insolvency

East OECD Asia & High South Hong Economy Pacific Income Australia China India Japan UK USA Korea Kong Singapore

Procedures (number) 7 5 2 13 12 8 6 6 5 3 3Time (days) 36 12 2 33 27 23 13 6 7 3 3Paid-in Min. Capital 13.4 13.3 0 85.7 140.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 (% of income per capita)

Strength of legal rights index (0-10) 7 7 10 6 8 7 10 9 8 10 10Depth of credit information index (0-6) 2 5 5 4 5 6 6 6 6 5 4Private bureau coverage (% of adults) 19.2 67.4 100 0 14.9 100 100 100 100 89.4 58.3

Time to export (days) 21 10 9 21 16 10 7 6 7 5 5Time to import (days) 22 10 8 24 20 11 6 5 7 5 4

Time (days) 522 510 395 406 1,420 360 399 370 230 360 150Cost (% of claim) 48.6 20.1 21.8 11.1 39.6 32.2 25.9 14.4 10.3 21.2 25.8

Time (years) 2.9 1.7 1 1.7 4.3 0.6 1 1.5 1.5 1.1 0.8Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 34.7 70.6 80.8 35.7 26.0 92.8 88.6 81.5 81.8 81.2 91.3

Out of 185 Economies1 NA NA 10 91 132 24 7 4 8 2 1Out of 62 Economies with NA NA 4 27 43 11 2 1 3 NA NA Large Population

Ease of Doing Business Overall Ranking


Australia has one of the world’s strongest, most efficient regulatory environments and is among the most business-friendly economies, according to key global competitiveness reports. Australia ranks highly in terms of ease of setting up a business and the soundness of its banks. According to the Swiss-based Institute for Management Development, Australia has the lowest financial risk factor in the world and the second strongest financial regulatory system.

Business Efficiency and Environment

Sources: (a) World Economic Forum, Switzerland and Harvard University, Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13 (Updated: September 2012, 144 economies); (b) Institute for Management Development (IMD), Switzerland, World Competitiveness Online (1995-2013) (Updated: May 2013, 60 economies); Austrade

South Hong Australia USA UK China Japan Korea India Kong Singapore

Global Competitiveness Report 2012-13 Ranking(a) in:

No. Procedures to Start a Business 3 =47 =47 134 87 29 121 =8 =8

Efficacy of Corporate Boards 4 23 15 91 24 121 75 28 3

Soundness of Banks 5 80 97 71 63 98 38 7 8

Intensity of Local Competition 6 18 5 37 2 11 34 9 21

Prevalence of Trade Barriers 6 50 13 79 115 92 78 4 3

Regulation of Securities Exchanges 7 39 27 58 41 80 28 9 3

Prevalence of Foreign Ownership 8 51 4 99 90 91 84 5 3

Strength of Auditing and Reporting Standards 8 37 13 72 39 75 44 10 5

World Competitiveness Yearbook 2013 Ranking(b) in:

Finance – Financial Risk Factor 1 33 44 45 24 42 25 12 5

Finance – Finance and Banking Regulation 2 31 41 46 30 43 26 4 3

Management Practices – Corporate Boards 3 23 34 24 39 57 27 14 1

Finance – Shareholders’ Rights 7 16 21 54 47 51 44 30 6

Finance – Corporate Debt 8 7 24 47 19 45 28 4 14

Business Legislation – Protectionism 8 10 11 51 30 46 36 4 19

Business Legislation – Competition Legislation 8 14 15 53 9 27 45 38 11

Management Practices – Auditing and Accounting Practices 9 15 29 54 34 58 41 17 7


The quality of governance in Australia is among the best in the world. Strong governance is key to economic growth and security, providing a drawcard for multinationals expanding their businesses or considering Australia as a base from which to do business in Asia.

Worldwide Governance Indicators1

1. Country scores are reported as percentile ranks, with higher values indicating better governance ratings. Percentile ranks indicate the percentage of countries worldwide that score below that country. There are 215 countries or economies surveyed in the report. The six aggregate indicators are based on 30 underlying data sources reporting the perceptions of governance of a large number of survey respondents and expert assessments worldwide.

