AUSTRALIA Your Competitive Edge Garry Draffin International General Manager, Invest Australia Nexia International – Sydney Tax Conference June

2 Strategically located in the world’s fastest growing region

3 Asia's share of world GDP in % Asia's share of world GDP in % Source: Consensus Economics, IMF, Power Parity By 2015 it is forecasted that Asia's economies will account for 45% of world GDP (PPP*), more than the US and Europe combined

4 Australia’s Major Trading Partners Source: ABS Cat Jan 2007, ABS Featured article (Preliminary Feb 2007)

5 Australia’s Free Trade Agreements Australia already has Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the United States, Singapore, Thailand and New Zealand. Australia is currently negotiating a number of other FTA’s with ASEAN/NZ, China, Japan, Malaysia, the Gulf Cooperation Council and Chile; and examining feasibility of FTAs with Mexico and Korea. These agreements will help the unimpeded flow of talent capital and ideas between Australia and other countries.

6 Most Resilient Economy in World Source: IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, various years

7 Strong Economic Growth Source: OECD Economic Outlook 80, Nov 2006 Australia GDP Growth Forecast for Selected OECD Economies

8 Australia is a Services-based Economy Source: ABS, National Accounts, Catalogue , June quarter 2006

9 Industrial Disputes in Australia: Declining

10 Falling Unemployment The unemployment rate is at 30 year low, 4.5% in January 2007

11 Australia is most politically stable country in the world Risk of Political Instability Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

12 Friendly Regulatory Framework Of the 30 OECD countries, Australia has the Fewest restrictions on product markets Least public ownership of business Least restrictive impact of regulation on economic behaviour Australia’s World Rank ( World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 ) CategoryRank Supervision of Companies by Corporate Boards1 st Efficiently Managing Shareholder Value 1 st Transparency in Financial Sector 2 nd Consistency of Government Policy 5 th Source: OECD 2006 and WCY 2006

13 Ease of Doing Business, Australia's Rank 2006 Source: World Bank Doing Business 2007 Rank among 175 countries

14 Strong Patent Protection Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

15 Australia ranked first in Asia Pacific for generating productivity in industry Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

16 World Class Education System Australia has been ranked equally the first in the world for general literacy of its people, and in the top seven in the world for economic literacy (WCY). Australia’s education system ranked the second best in the Asia Pacific and in the top seven in the world for meeting the needs of a competitive economy (WCY). Australian students ranked fourth in OECD for reading and science literacy. Six Australian universities ranked in the top 50 universities in the world (The Times). Proportion of workforce with tertiary degrees is 31%, compared to OECD average of 23%. Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY 2006)

17 Higher Education Enrolment Among World’s Best Gross tertiary enrolment rate (2003 or more recent) Source: Global Competitiveness Report Australia

18 Multilingual Workforce Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2001 Major Asian/Arabic Languages Spoken in Australian Homes, Number of Persons

19 Multilingual Workforce Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics Census 2001 Major European Languages Spoken in Australian Homes, Number of Persons

20 Competitive Telecommunication Costs Cost of a 3 minute international call, 2005 ($US) Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

21 Competitive Electricity Prices Industrial Electricity Prices Source: WCY 2006 Australia

22 Tax Revenue As a Share of GDP Australia Eighth Lowest in OECD Source: OECD, 2006 Australia

23 Low Cost of Living Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

24 Innovative Culture Culture Open to Foreign Ideas: Australia Ranks 5th in the World Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

25 Australia's IT Infrastructure is the most advanced in Asia Pacific Australia Source: Economist Intelligence Unit 2006

26 Internet savvy Internet Users Per 1,000 People Australia Ranks in the Top Four Countries in the World Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

27 Financial Services sector Financial services are one of the fastest growing sectors of the Australian economy, with an average annual growth (real) rate of 4.9% since the mid 1980s First major financial centre to open in Asian time zone. Fourth largest investment funds asset pool in the world at US$867 billion. Seventh biggest foreign exchange market in the world. US/Australia dollar is fourth-most traded currency pair in the world. Australian dollar is sixth most traded currency in world. Eighth largest stock market exchange in the world. The Australian international and domestic securities market is the third largest in the region (ex-Japan), after China and Korea.

28 The Global Significance of Australia's Investment Funds Asset Pool

29 Excellent Quality of Life Quality of Life Is High in Australia Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2006 Australia

30 Most Liveable Cities in the World Australia’s Five Major Capital Cities Rank in Top Eleven Source: Economist Intelligence Unit – EIU 2005

31 Invest Australia

32 Invest Australia Programs Major Project Facilitation High-level information, advice and support to assist projects of major strategic significance to Australia through necessary government approval processes Supported Skills Program Fast track immigration for senior management and specialist employees of companies seeking to invest in Australia. Strategic Investment Coordination Designed to attract to Australia, on a case-by-case basis, projects with significant economic benefit that are viable in the long term and would otherwise have located elsewhere

33 Australia Canberra Sydney North America New York (3 staff) San Francisco (6 Staff) Europe Frankfurt (5) London (2) Paris (2) North East Asia Tokyo (5) Seoul (1) Greater China Shanghai (4) Beijing (2) Guangzhou (1) South Asia Pacific Singapore (2) Mumbai (1) New Delhi (0.5) Dubai (1) Invest Australia Network

34 Solutions for your business Invest Australia provides free, comprehensive and confidential assistance for your business. We provides a range of services including: Connecting you with the right industry and government contacts. Comprehensive information on business opportunities in Australia, the business environment, investment regulations and government programs. Tailor-made information on business costs, skills availability, taxation and research and development opportunities. Expert advice from our industry specialists on Australia’s industry capabilities and strengths. Site visits to identify the most suitable locations in Australia. Business matching to link you with potential joint venture partners. Streamlining project approvals processes. Facilitating major projects.

Thankyou