5495.0 - Australian Outward Foreign Affiliates Trade, 2002-03  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/10/2004   
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Foreign businesses affiliated with Australian resident businesses generated $142.3 billion (b) in sales revenue for goods and services in 2002-03, according to new globalisation figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Australian businesses had 4,012 foreign affiliates that employed 321,924 staff.

Manufacturing was the dominant industry of foreign affiliates, with sales revenue of $36.7b (26% of total sales revenue) and employing 120,368 staff (37% of total employment).

Foreign affiliates residing in New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America together accounted for more than 50% of all key measures of foreign affiliate trade activity, including:

    • number of foreign affiliates
    • employment and wages/ salaries of foreign affiliates
    • sales and purchases of goods and services.

Foreign affiliates operated in similar industries to those of their Australian parent. They also were primarily established to service the markets where they resided, with around 90% of sales revenue for goods and services in the host country of the foreign affiliate.

This release is part of an ABS initiative to improve globalisation statistics for Australia.

Further information is available in the new publication Survey of Outward Foreign Affiliates Trade, experimental results, 2002-03 (cat. no. 5495.0).

Media Note: A foreign affiliate is an overseas business that is more than 50% owned by an Australian resident enterprise. This includes offshore subsidiaries, branches and majority-owned foreign joint ventures.