MY MARKET

... australasia

Zealand. He has been based in Sydney for the past three-and-a-half Some 1,500 UK companies do business with the two countries every day

training and ICT – in the main cities. There is a concentration of aerospace companies in Melbourne and Adelaide and a biotechnology cluster in the former. Auckland is the business and commercial centre of New Zealand and there are science and biotechnology opportunities around the country’s university towns. New Zealand has an open, nimble and effi cient economy that relies heavily on exports. Its pioneering spirit is inspiring, making it a good place for UK entrepreneurs and clever companies to build export markets. All three nations enjoy a friendly rivalry

around sport. There is much excitement about the forthcoming Rugby World Cup. More than 85,000 international visitors are expected in New Zealand during the tournament, with 20,000 of

these being British supporters. Sport not only keeps the conversation going but also provides a hook for business. UK Trade & Investment has taken every advantage of this by arranging a series of business events to coincide with the World Cup. Australia and New Zealand are a long

way from the UK, but the opportunities are enormous. We can help identify contacts and competition and facilitate meetings while you are here. Once they start exporting, many companies set up an operation here to have local people supporting their products and use the base to do further business in Asia. Apart from anything else, both countries are beautiful, welcoming and lovely places in which to live and do business.”

AUCKLAND

AS NEW ZEALAND’S fastest- growing region, its largest city with a population of more than 1.5m, Auckland is easily the country’s main centre for business. It has the largest port and airport facilities and is close to the Waikato region, which is the agricultural heartland and accounts for fi ve per cent of national GDP.

CHRISTCHURCH THE CITY’S main industries

LET’S DO BUSINESS TO LEARN more about Australasia, contact

Paul Noon on +61 (0)2 8247 2210 or email paul.noon@fco.gov.uk. Follow UKTI on

include agriculture, technology, education and tourism. The bill from the recent earthquake ran to more than NZ$16bn, but has created large-scale business opportunities for affordable, quick- build housing, with the longer term construction of a bigger Central Business District.

springboard | 25