With a population of 2.2 million, covers a vast area of 2.5 million square kilometers, and has a coastline stretching more than 12,500 kilometers.

The State's capital, Perth (population 1.6 million), is a beautiful, clean, safe city, located over a thousand kilometres from the mines, oil and gas fields of the major mineral province - the Pilbara.

Rated the world's fifth most liveable city by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2009, Perth is a green and tree-filled city built around a magnificent river, and along a coastline of white sandy beaches and clear blue waters.

High standards

Western Australians enjoy high living standards quality housing and world-class education and health services. The State's economy is highly developed, with almost 70% of its workforce employed in a diverse services sector, supported by advanced transport and communications systems.

In 2008-09, the Gross State Product per capita income (at current prices) was A$77,108, the highest of any Australian State and well above the national average of A$57,903.

Industry operates to high environmental and safety standards and Western Australia's regional cities and towns are well serviced and clean. Collie, the State's major coal mining centre, was selected as Australia's tidiest town in 2006.

Wealth of the Land and Sea

Western Australia is a land rich in life's luxuries, including jewels, fine food and wine. The State produces more than 5% of the world's gold and almost 10% of its diamonds, including highly valued pink and yellow diamonds, found nowhere else in the world. Western Australia is also a major producer of pearls, especially the South Sea Pearl, the largest and finest in the world. The State's oceans are famous for the rock lobster that accounts for 60% by value of Australia's catch, and many other seafoods, while the State's vast land area provides soils and climates suited to a variety of agricultural production, with grains, wool and meat being the main products.

But it is Western Australia's resources industry which is the driving force of the State's economy and its growing trade relationship with India. For many years Western Australia has proved itself a reliable and competitive source of high quality mineral resources for India's economic growth.

India is Western Australia's third largest merchandise export market, with exports valuing A$7.6 billion in 2009. The major export item is gold, accounting for more than 80% of Western Australia's merchandise exports to India. Other important export commodities include copper, petroleum, diamonds (exported indirectly via Antwerp) paints and pigments, wool, nickel, ores, inorganic chemicals and wheat.

As India continues to grow, Western Australia is positioned to provide long term LNG supplies to serve its energy needs - a role the State already plays for markets such as Japan and China. 2009 saw the beginnings of this potential trade relationship emerging with ExxonMobil signing a sales and purchase agreement with Indian company Petronet LNG to supply 1.5MTA of LNG over 20 years from the planned Gorgon LNG project.

India is also an important investor in the State's industries. Notable investments include Hindalco's investment and purchase of the Nifty Copper Mine, an investment of an estimated A$80 million; Burrup Fertilisers (part of the Oswal Group) A$630 million investment in a fertiliser plant in the State's north west; and Perdaman Industries' A$3.5 billion investment in a urea production facility in Collie.

Planning for the future

Renowned for its strong performing resources sector, Western Australia is a reliable and competitive source of high quality minerals and petroleum.

The State is preparing for future growth, with a wide range of new resources being developed including rare earths, lithium and uranium.

A $4 billion deep water port, rail and industrial land project, currently underway at Oakajee, will also help to service the resource rich Mid West region.

In the petroleum arena, natural gas reserves of up to 4,480 billion cubic metres have been discovered in Western Australia and are among the 10 largest resources in the world. Annual LNG production capacity (16.3 million tonnes) is about 10% of world production and new gas production and LNG processing will more than treble this in coming years.

A new LNG precinct is being planned to develop major gas fields in the Browse Basin off Western Australia's far northern coast, where natural gas reserves have reached 840 billion cubic metres and future discoveries are predicted.

Western Australia's skills and technology now play a part in resources development around the world, with Perth a major centre for petroleum and sub-sea exploration and growing numbers of international companies choosing Perth as the base for their operations.

A major project is also underway to double the area of irrigated land in the Ord Valley in the State's tropical north to create new opportunities for investment in food production.

New business opportunities

Beyond Western Australia's predominant resources industry, the State also offers new business opportunities in the education, training, services and technology sectors.

Western Australia's educational institutions attract tens of thousands of international students, with India providing the second largest number from any single country with more than 7000 Indian students enrolling in the State in 2009. Western Australia currently holds the fourth largest student population in Australia: 8 per cent of those are international students. Popular areas of study include management, commerce, engineering, information technology, language and culture.

Medicine is an area in which Western Australian researchers have recorded remarkable achievements:

• 2005 Nobel Prize laureates Professor Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren developed an effective treatment for stomach ulcers;
• Perth-based Lions Eye Institute is the largest eye research institute in the southern hemisphere; and
• Work under Dr Fiona Wood is leading the world in the treatment of burns.

High standards of research and teaching in Western Australia's universities and vocational institutions also help to support the development of the State's world-class industries and services.

A wide range of advanced management, engineering, information and industrial expertise and technology is behind Western Australia's success as a major global resources producer and exporter.

This has developed through meeting the challenges of finding, extracting and shipping resources at competitive prices from remote locations in hostile landscapes and deep off-shore waters.

Western Australia is a mineral and petroleum rich State with a proven track record of successful resource projects and strong economic growth which is forecast to continue in these sectors in the medium to long term. However there are many more reasons to invest in Western Australia including:

• A skilled and productive workforce
• An outwardly focused business culture
• Low sovereign risk and pro-development government policies
• Close proximity to expanding markets in Asia
• Comprehensive air, land and sea transport systems for people and freight
• An attractive lifestyle for international investors with its open, relaxed and multicultural environment.

For more information about the business opportunities in Western Australia contact the Western Australian Trade and Investment Office in Mumbai:

Western Australia Trade Office
93, Jolly Maker Chamber II Mumbai 400021 Tel: 91 22 66303973 Fax: 91 22 66303977 Mbl: 91 9820619650/
91 9967830069
Website: http://www.dsd.wa.gov.au and http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au