Business
Australia Private Sector Targets French Pacific
It's part of the big push into the region
A continued push into the Pacific, especially in the French territories, is expected as the new president of the Australia Pacific Islands Business Council (APIBC) takes up office. John Ridgway, managing partner of the Australian-based Pacific Legal Network, succeeded the council's inaugural president Bob Lyon at the council's annual general meeting held in Brisbane last December.
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"Business missions are planned this year to the French Pacific territories, and to Samoa and Tonga to help further develop business relationships," says Ridgway. Ridgway is not new to the Pacific having worked and lived in the region for the past 13 years during the 1990s.
APIBC's focus on these countries does not necessarily leave out the two bigger economies of the region‹Fiji and Papua New Guinea‹as each have their own bilateral arrangements with Australia. But there is growth which cannot be ignored in other smaller nations and significantly in the French Pacific territories.
This is well noted by APIBC and not surprisingly, it has assigned one of its newly elected vice presidents, Corinne Bot, the special task of focusing on French Pacific relations. Undoubtedly, Bot's assignment would be supported principally by the strong network APIBC already has with businesspeople who have interests in a variety of Pacific jurisdictions. They include American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Palau, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Furthermore, the formation last December of the New Caledonia/Australia Business Council (NCABC) has presented yet another useful thread to APIBC's contact web, considering that New Caledonia is Australia's fourth largest Pacific market (after New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji) with Australian exports to New Caledonia totalling A$253 million in 2002. Ridgway welcomed NCABC's formation, forecasting it as a business focal point in the immediate future.
"It is a large step forward in enhancing the growing business and economic relationship between Australia and New Caledonia.
"The APIBC now has strong French language and business capabilities and is eager to work with the NCABC," he remarked.
A plus for the revived connection is the generally better economic performance experienced by these French Pacific territories, particularly New Caledonia. Ridgway attributed New Caledonia's flourishing GDP growth to the current nickel boom along with efforts to develop its tourism industry.
"Obviously, the fact that New Caledonia holds 25 percent of the world's known nickel resources, mining and related industries will provide the country with significant long- term growth opportunities. "The demand for nickel has been strong and commodity prices high.
"The impact on investment by related industries is strong and we have recently seen a contract for a five-kilometre conveyor system being awarded to international companies.
"The country has also embarked on a programme of managed tourism development, where it has ensured key markets are served with the introduction of new Airbus planes owned by the local carrier AirCalin International.
"These new planes will fly to key destinations aimed at developing targeted holiday markets to Noumea." Ridgway says the establishment of NCABC should provide a forum for engaging locally resident Australian companies and partners to exchange views and to facilitate smooth trade and investment relationships.
As the new head of APIBC, Ridgway wants to grow his membership from the current 60 enterprises "and to otherwise advance" the interests of Australian businesses in the Pacific economies and businesses with interest in Australia by:
