An Assignment on Country Analysis Australia

Submitted to Susmita Mam Submitted By Ravikant Chahar DSBS1142

Dayananda Sagar Business School Kumarsawamy Layout Bangalore

Australia officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixthlargest country by total area. Neighboring countries include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north; the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia to the north-east; and New Zealand to the south-east. For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited [14] [15][16] by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of roughly 250 language groups. After discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Great Britain in 1770 and settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales from 26 January 1788. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades; the continent was explored and an additional five selfgoverning Crown Colonies were established. On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Since Federation, Australia has maintained a stable liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy. The federation comprises six states and several territories. The population of 22.7 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated in the eastern states due to geography and climate. A highly developed country and one of the wealthiest, Australia is the world's 12th-largest economy and has the world's fifth-highest per capita income. Australia's military expenditure is the world's 13th-largest. With the second-highest human development index globally, Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance, such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, and [18] the protection of civil liberties and political rights. Australia is a member of the G20, OECD, WTO, APEC, UN, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS and the Pacific Islands Forum. Economy
[13]

Economy
Australia is a wealthy country with a market economy with high GDP per capita and a low rate of poverty. The Australian dollar is the currency for the nation, including Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states ofKiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. After the 2006 merger of the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange is now the ninth largest in the world. Ranked third in the Index of Economic Freedom (2010) Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy and has the fifth highest per capita GDP(nominal) at $66,984. The country was ranked second in the United Nations 2011 Human Development Index and first in Legatum's 2008 Prosperity Index. All of Australia's major cities fare well in global comparative livability surveys; Melbourne reached first place on The Economist's 2011 and 2012 world's most livable cities lists, followed by Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide in sixth, eighth, and ninth place respectively. Total government debt in Australia is about $190 [ billion 20 per cent of GDP in 2012 Australia has among the highest house prices and some of the highest household debt levels in the world.
[193][194][195]

An emphasis on exporting commodities rather than manufactured goods has underpinned a significant increase in Australia's terms of trade since the start of the 21st century, due to rising commodity prices. Australia has a balance of payments that is more than 7 per cent of GDP negative, and has had persistently large current account deficits for more than 50 years. Australia has grown at an average annual rate of 3.6 per cent for over 15 years, in comparison to the OECD annual average of 2.5 per [205] cent. Australia was the only advanced economy not to experience a recession due to the global financial downturn in 20082009. Six of Australia's major trading partners had been in recession which in turn affected Australia, and economic growth was hampered significantly over recent years. The Hawke Government floated the Australian dollar in 1983 and partially deregulated the financial [209] system. The Howard Governmentfollowed with a partial deregulation of the labour market and the further privatisation of state-owned businesses, most notably in thetelecommunications industry. The indirect tax system was substantially changed in July 2000 with the introduction of a 10 per centGoods [211] and Services Tax (GST). In Australia's tax system, personal and company income tax are the main [212] sources of government revenue. In May 2012, there were 11,537,900 people employed (either full- or part-time), with an unemployment rate of 5.1 per cent. Youth unemployment (15 24) stood at 11.2 per cent Over the past decade, inflation has typically been 23 per cent and the base interest rate 56 per cent. The service sector of the economy, including tourism, education, and financial services, accounts for about 70 per cent of GDP. Rich in natural resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, particularly wheat and wool, minerals such as iron-ore and gold, and energy in the forms of liquified natural gas and coal. Although agriculture and natural resources account for only 3 per cent and 5 per cent of GDP respectively, they contribute substantially to export performance. Australia's largest export [215] markets are Japan, China, the US, South Korea, and New Zealand. Australia is the world's fourth largest exporter of wine, in an industry contributing $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy. Export and Import

Australia is a large exporter of coal, iron ores, tin ores, wool, beef, barley, and raw sugar. They also export a number of natural resources and commodities including Liquified Natural Gas. Australia's strengths lie in its mining sector. Main export items are: coal, iron ore, bauxite, uranium, gemstones, woodchips, natural gas, wool and grain crops (including rice, when we are not in drought). Similarly, cotton when there's sufficient water. We also export meat, both carcasses and "live", and animal skins for leather. Manufactured goods include hats, cars, boats, clothing, gaming machines and pharmaceuticals. Its main imports are manufactured goods. Despite Australia having a strong manufacturing sector, many Asian countries are able to produce these goods more cheaply.

