Victoria Attempts to Make State True Home of Mining in Australia Via 2014 Resource Conference

Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu is on an aggressive campaign to court foreign investments, particularly Chinese, through an ongoing week-long trade mission to the Asian economic giant.

In a bid to disprove the growing notion that Australia's mining boom is about to end, he announced a major resource conference in 2014 to be hosted by Victoria to make the state the true home of mining in the country.

Mr Baillieu pointed out in a mining industry dinner in China that Melbourne hosts the headquarters of major miners such as BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining. To entice more Chinese investment in the resources sector, he said the international conference would have a strong focus on China, the world's second-largest economy.

The premier is in Beijing to convince senior Chinese investment officials to invest in some of the key infrastructure in Victoria such as the East-West Link and Melbourne Metro. Among the potential investors he met are senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce, executives of state-owned companies such as the CITIC Group and China Power and representatives of China Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund.

While in Beijing, Mr Baillieu inked a $200-million cable contract that will create 200 manufacturing jobs in Victoria. He signed the agreement with Anhui Joy Sense Cable Company which open a new base in the Australian state.

The Chinese firm produces aluminium alloy cable used in power distribution networks. It has three factories in China worth more than $4 billion.

"Victoria is home of manufacturing in Australia for many reasons, including geographical conditions that lead to ease of transport across road, rail and port logistics, and a curfew-free airport - all of these conditions, plus Victoria's strong fiscal position, make us the ideal state for international companies to choose to invest in," News.com.au quoted Richard Dalla-Riva, Victorian manufacturing minister, who is part of the state's trade mission to China.

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