Australia's sound financial system and strong fiscal position relative to many other developed economies has allowed the Australian economy to weather the global financial crisis better than any other advanced economy.
The Financial Services Working Group is a forum where members from financial services firms operating in China and those associated with the financial services sector, can share information, views and experiences on operating in China. The Group also provides a valuable platform for communication with Australian Government representatives in China on barriers and issues that Australian financial services firms experience operating in the China market. Leveraging on the strength and reputation of Australia's financial system, the Group also aims to create a dialogue with key local officials around issues of mutual interest.
The Group holds regular meetings and, over time, plans to develop a raft of activities to stimulate discussion on financial services industry issues that may include inviting key speakers from both a local and Australian perspective to discuss aspects of the financial system's operation in China and Australia, dialogue with visiting Australian Ministers and financial services industry business leaders and collaboration with other country Chambers of Commerce on financial services industry issues of mutual interest.
The Working Group is committed to developing a program of engaging speakers both from Australia and locally. Marketed under the "Leadership in Finance Speaker Series" and kindly sponsored by Mallesons Stephen Jaques, speakers of the calibre of Gail Kelly (CEO and MD, Westpac Banking Corporation), Rob Whitfield (Group Executive Institutional Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation) and Gilles Plante (CEO North East Asia, Europe and America, ANZ Bank) have already been attracted to address AustCham members. Plans are being developed to hold further events under this banner in 2010 that will focus on local speakers, Australian business leaders and Government representatives.
Past Events
1 December 2009: Inaugural Financial Services Working Group Meeting - with representatives from a range of financial service operations, this
meeting laid the groundwork for plans to promote Australian
financial services in China in the coming year. Following this meeting, the Working Group will be launched in a more formal manner with updates on the
current state of play, Australia's strategic objectives, the FTA and
other topics.
24 March: Navigating the Post Global Financial Crisis World - an Australian perspective - AustCham members and their guests in attendance were treated to a thought provoking and inspirational presentation by Gail Kelly, CEO and MD, Westpac Banking Corporation and Rob Whitfield, Group Executive, Institutional Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation, that covered leadership, corporate values and strategy as well as lessons learnt from the global financial crisis. Pictures from the event can be found here
29 March: Financial Services Working Group Meeting - Mr John Larum, presented an overview of recommendations contained in the Johnson Report - "Australia as a Financial Centre" and covered the implications for witholding tax, insurance payroll tax, offshore banking units, funds management vehicles, retail corporate bond market (in Australia) and the concept of an Asian Funds Passport. John has a long and distinguished career in the financial services sector and worked on development of the Johnson Report.
2nd April: John Larum Roundtable Discussion - held at the Kempinski Hotel, John engaged in discussion with members of the AustCham Beijing Financial Services Working Group around inbound foreign direct investment into Australia and the future of the regulatory regime that governs such investment. Members present were able to make valuable contributions from a local perspective including some perspectives on local attitudes to existing policies and arrangements.
12 April: Roundtable Luncheon with Gilles Planté - Financial Services Working Group members and their guests were treated to a wide ranging presentation that covered the global economic state of play and what might be in store for currencies including the Australian dollar and the Chinese Yuan. Gilles has many years of global banking experience and brought a unique global perspective to Beijing through his presentation and perspective on movements in commodity prices, global financial markets and current economic affairs. A copy of Gilles' presentation can be found in the members only section of the AustCham website. Pictures from the event can be found here
1 June: Joint Financial Services Working Group Meeting - June marked the 1st JFSWG aimed at providing members from Beijing and Shanghai with a "country" level insight into the challenges and issues faced by Australian companies in China. Key on the agenda was the discussion of the formation of a Position Paper. The development of such a position paper will be useful business intelligence for Australian Government Officials and also Australian businesses seeking to enter the Chinese market. Attending the meeting was a guest speaking from the AmCham Financial Services Working Group, Mr Joshua Kurtzig. After much discussion it was acknowledged that China has expressed substantial interest in learning from the Australian experience and members believed that this provides a potential leverage and engagement mechanism fro the Group with Chinese financial regulators that should be capitalised on. From this a number of initiatives were proposed in order to identify key areas that should be addressed in the Position Paper. Copies of the minutes of this meeting can be found here in the members only section.
7 July: Joint Financial Services Working Group Meeting -In July the JFSWG met again to discuss in more detail the direction for the Position Paper. The first point of order was to seek feedback from members on the key issues that individuals were requested to research as an action point of the last meeting. The result was the highlighting of four key areas in which the the Position Paper would focus its attention. These four key areas were highlighted for their relevance to the Australian finance industry for the influence they have on Australian businesses and companies operating in China. Copies of the minutes from this meeting can be found here in the members only section.
