NO.061

AUSTRALIAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ASSETS EXCEED $1TRILLION

The Australian managed funds market has surpassed $1trillion in consolidated assets, eclipsing other markets in South East Asia, and reflecting Australia’s status as the global centre for funds management in the Asia-Pacific region.

This milestone highlights the strength of Australia’s managed funds market and its status as one of the world’s fastest growing pools of assets. The size and growth of assets under management are significant drawcards for global financial services companies that are considering setting up or expanding their operations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia’s financial services sector is a major driver of Australia’s economic growth — finance and insurance is the third-largest sector in Australia’s economy, generating almost 7.5percent or $61 billion of GDP.

Australia ranks globally as:

• the 17^th-largest economy in the world;
• the seventh-biggest foreign exchange market in the world;
• the US$/A$ is the fourth-most traded currency pair in the world;
• the A$ is the sixth-most traded currency in the world;
• the eighth-largest stock market exchange in the world; and
• the tenth-largest international debt securities market in the world.

The achievement of the $1trillion figure for consolidated assets in the Australian managed funds market was confirmed with the release today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics of the March Quarter figures for managed funds in Australia (ABS Catalogue No.5655.0, Managed Funds Australia March Quarter 2006).

Although total assets (unconsolidated) of Australia’s managed funds had reached $1trillion a year ago, the consolidated figure is the more significant measure of total assets under management as it eliminates any cross-investment and duplication from the figures.

CANBERRA

19 June 2006

Contact: Renae Stoikos

02 6277 7340