Australian businesses told how to better connect with Asia

Australian businesses have been told how they can benefit from Australia's new free trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea at a special business forum held in Sydney on Tuesday.

The inaugural Future Asia Business Luncheon was introduced by Sydney Mayor Clover Moore, and featured CEO of Austrade, Bruce Gosper, who detailed what the agreements mean for local businesses, and how they can take advantage of the new open door to Asian markets.

More than 140 business and government representatives attended the event, which is part of Sydney's annual Chinese New Year Festival.

Moore said Sydney wanted to assist the local business community in taking advantage of emerging opportunities across Asia.

"Long-term planning by both business and government is required to make the most of Sydney's ideal location, diverse population and highly-skilled workforce in the Asian century," Moore said.

"Our future economic competitiveness and trade and investment opportunities depend greatly on the connections we make with our Asian neighbors not only in the professional services and financial sectors, but also in retail, tourism, education and the creative industries.

"The forum will give these businesses an unprecedented chance to pick the brain of one of Australia's foremost trade and investment experts about how they can benefit from recent developments and future trends in our region."

Gosper, who also served as Australia's ambassador to the World Trade Organization, said free trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea are a huge step forward in Australia's economic relationship with the region and create some exciting opportunities for a globally connected city like Sydney.

"Doing business in these markets can be complex, however, requiring careful preparation. That's why I'm so pleased to be able to talk through some of the issues at the Future Asia Business Forum."