Malaysia, Singapore Priority Markets For NSW - Minister

SINGAPORE, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- New South Wales Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events, Stuart Ayres, sees stronger ties between the south-eastern Australian state and Malaysia and Singapore. Ayres said this in a statement after returning from a four-day mission to Singapore and Malaysia where he met with investor groups focusing on financial technology, urban redevelopment, tourism and hospitality. "Both Singapore and Malaysia are priority markets for NSW which is why we were in the countries spruiking NSW as a great place for investment. "We are well-positioned to make the most of the opportunities available in South-East Asia but we have to work for it. It is a highly competitive market and Australia is a draw card, but we want to bring them specifically to NSW," he said. In Singapore, Ayres signed a two-year agreement between the NSW Government's major tourism and events agency Destination NSW and low-cost airline carrier Scoot. The partnership includes multiple marketing campaigns to increase inbound tourism from Singapore to Sydney and across regional NSW. "We will continue the strategic relationship the NSW Government has enjoyed with Scoot over the past four years to boost visitation to our state," he said. He also met with the Singaporean Minister for Trade and the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry to talk about opportunities for further collaborations. "Singapore is Australia's fifth largest trading partner and Malaysia is Australia's fifth biggest source of foreign direct investment in Asia," he said. Ayres noted the meetings revealed how highly these countries view the investment possibilities in NSW, with our expertise in financial and professional services and 'Triple A' credit rating. "Both countries are signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will provide further opportunities for NSW business over and above our existing free trade agreements," he said. --BERNAMA