"Talk of the Trade ~ Australia-China Success Stories" - In the 30th anniversary year, it is timely to take pride in the great and celebrated advances in the Australia-China bilateral trading relationship. From its humble beginnings with Federal Government sponsored sheep shearing demonstrations at the biannual Canton Fair, Australian exports and expertise are winning hotly contested supply contracts and are enjoying business collaboration for the development of China's key new industries and operational systems. Here are three big reasons to celebrate...
Northwest Shelf Australia LNG - Guangdong LNG Supply Contract
Publicly announced in August 2002 and formalised as recently as 18th October this year, Australia LNG (ALNG) has been contracted as the liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier for the initial phase of its Guangdong LNG terminal. The contract oversees ALNG's supply of 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per year and is Australia's largest ever export contract valued at about $A 25 billion over the contract period of 25 years. The deal will single-handedly boost Australia's exports to China by a meteoric 15% and it positions Australia as a key partner in China's rapidly growing energy industry.
ALNG is backed by the six equal joint venture participants in the North West Shelf Gas Project (NWSGP). partners. Australia's Woodside Energy Ltd. is the operator of the project. Other partners include BHP Billiton, Chevron, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell and Japan Australia LNG (MIMI). The gas will be sourced from Australia's North West Shelf (NWS) gas fields, liquefied onshore by chilling to -162 degrees celcius and it will then be shipped to a new import terminal to be built near Shenzhen. Once received, the LNG will be regassified and piped throughout Guangdong province and Hong Kong, for use in power generation and gas reticulation systems which will satisfy residential and industrial demand for clean energy.
The deal, which is a boon for the Australian energy industry, will lead to the development of new infrastructure on the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia, creating thousands of new jobs. It is also estimated that Australian taxpayers will receive an additional A$50 million a year in royalty payments. The contract underscores Australia's reputation as a reliable, competitive and stable supplier of high quality LNG to the region. Being awarded LNG supply against very tough international competition also means that there is potential for the relationship to be extended and diversified, as demand for clean gas expands and future supply must also be put in place.
Rio Tinto - HISmelt Plant
In April 2002, Rio Tinto announced its plans to develop a landmark A$400 million (US$208 million) HIsmelt plant at Kwinana in Western Australia. The HIsmelt process is a revolutionary new direct iron-smelting technology and is the culmination of research and development conducted by Rio Tinto over the last 20 years. The Federal and Western Australian governments worked cooperatively to ensure that this new technology was developed in Australia rather than overseas.
The HIsmelt technology produces iron and steel using cheaper and lower quality raw materials. The plant will therefore substantially increase global demand for Australia's reserves of iron ore by consuming the unsaleable higher phosphorous fines found in vast quantities in the Pilbara. It will also encourage a cleaner steel industry as it does not require coke ovens and sinter plants and produces less greenhouse gas per tonne of hot metal. There is also potential for further economically viable development such as the construction of a steel plant at Kwinana. This could bring the total investment in the new HIsmelt project to A$1.2 billion (US$625 million).
The HIsmelt expansion project will operate as a joint venture between Rio Tinto and Chinese steelmaker Shougang Corporation, as well as US Steelmaker Nucor Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation. The plant is expected be commissioned in late 2004 and reach full production in the first half of 2006. Through Rio Tinto's joint venture partners, there is a very substantial opportunity for Australia's HIsmelt technology to become widely adopted in China.
Beijing AustChina Technology Limited
Beijing AustChina Technology Limited is a Beijing based company representing Australian and New Zealand high technology software and hardware products, has stated that in 2003 they have been successful in selling a very important and strategic computer monitoring software system to the Beijing International Commercial Airport. The software was originally introduced into China 2 years ago, is from a North Sydney software house.
The software is installed on mainly networked PC systems and medium to large mainframe computer sub systems especially where high volume, real time transaction processing is required, the user profile includes Banks, Stock Exchanges, Insurance companies, Telecommunications companies.
The software monitors CPU's, Memory, Hard Drives, Databases, Network & Internet interfaces and continually monitors each device and anticipates problems arising. It can trigger an alarm prior to problem or trigger an event which can automatically clear a problem prior to it becoming an issue. The product ensures non-stop computing which is critical to the airports operation.
Over a year ago the airport computer systems "crashed" causing chaos at the airport therefore the management looked around for a solution. Beijing AustChina Technology responded and eventually, after about a year of searching and testing, was given the contract against giants such as IBM, HP and Computer Associates.
The product has pedigree of being installed in the top 4 banks in the world, the 7 top Telecommunications companies, top 4 Stock Exchanges, top 5 Oil Companies and 3 of the top 5 computer manufacturers including IBM, Dell and HP.
This sale was the first of 8 departments at the airport. The first department has already been installed and is running live. This system has also been invited to present and demonstrate the product to the Shanghai Airport authorities.
This product demonstrates the expertise of Australian IT and its flexible application in markets like China.
