The Australian Institute of Export is pleased to introduce a new benefit to all our Business Members. The Importers/ Exporters Directory, will list exporting and importing companies from the home page of our website. The listings are only available to AIEx business members. To get your company listed in the directory, you will need to provide the following information:
• Copy of your company synopsis, no longer than 300 words
• Copy of your company logo (jpeg format)
• Contact details: website address and contact telephone number
• Industry sector classification
Users visiting the AIEx website will be able to search for companies by industry and by alphabetical order.
If you are interested in upgrading your membership to Business membership or signing up for membership to take advantage of the listing opportunity than please contact Lisa McAuley on 02 8243 7400 or lisamcauley@aiex.com.au.
AIEx and Chifley Business School now offer AIEX members pathways into higher education. Upon completion of AIEx’s Graduate Certificate in International Business Management or the Graduate Diploma of International Business Management, you can articulate into a Chifley postgraduate program.
Do you want to get ahead in your career? Thinking about undertaking an MBA? Find out more about Chifley postgraduate programs at an information evening.
Reasons to enrol in AIEx and Chifley postgraduate programs
Portable—delivered via distance learning which means you can study anywhere, at your own pace, in your own time
Pathways—articulate into the Chifley Graduate Diploma or Masters program
Affordable—the corporate affiliation rate means that as a member you could not find a better value option.
Isn’t it time you got recognised for your hard work and success overseas?
The 2010 Premier's NSW Export Awards recognise excellence in the export of goods and services by NSW business. The Awards acknowledge the important contribution of NSW companies to the economy through job creation and increased prosperity for the community and for the state.
Regardless of size or location you have the opportunity to enter into the awards. Categories include:
Agribusiness
Arts & Entertainment
Education & Training
Emerging Exporter
Information and Communication Technology
Large Advanced Manufacturer
Large Services
*** Minerals and Energy- including technology, equipment and services to the minerals and energy industries.
Regional Exporter
Small Business
Small to Medium Manufacturing
Small to Medium Services
Asian Exporter
Young Exporter
Innovation in Export
*** Sustainable Exporter
Companies who enter the NSW Awards and win can go on to compete for a National Award and the highly prestigious Prime Minister’s Australian Exporter of the Year Award.
Why enter?
RECOGNITION: Tell the world about your success.
REWARD: Excellence in Export is never a result of one person’s hard work; it’s the work of a team.
REVIEW: Valuable time spent on the application is valuable time spent updating your business plan.
RESULTS: By telling the world that you’re the winner of a prestigious export award, you command instant respect.
Indian-owned mining firm Gujarat NRE Coking Coal has announced plans to
invest $500 million in the expansion of its coal mines in New South
Wales.
The company will invest up to $100 million this year, with the rest to be invested over the next four years.
Gujarat NRE owns and operates two underground coal mines in the
Illawarra region. The company reinvigorated the local industry when it
originally bought two mines that had ceased operations, and invested
over $270 million to revive the mines, creating 450 new jobs over the
years.
Chairman of Gujarat NRE Arun Kumar Jagatramka said, “The proposed
expansion is expected to quadruple production capacity in the two mines
and create an additional 150 jobs, including some apprenticeships, in
the next five years.
“India is our primary export destination, and the demand for coking
coal in India is expected to double over the next 10 years. This bodes
well for the long-term future of our operations in Illawarra,” Mr
Jagatramka said.
Gujarat NRE’s expansion plans include mine development, construction of
access roads and purchase of services and equipment.
The mines, NRE No 1 Colliery and NRE Wongawilli Colliery, together
produce about 1.3 million tonnes of coking coal a year. The expansion
is expected to increase output to about 6 million tonnes a year by
2014-15.
Gujarat NRE Coking Coal is the subsidiary of India’s largest metallurgical coke producer, Gujarat NRE Coke Limited.
Mr Jagatramka said the company sources all technology, equipment and
services for their local operations in Australia.
“We source conveyor products and diesel equipment for the mines from
Valley Longwall International and One Steel provides the roof mesh for
the mines. Some technology and services for our Indian operations are
also sourced from Australia,” he said.
The company is active in the local community, recently providing a $1
million bank guarantee for the local basketball team, the Wollongong
Hawks, to participate in the National Basketball League.
