downunder update

1st Quarter 2012

Newsletter of the australian Chamber of Commerce in Korea

DownunDer

UPDATEMartin Ferguson Breakfast Forum

Korean Australian Alumni Dinner Event Commonwealth Chambers Evening

Australian Business Awards

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AUSTCHAM 2011 GOLD SPONSORS

AUSTCHAM 2011 Silver SPONSORSI N T E R N A T I O N A L M O V E R S

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SPONSORS

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Message from the Chairman

Australian Business Awards

Martin Ferguson Breakfast Forum

Embassy Update

Austrade Update

ANZA Melbourne Cup

Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce Networking Evening

ACO Mini Concert

Yeosu Expo

Macquarie Global Economic Outlook

Korean Australian Alumni Dinner

Interview with Brendan Berne

Community Photos

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1st Quarter 2012

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Message from the Chairman

Peter Feltis

MESSAGEChairman

Dear Members,

I t’s with great pleasure that I welcome you to our latest edition of Downunder Update, the

first for 2012, and also to write to you as the new chairman of AustCham Korea.

First, I must give a great many thanks to 2011 chairman Jim Lim, for his outstanding efforts in driv-ing the chamber forward. I hope to continue Jim’s momentum and build a bigger and better chamber for all members this year.

I would also like to welcome the four new directors to the board (Diana Underwood, Young-in Cho, Jeff Bang and Scott Walker) and, of course, all the continuing direc-tors. Their combined experience and energy will ensure the cham-ber continues to develop and deliver services for members.

The executive committee was also elected in January and resulted in Matthew Holmes and Graham Dodds being elected as vice chairs and Robert Quinlivan returning as treasurer. The excom is a great blend of continuity and experience and we look forward to working closely with mem-

bers, sponsors, the embassy and Austrade during this year.

2012 promises to be an excit-ing year for the Australia-Korea partnership and AustCham Korea. We look forward to the conclu-sion of the Korea-Australia FTA, greater interaction in trade, in-vestment, culture, education and sport between the two countries, the Expo 2012 in Yeosu and the chamber working hard to meet its core objectives – providing infor-mation, networking and advocacy for its members.

I also wish to invite members to actively participate in the cham-ber’s activities including our ef-forts to contribute to the Korean community, attending networking functions, participating in various committees or raising issues or concerns where the chamber can help or support your business.

I look forward to meeting you during the year and hearing your ideas and suggestions.

All the best,Peter Feltis

4 | 1st Quarter 20124 | 1st Quarter 2012

AustCham held its Year of Friendship Business Awards gala dinner, the premier event for 2011 for the Korean and Australian business community, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Nov. 11. The night began with a warm welcome by hosts Lach-lan Winner and Michael Kocken. Members and guests were also welcomed by AustCham Chair-man Jim Lim and the Chamber’s Patron, H.E. Sam Gerovich, Australian Ambassador to Korea, who praised the Chamber for its dedication and initiative in hosting the event. In his opening remarks, he observed that the

“business awards demonstrate the strong and vibrant economic relationship between Australia and Korea.”

In between awards, guests dined on a sumptuous menu of salmon confit, chicken ginseng soup, espresso-spiced Australian grain-fed beef and green tea panna cotta, complimented wonderfully by Arlequin Pinot Gris & Chardon-nay and Chandon Rose.

During the evening a total of six awards were presented. Three of the awards were competitive awards; Best SME, Trade Excel-

lence Award and Best Services.

The finalists for Best SME were Bora Fashion, Incoaching and Ingeus, with Ingeus taking the prize for helping over 5,000 Koreans move from dependence to independence in the last two years by finding them employ-ment.

The Trade Excellence Award fi-nalists were Blackmores, Botany and Compacks, with Compacks receiving the award in recogni-tion of over 20 years of service in promoting processed Austra-lian food in the Korean market.

austcham Year of Friendship

AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS AWARDS 2011 NOVEMBER 10, 2011

Event ReviewAustralian Business Awards


Event ReviewAustralian Business Awards

The final category of Best Ser-vices featured three 5-minute ‘pitches’ by Nick Dunn of Barun Law, John Walker of the Mac-quarie Group, and Yong-in Cho of Pure Commerce. Afterward, the audience voted via SMS texting. Voting was close but Pure Com-merce won the prize.

The half-time entertainment for the evening was provided by Bora Fashions and their stunning designs.

