Basic foreign, international trade, etc. policies: Australia has an open economy with very little Governmental control. Few public utilities like telecommunications, power, airports and railways are in Government hands but there is a gradual yet deliberate movement towards their privatisation. The Federal Government exercises total control over the defence sector and certain aspects of oil exploration and development but in the latter case, the norm would be towards exercising licensing and excise policies in terms of control.
Membership of major multilateral and regional organizations: APEC, CER, ARF, Commonwealth.
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Major industries, global companies, etc.: The economy is predominantly dependent on the extractive sector, be…
Major industries, global companies, etc.: The economy is predominantly dependent on the extractive sector, be it agriculture or resource economy. Australia has substantial reserves of important minerals. It is the world’s largest supplier of coal and a major supplier of bauxite, iron ore, lead and zinc and other minerals. It also has significant deposits of nickel, copper, gold, silver, uranium, diamonds and tungsten. It has huge reserves of crude oil. Australia is a natural gas exporter. Australia has 13% of the world share of economically recoverable reserves of lead. It accounts for 12% of iron oxide, 11% of bauxite and 10% of zinc. Australia’s share of mineral sand deposits is very high with the presence of 31% of the world’s ilmenite, 15% of rutile and 27% of zircon. It has 30% of the world’s low-cost uranium reserves.
Australia is the world’s largest wool producing country(first in world export ranking), wheat is Australia’s largest crop (fourth in world export ranking) and sugar is widely cultivated (first in world export ranking). With an extensive rural base and a large bovine population, export of meat, beef and veal, (first in world export ranking) including livestock takes place in significant quantities. Australia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of bauxite and alumina and the third largest producer and exporter of aluminium. Australia’s diamond production is the largest in the world for both gem/near gem and natural industrial diamond categories.
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Despite the strong role of the extractive industry in the Australian economy, the contribution of…
Despite the strong role of the extractive industry in the Australian economy, the contribution of the manufacturing and service sector to the economy is considerable. In the industrial sector, construction, communications, machinery and manufactures play a significant role. The services sector has been seen as the largest and fastest growing sector in the Australian economy. This sector employs around 7.5 million people, representing 82% of the total employment and contributes to around 70% of Australian GDP. Within this finance, property and business services constitute 17.8% of GDP; retail and wholesale trade 10% of GDP; transport and communication 7.7%; and construction 7%. About two thirds of the estimated private sector businesses are in the service industries area. Manufacturing contributes to 13% of GDP.
Investment: In terms of Australian investments overseas and international Investments in Australia as on September 30, 2004, outward investment by Australia was reported at A$ 544.9 billion and inward investment at A$ 1068.4 billion. The major Australian investments were in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong. The main investors in Australia were the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Japan. China continued its creeping presence in the Australian resources sector by investments I the areas of minerals and petroleum and natural gas.
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