The Australian state of Victoria may set up a trade office in India, most probably in Mumbai. Hong Lim, Australia's only Cambodian-Chinese MP and special advisor to the prime minister of Victoria, told Business Standard in an interview here on Monday that he'd recommend this to Victoria's prime minister.
Lim, who represents Clayton, Victoria, in the Australian lower house of Parliament and lists karate among his interests, is on a whistlestop tour of India to assess business opportunities here. He was a guest of Infosys in Bangalore and addressed the Bombay Chamber of Commerce in Mumbai on Monday.
He said that India's IT companies are exploring the prospects of setting up campuses and establishments near Melbourne in Australia, that Indian businessman Yashwant Kale was looking at setting up at Melton retirement condominiums aimed at the Indian community in Australia and that more Indian film companies made films in Australia than Australian ones.
Lim cited these cases by way of example to suggest how both countries could step up investment and trade.
He said that Australia would like to see its $2.5 billion annual trade with India jump many times. In contrast, Australia's trade with China -- including Hong Kong -- runs to $25 billion a year.
"Australia is very US-centric. Americans are our number one trade partner, unless you exclude combined trade with Hong Kong and China," he said.
"India and Australia have been neglecting one another. I'm very frustrated. There aren't enough exchanges of trade and business delegations. Only about 11,000 Indian students come to Australia to study every year. There's so much that Australia and India can offer each other," he said.
He said that Victoria, for instance, had invested A$1 billion in IT and that Australia could offer town planning services and environment protection services.
Lim sees India as an economic powerhouse 20 years from now. "All you need to do is to build infrastructure, the way the Chinese have done."