Gujarat NRE received support from Austrade, the Australian Government’s
trade and investment development agency, and the New South Wales State
Government to establish in Australia.
Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner for South Asia, Peter Linford
welcomed Gujarat’s ongoing commitment and said that it was indicative
of the growing interest from Indian investors in Australia.
“Already, Indian companies on the 2009 Fortune 500 list such as
Reliance Industries and State Bank of India have invested in Australia.
Suzlon Energy, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, and leading
global ICT players like Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro
also have a major presence here.
“India’s global foreign direct investment (FDI) increased almost
six-fold from USD 2.9 billion in 2005 to USD17.4 billion in 2008,
positioning India as a major player in global FDI outflow.
“More Indian firms are looking to expand operations globally,
presenting significant opportunities in areas of traditional strength
for Australia. Australian firms wanting to attract investment, and
businesses which facilitate investment projects in Australia like banks
and financial institutions, legal firms, consultancies, and other
support services are the potential winners,” Mr Linford said.
Mr Jagatramka and Mr Linford will also speak at Austrade's Winning
Business in India and South Asia seminars (19 - 30 March) . For more
details on the event, visit www.austrade.gov.au or contact 13 28 78.
There in no doubt that
the Export Market Development Grant Scheme works. Every piece of research
in every study conducted concludes that the Government gets bang for
every buck invested in EMDG and more. It’s important to exporters
too, very important. In a study conducted by the Australian Institute
of Export amongst a sample of over two hundred respondents, 64% said
the scheme was a significant help when they first started exporting.
When asked “if the scheme had not been available, would you have started
exporting, 23% said that they would not have, which is substantial when
you consider the many thousands of companies that have entered the program
since it started in 1974. Equally interesting was the number of respondents
that despite answering that the scheme was not critical in their decision
to start exporting they went on to say “that without the scheme they
could well have pulled out or that progress would have been slower”.
Just as important,
anecdotal evidence clearly supports the proposition that exporters need
confidence in the scheme to pay 100% of their claim or they will simply
cut back on their marketing activity.
So why is the scheme
going to fall short this year and unless rectified fall short in years
to come?
The Rudd and Howard
Governments made significant changes to the scheme including introducing
Intellectual Property, lowering the threshold, adding an eighth year
and increasing the level of travel expenses. The scheme has become so
popular that the number of recipients has grown to over five thousand,
an increase of something like 40%. At the same time, the funding cap
has not been increased to a level that will accommodate these changes.
For the year ended
2008/09, the funding cap was set at $200million. At that level it will
still fall short by an estimated $30M. For the 2009/10 grant year and
subsequent years it reverts back to $150million in the budget forward
estimates, the same as it was in 2006/07. Clearly if that happens, and
no changes are made, the result will be devastating for exporters.
The Institute has a
very clear view on what needs to be done. First the funding must be
lifted to $200million and indexed. To ensure that demand remains within
the cap, elements of the scheme may need to be amended. The maximum
grant could be reduced and the minimum threshold could be increased
but the Institute does not support a reduction in years to five or leaving
the funding at $150million. By reducing the years, the Government would
simply slow the pace of export activity and reduce its return on investment
as years five six and seven are years when better performance prevails.
The Institute is working
at all levels of Government, with associations and the press to get
the message through. This campaign will continue right up until budget
day, 11th May.
In last months issue we discussed the issue of diversity in Australia’s export portfolio and how that played a role in helping us avoid being swept into recession along with the rest of the world. This raised its head again recently when I had the privilege of reading the more than forty nominations that came in for the Australian Export Heroes Awards.
The awards created by the Australian Institute of Export over ten years ago recognise people who have made an outstanding contribution not only to export but to building Australia’s reputation overseas as a leader in many fields of endeavour. This year’s nominations included people from some of our traditional export sectors like agriculture and mining and others from an extremely diverse range of business activities, like avionics, skin care and architecture.
It always amazes me when I’m involved in either judging the export awards or when reading the export heroes nominations that Australians can not only do almost anything but do it to a level that’s worlds best practice. This year’s Australian Export Heroes are certainly good examples.