The three non-competitive prizes were awarded to individuals and companies that showed commit-ment to developing long-term

sustainable relations between Korea and Australia. Samsung C&T was chosen as Investment of the Year for its role in the Victorian Desalination Project, which aims to produce 150 billion litres of drinking water a year once operation begins by the end of 2012.

KEPCO (the Korea Electric Pow-er Corporation) was awarded the Chairman’s Award for its role as a major importer of Australian energy products and for its sub-stantial investment in Australia.

The final award for the evening, the Year of Friendship Award,

was presented to Mrs. Pyo Mi Sun for providing great support to Australian artists and galleries during the 2011 Year of Friendship.

The Chamber would like to thank the generous support of our Award Sponsors ANZ Bank, Austrade, Chevron, Corrs Cham-bers & Westgarth, POSCO, Mac-quarie, and Rio Tinto as well as our Gala Dinner Sponsors MLA, The Grand Hyatt, Chandon, Telston and Tourism Austra-lia. We would also like to thank Mrs. Pilar Perez-McKay, project manager for the event, for her tireless efforts.


EVENT REVIEW

On Friday 22nd of July 2011, AustCham was very proud to host a breakfast forum with Mr. Martin Ferguson, AM MP, Min-ister for Resources Energy and Tourism as the guest speaker. More than 70 members and guests listened to the minister speak about the natural trade partnership between Australia and Korea. The minister re-marked that in the course of his first visit to Korea in 2009 he launched the newly formed Aus-tralian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. He commended the ef-forts of all chamber members to help the relationship progress.He outlined what he meant by his phrase ‘natural trading part-ners’ by commenting on how Australia’s strengths in raw ma-terials and services sit well with Korea’s industrial strengths. He stated that “Korea has one of the most sophisticated engi-neering industries in the world. Trade with Australia in this sec-tor alone is worth around $6 bil-

lion. Australia is a safe, reliable and price-competitive supplier of key ingredients for Korea’s economic growth.”He then went on to comment on the future of the trade rela-tionship, the next major step be-ing the completion of a compre-hensive, high-quality free trade agreement. Leaders of both

countries have reaffirmed their goal to conclude such a deal by the end of this year.In particular, the minister commented on natural gas as an emerging feature of our trade relationship.Although currently Korean

imports of Australian LNG are a small part of total Korean im-ports, this will change over the coming five years. The huge $43

billion Gorgon project will see two million tonnes of LNG going to Korea annually. The Wheat-stone Project will supply another 1.5 million tonnes of LNG. Be-yond these massive supply con-tracts Australia is welcoming Ko-rean investment in the industry; for example the Gladstone LNG project in which KOGAS has

become a joint venture partner, taking a 15 percent equity stake. That project alone is expected to produce nearly eight million tonnes of LNG a year, supplying up to 3.5 million tonnes of LNG to Korea annually. Based on cur-rent commitments, Australia is scheduled to supply 7.5 million tonnes of LNG to Korea annually by around the middle of this de-cade, making us a key strategic energy partner.The minister then went on to discuss the recently announced carbon price from 2012 leading to an emissions trading scheme from 2015. He stated that this decision was taken to increase investor certainty and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The address was finished by complimenting the Korean government’s leadership in developing low carbon technolo-gies. Australia is contributing $10 million to Korea’s Global Green Growth Institute, which supports low emissions growth strategies in developing coun-tries. Australia will join the Institute as a core partner and will be represented on its board of directors.The Breakfast Forum was a great success. The speaker spoke on major topics in a very intelligent and balanced way. The forum was also a great chance for me to meet with colleagues and friends.

Martin Ferguson Breakfast Forum



UPDATEEmbassy

There have been a number of high-level visits over the past six months. The Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, visited Seoul from 22 to 24 July. Minister Ferguson addressed an AustCham breakfast seminar and held several bilateral meetings with ROK ministers and business leaders, including from KOGAS and POSCO. The Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, visited Seoul and Busan on 29 and 30 November 2011, meeting with President Lee and ROK ministers in Seoul and Busan as well as at-tending the Fourth High Level Fo-rum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan. While in Busan, Mr Rudd and his counterpart Foreign Minister Kim

Sung-hwan witnessed the signing of a MOU between AusAID and the ROK-led Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Our Year of Friendship activities have continued to put Australia in the spotlight.The Australian Chamber Or-chestra (ACO), one of Australia’s most internationally acclaimed orchestras, performed with Korean harpist Na Hyun-sun at the 29th Korea International Music Festival on 6 October. The event further enhanced and broadened Korean audiences’ knowledge and appreci-ation of Australian classical music. The event was a sell-out. Following critically acclaimed performances throughout its 2010 European Tour, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Much has happened at the Embassy in the six months since the last update

and its Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor Vladimir Ashkenazy toured in November, continuing the vital role the orchestra plays as one of Australia’s leading cultural ambassadors. The orchestra’s full ensemble of 96 musicians per-formed two concerts at the Seoul Arts Centre. The Sydney Sym-phony provided master classes for Korean music school students in conjunction with the College of Music, Seoul National University. Tell Me Tell Me: Australian and Korean Art 1976-2011 was a major new exhibition of Korean and Australian contemporary art celebrating the Year of Friend-ship. The project highlighted the historical and ongoing connections between Australian and Korean

The Ambassador, third from left, stands next to Violinist Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director and Lead Violin, and Harpist Na Hyun-sun from the ACO.

Mr Rudd delivers his intervention on Fragile States at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness.


art by bringing together a dynamic mix of ideas, images and objects from Australian and Korean art-ists across generations. The event featured a reciprocal exhibition in Australia at the National Art School Gallery in June 2011 and in Korea at the National Museum of Con-temporary Arts in Korea in Novem-ber 2011.Visits by prominent Australians have also demonstrated the intel-lectual power Australia is able to generate. We welcomed one of Australia’s 13 Nobel Laureate winners, Dr Barry Marshall AC, and 2007 Australian of the Year and Australia’s Climate Change Commissioner, Dr Tim Flannery, to Korea in the past six months. During his visit in early November,

UPDATEEmbassy

Much has happened at the Embassy in the six months since the last update

Principal Conductor, Vladimir Ashkenazy leads Korean music school students from the College of Music, Seoul National University in performing Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 in E.

Curator of Museum of Contemporary Art, Glenn Barkley provides an explanation of the works of art to Ambas-sador, HE Sam Gerovich, and Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Brendan Berne.

Dr Marshall, awarded scholarships to the top science students at the Daejeon Science High School, presented a lecture at KAIST, and met with senior educational and re-search staff at various institutions. In December, as part of his role as Australia’s Chief Climate Com-missioner, Dr Flannery met with influential figures from ROK gov-ernment, business and academia, including a series of lectures to Seoul National and Yonsei Univer-sity students, as well as meeting prominent National Assembly and other government representatives to discuss progress in Australia to promote a clean energy future.There have been a number of staff changes since our last update. We have farewelled Mr Jeff Robinson,

the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr Mark Pearson, OAM, Senior Ad-ministrative Officer and Consul, Mr Liang (Leo) Zeng, Deputy Consul and Mr Charles (Charlie) Adamson, First Secretary Economic. We have welcomed their replacements, Mr Brendan Berne, Mr Will Crago, Ms Natalie Thean and Mr Mike Wight. As this publication is re-leased we bid farewell to Ms Ame-lia Appleton, Second Secretary (Political/Economic) who heads back to Canberra and welcome her replacement Mr Duncan Lockie.


UPDATEAustrade

artful strategy in Korea presents australia as a Creative and sophisticated nation

With the support of Austrade and led by the Australian Broad-casting Corporation, the 4th

Australian children’s television animation delegation visited Seoul on the 27-28 September 2011.The digital content mission was sponsored by the Australia-Korea Foundation and represented the 4th mission of its kind to Korea. The mission sought to expand on areas of opportunity for Australian and Korean producers in digital content sharing and co-production. Presentations by the Korea Creative Content Agency and Screen Australia outlined the benefits of television co-produc-tion and co-finance and show-

cased that both governments strongly encourage and support such partnerships.Twelve Australian and twelve Korean leading children’s televi-sion animation companies met as part of the mission and gave brief presentations about their company and current projects. The presentations were then followed by a day of one-on-one business meetings and discus-sions.This delegation provided the basis for some productive and long-term creative and commer-cial partnerships.

Austrade Seoul Update

Ben Quilty (second from the left) at KIAF 2011. His artwork attracted keen interest from Korean art collectors.

australian Children’s television animation Delegation to Korea

Presentation by EBS, Korea’s Education Broadcasting Station

As a culmination of Austrade’s three-year strategy for visual arts in Korea, Australia was featured as the ‘guest country’ at this year’s Korea International Art Fair (KIAF), held from 22-26 September 2011.

