Western Australia: It’s Like No Other magazine has launched! The flagship publication from the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation showcases our amazing State and is packed full of content all about initiatives happening in Western Australia.

From introducing WA’s Investment and Trade Commissioners and scientific trailblazers, to showcasing space projects happening in our great State, the first edition of the magazine is full to the brim with stories about WA – including one about local seafood exporter Austral Fisheries winning a 2021 environmental award for becoming the first seafood business in the world to achieve carbon neutral certification in 2016.

Click the link here to read the magazine and make sure to subscribe for future editions. Source and Image: JTSI

A once-in-a-decade report from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, identifies seven global megatrends that hold the key to the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

With an outlook to 2042, Our Future World revisits CSIRO’s ground-breaking 2012 report of the same name, exploring the geopolitical, economic, social, technological and environmental forces unfolding around the world, predicting their likely impact on Australia’s people, businesses and governments. 

The seven global megatrends are: Adapting to climate change; Leaner, cleaner and greener; The escalating health imperative; Geopolitical shifts; Diving into digital; Increasingly autonomous and Unlocking the human dimension.

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Larry Marshall said megatrends help us to understand the challenges and massive opportunities that will shape our future. He said the next wave of digital innovation will generate up to $15 trillion globally and that Australia can tap into this to transform existing jobs, creating new jobs and wealth while leveraging Artificial Intelligence to solve some of our greatest challenges.

The CSIRO report says global demand for protein is increasing, particularly across Asian nations. This demand will be met by conventionally farmed protein sources, as well as new protein alternatives which are more resource-efficient to produce (for example, plant-based meats, edible insects, seaweed). Alternative proteins are expected to make up around 22% of the world’s protein market by 2035, and sales of plant-based meats could reach $3 billion in Australia.  More... Source: CSIRO | Related: CSIRO chief talks about the science megatrends we are up against Source: National Press Club of Australia / ABC News | Photo: CSIRO 

Southwestern China is a fast-growing region with affluent customers, and it is the region in which Australian exporters should consider developing business, according to Austrade.

An Australian Chamber of Commerce survey in 2019 showed Australian businesses heavily invested in the Tier-one cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen that made up 79% of the total spend. The survey also showed how fast-developing Southwestern China cities like Chengdu, Chongqing and Xi’an are relegated below Tier-one in importance for foreign businesses.

However, the recent Chinese government plans announced for Southwestern China should give Australian businesses some confidence in the region. This region is home to sophisticated and affluent consumers. The residents of the region have more disposable income than their peers in Tier-one and Tier-two cities. They also rank third nationwide for spending on luxury items.

In recognition of the region’s demand for imported goods, the Ministry of Commerce hosted the first cross-border e-commerce expo in Southwestern China in 2021. Chengdu also has a relaxed lifestyle with a thriving and open society. Australian businesses should explore new ways to connect their brands with the diverse consumers of China’s Southwestern cities. More... Source: Austrade | Photo: Shu Qian / Unsplash [Chengdu, China]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced a 3.2% revised downward forecast to global growth in 2022 and 2.9% in 2023.

A tentative recovery in 2021 has been followed by increasingly gloomy developments in 2022 as risks began to materialise, the IMF says in its latest World Economic Outlook Update.

“The global economy is still reeling from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine," said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, IMF’s Chief Economist. "We are now facing a gloomy and uncertain outlook.  The world’s three largest economies – the US, China, and Europe – are stalling." 

The IMF says several shocks have hit a world economy already weakened by the pandemic: higher-than-expected inflation worldwide – especially in the United States and major European economies – triggering tighter financial conditions; a worse-than-anticipated slowdown in China, reflecting COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns; and further negative spillovers from the war in Ukraine. More... Source and Graphic: IMF