Moore Stephens welcomes the long awaited China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA). The agreement paves the way for a range of benefits that under the agreement are currently only available to Australia.

Australian businesses have been given a significant opportunity to capitalise from this agreement. ChAFTA offers Australia an exclusive agreement that allows for the removal and reduction of tariffs and greater flexibility for Chinese/Australian investment. Agriculture, mining/energy and resources, investment, trade in services and financial services are all set to benefit from ChAFTA.

So how does ChAFTA benefit you? Let’s break down the benefits by industry.

Agriculture:

• Significant cuts or removal of tariffs for agricultural exports including dairy, beef, sheep, wine, seafood and horticulture.

This is great news for those in agriculture as the trade barriers are lifted for the greater flow of goods. Most of these changes are set to take place within 4-9 years, however with some tariff cuts taking effect from day one of ChAFTA, including the export of barley and some grains.

Mining/energy and resources:

• Tariffs on all resources and energy products including aluminium oxide and  coking coal to be removed on day one of ChAFTA

• Removal of tariffs on resources such as thermal coal, refined copper and alloys, iron ore, gold and liquefied natural gas are also part of ChAFTA

• A wide range of Australian manufactured goods including pharmaceutical products will have tariffs removed.

This is a welcome reprieve for mining, energy and resource companies who will gain significant benefits from these tariff cuts. Within four years of ChAFTA being ratified we will see around 99.9% of China’s imports of resources, energy and manufactured goods entering tariff free.

Investment:

• Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) screening threshold will be increased for private companies from China investing in non-sensitive areas from $248 million to $1.078 billion  

• The Australian government will screen investment proposals by private investors from China in agricultural land valued from $15 million and agribusiness from $53 million 

• Inclusion of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism to allow Australians to invest in China with greater confidence 

• China and Australia have agreed to review bilateral taxation arrangements including

The relaxation and greater flexibility between Australian- Chinese investments unlocks the door to unprecedented investment opportunities between the two nations. The Australian government has maintained protection of certain industries including sensitive sectors consistent with all FTAs.

Trade in services (tourism, health care and education):

• Ability for wholly owned Australian tourism and health providers to build and operate hospitals, hotels and other facilities in China

• Growth opportunity for Australian education sector to add a further 77 institutions to the existing 105 Australian education providers that can take overseas students

• Australian law firms will be able to establish commercial associations with Chinese firms in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

We have seen a fundamental shift in Chinese economics and culture over the years especially in the demand for education, tourism and health care. ChAFTA opens up significant opportunities for Australian providers to invest in the Chinese market.

Financial Services:

• Establishment of a Renminbi clearing bank in Sydney allows Australian financial institutions to invest Chinese currency in Chinese financial products, including securities.
• Australian securities brokerage and advisory firms will be able to provide trading accounts, custody, advice and portfolio management to Chinese investors allowed to invest offshore

ChAFTA gives Australian banks and financial service companies access to one of the most powerful economies on a more level playing field. We also see a greater working relationship established between ASIC and the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission as they identify a range of areas for further cooperation in their frameworks.

Moore Stephens Australia has demonstrated experience in supporting bi-lateral business arrangements with China.  In addition, being part of the Moore Stephens International network, we have access to specialists globally including mainland China and Hong Kong.

To understand what the implications of ChAFTA means to you and what opportunities may exist for your business, please contact your Moore Stephens partner at your earliest convenience.

Contact

Raelene Berryman
Partner, Business Services
Moore Stephens Sydney
+61 2 9881 3601
rberryman@moorestephens.com.au

• Financial assistance for IP-related expenditure including patenting and trade mark protection costs, searching costs, freedom to operate advice and licensing costs.

• Priority given to identified growth sectors: food and agribusiness; medical technologies and pharmaceuticals; advanced manufacturing; mining equipment technology and services; and oil, gas and energy resources.

As part of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Programme, the Australian Government has now launched ‘Accelerating Commercialisation’, an initiative designed to provide assistance for the commercialisation of intellectual property.  Administered by AusIndustry, this replaces the previous government’s Commercialisation Australia programme.

The programme is open to individual entrepreneurs, researchers, start up companies and larger businesses.  Importantly, the programme is open to commercialisation offices of academic and other publicly funded research institutions (where the office is a corporation) and other Eligible Partner Entities, being corporations whose primary focus is research but also seek to commercialise the IP of their researchers (such as a private research institute).  To be eligible, applicants must have an annual turnover of less than $20 million for each of the three years prior to lodgment of the application.

The programme provides financial assistance as well as mentoring and advice, including access to an Expert Network that can assistance with capital raising and access to new markets, for a maximum of two years.  The financial assistance takes the form of matching grant funding of up to $1 million (or up to $250,000 in the case of commercialisation offices and Eligible Partner Entities).  The money received may be used towards a variety of expenses including legal fees relating to the protection of IP (but not the defense of IP), freedom to operate searching, licensing costs, as well as travel, training and labour costs.