Austrade identified the opportu-nity and handled market brief-ing and business matching in coordination with the Australian Commercial Galleries Associa-tion, who were responsible for recruitment and logistics. Aus-trade was successful in secur-ing funding for the project from Brand Australia and the Austra-lia Council for the Arts as well as DFAT’s Australia International Cultural Council as part of the Year of Friendship celebrations marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and Korea.

As part of the Year of Friendship activi-ties, Australia was invited this year as the special ‘Guest Country’ with 17 galleries exhibiting the work of 65 Aus-tralian artists. This represented the largest presence by Australia at an international art fair in many years with activities including a VIP reception, lecture series, and media and collector tours. Fifteen galler-ies were successful in selling pieces during the fair, with two galleries selling out. As a result of the event a number of galler-ies and artists are now nego-tiating residencies and further exhibitions in Korea.


UPDATEAustrade

australia unlimited Magazine publishedAustrade recently published the second edition of the ‘Australia Unlimited’ magazine. This quality magazine showcas-es the intellect and creativity of Australia’s social entrepreneurs, researchers, business leaders and artists.

This edition specially covers three Australians who shone at the recent Korea International Art Fair.

An interactive digital version of the magazine is now also available as an app on the Apple iPad. It is available for free and can be downloaded from the Apple App store.

For hard copies of the maga-zine, please email [email protected] with your con-tact details, number of copies required and intended distribu-tion points (while stocks last).

austrade promotes Future unlimited in KoreaAustrade Seoul recently hosted 75 Australian education institu-tions as part of the Study in Australia Korea Show 2011 held over two days from 29-30 Octo-ber. This year’s show shifted its focus away from the traditional working holiday market, placing more emphasis on promoting Australian higher education.

The show also featured Future Unlimited branding for the first time in Korea with it receiving excellent feedback from visitors and institutions alike. In the lead

up to the show the Austrade Seoul team also utilised Twitter social media for the first time as part of its marketing activi-ties, paving the way for greater involvement in social media for future events.

This year’s event is sched-uled for October 27-28 two days after the Korea Australia Alumni gala event. Holding the two events in conjunction with each other will provide a great opportunity for the participating institutional representatives to

meet with their alumni repre-sentatives and members in Korea.

australia signs automotive technology agreement with south Korea Australia’s AutoCRC (Coop-erative Research Centre for Ad-vanced Automotive Technology) has entered a joint technology research and education program with South Korea’s Kookmin Uni-versity. AutoCRC is Australia’s centre for coordination for auto-motive research, development, commercialisation, education and international engagement.

Kookmin University’s Graduate School of Automotive Engineer-ing is the leading automotive technology research and educa-tion institution in South Korea.

The first step will be the place-ment of key academic staff and graduate students into Australian research institu-tions, followed later by work on commercialising key tech-nologies in both countries.

The auto team at the Seoul post contributed to this suc-cess by introducing Professor Cho of Kookmin University to the Victorian Government Business Office, Tokyo, last December as part of the Automotive Market Access Program (AMAP).

Left to right: Professor Dan Choi (Kookmin); Mr TH Yoon (Austrade Seoul); Mr Barry Comben (AutoCRC); Professor Yong-Seok Cho (Kookmin); Dr Matthew Cuthbertson (AutoCRC); Mr Geoff Susans (Victorian Government); Dr Thomas Ting (AutoCRC).

EVENT REVIEWANZA Melbourne Cup Luncheon

visit: australia.com

There’s nothing like a zoo without fences.

Talk about an amazing start to the day. We got up for the sunrise but stumbled across something we’ll never forget. The hilltop was alive with more kangaroos than I ’d seen in a lifetime.

We spent the afternoon roaming the island for wildlife, taking pictures of penguins, seals and a whole bunch of birds we’d never even heard of. At times I didn’t know whether to take another picture or stop and take in the surroundings. I guess that’s just the type of place it is. But really, the pictures only begin to tell the story. To truly experience this land of ours you’ve just got to come and discover it yourself.

2012TA_KI_210x280.indd 1 12. 01. 30 �� 11:20

ANZA Melbourne Cup LuncheonThe 151st Melbourne Cup was celebrated in high Australian style at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday, 1 November.

Lucky punters and gorgeous ladies abounded at the latest ANZA Korea social event. The Melbourne Cup Luncheon, held the first Tuesday of every November, attracted a record number of racing fans, topping out 220 guests this year!

The live broadcast of the race did not disappoint, and Dunaden won the Melbourne Cup with a heart-stopping photo finish.

Lucky sweeps ticket holders fared very well – as did the ANZA Korea charities that are recipients of sweeps and raffle proceeds.

