WWW.IDAIRELAN.COM
Tech Mahindra, one of the top five Indian
IT services companies, has been serving Irish customers since its inception, across sectors including telecoms, energy and utilities, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and pharma. In 2015, the company opened a 300-seater delivery centre in Waterford that primarily serves two major Irish telecom providers. As a further sign of its commitment to Ireland, last year saw the opening of a new Centre of Excellence in Dublin to focus on digital technologies, with plans to recruit around 150 engineers over three years. The latest investment announcement from
India is packaging manufacturer Leetha Industries, which is to create more than 100 jobs over the next three years with the establishment of a manufacturing and supply operation in Co Longford. Leetha Industries is a privately owned
manufacturer of packaging material for the medical, food service and disposable packaging sectors, headquartered in Cochin in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
AUSTRALIA Post-Brexit, interest picked up from Australian companies looking at Ireland as a potential European base. Speaking in Dublin, Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop said, “Many Australian firms have accessed the EU via Britain. With the uncertainty surrounding what a post-Brexit Britain will look like, I believe Australian firms will look to Ireland to fulfil that role.” She pointed out
IDA already has 23 client companies from Australia employing almost 1,000 people and we are seeing increasing interest from the market.” Of the Australian companies already
invested in Ireland, new entrants SiteMinder, Nexvet and CXC Global joined them last year, in Galway, Tullamore and Dublin respectively, and tech start-up phenomenon LiveTiles set up in Sligo (see interview with CEO Karl Redenbach on page eight). Interest from the region comes from
companies in a range of sectors, including financial services, technology, life sciences and engineering, across a range of functions including support services, manufacturing supply chain, and sales and marketing. Agri-tech and travel tech sectors, which are growing industries in Australia and New Zealand, are also emerging and a natural fit for Ireland.
FREE TRADE Negotiations are getting underway for an Australia-EU trade agreement between Australian authorities, led by Trade Minister Steve Ciobo, and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, with Australia hoping for easing of tariffs on commodities including
beef, sheep meat, sugar, cheese, rice, almonds, silicon and automotive parts. Australia is also looking for greater access for Australian services exporters
in sectors including
education, financial and professional services. “We will also explore rules and initiatives to support the digital economy, innovation, and increase opportunities for high-technology start-ups,” says Ciobo. The EU is Australia’s second largest trade
partner (after China) with €48 billion in bilateral trade of goods and €27 billion in services in 2017. The European Commission predicts a bilateral trade agreement could increase goods trade by 37 per cent, and services trade by 8 per cent. Australia imports transport equipment and industrial machinery, household appliances, chemicals, food and pharmaceutical products from the EU, and Australia’s main exports to EU states are minerals, metals and agricultural products. Australia is also a signatory of the
Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, aka TP11, which comprises 11 of the Pacific Rim nations–Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, and Chile. It will take effect in Australia by the end of 2018.
OUTWARD FDI FLOWS Outward, Million US dollars, 2007 – 2017
that not only can
Australian firms look to Ireland as a gateway to the EU, but Australia could return the favour as a gateway to Asian markets– a convenient move given the common language, connections between the two countries and experience of many Irish people having visited and lived in Australia. Honouring the relationship between the
two countries, the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce began a new tradition in 2017, holding an Australia Day lunch in Croke Park. Further to this, President Higgins undertook
a tour to Australia late last year, accompanied by the then-Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald TD, and Martin Shanahan. He commented, “Building geographical
diversity into IDA Ireland’s portfolio is a key goal of our Winning: Foreign Direct Investment 2015-2019 strategy. Australia is one of the markets targeted to achieve this.
YEAR 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
AUSTRALIA CHINA 11,896 30,261 16,409 19,803 1,716
7,889 1,441 307
-16,700 6,011 7,399
17,155 56,742 43,890 57,954 48,421 64,963 72,971 123,130 174,391 217,203 101,914
INDIA 17,026 19,257 16,096 15,968 12,608 8,553 1,766
11,687 7,515 5,048 11,256
Source: OECD (2018), FDI flows (indicator) - Benchmark definition, 4th edition (BMD4): Foreign direct investment: financial flows, main aggregates.
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