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Australia calling UAE companies

For business, Aramex's visionary leadership buying into Australian e-commerce is significant.

In my most recent article, I put forward my case for Australia as being an excellent destination for a holiday. And I stand by that -for anyone who is thinking about jumping on a long-haul flight, Australia puts forward a very good case for your hard earned holiday dollars.
However, Australia isn't all about fun and games. It is also a country that is poised to be an influential player in the ever-strengthening Asian market.
It's something that many often overlook. Particularly when the quintessential marketing images would have you believe that Australia is only filled with smiling people clad in beach wear, or grinning happily from the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Although these are not bad stereotypes to have, Australia has another strength - it sits smack in the heart of Asia. The ramifications for what that means for business as we stride toward 2030 are profound. Right now, 11 of Australia's top 15 export markets are in the Asia region. Come 2030, it is projected that three of the world's top four economies will be in Asia - and Australia will be right in the middle of it all.
And one UAE company in particular is already laying the foundations for such a bright future. That company is Aramex. In 2014 Aramex paid Dh114 million for a Sydney courier company that had already recognised the potential for e-commerce within Australia. Mail Call was a mature company that had built a solid delivery platform by servicing the high amount of online purchases made by Australians each year from Asia based companies. It has now entered into a JV with Australia Post.
For business, Aramex's visionary leadership buying into Australian e-commerce is significant. It represents how strategic Australia is, and will continue to be, in the ever-changing global economy.
The immediate return for Aramex's push into Australia is that it has access to Australia's growing internal eCommerce market. A market that is reliably quoted at AUD$35 billion per year.
Not bad for a country will only 23 million people in residence, but it's easy to see why Aramex jumped into the market when they did - 35 billion is a big number, no matter what currency it is delivered in.
However, as mind-bogglingly huge as 35 billion is, it is just the appetiser for the economic feast that is being prepared in Asia. And Aramex is already at the table, waiting to be served, while so many other companies are still flicking though reviews, or ordering from the takeaway menu rather than committing to flying over in order to join the buffet on offer.
Therein lies my point. At a national level, the UAE and Australia already have an extraordinarily good trade relationship, but it is time that more companies began to see Australia as base for business, rather than simply a source for goods and services to be purchased from.
There are compelling reasons to do so - but the cherry on this cake (to continue my tenuous food metaphor) is that Australia is a known, and stable, economic space for businesses to set up shop.
By investing in Australia, companies reap the benefits of an established western economy. As a result, they can take advantage of an infrastructure that is mature, and geared toward both the internal Australian market, and the dynamism of Asian markets as they continue to grow.
That's the best part in all this, there is no speculation about whether Australia is ready to be part of the Asian economy - because it already is. In fact, it has been for decades. But you'll need to get in fast - or companies like Aramex might just book the entire place for themselves.
Talal Yassine is Chairman, Council of Australian-Arab Relations and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade