Government to promote financial services

New team to work with industry

By Wouter Klijn
Fri 01 Aug 2008

The Prime Minister has unveiled a new Treasury group for the promotion of Australia's financial services sector.

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The Government will create a new team within the Treasury to promote Australia as a hub for financial services, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced yesterday.

"This team will build on the ongoing work we have been doing across the Government with industry organisations such as IFSA, the ABA and the Insurance Council, as well as with individual businesses," Rudd said during the Financial Services Hub Summit in Sydney.

The team will become the point of contact for the sector and its first task is to establish priority areas for action, before the end of the year.

The Government's Financial Sector Advisory Council will oversee the team and its recommendations.

Rudd said the Government has an important role to play in promotion of financial service through deregulation, education and creating a competitive taxation regime.

"One of the most critical ways in which the Government can act is to enable greater access to overseas markets for financial services, which are often subject to significant barriers to entry," Rudd said.

"The Government is actively pursuing improved access to the Hong Kong market (and indirectly to the mainland Chinese market) by pursuing mutual recognition agreements to help lower barriers for Australian funds managers."

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