Steve Sargent, the head of General Electric’s operations in Australia, says people are often surprised to learn that a nation of 22m is now one of GE’s biggest markets – bigger than China in fact.
The secret lies in a resources boom that allows the conglomerate to sell locomotives, turbines and underwater technology for the massive mining and energy projects that abound across the island continent. But it is misleading to see this purely as an Australian success story.
“Remember it’s not Australians buying what we produce; ultimately it’s 3bn people north-west of here,” he says. “If developing Asia is the growth engine of the global economy then mineral-rich Australia provides the fuel.”