A delicious lunch featuring Australian beef, Fashions on the Field, a dramatic fashion show by Kay Kim, and Australian wine creat-ed a memorable day that for some didn’t end until the wee hours of the morning. Almost like being back at Flemington Racetrack!

The 2012 Melbourne Cup will be held on November 6 in the Regency Room of the Grand Hyatt, Seoul.

ANZA President Jennifer Sanger

tuesday, 1 november 2011


DownunDer upDate | 13visit: australia.com

There’s nothing like a zoo without fences.

Talk about an amazing start to the day. We got up for the sunrise but stumbled across something we’ll never forget. The hilltop was alive with more kangaroos than I ’d seen in a lifetime.

We spent the afternoon roaming the island for wildlife, taking pictures of penguins, seals and a whole bunch of birds we’d never even heard of. At times I didn’t know whether to take another picture or stop and take in the surroundings. I guess that’s just the type of place it is. But really, the pictures only begin to tell the story. To truly experience this land of ours you’ve just got to come and discover it yourself.

2012TA_KI_210x280.indd 1 12. 01. 30 �� 11:20


The 4th Common-wealth Chambers of Commerce Networking Evening was celebrat-ed in the picturesque surroundings of the Waterfall Garden at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on September 23th. Organized jointly by the five commonwealth

chambers, more than 180 members and guests from the Australian, British, Canadian, Indian and New Zealand Cham-bers participated in this annual event that is quickly becoming a ‘must attend’ part of the expa-triate calendar. The Common-wealth Chambers Networking Evening provides a wonderful opportunity for attendees to get to know one another, make new connections and share ideas. Organizers were thrilled to see so many people, even long-time residents of Seoul meeting for the first time. Among the at-tendees were many high-profile businessmen and women in-cluding Mr. Bob Edwards, CEO of Chevron Korea, Mr. Abhay Phalke, CFO of Tata Daewoo, Mr. Lee Yoon Jong, CEO of Aju Capita and Mr. Lee Jay Young, CEO & Chairman of Ssangyong

4th annual

Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce Networking Evening Friday, 23 september 2011

Paper. The Hyatt again proved to be an outstanding venue as guests enjoyed the wonderful evening enhanced by perfect, crisp autumn weather. The high quality food from the Grand Hyatt was complimented by outstanding New Zealand bever-ages Montieth Beer, Rapaura Springs Merlot and Jane’s Sauvi-gnon Blanc from New Zealand’s renowned Marlborough region, all cheerfully imported and sup-plied by TiwiTrade. The joint hosts in turn shared a few brief words of welcome followed by a Lucky Draw with prizes ranging from bottles of wine, to dinners and rooms at the Grand Hyatt Seoul. The major prize was two 3-day all-access passes to the Korean F1 Grand Prix. Key to the great success of the evening were the sponsors; Tata Daewoo, Aju Capital, 2011 Korea F1 Grand Prix, Ssangyong Motors, The Arrival Store, The Grand Hyatt Seoul, Sante Fe, and Tiwi Trade.

The night was a great success and I look forward to the Fifth Annual Commonwealth Cham-bers networking event later this year.

EVENT REVIEWCommonwealth Chambers Evening Review

By Peter UnderwoodSenior Partner IRC Ltd.

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As part of the 29th Korean Interna-tional Music Festival and the Korea-Australia Year of Friendship, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) held a concert on October 6th. The concert at the Seoul Art Centre fea-tured the charismatic artistic direc-tor Richard Tognetti, who performs using a rare $10 million Guarneri Del Gesu violin.

In conjunction with AustCham and as part of the ACO’s commitment to bringing wonderful music to every-body, musicians from the ACO also gave a free recital to around 20 children from the Give Out Love Orphanage (Jusarang) and their sponsors. This recital was held on October 5 and showed music’s power to bring people together to share a joyous experience.

The ACO quartet was composed of Madeleine Boud and Rebecca Chan playing the violin, Stephen King on the viola and Melissa Barnard on the cello. The quartet played four pieces for the children; the second move-ment of Ravel’s Quartet in F major,

the first of Haydn’s Quartet No.5 in E flat major, Op.64, No.5 “The Lark”, the fourth movement of Haydn’s Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, Op.33, No.2 “The Joke”, and the third movement of Borodin’s Quartet No.2 in D major (Notturno).

The Give Out Love Orphanage based in the Gwanak area of southern Seoul is well known for taking care of disabled and abandoned infants and babies. For over 20 years Pastor Lee Jong Rak and his wife Jeong Byung Ok have been taking care of disabled and abandoned babies.

