The Australian Business Forum hosted its inaugural Australia-China Business Week in Melbourne in June, sold out due to the increased focus on the growing importance of trade relations between Australia and China. Among the highlights were the forum luncheon and the networking breakfast, designed specifically to focus on SME exporters.
While rising interest rates and soaring fuel prices affect many domestic businesses, sponsor DHL’s export index confirmed a more bullish outlook for Australian exporters. From 600 export respondents, 64 percent of SMEs say they expect to increase orders to China over the next year, contrasting with just 50 percent to North America or Europe.