Sources: The World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators 2012 Update; Austrade

Political Stability Government Control of Rule Voice and Regulatory & Absence of Country Effectiveness Corruption of Law Accountability Quality Violence/Terrorism

New Zealand 98.1 99.5 98.6 96.7 99.5 97.2Finland 100.0 98.6 100.0 97.2 96.2 97.6Sweden 98.6 99.1 99.5 98.6 97.6 92.5Denmark 99.5 100.0 99.1 99.1 100.0 86.8Luxembourg 94.8 98.1 96.7 98.1 98.6 94.8Norway 96.2 97.2 98.1 99.5 91.0 96.7Switzerland 97.6 95.7 95.3 100.0 94.8 92.9Netherlands 96.7 97.6 97.7 96.2 98.1 88.7Canada 97.2 95.3 94.8 94.8 95.7 85.4Australia 95.3 96.7 96.2 95.3 96.7 73.6Ireland 89.1 91.0 95.8 93.0 95.3 82.5Germany 91.9 92.9 91.5 92.5 92.9 72.6UK 92.4 91.5 92.5 92.0 94.3 60.4Hong Kong 94.3 94.3 90.6 64.8 99.1 77.8Singapore 99.1 96.2 93.4 42.7 97.2 90.1France 88.2 90.5 90.1 88.7 82.5 67.5USA 88.6 85.3 91.1 85.9 91.9 63.7Japan 87.7 90.0 86.9 77.9 78.2 79.2Taiwan 83.4 77.7 82.6 74.2 84.4 76.4Spain 82.0 81.0 85.9 84.0 82.0 50.9South Korea 86.3 70.1 80.8 68.5 79.1 55.2Italy 66.4 57.3 63.4 74.6 75.4 65.6UAE 77.7 82.5 65.3 20.2 63.0 77.4Malaysia 81.0 57.8 66.2 33.8 74.4 52.4Brazil 55.5 63.0 55.4 63.8 55.9 46.2Thailand 59.7 43.6 48.8 33.3 56.4 16.5India 54.5 35.1 52.6 59.2 40.3 12.7Indonesia 46.9 28.4 30.5 46.9 41.7 21.2Philippines 55.9 22.7 34.7 48.8 43.6 9.0Vietnam 45.0 33.6 39.9 8.5 29.4 52.8China 60.7 30.3 41.8 4.7 45.5 25.0


Australia ranked as the third most transparent real estate market in 2012, after the US and the UK. This high ranking is a major drawcard in attracting global real estate investors, corporate occupiers, retailers and hotel operators transacting, owning and operating in Australian markets. Australia compares well with other locations in the Asian region.

Global Real Estate Transparency – Composite Index1 – 2012

1. The Index includes five sub-indices: Performance Measurement, Market Fundamentals, Governance of Listed Vehicles, Regulatory and Legal, and Transaction.

Sources: Jones Lang LaSalle, LaSalle Investment Management, Global Real Estate Transparency Index, Global Foresight Series 2012

0

1

2

3

4

1.57 1.

66

1.67 1.

76 1.80 1.85

2.06 2.

16 2.32 2.

39 2.54 2.

60

2.83 2.86 2.92 2.94

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04

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48 1.56

1.57

USA

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UK

(2)

Aust

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Net

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(4)

New

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land

(5)

Can

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(6)

Fran

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)

Finl

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(8)

Swed

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Switz

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Hon

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Sing

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(20)

Mal

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8)

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Sout

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The World Economic Forum’s The Financial Development Report 2012 ranked Australia fifth of 62 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets, ahead of Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany and France. Australia was also rated fifth in terms of non-banking financial services and achieved solid scores in overall financial access (sixth), banking services (seventh), financial markets (eighth) and financial stability (ninth).

Financial Development Index – 2012 Global Ranking by Economy

Sources: World Economic Forum, The Financial Development Report 2012 (released 31 October 2012); Austrade

Non-banking Banking OVERALL Financial Financial Financial Financial Financial Financial Institutional INDEX Access Access Services Markets Stability Environment Environment

Hong Kong 1 10 4 1 4 8 2 9

USA 2 1 5 21 1 38 13 13

UK 3 3 12 2 2 43 8 2

Singapore 4 12 14 10 3 3 1 1

Australia 5 5 6 7 8 9 12 18Canada 6 7 2 13 10 13 9 6

Japan 7 6 27 3 5 19 19 15

Switzerland 8 15 24 16 7 2 6 12

Netherlands 9 13 13 4 17 16 7 7

Sweden 10 32 1 8 15 25 10 4

Germany 11 16 16 12 13 18 11 10

France 14 17 11 19 11 42 22 17

South Korea 15 2 22 20 14 44 42 34

Malaysia 18 14 28 11 24 10 25 21

Spain 19 18 20 5 9 55 28 24

China 23 4 41 17 21 20 47 35

UAE 26 48 21 31 47 4 20 23

Italy 30 24 33 29 18 51 29 32

Brazil 32 11 32 36 32 24 49 46

Thailand 34 42 25 28 33 34 45 33

India 40 9 45 45 28 46 55 56

Philippines 49 21 53 49 34 47 54 39

Indonesia 50 23 54 53 54 35 53 51

Vietnam 52 51 43 32 37 56 56 53


Australia’s mature financial services sector has assets of nearly A$5.6 trillion – nearly four times nominal GDP – and is still growing. This reflects the sophistication and depth of the country’s financial markets which have benefitted from 22 years of uninterrupted economic growth, sound economic management, strong legal and regulatory systems and a progressive, business-friendly climate.

