The Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) is embarking on a series of trade missions in Asia throughout October as the government seeks to strengthen trade and investment.
Austrade is inviting Australian businesses with green economy capabilities across the supply chain to participate in an upcoming trade mission to Thailand from 1-2 October 2025.
Thai conglomerates have shared “sustainability problem” statements with the government agency and Austrade has identified opportunities in energy, carbon and waste management, agtech, green skills, recycling, low carbon materials, bio chemicals, and PM2.5 (haze) mitigation.
Austrade is leading a two day in-market program as part of the Australia Southeast Asia Business Exchange program. This mission aims to bring Australian exporters with green economy capabilities to support companies in Thailand to meet their growth and sustainability targets.
Close working Thais
Thailand is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065. It has a priority focus on decarbonisation in high emission sectors including energy, manufacturing, transportation, construction and agriculture.
Thai companies are using sustainability as a key driver for growth with Austrade noting that competitiveness aligns national and global sustainability goals set by government and industry.
Austrade believes Australian companies are well placed to partner with Thai businesses to provide green economy technology and services offerings.
In Thailand, carbon reduction initiatives underway by large corporations include increasing renewable energy consumption; switching from combustion to electric vehicles (EVs); adopting low energy intensive equipment for building; circular economy in waste and energy; using recycled materials in production and targeting zero waste.
Sustainability Expo (SX) 2025 will be an anchor event for the mission aiming to showcase areas of decarbonisation and biodiversity in dealing with climate change, liveable cities and ageing societies.
Seeking EOIs for AI
Austrade is seeking expressions of interest (EOIs) for the Digital Transformation to Indonesia Landing Pad Immersion Program from 21-23 October.
This bespoke program will support up to 15 export-ready tech scaleups to identify commercial opportunities, “forge valuable connections, showcase their innovation, and become part of the Indonesian digital ecosystem”.
This program is intended for tech companies with offerings in AI-enabled technology and solutions, blockchain, digital identity, verification and authentication, data governance, risk assessments, and cybersecurity, among others.
Indonesia is the world’s third largest crypto market by user adoption, with Boston Consulting Group projecting a $25 trillion market by 2030, with real-world asset (RWA) tokenization by 2030.
This growth is underpinned by Indonesia’s financial system where over half the population remains underbanked or unbanked, and the rapid rise of digital financial services such as e-wallets and online lending.
Austrade says the primary opportunity for blockchain and web3 technology is currently in financial services and supply chains.
Indonesia also has a large, tech savvy population of 279 million, with 60% under 40 years of age, comprising the world’s fourth most populous country, half of whom are “unbanked or underbanked”.
Accounting for 40% of Southeast Asia’s digital economy, Indonesia is expected to grow from $127.1 billion in 2023 to almost $170 billion in 2025.
Austrade says this presents a unique opportunity for Australian technologies enabling digital transformation to find success in a rapidly growing market.
“AI adoption in Indonesia is projected to contribute $244 billion to the economy by 2030, equivalent to 13% of 2022 GDP. A 2024 study of financial and manufacturing companies found that 62% are investing in pilot AI projects, while 23% are in the process of incorporating,” Austrade reports.
The government has set a National AI Strategy (2020–2045) targeting healthcare, smart cities, public services, education, and agriculture as priority domains. There are opportunities in digital transformation and service accessibility.
“Indonesia has been vulnerable to cyberattacks; there were 403.9 million reported cyber incidents in 2023, most of them malware and trojan activity, prompting high awareness of the need to invest in cyber and data governance safeguards,” Austrade notes.
“Moreover, the Personal Data Protection Law came into effect in October 2024, pushing corporates to put more attention on cyber protection.”
The market for data privacy and governance is projected to reach $5.3 billion by 2028.
Opportunities exist across banking and financial services; healthcare; customer facing industries and the public sector. In particular for technical security, incident management and monitoring tools, education and training, as well as open-source intelligence.
Vietnam vying for investment
Austrade also welcomes EOIs for the Edtech to Vietnam Landing Pad Immersion Program from 22-24 October.
This program provides an opportunity for Australian organisations to understand market dynamics and opportunities in Vietnam’s digital education transformation, showcase their innovative solutions, and become part of the Vietnamese ecosystem working in partnership with influential Vietnamese institutions.
With a population of over 100 million, Vietnam is one of the fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia, presenting a significant potential for Australian Edtech companies, according to Austrade.
“With rapid digital transformation, expanding ICT infrastructure and a youthful, tech-savvy population, the country is fast emerging as a strategic market for online education solutions,” the government agency adds.
“The Vietnamese Government has demonstrated a strong commitment to digital education through progressive policies and national strategies. Decision 131, approved in January 2022, outlines a roadmap for digital transformation in education with ambitious targets set for 2025 and 2030.
“These include universal access to online learning through encompassing devices, internet connectivity and digital content, along with the rollout of online teaching platforms and the expansion of online programs in higher education institutions.”
These goals create substantial opportunities for Australian providers to deliver e-learning platforms, interactive content and learner engagement tools aligning with Vietnam’s digital education vision.
METS companies to capitalise
Austrade has been encouraging mining services companies to capitalise on Vietnam’s heightened focus on resources, particularly rare earths, for some time, as reported by this new service.
While hosting one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits, Vietnam is in a solid position to benefit from the growing global demand for these minerals.
Yet rare earth extraction in Vietnam has remained relatively low at 300 million tonnes.
“However, new projects focusing on increasing extraction are promising for the nascent sector,” Austrade says.
“With Vietnam’s heightened focus on resource discovery, data collection and mining industry development, this is an ideal time for Australian METS companies to enter the market”
“The discovery of greater critical mineral deposits, alongside newly supportive government policy, presents an emerging opportunity for Australian mining equipment, technology and services (METS) companies to capitalise on the growing Vietnamese market.
“With Vietnam’s heightened focus on resource discovery, data collection and mining industry development, this is an ideal time for Australian METS companies to enter the market and strategically position themselves for long-term growth.”
A new centralisation for economic planning and investment attraction was legislated in the 2024 Mineral Geology Law, which was passed by the Vietnamese National Assembly in Q4 2024.
The law came into effect on 1 July 2025.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Flagship Minerals, Monadelphous & Unsplash
