Biuro Radcy Handlowego Ambasady Australii w Warszawie

Strong Economic Credentials

An economy positioned for recovery

Australia's reputation as a highly competitive economy continues to strengthen. In 2009, the Australian economy was ranked in the top three countries in the Asia-Pacific region for its overall competitiveness. Among countries with a population of 20 million or more, Australia ranks second in the world, behind only the United States. (Source: IMD, World Competitiveness Yearbook, 2009).

 

For many years Australia has outperformed OECD economies in both growth and resilience of the economy. For six of the last eight years, the Australian economy has been found the most resilient in the world and its average growth rate from 1998-2009 was 3.4 per cent. (Source: Ibid)

 

This, together with a strong and independent financial sector and an effective and proven regulatory financial system, means the Australian economy provides a sound platform for foreign direct investment and business growth.
Australia is a serious trade and investment player, generating more than 20 per cent of GDP from exports and more than 36 per cent from FDI stock and its economy is now predominantly services-based, with services accounting for just over 60 per cent of economic activity. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, June 2008)

Australia’s exposure to and engagement with the Asian region - which still has the most dynamic growth potential in the world – offers a strategic advantage to companies looking to position themselves for global growth opportunities.

While Australia, as elsewhere, has been affected by the global economic downturn, the Australian Government responded quickly to counter recessionary pressures by spending proportionally more and earlier in terms of fiscal stimulus. (The IMF’s aggregate target for fiscal stimulus is 2 per cent of GDP and in Australia fiscal measures account for 2.1 per cent of GDP. This percentage is greater than that of the G20 PPP-GDP weighted average and higher than the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France and Japan - as of March 2009). Australia’s recession looks like it will be smaller than in much of the rest of the developed world. (The IMF World Economic Outlook [April 09] indicates Australia will recover more quickly in 2010 and with higher growth than the UK, US and Eurozone).

 

Looking ahead, the Australian market is open for trade and foreign investment and has the capacity to deploy both our own and other people’s capital carefully and profitably. The Government has not had to give direct financial support to the banking system and Australia will be free of the difficult governance and exit strategy issues that such support is raising in a number of other countries.

 

Few countries have as an attractive proposition to offer to international investment capital and to their own citizens over the years ahead. (Source: Glenn Stevens, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia - speech available from www.rba.gov.au)