Benchmark Report 2016

Australia Benchmark Report 2016

The Australia Benchmark Report 2016 issued by Australian Trade and Investment Commission provides rich data demonstrating why there is no better place than Australia to do business and compares Australia’s credentials with other countries.

 

 

/ HIGHEST GROWTH RATE AMONG MAJOR ADVANCED ECONOMIES

Australia’s economic growth has outperformed its peers for the past two decades without major recession. And the fundamentals are in place for this relative success to continue. According to IMF forecasts released in October 2015, Australia is expected to realise average annual real GDP growth of 2.9 per cent between 2016 and 2020 – the highest among major advanced economies and up from an average growth rate of 2.7 per cent between 2011 and 2015.

/ A DIVERSIFIED, SERVICES-BASED ECONOMY

Australia’s services sector (excluding construction) accounts for more than 70 per cent of real gross value added (GVA). The country’s sophisticated financial services industry is the largest contributor to its economy, generating 9.3 per cent of total GVA.

 

/ THE LARGEST POOL OF FUNDS UNDER MANAGEMENT IN ASIA

Australia’s pool of funds under management (FUM) is the seventh largest in the world and the largest in the Asian region, according to the Investment Company Institute’s Worldwide Mutual Fund Assets and Flows data. The significance of Australia’s FUM and the maturity of its funds industry underscore its potential to further develop as a regional funds management centre.

 

/ A HIGH-GROWTH DESTINATION FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT

Australia presently hosts almost A$3 trillion of foreign investment stock. Both foreign direct investment and other investment (including portfolio investment) have recorded strong growth, up 8.7 per cent and 10.4 per cent each year respectively since 1995. As a percentage of GDP, Australia’s total value of foreign investment stock reached 185 per cent in June 2015, double that of two decades ago.