After the concert Jessica Block, Deputy General Manager of the ACO, said that it was a wonderful opportunity not only for the children to hear wonderful music, but also for the musicians to perform for such a responsive and grateful audience.


Jessica BlockDeputy General Manager


Yeosu Expo

Mr Kevin Nixon, Head, Yeosu Expo 2012 Secretariat presents a didgeridoo to Chairman Kang Dong-suk at the signing of Australia’s participation contract

Ms Jessica Gomes with the mascot, an Australian little penguin

Mr Ian Thorpe holds his certificate as Australia’s goodwill ambassador on 15 November 2011

Australia’s participation objectives

On 10 June 2011, Prime Minister Gillard telephoned ROK President Lee Myung-bak to inform him that Australia would participate in the Yeosu 2012 Expo (12 May – 12 August 2012). Since then, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has taken the lead in preparation for Australia’s participation in the Expo, and on 11 July, the Yeosu Expo 2012 Secretariat com-menced operations.

After extensive con-sultation with other agencies, the Secretariat has devel-oped key objectives for Australia’s participation. They are to 1) further strengthen our bilateral commercial relationship with Korea; 2) promote Australia’s environmental capabili-ties and commitment to addressing climate change including Australia’s coasts and oceans; and 3) reinforce Australia’s reputation as a high qual-ity educational services provider and as a safe, culturally diverse and excit-ing travel destination.

Our participation theme, Australia: In Harmony with the Ocean, pres-ents Australia’s credentials as a nation with high environmental,

scientific and technical capabilities in marine conservation and its commit-ment to sustainable development of our vast natural assets.

The Organising Committee has fore-cast total attendance throughout the Yeosu Expo period at approximately 8 million attendees, comprising 7.5 million domestic visitors and 500,000 international visitors.

Participation contract signedThe Secretariat has formally ex-ecuted and delivered Australia’s participation contract to the Yeosu 2012 International Expo Organising

Committee. The contract coupled with detailed con-struction design plans was present-ed to Chairman Kang Dong-suk of the Committee. Chairman Kang ap-plauded Australia’s development of a design concept that supported the overarching Expo theme and noted

that our proposed creative content would provide a positive experience for visitors to the Expo and reinforce Australia’s strong environmental credentials.

Australia’s goodwill ambassadors

The Secretariat has commenced development of a public diplo-macy program. On 12 December 2011, Ambas-sador Gerovich appointed Ms Jes-sica Gomes as a Goodwill Ambas-sador for Aus-tralia’s participa-tion at the 2012 Yeosu Expo. The launch comprised a series of public diplomacy events and follows on the success on 15 November of Ian Thorpe’s ap-pointment in the same role. Aus-tralia’s pavilion

mascot, an Australian little penguin, was also unveiled at the event. Little penguins are particularly vulnerable to the impact of humans, espe-cially the effects of climate change through changes in sea level, tem-perature and decreased rainfall. Our choice of this mascot underscored the vital importance to Australia of living in harmony with our ocean.

Australian National Day Celebration

In consultation with the Australian Embassy in Seoul, the Secretariat has nominated 27 May 2012 as our dedicated National Day. This date is the only long weekend in Korea during the Expo period, and for this reason we anticipate high attendance at the Yeosu Expo. In addition, it coincides with the commencement of Reconciliation Week in Australia, which would be relevant to elements of our cultural program.

The emphasis of the cultural program will be orientated to our National Day, with additional elements of the program active throughout the major-ity of the Yeosu Expo period.

Opportunities for Australian companies

There will be a targeted business program run-ning throughout the Expo period. Particular opportuni-ties for business promotion would arise from Austra-lia’s National Day celebra-tion on 27 May 2012, when a high level of government

representation would be made from both Australia

and Korea. There will be a dedicated week to be allocated to emphasise sector-specific or state-specific busi-ness opportunities.

A number of projects will be de-veloped in conjunction with other agencies, including Austrade and Tourism Australia. Australian busi-nesses already operating or consid-ering operating in Korea would be encouraged to participate in these projects for networking opportunities or further business promotion.

Australia fully committed to The 2012 Yeosu Expo


The 5th Annual AustCham Chair-man’s Night was held on October 7th. It was a wonderful evening showcasing the amazing talents of AustCham’s members and friends. The theme was KorOZ Super Star and was held at the SMS Art Centre in Shinsa Dong. The exciting eve-ning brought out many members of the chamber who we hadn’t seen for a while.

