The purpose of the briefings was to launch our Exporter Sentiment research which examines the conditions and outlook for the Australian export market. We also discussed the insights from our recent research on overseas direct investment trends and the locations in which Australian companies establish business operations overseas.

The companies and industry experts who attended the briefings and shared their insights on the challenges and opportunities they face confirmed the findings of EFIC’s research.

One of the highlights of the research is that our exporters are optimistic about the outlook for Australian export markets. Certainly the recent depreciation of the Australian dollar from its highs of US$1.05 early in 2013 has made our exporters of agricultural and manufactured goods, and services such as tourism and education, feel more confident. In addition, 12 per cent of our respondents feel optimistic about the future of resources exports. This is no wonder with Australia expected to surpass Qatar as the leader in LNG exports by the end of the next decade despite the end of the construction phase of the resources boom.

Our Exporter Sentiment research also found that exporters have a favourable perspective on industry conditions: 36 per cent of SME exporters expect overseas sales to increase in the next 12 months. Thirty per cent anticipate the profitability of their international operations to grow in the next year.

While established export markets like the US and Europe remain key, most of the SME respondents to the survey see Asia as increasingly important, with China, India and South Korea the focus. This is no surprise, given Australia’s proximity to the region, but qualitative factors are also driving this trend.

One is the outlook for economic growth in the Asia region. Although China’s growth prospects have softened in recent months, assuming China can still meet its own target growth rate of 7.5 per cent for 2014; this bodes well for Australia’s exporters.

The regional shift in demand to food and services and away from resources is another factor on which Australian exporters, especially in agriculture, can capitalise. The burgeoning middle class in Asia - led by China - is expected to cause food consumption levels to rise by 75 per cent between 2007 and 2050. However, some respondents cited infrastructure, particularly roads and ports, as a significant barrier to Australia capturing its share of this growth market.

While the outlook for direct exporting is optimistic, our overseas direct investment research and discussions at our briefings showed that exporters face a number of barriers when establishing business operations overseas. These include access to finance, taxation laws, regulatory requirements and understanding different business environments. EFIC has found access to finance is consistently a material barrier to Australian companies investing overseas. Although one small to medium enterprise (SME) confirmed success in raising funds from a local bank in Eastern Europe, he could not receive support for this investment from his Australian financier.

Some of the more interesting insights on overseas investments from our briefings include:

Plan, plan and plan some more. Each country has its own customs, culture, laws, regulations and tax rules. So seek professional advice upfront from Austrade as well as international accountants and lawyers. Also if you think something is going to take a month, plan for it to take three.

Every market is different. Don’t assume knowledge of one market based on your experience in another. Some of the biggest failures happen even when SMEs are trying to access established markets, like the US, due to a lack of understanding of the business environment.

Make sure that partners and employees understand your company’s culture. Not only is it important to get Australian employees to understand local business practices in the foreign market, it is also important to have foreign employees and partners understand your company’s culture.

Be wise about your finance needs. Our banking partners stressed that engagement with financiers early on and having a business plan is important for successful overseas direct investment. If the commercial market is unable to provide finance, EFIC may be able to help.

Andrew Hunter is managing director of the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation