Vancouver 2010 Winter Games: a platform for trade and investment opportunities

Austrade media release

22 October 2009

Austrade’s Business Club Australia (BCA) is holding a launch event in Sydney tomorrow to promote its business program for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games to enhance trade and investment opportunities for Australian businesses in Canada.

Austrade’s Senior Trade Commissioner for Canada, Stefan Trofimovs, said BCA is an award-winning international business program and Australia’s official business program for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

“Business Club Australia has a proven track record of utilising the excitement and global attention of high profile sporting events, into long-term and profitable business connections,” Mr Trofimovs said.

“It will also use the resources and network of Austrade’s Canadian network team located in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal to bring together Australians and key Canadian officials and business people,” he said.

Austrade’s Vancouver Post Manager, Kevin Lamb, who will be speaking at the event to outline why this is a unique opportunity for businesses to participate, and to increase awareness of the tremendous linkages and consequent business opportunities between Australia and Canada.

“Canada is a natural market for Australian companies, as no two countries are more similar in culture, business, government structure and policies,” Mr Lamb said.

"It offers Australian exporters access to an incrementally larger consumer base of over 32 million service industries, while not as huge as the US market, it is more manageable.

“Canada is also a great ‘training market’ in preparation for the United States and is increasingly recognised as an excellent base from which to access the 440 million consumers in the North American market.

“In Vancouver alone, we have seen an increase in Australian companies with offices in the city over the past few years, and there are now over 30 companies operating in Vancouver cutting across all industry sectors. Similar increases have also been experienced in Calgary and Toronto,” he said.

Mr Lamb said 16 Australian businesses have secured Games related contracts with the Vancouver Organising Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), some with the assistance of Austrade.

Two of these businesses are Cleanevent Australia and Douglas Site Services who have each secured multi-million dollar cleaning contracts covering various Olympic venues.

“Austrade and the British Columbia 2010 Commerce Centre Games Secretariat have also negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which enables both parties to collaborate on business networking events that are beneficial to both countries' trade and investment objectives,” Mr Lamb said.

“British Columbia's 2010 Commerce Centre is also modelled on Austrade's Business Club Australia initiative,” he said.

For the 2008 financial year, there were 2390 Australian companies exporting to Canada. Australian merchandise exports totalled more than $1.6 billion, with wine one of our biggest exports, and exports of services totalled $736 million.

Previous Business Club Australia programs have included the Beijing 2008 & Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, successive Rugby World Cups (2003 in Australia and 2007 in France), the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the 2007 FINA World Swimming Championships (Melbourne), the Melbourne Cup Carnival since 2006.

The XXI Olympic Winter Games will be held in Vancouver and Whistler in British Columbia, Canada from 12 to 28 February 2010.

The event is also supported by the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce. For further information about BCA Vancouver 2010 visit: www.businessclubaustralia.com.au

Kevin Lamb, Austrade’s Vancouver Post Manager, is available for media interviews.

ENDS