Take Will Hutchinson who runs Thomas Electronics a Western Sydney company that works in the very complex field of avionics. Will has worked tirelessly for over for over twenty years to gain accreditation and certification from a wide range of international authorities that position his company as a leading supplier of electronic systems and display technologies. His company today is the designated support facility for cockpit display units used by the Australian and New Zealand Defence Forces, as well as over twenty five international airlines.
The diversity goes even further when one looks at the achievements of Queensland based Vivienne Lipke the owner of Icecraft International a company that produces and markets unique ice mould freezing systems used in hospitality venues, hotels and retail outlets in more than 117 countries from Alaska to Zimbabwe. Next time you are in Harrods, an Inter-Continental, Ritz-Carlton or one of more than forty top hotels, the ice sculpture in the ballroom very likely came from a mould made by Vivienne’s family business just south of Brisbane.
And it doesn’t stop there. Alan Oppenheim Managing Director of Ego Pharmaceuticals also joined the register of export heroes this year. Alan after being appointed Scientific Director in 1981 has been instrumental in taking the well known Ego brands first to Cyprus in 1990 then the UAE, Iran, Malta Bahrain and Jordan and today across Asia. For an Australian company to successfully compete in the world of skincare is not only a credit to Alan and his team but to those who have developed the technology required to be internationally competitive.
Going to yet another extreme of diversity is Paul Henry, Senior Principal of the global specialist architecture firm Populous, world leaders in the design of stadia, racecourses, arenas and the planning of Olympic games. Paul leads the Asian region and sits on the Populous worldwide Board. The firm has designed over 1000 projects in 24 countries and during his extensive career Paul has led the team designing the Sydney Olympic stadium, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Buildings Brief, Nanjing Sports Park for the China National Games and the master plans for the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Paul is passionate about Australia exporting its services, knowledge and creative skills. Australians not only love their sport, but when it comes to architecture, stadium construction and starting gates, sport plays a significant role in our export earnings.
Out of the ACT comes another fine example of diversity. David Gaul started his career in the Royal Australian Navy where he spent twenty two years as a naval officer. In 1983 with his partner Ian Croser, David founded CEA Technologies, a Fyshwick based company specializing in the design, development and manufacture of advanced radar and communications solutions for civil and military applications. David and his team have taken their capability to all corners of the earth with projects in Europe, the Middle East and the United States. In 2003 David was awarded the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award and in the same year received the Centenary Medal for Services to Australian Defence.
Education has for many years now occupied a strong position in Australia’s export performance. Max Schroder was one of the people that drove the birth and growth of what is now a major contributor to export. After many years at the University of New South Wales and driving the marketing function of a consortium of NSW and ACT universities, Max took a major career shift into private enterprise establishing the Sydney Institute of Business & Technology (SIBT) in collaboration with and on the campus of Macquarie University. SIBT established colleges here in Australia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Zambia, Indonesia and the UK.
To remain in strong economic shape Australia needs export. For export to remain strong Australian needs to diversify across a range of disciplines. It also needs people like our Australian Export Heroes, who apart from being passionate about the cause are entrepreneurial, focused and willing to make sacrifices to drive their businesses beyond world’s best practice.
One year after Coface's positioning as an international financial rating agency, specialised inrating companies, a first assessment is now available on the ratings attributed to French companies. On December 31st 2009, the majority of companies maintained an "investmentgrade" rating, despite a modification rate for ratings that was much higher in 2009 than anormal year. Coface is calling for a change in the regulations for financial ratings and will file with theEuropean bodies for accreditation, at the same time as the historical actors. Download a copy of the full article here >
The years 2008 and 2009 will remain those of the fifth global credit crisis, the most serious since the Second World War. World growth went from 4.2% in 2007 to 2.1% in 2008 and then to -1.9% in 2009, for an unprecedented growth drop of 6 points.
In this context, Coface’s business in 2009 was marked by:
• An increase in turnover of 3.8%.
• Profits that followed the three phases of the crisis: positive in the first three quarters of 2008, then posting losses in the next three quarters, finally showing solid improvement in the second half of 2009 with a positive profit in the fourth quarter of 2009.
• Strong support from its shareholder: two capital increases that strengthened Coface’s financial solidity far beyond what it was before the crisis.
Comments