Reasons why you should invest in Australia

CANBERRA: Australia’s economic resilience and potential provide a safe, low-risk environment in which to do business. The country’s economy is rated AAA by all three global rating agencies and is forecast to realize average annual real GDP growth of 2.9 per cent between 2016 and 2020.

The Australian economy is the world’s 12^th largest, in its 25th year of uninterrupted annual growth, supported by high productivity levels, with 15 out of 20 industries rating above the global average, an important contributor to five sectors expected to drive future global growth: agribusiness, education, tourism, mining and wealth management, home to the largest pool of funds under management in the Asian region.

Australia is committed to innovation and science, recognizing that it underpins the country’s growth, economic prosperity, competitiveness and job creation.

To foster creativity and entrepreneurship, the Australian Government has launched a National Innovation and Science Agenda – a suite of initiatives to encourage Australians to take on new ideas, embrace risk, increase collaboration between industry and researchers, and develop and attract world-class talent for the jobs of the future.

Australia offers modern ICT infrastructure, high levels of investment, generous research and development (R&D) tax incentives for businesses and strong intellectual property protection.

Australia is supportive of high-quality research outcomes and entrepreneurial activity, committed to R&D, with gross expenditure on R&D growing at twice the OECD average, rated fifth in a ranking of the world’s top 200 universities by five key subject fields, home to some of the world’s best academic and research institutions.

The Australian labor force is one of the most educated, multicultural and multilingual in the world.

Australia has the world’s highest secondary education enrolment rate, is ranked ninth in the world for the talent of the people it produces, attracts and retains, has a culturally diverse workforce where almost 30 per cent of workers were born overseas, has experienced a sustained period of labour productivity growth exceeding growth in real wages, is the third most popular study destination for international students and a ‘first choice’ education destination within the Asian region.

Australia is geographically close to and has longstanding trade, investment and cultural ties with the Asia-Pacific region.

Existing and new trade agreements are set to drive the flow of goods, services and investments between Australia and its major trading partners in Asia, Europe and North America.

Australia has an open trading economy where two-way trade in goods and services totalled A$664 billion in 2014 (42 per cent of GDP), ten of the country’s top 12 goods and services export markets were in the Asian region, foreign investment stock totalled almost A$3 trillion as at June 2015, inward foreign direct investment stock reached A$688 billion in 2014, up 40 per cent from 2009 figures.

With one of the most transparent and well-regulated business environments in the world, Australia’s political stability and regulatory framework provide investors with confidence and security.

For seven years in a row, Australia has been ranked in the global top five on the Index of Economic Freedom. The cost of remuneration for professionals and prime office space is among the most competitive in the world.

Australia’s financial services sector has assets of more than A$7 trillion, over four times Australia’s nominal GDP, the world’s fourth largest pension assets pool, the third largest liquid stock market in the Asian region after Japan and China, strong financial market turnover.