MELBOURNE - VICTORIA

Melbourne, the capital of the State of Victoria, is acknowledged as one of the most liveable and multicultural cities in the world. Melbourne is the pulse of Victoria's dynamic yet stable economy. With a population of 3.4 million projected to grow to approximately 3.8 million by 2020, it contributes 17.9% to Australia's national GDP. Melbourne was rated by Fortune Magazine as the third best city for business in Asia in 1999.

Melbourne is home to at least eight of the world's top 1000 global companies, including 'new economy' players LookSmart, Netscape, Nortel and Oracle as well as a range of quality financial and business support services, international banks, insurance companies, retail organisations, trading and energy companies and government agencies. The city is also a centre for major business support services including accounting, stockbroking and legal services, as well as advertising, marketing and personnel recruitment.

The Victorian Government provides a range of services to assist the development of industry. Melbourne is already a centre for hi-tech, knowledge-based companies including IBM, Philips, NEC, Nokia, Ericsson, Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems, AltaVista, Holden, Kraft Foods, Boeing ASTA Components and the Herald and Weekly Times.

Melbourne is an affordable city. The cost of setting up an office in the CBD is only 28% of Singapore. Industrial rents are less than half that of Sydney and only 20% of Hong Kong. Living costs are around half of those in Hong Kong and Osaka, and approximately 70% of those in Seoul and Singapore.

Melbourne is home to residents originating from more than 130 countries. Melbourne's workforce is highly skilled, educated, productive and technically literate. It is ranked ahead of the USA, Singapore and Malaysia in terms of IT skills. Melbourne's salary costs are competitive and significantly lower than those in Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore and Osaka.