Thursday, 10 June 2010
Asian ICT companies look to Australia for global growth
Australia’s burgeoning ICT industry is attracting widespread interest from Asian technology businesses looking to take advantage of one of the region’s strongest economies, according to the country’s trade and investment development agency, the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), ahead of Australian participation at
CommunicAsia 2010 (15th to 18th June).
Kirsten Sayers, Australia’s Senior Trade Commissioner to Singapore, said Australia’s ICT industry is among the most developed in the region.
“Australia’s ICT industry accounted for over 300,000 businesses generating in excess of A$120 billion in 2008. In a regional context, that positions Australia as the fifth largest ICT market in Asia. Importantly, it is also one of the fastest growing, recording an annual growth rate of 12.8 per cent in the five years to 2008 – surpassing the growth rates of markets such as Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan.
“Such a robust and thriving industry creates opportunities for international businesses, either to invest directly or to partner with Australian businesses,” Ms Sayers said.
According to Janelle Casey, Austrade’s Global Leader for ICT, one of the most significant of these opportunities is the A$43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), set to be Australia’s largest ever infrastructure project and aiming to establish a network delivering broadband speeds of up to 100 mbps.
“The sheer scale of the NBN is generating widespread interest from businesses around the world and we believe it creates an unprecedented opportunity, especially for businesses with experience in developing the core requirements of the network.”
Australia is also pioneering the development of sustainable IT, with a recent Frost & Sullivan report highlighting the rapid advances and culture of innovation that has driven the growth of sustainable technology in the country. Ms Casey said there are numerous examples of Australian products and services ready to meet significant demand in South East Asia.
“Australian businesses are among the best in the world in developing digital content for mobile devices at a time when Asian demand for value-added mobile services has never been greater. Indonesia is the fastest growing mobile market in Asia Pacific, while the Philippines can lay claim to the title of SMS capital of the world. The opportunities for creative, innovative Australian content creators are significant.
“We also boast world-leading expertise in energy management, virtualisation and cloud computing at a time when Asian businesses focus their efforts on driving efficiencies and productivity,” said Ms Casey.
Austrade has organised a delegation of over 40 Australian businesses to attend CommunicAsia 2010. Ms Sayers said the event was a key opportunity to promote trade and investment between businesses in Australian and ASEAN.
“Australia has a strong regulatory framework aimed at encouraging foreign investment and fostering partnerships between Australian firms and their Asian counterparts.
“Australia also boasts a highly-skilled workforce, sophisticated R&D infrastructure and a history of technological innovation, positioning the country as an ideal investment destination and our companies as excellent partners for regional firms looking to grow internationally,” Ms Sayers said.
Collectively, ASEAN is Australia’s second largest trading partner with two-way trade valued at A$82.9 billion in 2008-09. Trade between ASEAN and Australia will be further enhanced by the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), which came into effect on 1st January this year.
The Australian National Pavilion at CommunicAsia 2010 can be found at Hall 3 – Stand 3J1 at the Singapore Expo. The country’s largest ICT research organisation, NICTA (National ICT Australia) will showcase some of their latest projects. The State Governments of New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria will also participate.
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About the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade):
The Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) is the Australian Government’s trade and investment development agency. We help companies around the world to source goods, services and investment from Australia as well as identify and take up investment opportunities in Australia. For information on the significant opportunities Australia offers investors and importers, visit the Austrade website
at www.austrade.gov.au
Austrade Investment Seminar for potential investors:
Date: Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Time: 5.00 – 6.00 pm
Venue: Australian High Commission Theatrette, 25 Napier Road, Singapore
For more news and information visit: www.austrade.gov.au/mediacentre