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From Benedicte Gravrand, Geneva: The lucky country The 2006-2007 AXISS (the financial services division of Invest Australia) report says that Australia’s A$62.7 billion hedge fund industry has become the largest in Asia. It is part of a A$1.03 trillion managed funds industry and the country is recognised as the best in the world for fund management firms to do business with. The numbers of single strategy hedge fund products and FofHF products have almost tripled from 2002 to 2006. Launches have been aided by the low start-up and annual running costs. Australian investors are mainly pension funds, HNWI (the highest number in Asia ex-Japan) and retail investors.

The environment is also positive. The economy showed 15 years of uninterrupted economic expansion at a rate well above the global average. Australia has been ranked the most resilient economy in the world for the 5th successive year and the A$ is now the 6th-most actively traded currency in the world. The workforce has the advantage of being able to speak one of the major Asian languages and has much economic and financial literacy. Australia was also ranked the most politically stable country in the world in 2006 and over the last 5 years.

Economy profits from demand in commodities, but is slowing down Economists observe that the economy is growing despite the deflation of its housing market and a severe drought, partly thanks ......................

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