Australia Day: A Look Back At History

If you are planning an immigration to Australia, then you better be familiar with the country's holidays. And one such holiday that you ought to know more about is Australia Day. This will not only add more to your knowledge of Australia, but will also give you a better appreciation of the country as well.

Australia Day, celebrated every 26^th of January, is basically the country's foundation day. It commemorates the arrival of of the British First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788 that also marked the start of European colonization of the Australian continent. The event is made even more memorable by the fact that the fleet almost never made it ashore, as several of the ships encountered difficulties before they were finally able to land.

During the first few years of the Australian colonies, the date was never officially recognized by the government as n anniversary. However, many of the new settlers, especially the convicts (who made majority of the Fleet's civilian passengers), held informal celebrations on this day, declaring their love for the land. Eventually, many prominent officials joined in on the celebrations during this day.

By the start of the 1800's the celebrations in the colonies had become so widespread that the newspapers have began referring to the 26^th of January as Foundation day. Eventually, in 1818, then Governor Lachlan Macqurie finally declared the celebration of Foundation Day in the colonies to be an official holiday. The announcement was befitting, as that year coincides with the 30^th anniversary of the colonies.

It is interesting to note that Foundation Day is initially considered more of a New South Wales celebration, as the other colonies actually have their own commemoration dates for their foundation. It was not until the centenary of the colonies that all of them agreed to a single Foundation Day. The holiday also took on several different names, starting from Foundation Day, to Anniversary Day, and even ANA Day. With the establishment of the Federation in the early years of the 1900's, the days has since been officially recognized as Australia Day.

However, while there are a lot of parties and celebrations on this day, not all groups are on a joyful mood on this one. In particular, some Australian Aboriginal communities often referred to this one as Invasion Day, the day that white settlers have driven them out of their lands. But the Australian government has been on an effort to use this day to mark reconciliation between the two parties. And with the increased Aboriginal participation in the celebrations in the last few years. This is definitely a good sign for the country.

Investing in Australia: The Financial Service Sector

You may have chosen Australia as the best country to invest your money. But do you have enough resources to support your goal? You are right with the word “best” to describe Australia when it comes to investment. The country got strong and consistent economy, thanks to the business sector. This is mainly the reason why many investors are applying for business visa for Australia. They want to strike whilst the iron is hot. While Australia is blooming, they travel down south and experience growth.

But not all ventures got to experience what they are expecting. Some go straight to their downfall because of several reasons, usually mismanagement. Yet, if your immigration visa for Australia is mainly to start a business, there is nothing you should be scared of. Because Australia's financial sector is standing strong to rescue any potential businesses that are in need.

Th financial service sector of Australia serve as the centre of the Asia-Pacific Region. It is the country's fourth largest contributing sector. The finance and insurance sector is as big as the mining sector. What made Australia a notable capital markets activity in Asia is its highly developed financial markets. Their large and mature financial services sector has assets of more than A$4.3 trillion, which is equivalent to almost four times GDP.

Australia's financial sector:

•  Has one of the largest pools of funds under management in the world, now standing at around A$1.3 trillion (US$850 billion), with more than 70 per cent of this being superannuation (pension) funds.
•  Has the largest stock market by free-float market capitalisation in Asia (ex Japan), currently standing at around US$533 billion.
•  Has the fastest growing foreign exchange market in the Asia-Pacific and seventh largest market in terms of global turnover. The Australian dollar (A$) is the sixth most traded currency and the US$/A$ is the fourth most traded currency pair.
•  Is the second largest debt securities market in region (ex Japan) in terms of the issuance of both international and domestic debt securities. The country has more international debt securities outstanding than any other Asia-Pacific nation and ranks fourth in the region in terms of domestic debt securities.
•  Has the largest securitisation market in Asia-Pacific and the fourth largest value of issuance in securitisation assets globally behind the US, the UK and Spain.
•  Has the fourth largest insurance market in the Asia-Pacific and the 12th largest in the world in terms of premium income.
•  Is the largest merger and acquisition (M&A) market in the region and sixth most active globally, with a market share of 4.1 per cent of completed deals for 2007-08.
•  Has the largest hedge funds market in the region with total assets surging to over US$70 billion in 2007.
•  Has debt and equity markets that are amongst the most liquid and sophisticated in the world with new products emerging (exchange traded CFDs, Property Derivatives, Carbon Trading).