Australia's Asia advantage: are we letting it slip away? — with the Hon Tim Watts MP

Yeah, I agree.

If I think about some of our members who have invested in India, they've had to pull out just because they could not make it work.

And a lot of it was cultural-based, not opportunity-based.

And for a lot of Australian companies, particularly our members, when we open up our borders, their first interaction with Asia is actually as a buyer, and that's a completely different relationship.

You're afforded many mistakes.

Yeah.

when you're paying out money.

But the

customer is always right.

That's

right.

But if I'm running a mid-sized Australian company, how should I think about investing in Asia Capability? Is there a return on investment business case that you can make for them?

Look, absolutely.

I mean, it's clear that Asia is home to more of the larger higher growth economies.

It's a great growth play.

It's also a good diversification play.

So if you want exposure to faster growing markets, if you want to diversify your supply chains, diversify your customer markets, Asia is the place to be.

We know there's also good evidence that when you're exposed to these fast fast-growing markets, these dynamic markets, there are internal productivity benefits for your own companies.

So one of the outdated stereotypes about Asia is that it's a scale play.

Actually, Asia is home to some of the most significant technological innovation going on around the world at the moment.

And The more Australian businesses are being exposed to those markets, exposed to those dynamic trends, the more that we'll be able to take not just the economic growth benefits, but the productivity benefits that flow from operating in those markets.

Yeah, I agree.

If we look at Indonesia in particular, there's so many digital unicorns that have come out that Australians could learn a lot from.