Assets of Australian Financial Institutions A$ Billion

Assets of Funds Under Management (FUM) Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions2 and Total Life Other Other All Financial Reserve Bank Registered Financial Offices and Managed FinancialAt the end of Systems (AFS)1 (RBA) Corporations Total FUM Superannuation Funds3 Institutions4

Dec-1992 822 34 484 265 195 70 39

Dec-2002 2,279 62 1,204 807 481 327 205

Dec-2012 5,590 96 3,182 2,024 1,327 697 288

% of AFS Assets 100.0 1.7 56.9 36.2 23.7 12.5 5.1

% of Nominal GDP 375.6 6.4 213.8 136.0 89.2 46.8 19.3

% CAGR Since 1992 10.1 5.3 9.9 10.7 10.1 12.2 10.5

RBA = Reserve Bank of Australia.CAGR = Compound Annual Growth Rate.Note: The US$/A$ exchange rate was US$1.0384 as at 31 December 2012 (sourced from RBA statistics); the nominal value of Australia’s GDP in the year to December 2012 was A$1,488 billion. 1. The sum may not be accurate due to rounding errors. 2. The combined assets of banks, building societies and credit unions. 3. The combined assets of public unit trusts, cash management trusts, common funds and friendly societies, funds managed by Australian investment managers on behalf of

Australian entities other than collective investment institutions, and overseas investors. 4. The combined assets of general insurance offices and securitisation vehicles.

Sources: Reserve Bank of Australia Statistics, B1 Assets of Financial Institutions (data updated 03 Jun 2013); RBA Statistics, B18 Managed Funds (data updated 31 May 2013); Australia Bureau of Statistics Cat. No. 5260.0 Australian National Accounts (released 5 Jun 2013)


Australia’s pool of funds under management (FUM) is the third largest in the world and the largest in Asia, according to the Investment Company Institute’s Worldwide Mutual Fund Assets and Flows data. The global significance of Australia’s FUM and the maturity of its funds industry underscore its potential to develop as a regional fund management centre.

Global Significance of Australia’s Investment Fund Assets PoolInvestment Fund Assets1, US$, December Quarter 2012

$342bn

$235bn

$157bn

$1,667bn

$1,979bn2

AUSTRALIA

ASIA

CurrentValue

Largestin Asia

Australia

Australia’sProjected Growth

$59bn

Taiwan

$114bn

India

$31bn

NewZealand

$268bn

SouthKorea

$437bn

China HongKong

$1,029bn

Singapore

$738bn

Japan

19901995

2000

$700bn

2005

$1,456bn

2010

2015

$1,148bn

GLOBAL

Australia

$738bn

Japan Brazil Ireland

$857bn

Canada

$989bn

UK

$1,277bn$967bn$1,148bn

Singapore

$1,071bn$1,473bn

France

$2,642bn

Luxembourg

$13,045bn

USAHong Kong

$1,029bn

3rd Largestin theWorld

Note: Circles are not to scale. Data between countries is not strictly comparable. 1. Refers to home domiciled funds, except Hong Kong and New Zealand, which include home and foreign-domiciled funds. Funds of funds are not included, except for France,

Germany, Italy, and Luxembourg. In this statistical release ‘investment fund’ refers to a publicly offered, open-end fund investing in transferable securities and money market funds. It is equivalent to ‘mutual fund’ in the US and ‘UCITS’ (Undertakings for the Collective Investment of Transferable Securities) in the European Fund and Asset Management Association’s statistics on the European investment fund industry. Australia’s investment funds in the ICI survey only include consolidated assets of collective investment institutions.

2. Standard & Poor’s Investment Consulting have assumed: A$1 = US$0.80.Sources: Investment Company Institute, Worldwide Mutual Fund Assets and Flows, Fourth Quarter 2012 (released 5 April 2013); Hong Kong’s data (Non-REIT fund management business), sourced from Securities and Futures Commission, Fund Management Activities Survey 2011 (released July 2012); Singapore’s data sourced from Monetary Authority of Singapore, 2011 Singapore Asset Management Industry Survey (released June 2012); the projected figures of Australia’s investment fund assets were provided by Standard & Poor’s Investment Consulting; Austrade


After surging approximately 23 per cent in 2010-11, Australian financial markets (over-the-counter and exchange-traded) turnover eased slightly by 1.6 per cent to A$125 trillion in 2011-12. The total market annual turnover in 2011-12 was more than double that of 10 years ago, reflecting many years of innovation and development, which has underlined the rapid growth in the depth and sophistication of Australia’s financial markets.

