Australia’s strong wealth management sector will be a significant beneficiary of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, believes.
Speaking in the House of Representatives, Frydenberg hit out at Labor’s opposition to the Government’s free trade agreements with Korea, Japan and China.
He told the house that all Australians would benefit under the ChAFTA, forecasting that the financial services sector would be one of the big winners from the deal.
“We will be supercharged in the financial services sector by virtue of this China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, because we are good in wealth management, we are good in banking and we are good in superannuation,” he said.
“And they are all products we will export into Asia, and we will benefit from the three billion people that enter into that middle-class over the coming decades.”
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has called for the Federal Parliament to pass the legislation during its’ October sittings stating any delays would reduce Australia’s headstart in the region.
FSC, Acting chief executive, Andrew Bragg said ChAFTA would provide access to the Chinese market and financial sector which was not available to Japan, the U.S. and most of Europe.
“We are the first major financial centre with broad access to China. ChAFTA builds essential architecture Australian companies need to export our services which our competitors do not have.”
“ChAFTA legislation must be passed in October. Any delay would slow down implementation and damage our head start in China.”
“Certain financial services components of the agreement will take years to implement via agreements with central banks and corporate regulators.”
