The business leaders also want to boost access for Australian agricultural technology to help India develop more sustainable farming techniques, as it looks to Australian resources and capability to help drive Mr Modi’s net-zero ambitions.
The secretariat of the forum is the Business Council of Australia, whose chief executive, Bran Black, will travel to India next week to finalise the draft recommendations.
Bran Black: “We want to see more Australian and Indian businesses working together to create new economic opportunities.” Michael Quelch
“We want to see more Australian and Indian businesses working together to create new economic opportunities and generate jobs in both countries,” Mr Black said.
“These recommendations will identify areas of needed policy and regulatory reform that will increase two-way trade and investment. This relationship will only grow with strong corporate leadership on both sides.”
Jodi McKay, a former NSW opposition leader who leads the forum, will also be on the trip. The pair will meet the Confederation of Indian Industry, as well as Australian companies operating in India, including Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, National Australia Bank, Macquarie and Telstra.
The policy suggestions aim to capitalise on the Australia-India Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement (ECTA) that came into force in late 2022. A second free trade agreement, known as the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA), could be signed later this year.
India, whose GDP is expected to grow at 6.8 per cent this financial year according to the IMF, is Australia’s fifth-largest export market. Two-way trade is worth about $46.5 billion. This is set to expand on the back of the FTAs and closer government and economic ties.
Macquarie Group CEO Shemara Wikramanayake is co-chair of the Australia-India CEO Forum. Peter Rae
The CEO forum has five joint working groups: finance, investment and infrastructure; the digital economy; education; energy, resources, net-zero and critical minerals; and agricultural technology.
The groups “present a unique opportunity for the Australian and Indian business community to discuss their experiences and convey to their respective governments how they believe our bilateral relationship can be elevated across trade and investment,” Ms Wikramanayake told BCA members last month.
In February, she met with forum co-chairman Anish Shah, CEO of Indian conglomerate the Mahindra Group, which “reaffirmed our joint commitment to drive the forum forward ahead of our annual meeting to be held later this year”, Ms Wikramanayake said.
AustralianSuper has already dipped its toes in Indian infrastructure investment. In August 2019, it agreed to invest up to $US1 billion with India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, which is funding transport, energy and urban infrastructure.
ANZ Bank’s head of institutional banking, Mark Whelan – who was in India last week – said foreign direct investment into the country would increase, and business collaboration was key.
Mark Whelan: “There are some big high-quality diversified local companies in India looking for partners.” Oscar Colman
“It reminds me of China 10 to 15 years ago,” he said. “There are some big, high-quality diversified local companies in India looking for partners. The potential is huge. But we have seen false dawns in India over the years, so we need to be pragmatic. It gets down to setting up foundations and business actually engaging to push it along.”
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott is a member of the forum’s finance working group, which is chaired by Verena Lim, CEO of Macquarie in Asia, and also includes AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder. With India seeking foreign capital to support its infrastructure boom, Australian investors are keen to reduce risks including from its underdeveloped legal system.
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn is on the digital working group, chaired by Kim Krogh Andersen, group executive of product and technology at Telstra. It also includes Canva boss Melanie Perkins and Atlassian co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes.
This group may recommend linking the countries’ fast payments systems, lifting Australian companies’ access to Indian cybersecurity skills, and pushing Australian capability to help India address scams and fraud. India is also seeking to export digital identity services, while both countries are looking at how AI regulation might be harmonised.
Other Australian bosses participating in the forum include Eva Hanly, from Fortescue Energy; Kellie Parker, Rio Tinto’s Australian boss; Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi; BlueScope Steel CEO Mark Vassella; Toll Group managing director Alan Beacham; GrainCorp CEO Robert Spurway; and Incitec Pivot’s Scott Bowman. The working group on education includes University of Melbourne vice chancellor Duncan Maskell and Macquarie University vice chancellor Bruce Dowton.
On the Indian side, participants include Debadatta Chand, CEO of the Bank of Baroda; Torrent Energy executive director Jigish Mehta; Ramesh Ramachandran, managing director of EPC Irrigation; and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance CEO Tapan Singhel.
ANZ has established new banking relationships with 15 Australian companies expanding into India over the past year, in sectors including education, funds management and communications. It opened a new office in Mumbai last week, which has a team of 80 bankers and room to expand.