Firms should seize the openings from new S'pore-Australia pact

ENGAGEMENT with Asia has been part of the economic mantra of every Australian government since the 1980s. In that time, Australia's trade with Asia has soared, but many of those bilateral economic relationships are still transactional rather than truly integrated. Australia exports boat-loads of minerals, energy and food, and imports electronics, toys and clothes, but we often tend to see each other mainly as customers rather than partners.

True engagement is about more than buying and selling; it must involve deeper bilateral integration between people and businesses. While leading Australian companies such as Linfox, Lend Lease and others are active in Asean, Australia is sti…