The programme is not designed to fund research and development projects.  Rather, applicants must have a novel product, process or service with at least national market potential.

While open to applications across all technologies, priority is given to applications that operate in, or can show applicability and benefit to, one of the designated growth sectors, being: food and agribusiness; medical technologies and pharmaceuticals; advanced manufacturing; mining equipment technology and services; and oil, gas and energy resources.

There are no deadlines for applying.  Applications may be made at any time and are considered every six to eight weeks.

More details on Accelerating Commercialisation can be found at: www.business.gov.au/advice-and-support/EIP/Accelerating-Commercialisation. 

Author:  Gavin Recchia              

              Partner

For more information on this article, please contact Davies Collison Cave.

© 2014 Davies Collison Cave

From the team that created the nationally televised TV show, XVenture Corporate Challenge (featured on Sky Business, oneHD and all through Asia on the ABC network), kick start your 2015 with participation in the ultimate team challenge – XVenture Challenge in February 2015!

Bring six people from your organisation and spend a day and evening competing in team and leadership challenges, designed to test even the best business teams. Each of the challenges is unique and across the program there is a focus on communication, collaboration, creative strategy, time pressure and innovation. This is not about fittest, fastest and strongest.

You’ll compete against up to 11 other teams and be encouraged to reflect on the learning of each challenge with the support of coaches and use of technology.

Your XVenture Challenge participation fee includes: a place for six participants, team shirt (with your company logo/ design), all challenges, meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), accommodation, learning log, coaches and support by the XVenture team. Plus, an unsurpassed opportunity to meet many other people and organisations!

Use it as way to kick-start 2015 – perhaps for your sales team? Perhaps invite some of your clients to participate in your team to develop stronger relationships?

To secure one of the limited places, get in touch with Daniela from XVenture on:

M:  0416 271 338 

E:  dani@xventure.com.au 

W: www.xventure.com.au

Sydney Showground is proud to announce that Business Development Executive, Lauren Milledge has taken out this year’s Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award at the Exhibition & Event Association of Australia’s (EEAA) Awards for Excellence held in Melbourne last night.

Sydney Showground General Manager, Peter Thorpe said, “Our deepest congratulations Lauren, we’re all very proud of you and the work you have done over the past 12 months to achieve this fantastic industry accolade.”

Lauren was nominated due to the extraordinary execution of her role as Business Development Executive as well as her professional attitude, commitment to customer service and outstanding use of initiative.

Lauren’s award winning entry was accompanied by a number of compelling testimonials from clients including the following:

“Lauren is an outstanding example of what it means to have a great client/customer interface. She is a ‘front line, in action’ person and a great asset to your company.

“On many occasions, she has gone out of her way to make things happen for us, despite tight turnarounds. In the fast paced world of film and television this kind of customer service stands out like a beacon!

“Her friendly and vibrant personality together with a good mind for business and focus on customer satisfaction is a trait worthy of the highest recognition to the Events and Exhibition industry.  Lauren, you are just awesome to work with.”

Luke Torrevillas, Location Manager, Ecomlocations -Film and TV Industry

Lauren was also featured as The Young Gun in the December 2013 edition of Micenet.

From January 1 Toyota will be introducing a new Toyota for Life standards program which is designed to create a superior experience for guests visiting the Toyota showroom. Lander Toyota will be implementing the new standards in full and plans to be a leader in developing the finest level of guest experience available across the Toyota network.

At the core of Franchise of the future is the image of the Toyota tea ceremony. When the Japanese invite people to their home as guests they place the guest’s interest at the core of their interest. They ensure everything is provided to deliver a great experience when visiting their home. This ranges from the front door, the garden, the layout, the room, the facilities etc. That belief is deep in the Toyota culture. We treat everyone who enters our dealership as a guest, ensuring they receive an excellent experience during their stay.

There’s something special at Lander Toyota this month.

Visit www.landertoyota.com.au for more information.

Land a better deal at Lander Toyota!

NSW Minister for Resources, Special Minister of State and Leader of the House, the Hon Anthony Roberts MP recently told a packed forum former NSW Governor Lachlan Macquarie had it right when it came to describing the journey from Sydney's CBD to Parramatta.

Mr Roberts said he had been reading the diaries of Major General Macquarie who was the fifth Governor of NSW from 1810 to 1821.

He told a WSBC function welcoming Hugo Halliday PR & Marketing to Parramatta at the Commercial Hotel when it came to travelling along Parramatta Road, "nothing seems to have changed."

"Governor Macquarie wrote in his diary around November 1820 he and his wife Elizabeth travelled by sulky from Sydney to Parramatta to go to Government House," Mr Roberts said.

