Fast Facts

Key Message: Sydney and NSW is a hub for the Asia Pacific
region

1. Sydney is the business centre of Australia with headquarters of leading foreign banks
and blue-chip international corporations located in NSW

2. NSW is a key economy in the Asia Pacific and the NSW economy is larger than each
of the national economies of Hong Kong SAR, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines
and New Zealand
1


3. Sydney and NSW offer an internationally competitive and compelling location for
global companies to be based as they are home to the largest proportion of Asia Pacific
regional headquarters in Australia
5
NOTE: this is 2002

4. Sydney is the financial hub of Australia, with 80% of all foreign and domestic banks in
Australia headquartered here.
11


5. Australia is currently ranked fifth in the world for financial development. (The Financial
Development Report 2011 World Economic Forum)

6. The financial services workforce of Sydney is around 45% of the size of Londons and
New York Citys
25


7. Sydney is the Asia Pacific hub for banking and insurance, foreign exchange, equities,
futures and managed funds and services to finance companies

8. The Australian Stock Exchange, based in Sydney is the first major market to open
each day and is the 12
th
largest in the world by capitalisation (or the 6
th
largest in terms of
float or freely available share capital) (http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-
nsw/trade-and-investment)

9. Australias ICT market is the fourth largest in the Asia Pacific and Sydneys
competitiveness has attracted 76% of the Asia Pacific ICT regional headquarters and
operating centres based in Australia

10. The wide variety of Asian languages spoken in Sydney and NSW has attracted
international firms looking to establish regional hubs of customer service centres in the Asia
Pacific.

11. NSW is a leading low cost world scale producer of a range of metals and minerals
including coal, gas, metallic minerals, industrial minerals and construction materials (ChinA4-
03-2010)




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Key Message: Sydney is a connected city

12. Sydney has Australias busiest airport, accounting for over 40% of Australias
international aircraft movements and over 43% of Australias international air passenger
movements in 2009-2010

13. Sydney is Australias logistics and transaction gateway with almost 50% of Australias
international air freight tonnage passing through Sydney in the year to J une 2010.
(http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-nsw/infrastructure-and-business-
costs/airport-logisticsairport-movements)
26


14. The bulk of air freight exports from Sydney are destined for Asian markets.
(2009 online competitiveness report) Not stated in the 2010 report (safe assumption given
majority of trade is to Asia)

15. 73% of the States goods were exported to Asia Pacific
(http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-nsw/trade-and-investment/export-
markets-by-region)

16. With extensive links to international markets, the value of NSW exports in 2010-11
was $57 billion

17. Newcastle is the worlds largest international export coal port

18. In 2009-10, over 377,000 tonnes or 49.7% of Australia's air freight was loaded or
discharged at Sydney airport's cargo terminals.
2011 online competitiveness report

19. The NSW Government is presently involved in a number of initiatives to improve
infrastructure and increase capacity. These include broadband, energy, port productivity and
land transport and public transport

20. Sydney is the leader in business investment in R&D. This makes it the best placed
Australian capital city to leverage the capacity afforded by NBN.

Key Message: NSW is the hub of Australias economic activity
and has the most diverse economy

21. In 2010-11, NSWs Gross State Product was valued at $438.59 billion or about 31.3%
of Australias Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

22. The capital city of New South Wales, Sydney, contributes almost a quarter of
Australia's GDP and ranks above both Singapore and Hong Kong SAR in terms of economic
output.
2011 online competitiveness report

23. NSW is a major regional and international hub. Within Australia, it is home to the
following as a percentage of the Australian total:
6

73% of property and business services regional offices;
60% of manufacturing regional headquarters;
2

81% Asia Pacific finance and insurance regional offices;
76% of all information and communications technologies regional
headquarters;
75% of headquarters of multinational pharmaceutical companies in Australia
7

81% of the headquarters of Australias domestic and foreign bank
8
; and
43% of Australian information and communications technology specialist
businesses.
9


24. In 2010-11 NSW had the following share of the Australian total:
Finance and insurance (44% share)
Professional, scientific and technical services (35% share)
Information, media and telecommunications (44% share)
Manufacturing (33% share)
1


25. NSW is a hub of sophisticated and innovative global businesses operating in a strong
and diverse economy thereby providing the capacity to withstand changing economic
circumstances.

26. Big business choose to be based in NSW, with 45 % of the top 500 companies by
revenue in Australia based here.
10
[http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-
nsw/trade-and-investment/location-of-top-500-companies-in-australia]

27. NSW is the leading Australian state for business investment ($48.2 billion
12
) and
more than a third
13
of all of Australian businesses choose to be in NSW.

Manufacturing

28. NSW has the largest manufacturing industry in Australia and is a leader in exports of
manufactured goods, particularly advanced manufactures. (Fast Facts Oct 11)

ICT

29. NSW is the home of ICT in Australia, accounting for 39% of total ICT businesses in
Australia in 2009, and almost 37% of employment in the ICT industry in 2010
2

[http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-nsw/infrastructure-and-business-
costs/information-and-communications-technology-businesses]

Medical

30. The State leads exports of medicinal and pharmaceutical products, worth $1.4 billion
or 4% of total NSW merchandise exports in 2010-11 and professional and scientific
equipment ($0.8 billion) (Fast Facts Oct 11)


31. As at J une 2009, about 34% of medical and surgical equipment manufacturing
companies in Australia were in NSW
3


Mineral resources


1
ABS, Cat. No. 5220.0, National Accounts State Accounts, 2010-11
2
ABS Cat. No. 8165.0, 2008-09; ABS Cat. No. 6291.0.55.003, Feb 2011
3
ABS, Cat. No. 8165.0, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, J un 2007 to J un 2009
3

32. NSW is also a large exporter of mineral resources. In 2010-11, coal exports
accounted for $10.9 billion or 30% of total NSW merchandise exports
20
, in addition non-
ferrous metals exports were worth $2.3 billion or 6.4 % of total NSW exports in 2010-11
21

Financial

33. Sydney is the financial hub of Australia and NSW generates 44% of Australias
financial and insurance services income
24

34. Sydney is the head office location of the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian
Securities Exchange, the International Banks and Securities Association of Australia and the
Australian Financial Markets Association

Food & beverage

35. As at J une 2009, NSW had the largest number of food and beverage manufacturing
businesses of any state in Australia
4


Creative Services

36. Sydney dominates the film, music, broadcasting, publishing, games, interactive
media, software development, advertising, and industrial and virtual design sectors (Fast
Facts Oct 11)

37. NSW is a leader in the area of post-production and digital and visual effects,
generating over $360 million worth of work over the past four years (Source: Screen
Australia), representing two thirds of the Australian total. NSW is home to 80% of motion
picture, radio and television services businesses that are in the top 500 companies in
Australia.

38. NSW dominates the Australian creative services and specialist ICT industries. The
creative industries in NSW employ more than 186,000 people, which is 38.3 % of Australia's
creative industries workforce and the NSW ICT industry employs almost 37% of the national
total the largest state shares in Australia
27

Tourism

39. NSW is the nations premier tourist destination with the lions share of all international
tourists to Australia (51%) in the year ending September 2011 more than any other state
30


Key Message: Sydney & NSW offer a secure business
environment

40. NSW is recognised as financially stable, with the State Government awarded triple-A
credit ratings from both Moodys and Standard & Poors
4
[http://www.business.nsw.gov.au/invest-in-nsw/about-nsw/economic-and-business-
climate/international-long-term-credit-ratings]


4
ABS, Cat. No. 8165.0, Counts of Australian Businesses, including Entries and Exits, J un 2007 to J un 2009
4

41. Australia is in better economic shape than many countries to resist the worst of
overhang of the the synchronised global recession

42. Australia is known for its resilience and stability. (Fast Facts Oct 11)

43. Australian and State Government fiscal response to stimulate the economy has
supported activity (Fast Facts Oct 11)

44. Australian Government and Reserve Bank intervention to provide capital, liquidity and
bank guarantees has helped build confidence in the financial system. (Fast Facts Oct 11)

45. Australia is well placed in the current environment because (Fast Facts Oct 11)
The fundamentals of the Australian economy are sound
Australia has well regulated financial institutions
Australia is in a stronger fiscal position than almost all other developed
countries
Australia is located in a region that is still growing, though at a slower rate.

46. NSW is a low risk business environment and is high ranking in terms of ease of doing
business and low barriers to entry

47. Sydneys business infrastructure is particularly strong, with open and well-regulated
legal and banking systems and long term political stability

48. Companies operating out of Australia have tariff-free access to a large majority of
goods and services to the US market through a free trade agreement

49. Australia ranked third in the world for political stability in the IMD World
Competitiveness Yearbook 2010 and has been ranked in the top four countries for this
indicator for the last 11 years. (20011 online competitiveness report)

50. Australia has a strong and flexible economy, which was the 13th largest in the world
in 2009. The economy has proven its resilience, recording 19 uninterrupted years of growth to
2009-10. (20011 online competitiveness report)

51. Australia's economy was recognised by the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook as
the second most resilient in the world in 2010. (20011 online competitiveness report)

52. Australia has been rated the most resilient economy in the world for six of the last
nine years. For countries with populations greater than 20 million, Australia again ranked first
in 2010, and on this basis has topped this indicator in eight of the last nine years. (20011
online competitiveness report)

Key Message: Sydney bridges time zones

53. Sydney bridges the closing of the US and the opening of the European markets

54. Sydney is the first financial centre to open in the Asia time zones


5

Key Message: NSW has knowledge based economy with
strong R&D and innovation capabilities

