Sydney, Nov 23, 2005 (ABN Newswire) - A critical juncture has been reached for Australia's corporate development. Many companies have reached market share saturation locally, and the next level of growth for many is going offshore.

Fueled by government incentive (removal of the 15% withholding tax on dividends repatriated back to Australia) and the growth of the local economy, companies are looking to foreign markets, and succeeding across a broad range of industries.

With the Australian corporate landscape in the best shape for 15 years, the choice is to pay back the capital, or expand offshore.

Australian companies that have been steadily building their investments overseas in recent years are among some of the strongest profit performers.

Australian Companies Offshore:

             %Assets    %profit
              offshore  offshore
Ansell          48%     75%     US, Europe, Asia
Aristocrat      25%     27%     North/South America, Japan
Amcor           75%     65%     North/South America, Japan
BlueScope       46%     30%     US, Asia, India
BHP Billiton    51%     --      North/South America, Europe, Japan
Boral           27%     26%     US, Asia
Brambles        87%     79%     Europe, Americas
Coca-Cola Amatil36%     17%     Indonesia, South Korea
Computershare   72%     32%     Europe, Asia, US, South Africa, Middle East
CSL             80%     85%     Germany, Switzerland, US, Japan
Foster's        38%     25%     Europe, US, UK, Asia
PaperLinX       60%     87%     Europe, US, Asia
Orica           32%     43%     Europe, US, Africa, Asia
ResMed          39%     --      France, Germany, US
Rio Tinto       39%     50%     Africa, North/South America, Asia
Macquarie Bank  55%     --      Europe, Asia, US
Macquarie Infr. 65%     49%     Europe, North America
QBE             75%     69%     Europe, UK, US, Asia
Westfield       53%     56%     US, UK
Toll            29%     --      NZ, Asia
Lend Lease      72%     74%     Europe, US, Asia

Source: 2004-2005 Annual Reports