Australia’s Financial Markets Annual Turnover

Sources: Australian Financial Markets Association, 2012 Australian Financial Markets Report; Austrade

0

30

60

90

120

150

2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

OTC Markets – Foreign Exchange OTC Markets – Other

Exchange-Traded Markets

22

17

12

26

16

14

34

19

18

34

26

24

42

19

29

47

24

40

46

26

44

44

26

29

41

26

36

4540

36

48

33

50

A$ T

rillio

n


Australia is home to the largest liquid stock market in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan and the eighth largest in the world. Exceeding US$1 trillion, Australia’s market capitalisation of free-floating shares is about 30 per cent greater than China’s US$871 billion, more than double Hong Kong’s US$459 billion and 4.5 times greater than Singapore’s US$249 billion.

Size of Key Stock Markets in the Asian RegionMarket Capitalisation of Free-Floating Stocks (US$ Billion, 31 May 2013)

Note: The number in brackets is the world ranking of each country or economy (out of 46). Standard & Poor’s capitalisation-weighted indices are float adjusted. Under float adjustment, the share counts used in calculating the indices reflect only those shares available to investors rather than all of a company’s outstanding shares. Float adjustment excludes shares that are closely held by control groups, other publicly traded companies or government agencies.

Sources: Standard & Poor’s, S&P Dow Jones Indices World-By-Numbers: May 2013; Austrade

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1,200

Australia(8)

China(9)

South Korea (10)

Taiwan(11)

HongKong (13)

India(17)

Singapore(21)

Malaysia(24)

Indonesia(26)

Thailand(28)

Philippines(33)

NewZealand (39)

US$

Billi

on

USA (1) 17,979 Japan (2) 3,281 UK (3) 2918 Canada (4) 1,478 France (5) 1,223 Switzerland (6) 1,141 Germany (7) 1,120 Australia (8) 1,111 Global 38,111

1,111

871

716

565

459

337

249

160 154 140

7431


Australia offers international issuers and investors one of the largest, most sophisticated debt securities markets in Asia. These markets have developed over many years, mainly in response to the needs of a large, diverse domestic economy. The Australian Government has underpinned this development with its ongoing commitment to deregulation and its focus on a world-class financial regulatory regime. Australia’s debt securities market remains the third largest in Asia with total amounts outstanding of US$2 trillion, behind Japan’s US$14.6 trillion and China’s US$3.8 trillion.

International and Domestic Debt Securities – Amount OutstandingResidence of Issuer, US$ Billion

1. Hong Kong domestic debt amount outstanding data represents March 2012.

Sources: Bank for International Settlements, Quarterly Review, June Review, Table 11 and Table 16A; Austrade

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

China Australia SouthKorea

India TaiwanMalaysia HongKong1

SingaporeThailand Indonesia Philippines NewZealand

3,77740

1,428

595

1,280

165

62121

35232

3119

2919

132

125

117

8913044 85

445922

Domestic Debt Securities (Dec 2012) International Debt Securities (Dec 2012)

Japan 14,405 184

US$

Billi

on

ABN 11 764 698 227 Date: June 2013 ISBN: 978-0-9807059-7-3

DISCLAIMERThis report has been prepared as a general overview. It is not intended to provide an exhaustive coverage of the topic. The information is made available on the understanding that the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is not providing professional advice. Therefore, while all care has been taken in the preparation of this report, Austrade does not accept responsibility for any losses suffered by persons relying on the information contained in this report or arising from any error or omission in the report. Any person relying on this information does so entirely at their own discretion and Austrade strongly recommends the reader obtain independent professional advice prior to acting on this information.Austrade assumes no responsibility for any company, product or service mentioned in this document, for any materials provided in relation to such products, nor for any act or omission of any business connected with such products. Investors should always consider whether an investment is appropriate for their needs and seek out independent advice as appropriate.

The Australian Trade Commission – Austrade – is the Australian Government’s trade, investment and education promotion agency.

Through a global network of offices, Austrade assists Australian companies to grow their international business, attracts productive foreign direct investment into Australia, and promotes Australia’s education sector internationally.

www.austrade.gov.au/invest

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