After some brief words of welcome from Chairman Jim Lim and Event Organizer, Harry Lee the 150 mem-bers and guests were revved up by The CEO Band, featuring songs sung by ANZA Vice President Sta-cey Evans and AustCham Member John Walker.

Nine teams of Aust-Cham members and friends performed in a talent contest across a wide range of styles including singers, crooners, musicians, dancers and percus-sionists. The win-ners included: Martin

Walsh with a great version of My Way, The Roly Poly Dancers from Incoaching and Nina Park.

After the talent contest Stacey Evens led the CEO Band in an upbeat romp of hits from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s. The evening was successful because of the tireless efforts of the team from SMS Art Centre and the support of all of our prize sponsors.

october 7th 2011

Harry LeePresident of Telston and a Director of AustCham

5th Annual Chairman’s Night Review


Impact• Conditions in global financial markets and the real

economy remained fractious over the past month, with the European sovereign debt crisis at the epicentre of the deteriorating outlook.

• However, increasing focus is also being directed towards Asia, with domestically driven slowdowns in both China and India, as well as a slowing Asian export cycle, weighing on the regional outlook. Indeed, as a re-sult of the slowdown in Asia we now expect that global growth will fall below 4% over 2012.

Outlook• We have downgraded our CY2012 Indian GDP growth

forecast to 6.9%, from 7.8% previously (or 6.9% from 7.9% on an Indian fiscal year basis) While the weak-ening global outlook does factor in the deteriorating economic environment, the slowdown is primarily a result of domestic issues, including the delayed impact of a tight monetary policy. Weak business sentiment and a high cost of capital will weigh on private sector investment into 2012, while the combination of little fiscal restraint and a current account deficit also cre-ates unfavourable funding risks heading into a period of heightened risk aversion.

• We have also downgraded our 2012 Chinese GDP growth forecast, with an increasing risk that GDP growth will fall below 8% in 1H2012. The combination of a tight monetary policy and credit conditions, a prop-erty market slowdown and the impact of a global trade cycle on exports will all continue to weigh on growth over the coming months, and while we do not expect the Chinese economy to experience a hard landing, we nonetheless expect negative momentum in the Chinese economy with policy easing to come through only slowly.

• Given the economic slowdown in China and India and a recession in Europe, the slowing global trade cycle is increasingly impacting the rest of the Asian region. We have further downgraded our growth expectations for the Asian region in 2012. Indeed, the current export slowdown is likely to result in weaker domestic conditions and the policymaker response across the region remains variable.

AnalysisOutside the developing slowdown in the Asian region, the impending recession in Europe and its sovereign debt crisis remains a key focus. While markets were overwhelming pessimistic following

the outcome of the European summit, we remain slightly more optimistic on the prospects for fiscal consolidation and a resolution to long-term challenges. The key ques-tion, however, remains the extent to which the European Central Bank (ECB) acts as a short-term support mecha-nism for markets, banks, and the broader economy. While there have been mixed comments from policymak-ers over recent weeks, we remain more optimistic than the broader market of ECB support.

• That said, fiscal consolidation, combined with bank deleveraging, will significantly weigh on growth over the coming year. Indeed, we see an emerging dynamic across developed markets of tight fiscal policy, com-bined with loose monetary policy.

• In the US, recent economic data supports ongoing momentum within the economy, and we continue to expect moderate but sub-trend growth in the US of around 2.4% over 2012. That said, we have downgrad-ed our 2013-14 GDP growth forecasts as fiscal consoli-dation weighs on growth, but simultaneously pushed out the timeframe for tightening from the Federal Reserve until 2014. Indeed, we expect long-term bond yields to remain low for a considerable period of time.

• We have also downgraded our 2012 GDP forecasts for New Zealand to 2.9%, from 3.3% previously. While a significant delay in rebuilding from the Canterbury earthquake is now well and truly factored into market expectations, the combination of a slowing export cycle and significant fiscal tightening will result in moderately weaker growth over 2012.

EcONOMIc OUTlOOkMacquarie

Macquarie Global Economic Outlookasia slowing

Disclaimer: This article is an excerpt from Macquarie research which was published in December 2011. Therefore, this article does not include any new opinions on value or target price of stocks and should not be regarded as new research material.