Employment
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December [56] 2012 was estimated to be 5.4% of an estimated labour force of approximately 12,000,000. According to Roy Morgan Research the unemployment rate was estimated to be 10% in December [57] 2012. 17.5% (2.1 million) Australians were estimated to be either unemployed or underemployed. Over 2 million workers, or about 40% of the Australian workforce, were estimated to be currently part-time or [58] casual.

Rank

States

Unemployment rate (ABS)

[59][60]

Tasmania

6.8%

Queensland

5.9%

South Australia

5.7%

Victoria

5.6%

New South Wales

4.8%

Northern Territory

4.2%

Western Australia

3.9%

Australian Capital Territory 3.6%

Resources

Australian energy resources and major export ports map

Coal is mined primarily in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. 54% of the coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to East Asia. In 2000/01, 258.5 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 193.6 million

tonnes exported. Coal provides about 85% of Australia's electricity production. In fiscal year 2008/09, [62] 487 million tonnes of coal was mined, and 261 million tonnes exported. Australia is the world's leading [63] coal exporter. ]Manufacturing Main article: Manufacturing in Australia The manufacturing industry in Australia has declined from 30% of GDP in the 1960s to 12% of GDP in [64] 2007.

[61]

Agriculture
Main articles: Agriculture in Australia and Australian wine Agriculture contributes 3% of Australia's GDP at the farm gate and when value-added processing beyond [65] the farm is included this figure rises to 12%. 60% of farm products are exported. Irrigation is an important and widespread practice for a country where many parts receive low rainfall.

Services
Tourism

Monthly short-term arrivals in Australia since 1991

In the financial year 201011, the tourism industry represented 2.5% of Australia's GDP, at a value of about $35 billion to the national economy equivalent to $94.8 million a day to the Australian [66] economy. Domestic tourism is a significant part of the tourism industry, and was responsible for 73% of [66] the total direct tourism GDP. The 201011 financial year saw a record number of overseas arrivals in the financial year, with 5.9 million short-term visitor arrivals to Australia (588 extra visitors a [66] day). Tourism employed 513,700 people in Australia in 201011, or which 43.7% of total tourism employed persons were part-time. Tourism also contributed 8.0% of Australia's total export earnings in [66] 201011.

Finance
Mergers and acquisitions
Between 1991 and 2010, 31,131 mergers and acquisitions with a total known value of US$1,811 billion [67] with the involvement of Australian firms have been announced. In the year 2010, 2,326 transactions valued at US$183 billion had been announced which was a slight increase in terms of numbers (+3.8%)

and value (+13.6) compared to 2009. The largest takeover or merger transaction involving Australian [68] companies was the 2007 takeover of the Coles Group by Wesfarmers, totalling A$22 billion.

Energy

Australian renewable power plants

The Australian economy is dependent on imported crude oil and petroleum products, the economys [69] petroleum import dependency is around 80% crude oil + petroleum products.

Australia's balance of payments

Australia's current account (in $M) since 1959.

Main article: Australia's balance of payments In trade terms, the Australian economy has had persistently large current account deficits (CADs) for [26] more than 50 years. One single factor that undermines balance of payments is Australia's narrow export base. Dependent upon commodities, the Australian government has endeavoured to redevelop the Australian manufacturing sector. This initiative, also known as microeconomic reform, helped Australian [75] manufacturing to grow from 10.1% in 19831984 to 17.8% in 20032004. There are other factors that have contributed to the extremely high current account deficit in Australia [76] such as lack of international competitiveness. However, as Australia's CAD is almost entirely generated by the private sector, as outlined in Professor John Pitchford's 'Consenting Adults Thesis' in the early 1990s, there is an argument that the CAD is not a

significant issue. Historically, Australia has relied on overseas capital to fill the gap between domestic savings and investment, and many of these investment opportunities could not have been pursued if Australia did not have access to foreign savings. This suggests that Australia's apparently low savings level and CAD are not necessarily a significant problem. As long as the investment that is being funded by overseas capital inflow generates sufficient returns to pay for the servicing costs in the future, the [ increase in foreign liabilities can be viewed as sustainable in the longer term.