Deloitte Australia have released their Positioning  for Prosperity report this week and Deloitte  identifies five “super-growth industry sectors” that they forecast will collectively contribute an additional $250 billion to the Australian economy over the next 20 years. These five industries would form the backbone of a powerful new diversified...

Middle power meets Middle Kingdom: Abbott looks to China Tony Abbott’s initial forays into foreign relations are exceeding expectations. True, the bar was set pretty low for many critics, but the new team is clearly intent on sending positive signals about the importance of Asia in particular. The big...

In the dairy world, bigger is better, says David Williams, who is advising Bega Cheese Ltd on its attempted takeover of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Ltd. Williams, founder of boutique advisory firm Kidder Williams, forecasts further Asian investment in dairy exporters along the lines of a deal last year...

Senior federal government ministers say any proposal by Indonesia to buy Australian farmland for cattle grazing will be under joint venture arrangements.accoeding to SKY News Australia. The Indonesian government has expressed interest in acquiring a large tranche of pastoral land in northern Australia to breed cattle, but the proposal...

AA Co Chairman Donald McGauchie gives his views on  Australia’s potential role as a food bowl for Asia, the likelihood of foreign investment in Australian agriculture
,the branding and marketing of Australian agricultural exports, the need for sustained R&D in the agricultural sector to lift productivity levels and AACo’s plans...

Problems with Australia’s foreign investment review system are more rooted in perception than in reality. Many of the gripes we hear from Chinese miners about confusing laws and taxes, environmental standards and stakeholder concerns are just the growing pains of a sector that is still finding its way on...

Since the beginning of the global crisis in 2007-08 I have argued that the crisis was a consequence primarily of global trade imbalances generated by structural features that led to significant saving imbalances in China, the US, and within Europe. I describe this model in more detail in my...

Beef, boats and elections: what’s in store for the Australia-Indonesia relationship Somehow, the debate on Indonesia-Australia relations has got stuck on Bali, beef and boats.While there is no point pretending that either beef or boats are about to disappear as issues any time soon, we need to broaden the...

“Hedge funds and Asian buyers, especially from China, are analysing mining companies and agricultural businesses including dairy, cattle and wheat farms that are in distress with a view to take controlling or minority stakes. Turnaround and insolvency experts, lawyers, bankers and hedge funds themselves say they expect the mining...

The requirement that investments from China over $248 million be referred to the Foreign Investment Review Board for approval is reportedly a sticking point for Australia-China Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Beijing wants the review-free threshold raised to $1 billion in line with concessions offered to American and New Zealand...