"Macquarie noted the journey along Parramatta Road took around 1.5 hours. The journey today is around the same even though we have motor vehicles and the road has bitumen.

"The NSW Government is working hard to alleviate the traffic congestion and make the journey faster and more convenient through a number of major initiatives including the Westconnex motorway."

Mr Roberts said the WestConnex is a 33km motorway proposed to travel from Parramatta along the M4/Parramatta Road corridor to Beverly Hills.  It is proposed to connect Parramatta, Sydney Airport and Beverly Hills.

He said he had worked with Hugo Halliday when it had its offices next to his electorate office in Gladesville with good results. 

Managing Director of Hugo Halliday PR and Marketing Bill Pickering said moving his office to Parramatta is to keep pace with Sydney’s shifting business landscape.

“No longer is the Sydney CBD or nearby suburbs considered as the heart of our State’s capital – Parramatta took this title long ago,” Mr Pickering said.

“Businesses looking to prosper must consider making the move west to keep pace with where the action is in regards to connectivity and clients.”

Mr Pickering told the WSBC forum his company is a diverse  public relations and media and marketing firm that works with clients seeking advocacy with all levels of Government, media training and exposure and community relations expertise.

Hugo Halliday is currently renovating its new office at 52 O'Connell Street, in the Parramatta Business Centre and should open for business within a few weeks.

Local Shoppa is a free mobile app that enables customers to browse, favourite and stay notified of local deals and offers available from near-by businesses.  

Available on iPhone and Android, the app uses location-based technology and permission-based notifications to display deals that are relevant to the user’s real time location and shopping preferences. 

Customers can ‘favourite’ businesses and shopping categories to stay notified and quickly refer to deals of interest. 

Deal redemption is quick and easy. To get the deal, customers simply need to present or mention the app at the time of purchase. If customers wish to make an enquiry or book via phone, they can simply click-to-call from the app. There is also the option for customers to instantly click to buy online if the deal can be purchased on the business owner’s website.   

Local Shoppa partners with local retailers, restaurants, service providers, online brands and businesses across all categories.   Businesses access the Local Shoppa content platform to promote deals that are published on the app. Customer purchase and deal redemption is not facilitated within the app. Instead, the business has full transactional control and 100% revenue return on deal purchases. This sets the Local Shoppa advertising solution apart from other daily deal platforms because small businesses feel ‘hard done by’ with up to 50% revenue shares mandated by other daily deal sites.

To check out the current businesses and deals on Local Shoppa, download the app via localshoppa.com.au

To advertise on Local Shoppa visit www.localshoppa.com.au/business 

Last week the Barangaroo Skills Exchange was awarded the Premier’s Partnership Award as a part of the 2014 Premier’s Awards for Public Service*. The Barangaroo Skills Exchange (BSX) was established to deliver skilling and training for the Barangaroo urban regeneration project, Sydney’s largest redevelopment project this century.

The partnership involving Lend Lease, WSBC Platinum Partner TAFE NSW and the Construction and Property Services Industry Skills Council aims to raise the bar for safety, trade skills and greenskilling in the construction industry and is on track to deliver 50,000 learning outcomes over the ten year construction period.  

TAFE NSW – Western Sydney is the lead training provider for the project which covers a wide variety of training including work, health and safety, construction trades, language, literacy and numeracy and much more.

BSX Project Manager Ron Wright said that while the project is directly giving skills to Barangaroo site workers, it is also fulfilling a much longer term role for the construction industry. 

“This project is raising safety and quality standards in the construction industry and is also meeting objectives for the western Sydney region. 

“The NSW Government saw this as an opportunity to reinforce the viability of the industry and to invest in employment outcomes for the Greater West. Workers from western Sydney play a huge part in the construction of Barangaroo. This training that is going on in the city will be taken back to regional projects in the future.

“TAFE Western Sydney is proud of the part it is playing in the project which is ensuring a lasting positive legacy for the culture and skill set of the construction industry into the future.”

Lend Lease Barangaroo South Managing Director Andrew Wilson said that the BSX was about creating a legacy. 

“Extraordinary outcomes really mean that a whole industry can move to another paradigm through the intervention of skilling. That’s what we are trying to create here, a legacy for the industry that’s not just about Lend Lease. It is about the whole workforce changing as a result of this project, and the BSX is allowing us to do that on the ground,” Mr Wilson said. 

* About the Premier’s Public Sector Awards

The Premier’s Public Sector Awards recognise outstanding performance and achievements in the NSW public sector, comprising six award categories which link to the strategies set out in NSW 2021, the Government’s agenda for change in NSW. The Premier’s Partnership Award recognises outstanding partnerships between public sector teams and business, nongovernment and/or academic/training organisations delivering results against at least one goal in NSW 2021.