EVENT REVIEWKorean Australian Alumni Dinner Event Review

The event was a chance to recognise the strength of the alumni, who are actively partici-pating in a large cross-section of industries in Korea. Not only was it a fantastic networking oppor-tunity for all, but the event also celebrated the Year of Friend-ship–50 years since the estab-lishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Korea.Guests in attendance con-gratulated this year’s winners of the Australian Government’s Australia Awards as well as viewing two short feature films showcasing Australian education and prestigious Korea Australia alumni.Following the formal opening ceremony, participants enjoyed a buffet dinner including Aus-tralian wine and cuisine and an

opportunity to network before the main enter-tainment of the eve-ning. This year’s gala event en-tertainment program was led by famous Korean comedian Mr Yong-Chul Kim, who treated guests to an interactive program, seeing up to 40 people participating on stage. Finally, thanks to the overwhelming support of all our sponsors many of the alumni walked away with some fantas-tic prizes in the lucky draw.A special thank you to all the

event’s kind sponsors including Gold Sponsors (AEI, Curtin University, Central Queensland University, NSW TAFE, Victorian Government, Austcham Korea, Bada Education Centre, Kokos International) and Silver Sponsors (Mac-

quarie University, UTS:Insearch, University of Melbourne, Black-mores, Perth Education City and IDP).The next KAA gala event is scheduled to be held in con-junction with the 2012 Study in Australia Exhibition, 25 October 2012. All participating institu-tional representatives should take advantage of this excel-lent opportunity to meet with their alumni representatives and members in Korea. More updates to follow this year.

The Korea Australia Alumni (KAA) held its annual Gala Event on 23 November at the JW Marriott Hotel in Seoul with the support of Austrade. KAA President Chris Lee introduced the Australian Ambassador to Korea, HE Mr Sam Gerovich, who welcomed the group of almost 400 Australian alumni.


QUESTION & ANSWER

Q&A

Interview with

Q1 Please describe how you came to be working here in Seoul.

I had previously served in Europe and wanted experience in Asia. As an economist by training I had worked closely with Korea in the OECD, APEC and the G20 and so was delighted when offered the opportunity to work at the Australian Embassy in Seoul as Deputy Head of Mission.

Q2 What do you enjoy most about living and working in Seoul?

I regard Seoul as something of a New York of North Asia - a dynamic, growing and increasingly cosmopolitan city. I enjoy the neon at night, of course, and the effort that has been made to make the most of the city’s urban features. But it is the palaces in their extraordinary natural set-tings which came as the most pleasant surprise.

Q3 When you go back to Australia, is there anything you would like to take back and show Australians?

I think Australians and Koreans share many char-acteristics which explain our close people-to-peo-ple links - we are hard-working, good-humoured and engaged with the region. In terms of what to take back, I would definitely recommend ondol floor heating, particularly for Canberra winters!

Q4 Please outline your role as DHOM

As the Deputy Head of Mission my role is to support the Ambassador, HE Sam Gerovich, in advancing Australia’s interests in Korea which is a close ‘middle power’ partner for Australia in the region and beyond. As our third largest export market, Korea is of vital importance to Australia. I also take a close interest in promoting Australia as a sophisticated, dynamic and innova-tive partner for Korea, particularly in this ‘Year of Friendship’ which marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between our countries.

Q5 What do you see as the role of AustCham?

Ambassador Gerovich is the patron of AustCham and embassy colleagues highly value our relation-ship with chamber members. The chamber plays an important role in representing the interests of the Australian business community operating in Korea. It also provides a useful networking space for Australian business expats.

Q6 Are there any particular events that you have enjoyed?

In my short time here I have already had the opportunity to attend the Australian Business Awards in November. But I particularly enjoy the more informal occasions to meet with Chamber members and understand their perspectives.

And finally four fast questions!

AFL Team and why?Having grown up in Western Sydney, I am more familiar with the rugby codes. It will be great to see the Greater Western Sydney Giants make inroads into that area and I hope they do well.

The place in Australia you most want Koreans to visit?As Australia is a continental destination, that is a hard question to answer. But I think too many tour-ists bypass Melbourne which I think provides a dif-ferent look and feel from Sydney, my home town.

What place in Korea should every expat know about?There are so many national treasures to visit here in Korea. I would nominate Gyeongju for its concentration of historical sites and architectural significance.

Favourite place in Korea (so far)?A few weeks ago I spent sunrise at Buseoksa Temple in Yeongju which sits atop a beautiful val-ley - so far my favourite destination. I have only just arrived in Seoul so I look forward to discover-ing more about this fascinating country.

the new Deputy Head of Mission at the australian embassy

Brendan Berne

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