Australia’s role on the world stage
Despite its somewhat remote geographical location, Australia has an important role to play in global trade. The country has strong economic and cultural ties to APAC (Asia-Pacific), and many major multinationals have APAC regional headquarters in Sydney or Melbourne – the decision to locate here is often driven also by the availability of highly skilled local labour.
The country is a leading provider of goods and services that are in high demand across the global economy: for example, Australia is one of the world’s top five exporters of minerals and fuels, and it boasts significant reserves of iron ore, gold and liquefied natural gas (LNG). It is also one of the world’s top 14 agricultural producers.
Most of Australia’s existing principal export partners are located in east Asia, and a network of 14 free trade agreements – covering around 70% of the country’s trade – gives Australian companies preferential access to these fast-growing markets.
Businesses from the United States, the UK, Belgium, Japan and Hong Kong have been the biggest investors in recent years. “We continue to see a strong appetite for overseas acquirers to continue pursuing Australian assets,” Matt says. “This is aided by the use of deal-related technology and a willingness on the part of overseas businesses to accommodate the government’s extended foreign investment approval process.”