Talk to an expert in Southeast Asia
We can help establish or grow your business in NSW, or to export products from NSW to customers in Southeast Asia.
Key contact
Janice Goh - Trade and Investment Director, Southeast Asia
Singapore office
Address
88 Market Street
CapitaSpring #21-01
Singapore 048948
Indonesia office
Address
Australian Embassy
Jl. Patra Kuningan Raya Kav 1-4 Jakarta Jakarta 12950 Indonesia
Vietnam office
Address
Chancery Australian Embassy
No. 8 Dao Tan Street
Ba Dinh District Hanoi
Vietnam
Malaysia office
Address
Austrade, Australian High Commission
6 Jalan Yap Kwan Seng
Kuala Lumpur 50450
Malaysia
Key facts
Southeast Asia is one of the largest and fastest-growing economic zones in the world, with a forecasted 70% of its population expected to join the middle class by 2030.
As a bloc, Southeast Asia is NSW's third largest two-way trading partner and the region has been growing by over 9 per cent annually over the last five years, reaching a value of $33 billion in 2023-24.
Singapore is Australia's largest trade and investment partner in Southeast Asia and ninth largest two-way trading partner overall. NSW also has active sister state agreements with several jurisdictions throughout the region, including Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.
Opportunities to grow in NSW
Southeast Asia is becoming increasingly urbanised, wealthy and digitised.
The growth and transformation of Southeast Asia is being driven by expanding cities, a growing consumer class, digital disruption and international connectivity. In response, we will direct our efforts into six broad areas that support Southeast Asia’s growth and change.
In each of these focus areas, there is opportunity for us to build on our existing partnership with the region to further enhance trade and investment, benefiting both NSW and Southeast Asia.
1. Infrastructure and smart cities
2. Technology
3. Education
4. High-quality food
Exporting opportunities for NSW
Australian capability is well regarded in Southeast Asia, so exporters will find a number of opportunities available to them. This includes in service-related industries, advanced engineering and manufacturing, food and beverage, and technology (including ehealth, medical devices and information and communications technology).
In 2023-24, Singapore was NSW’s ninth largest two-way trading partner in goods (A$6.1 billion). However, our goods exports were just A$1.6 billion, making it our 12th largest export market. Singapore was Australia’s sixth largest market for services exports ($5.5 billion) and eighth largest source of foreign investment ($140 billion).
Across all of Southeast Asia, NSW merchandise exports were worth $10.1bn in 2023-24.
With its high population density and limited natural resources, Singapore is also heavily reliant on imported agricultural products.