55. More than 85% of the States industry value-added accrues to the services sector
3
,
reflecting NSWs strength of its highly developed knowledge-based and technical support
industries

56. NSW is Australias leading services State
2
. Sydney accounts for most of the States
40% of all Australian services exports in 2010-11 ($20.1 billion)
19


57. Operating in a mature services economy, the people of Sydney possess a
sophisticated range of commercial and technical skills

58. NSW is Australias largest exporter of professional, financial, computer and other
business services

59. NSW is a centre for international learning and business

60. NSW is the nations leader in research and development, with businesses in NSW
spending $6.2 billion in 2009-10, compared with $3.8 billion in Victoria and $2.9 billion in
Western Australia (ABS)
34


61. NSW has the highest level of business expenditure on research and development in
medical and health sciences in Australia

62. New South Wales attracted more than 37% of Australian businesses' total spending
on R&D in 2009-10. The State was the location for 50% of national business R&D
expenditure in services, including 78% of financial and insurance services R&D, 53% of
health care and social assistance R&D expenditure and 52% of wholesale trade R&D
expenditure. Additionally, 51% of coal mining businesses' R&D expenditure took place in New
South Wales. (2011 online competitiveness report)

63. NSW is taking a lead role in finding clean and sustainable energy solutions and
Sydney will set a global benchmark in sustainability with the construction of Barangaroo, one
of the worlds first climate positive precincts, commencing in 2011

64. New South Wales boasts 11 universities, two of which - the University of Sydney and
University of New South Wales - are ranked in the top 200 in the world by the Times Higher
Education-QS World University Rankings 2011-12. (2011 online competitiveness report) and
130 technical colleges providing quality education and training to local and international
students


Key Message: NSW and Sydney has a multicultural and
skilled workforce

65. Around 52% of the States working-age population are tertiary educated, the second-
highest proportion of all Australian States
16


6

66. International education services from NSW accounted for $5.8 billion in 2010-11,
representing 37% of the Australian total
22
therebydemonstrating that a large number of
international students are attracted to living and studying in NSW

67. Sydney is one of the worlds most multicultural cities with more than 1.3 million or
30% of Australias overseas-born residents living in Sydney

68. About 200 languages are spoken in Sydney

69. Sydney has the highest proportion of non-English speakers with a bachelor degree or
higher of any Australian city

70. NSW is home to the largest concentration of managers, professionals and skilled
workers of all Australian states

Key Message: The gateway to Australia, Sydney is a great
place to live, work and study

71. Sydney was named as worlds best city brand in 2007 and 2008 by the Anholt City
Brands Index and was ranked second in the world in 2009 (Fast Facts Oct 11)

72. Sydney is also repeatedly chosen by leading international travel publications as the
world's best city for travellers. (Fast Facts Oct 11)

73. Sydney has an excellent quality of life Sydney was rated 10th out of 221 cities in
the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey published by Mercer in 2010 an attraction for global
companies transferring staff to NSW. (Fast Facts Oct 11)

74. Regional NSW offers business opportunities with a more relaxed lifestyle
(Fast Facts Oct 11)

References

1 World Economic Outlook, October 2010, International Monetary Fund (based on estimates of GDP in $US dollars
for 2010)
2 ABS Cat. No. 5220.0, State Accounts, 2010-11
3 ABS Cat. No. 5220.0, State Accounts, 2010-11 (gross value added excludes ownership of dwellings)
4 Standard and Poor's as at 9 December 2010; Moody's as at 22 February 2011.
5 2002 data.
6 Sourced from Invest Australia data commissioned in 2002 unless otherwise specified.
7 Medicines Australia Membership list, J une 2008
8 Derived from APRA's list of Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs), 11 February 2009.
9 ABS Cat. No. 8126.0, 2006-07
10 IBISWorld, as at March 2011.
11 Derived from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's list of Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions, 15 June
2010
12 ABS Cat. No. 5206.0 Australian National Accounts, March Qtr 2011
13 ABS Cat. No. 8165.0 Counts of Australian Businesses, 2010-11
16 ABS Cat. No. 6227.0, May 2011
19 ABS Cat. No. 5368.0.55.003, 2010-11
20 ABS unpublished data, February 2011
21 ABS unpublished data, February 2011
22 ABS Cat. No. 5368.0.55.003, 2010-11
24 ABS Cat. No. 5220.0, 2010-11
7

25 Austrade Data 2011, Financial Services Benchmark Report 2011, September 2011 (data from mid 2010)
26 Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, Year Ended J une 2009
27 ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation as quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald, 15
J une 2009; ICT shares based on ICT occupations, ABS Labour Force Survey
30 Tourism Research Australia, International Visitors Survey (YE September 2011)
34 ABS Cat No 8104.0, 2009-10
35 Office of Science and Medical Research, based on Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence Program
Unit (funding for 2009/10).



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