China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) is "a hugely significant milestone that gives Australia a monumental advantage over other nations," HSBC Group Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said here Friday.
Gulliver, in his keynote speech to the 2nd Australia-China conference hosted by HSBC, said the greatest asset shaping Australia's economic future is "the power of proximity to world's second biggest economy."
Australian companies, investors and institutions can no longer take a wait and see approach if they want to get ahead as the economic landscape on both sides of the China-Australia trading corridor changes, Tony Cripps, chief executive of HSBC Australia, told the conference.
"They must invest the time to understand and test the opportunity that China presents," Cripps said, adding, "For the first time in 300 years, the center for the middle class for the world is now in Asia, particularly in China."
However, just because the pathway of the ChAFTA is set, Australian business must work hard to take advantage of the opportunity and become more competitive in the services space, Chief Economist for HSBC Australia, Paul Bloxham said.
"We need to be more focused on the fact that selling services is not just about selling to the 23.5 million people who live in Australia, but also selling to this very large market to the north of us, particularly in China."
James Laurenceson, economist and deputy director of the Australia China Relations Institute, had previously told Xinhua that the financial sector has lagged behind trade in the opening of barriers; however when restrictions are liberalised, there is enormous potential for financial services investment.
