Category: Europe Business Review

Exports to Europe win awards Australian companies exporting goods and services to EU markets – from software to hardwood, from fast ferries to fine wines comprised more than half the 60 finalists in the 1999 Australian Export Awards. The 36th annual presentations of the prestigious awards were made at a ceremony in Melbourne at which […]

European law to reform UK business rules Richard Freeland Richard Freeland [*] Britain’s new Human Rights Act will change centuries of British legal theory by gradually incorporating into British law the 1949 European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The likely effects on British commercial and corporate law are not yet clear. The Convention is applied […]

Mega – Yachts Earn Millions John Shaw Austal Ships of Fremantle is not only the world’s top exporter of fast ferries – it is also a leader in the secretive world of making dream boats for the seriously rich. Austal publicises its ferry contracts around the world – but the buyers of its luxury motor […]

Sydney sponsors stay The Sydney Olympics has survived a crisis of confidence among sponsors. Its big corporate supporters, Australian and multi-national, are staying loyal despite the shadows of sleaze cast over the 2000 Games. In fact, the Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (SOCOG) has had more complaints and questions from sponsors about marketing […]

Australian architects score at Wembley Architects from Australia’s largest sports architecture firm, Bligh Lobb Sports Architecture of Brisbane, are among designers selected to create a new Wembley Stadium. Bligh Lobb is part of a multi-national joint venture team chosen to renew the legendary home of English soccer. England is bidding to hold the 2006 World […]

Leica focus on future – Statistical Data Included John Shaw One of Europe’s great high-tech icons has been hit by a combination of Asian recession and strategy errors. Leica still makes the world’s finest 35mm format cameras – as it has for most of this century – but it is struggling to get its finances […]

Banking On Europe Majella Anning Majella Anning [*] The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) began amid scandal but is now a reformed character. The bank was formed as part of the West’s surprised response to the sudden collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1991. It is intended to help former Communists move towards […]

From the Publisher The troubled economic situation in Asia underlines, once more, the importance to Australia of its economic relations with Europe. In Asia the 1997 banking crises have since developed into recession in a region where Australia had been selling 60 percent of its exports. In contrast, the 15 members of the European Union, […]

Gold medals for red wine Orlando Wyndham, the French-owned maker of Australia’s biggest export wine brand, has appointed a new chief executive officer, Christian Porta. Mr Porta will also act as chairman of the Australian branch of Pernod Ricard, the Paris based parent of Orlando. He has worked with Pernod Ricard in various executive roles […]

Swatch that car A new European car to watch is a corporate cousin to Swatch, the watch which revolutionised the Swiss time-keeper industry. Unveiled in October at the Frankfurt motor show and known as Smart, the car is also related to the Mercedes, the parent company of one of its makers. Smart is an entirely […]