A group of Adelaide business leaders are exploring how to boost trade and investment with China with a more streamlined approach to advice and support, according to Bank SA’s chief executive Nick Reade.

Reade told InDaily that he thought an “independent” body that could “rise above self-interest” was needed to help secure the opportunities and economic gains offered by China.

Discussing trade issues on the release of Business SA’s latest Trends publication, Reade said free trade agreements (FTAs) with China, Korea and Japan offered “enormous benefits” over time and he was “fully supportive” of initiatives like this week’s trade mission to China.

But he thought people may not yet fully understand the potential of the FTA markets.

“We have to do a better job of explaining the benefits, what does (an FTA) mean, how do you tap into it, and who is the conduit to support business,” Reade said in an interview with InDaily.

“A bit of urgency around it would be great to make sure we don’t talk about it for too long and we actually get on with the job,” he said.

Asked if, after the fanfare of the trade mission fades, there was sufficient support available to help businesses take on markets like China, Reade revealed that talks are already underway on that front.

“There are a whole lot of ideas flying around but essentially we need, either with government or outside of government, a more independent way to try and create a forum or a mechanism where businesses could tap into advice and direction,” Reade said.

Reade said a number of Government agencies, banks and organisations like Business SA were playing a role but he thought there was still a gap in support and services.

“What I think we do need is a bit of an umbrella program that can bring it all together and make it a bit more seamless for businesses so they don’t have to go to multiple parties,” he said.

“We need a concierge, if you like, who could facilitate conversations with a number of parties, one point of contact with specialists underneath for the different activities.

“It is easier to say than to actually do, so that’s the challenge. But I can guarantee you that there are conversations and discussions going on around how you might facilitate that.

“I’m buoyed by the fact that there are a number of business leaders in South Australia who are interested enough to at least get together and discuss these things.”

BankSA’s latest Trends publication, prepared in conjunction with Deloitte Access Economics, contains a detailed analysis of South Australia’s defence capability and prospects.

It takes a more sanguine view of the state’s defence industry prospects than has been offered by various protagonists in the recent public debate over the capability of the Australian Submarine Corporation.

Nick Reade says that amidst the debate surrounding looming decisions in defence spending and their effect on the state’s defence industry, it was “timely for Bank SA to take a step back and provide South Australians with some clarity around these issues”.

Nick Reade “alert but not alarmed over SA defence industry prospects

In his forward to the publication, Reade writes that “naval shipbuilding is, by its very nature, prone to peaks and troughs in workload”.

“Striving to avoid peaks and troughs is a difficult task at the best of times, but it has been made much harder because the industry’s number one customer – the Australian Government – has delayed multi-billion dollar decisions in the face of a challenging budget environment.

“This presents issues now for South Australia’s shipbuilding industry. However, while the debate surrounding the Future Submarines project has been particularly fierce, it is important that Australians in general – and South Australians in particular – don’t see this as a life or death struggle.

“Buying and equipping submarines is a complex business. Building Australia’s Future Submarines in Adelaide would be a great outcome for South Australian industry. But so too would building those same submarines in Japan or Germany if South Australia secures the outfitting and maintenance activities for the submarines.

“The involvement of Australia’s defence industries in the development, construction and sustainment of our Future Submarines is important to this state, but there needs to be greater recognition that there are many roles to play here, and that involvement by South Australian industry should play to the state’s strengths.

“If the big looming decisions don’t go our way, South Australia could still benefit from opportunities in both the build phase and later sustainment activities even if a foreign submarine is selected as the basis for Australia’s new submarines.

“We will watch and wait with interest – alert, but not alarmed,” Reade concludes.