Olympic State open for business

Business Asia, Oct 25, 1999

The Olympic Games are less than a year away -- putting New South Wales in the spotlights of Asia and the world. Premier BOB CARR outlines his plan to keep it that way

As Sydney completes its preparations for the 2000 Olympics, New South Wales is surging ahead as the investment and business powerhouse of Australia.

The State's gross domestic product has reached A$200 billion and over the last year economic activity grew more than 6 per cent.

Business confidence is at record levels, fuelled by the State's Triple A credit rating and supported by strong employment growth.

As the nation's foundation State, New South Wales is leading Australia's push into Asian markets.

Traditionally, Australia's trading relations with Asia have been dominated by agriculture and mining commodities.

However, New South Wales' internationally competitive economy is fostering the development of a new trading relationship based increasingly on high technology and service industries.

This new dimension to Australia-Asia trading and investment relations provides the platform for NSW to generate new enterprises in financial services, information technology and biotechnology -- all with the potential growth markets of Asia in view.

The growth of the information economy will be pivotal in this new trading era and NSW has some of the world's most advanced information and telecommunications technology and facilities.

With almost half of Australia's IT&T industry and three quarters of the nation's top 100 companies, Sydney is second only to Japan for telecommunications competitiveness in Asia.

For international corporations, Sydney provides a highly skilled, well-educated and multilingual workforce skilled at operating in Asian and Western business environments.

One in four of Sydney's population is a native speaker of a language other than English, including more than 40 different Asian languages.

Many international companies are taking advantage of Sydney's breadth of language skills.

For example, Citicorp Travel Payment Services has located one of its two global call centres in Sydney and is able to service customers in all major languages 365 days a year.

Sydney's location in a time zone which spans the Asian business day, as well as the opening of the European marketplace and the closing of the US business day, is ideally suited to the "follow the sun" operations of international financial organisations and call centres.

Dow Jones Indexes are among the 150 major corporations which have set up all or part of their regional operations in NSW since 1995.

Together these companies have generated more than 11,000 jobs and A$2.2 billion in investment.

In choosing to locate its regional headquarters in Sydney, Dow Jones Indexes has helped to lock Sydney into the growth of global financial markets, especially those in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia will be a more competitive place to invest and investors in the region will have access to some of the world's most advanced investment products.

NSW is also at the forefront of another of the world's fastest-growing and important industries -- biotechnology -- a world market predicted to grow to about A$58 billion by 2001.

At Sydney's Australian Technology Park (ATP) and associated academic and research institutions, there is critical mass of expertise in biotechnology R&D.

The world's largest healthcare company, Johnson and Johnson, has located its Australian research centre at the ATP, establishing the nucleus for the continuing growth and development of this new millennium industry.

In tandem, the Government has committed A$12 million to the development of a High Performance Computing Centre at the ATP to provide the computer power essential for the high-technology research.

The Government is also implementing the NSW Action Plan for Biotechnology, which focuses on developing the business and management skills in start-up companies to enhance investment prospects and promote exports.

These vital new industries are adding to the diversity and strength of the State's economy.

Together with the strong economic stimulus of the Olympics, the NSW Government has announced a A$13.5 billion Jobs Plan -- six times the capital expenditure of the Olympic Games.

Our goal is create 200,000 jobs in NSW by 2003 -- securing long-term jobs and investment growth for the State.

The plan includes 22 major projects, financed by both the public and private sector, including A$2.2 billion for new city and regional rail links, a A$330 million privately funded redevelopment of the Port of Newcastle, and the A$350 million Visy Pulp and Paper Mill in Tumut in the State's south west.

These projects will be instrumental in delivering the ongoing growth and investment that NSW has experienced in the past two years.

The NSW Government's Post-2000 Jobs Plan is the largest of its kind in Australia and demonstrates strong private-sector confidence in the future of Sydney and greater NSW in years to come.

The State Budget is in surplus.

Business taxes and set-up costs continue to fall, and Government reforms are delivering savings to business of up to 20 per cent on utility charges.