The Hindu Business Line : Indo-Australian trade on the rise

INDO-AUSTRALIAN bilateral trade and direct investments in each country are likely to witness major growth in almost all major sectors, both manufacturing and services, during the next five years.

According to Mr Michael Moignard, Minister Commercial of Australian Government, at present Indo-Australian bilateral trade is AS$ 5.9 billion, of which AS$ 4.9 billion are Australian exports and the rest Indian exports. Indo-Australian trade has registered a 37 per cent growth in 2003-04.

Regarding foreign direct investments, he said Indian companies had invested approximately AS$ 1 billion of investment in Australia. A similar amount of investment has been made by Australian companies in India.

Among major investments by Indians, there is the 8-million tonne per annum ammonium plant being set up by the Oswal Group. The Aditya Birla Group and Sterlite have also made significant investments.

At present, a high-level team from Invest Australia is visiting India. The team members are trying to impress upon Indian companies the benefits of investing in the energy sector in Australia. They are looking most at the coal and coking coal industry.

According to Mr Moignard, the Australians are looking forward to Indian investments in diamond, gold and iron ore mining apart from airport infrastructure and material handling.

"We are also open to investments in food processing and retail sector, equipment and services, health and education. At present, the Australian education sector is the third largest destination for Indian students after the US and the UK. We are hoping to reach the second spot very soon. The number of students visiting Australia grew by 40 per cent in the last fiscal", Mr Moignard said.

Mr Anthony Donnellan, Investment Manager in Invest Australia, said the four major Indian IT companies, namely Infosys, Wipro, TCS and Satyam, had already opened outlets in Australia.