Foreign finance services exports fare well

Australian services companies generated net income of A$7.1 billion from overseas operations, from a total of $8.9 billion from all industries, a new study shows.

Financial and insurance services accounted for $4.8 billion of this total, with professional, scientific and technical services earning  $700 million.

The source for the data is Australian taxation statistics from 2012, compiled in a report by ANZ, PwC and Asialink.

Data on sales by foreign affiliates of Australian services companies is stale (dating from 2003), the report notes.

But modelling suggests that this figure reached $139 billion in 2013 and will rise to about $174 billion by 2020.

ABS data suggests that financial services represent the largest category, accounting for 40 per cent of total foreign affiliate sales of services, the report says.

Property services (companies involved in leasing real estate) make up 12.1 per cent. Wholesale services (companies that distribute goods to retailers) provide less than one per cent.

The balance is made up by other services, such as transport companies, accommodation providers, and educational and medical service providers.