The Australian Government’s goal to develop Australia as a regional financial services hub looks set to become a reality thanks to the Financial Development Report 2009 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The Report has ranked Australia second amongst the world’s financial centres moving ahead of the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong.
According to the report’s Financial Development Index, Australia has ranked number one for financial access and rated highly in banking and non banking financial services.
Financial Services Minister, Chris Bowen confirmed that the report has boosted Australia’s profile as a leading financial services power.
"This report highlights what has been a remarkable performance for Australia's financial services sector and gives the nation well-deserved global recognition," said Mr Bowen.
"This is testament to the strength of our financial system; our solid financial skills base and well-run financial institutions; our system of prudential regulation, and proactive regulators,” he said.
Just as important to ensuring Australia’s financial system is fully sustainable and able to survive future downturns, is the skilling up of workers and creating well-remunerated jobs.
It’s important to ensure that unemployment rates remain at a low, and in order to achieve that it’s important to educate and train workers which will continue to strengthen the Australian economy.
The report confirms the potency of the Australian financial services sector in spite of the global financial crisis.
Mr Bowen warned that whilst the report provided an opportune sign to Australia’s improving performance, there is still a great deal to be done and that Australia cannot yet rest on its laurels.
“The upcoming report from the Australian Financial Centre Forum will provide another opportunity for the Government to examine options to remove any remaining obstacles to Australia becoming a financial services hub for the Asia Pacific," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment