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Annoyed at the cost of doing business in Australia? Think again. Australia is one of the least costly countries in the industrialised world to base a business, according to KPMG’s 2008 Competitive Alternatives Survey.

The survey which compared business costs in 136 cities in ten countries found that Australia ranked fourth in terms of competitiveness after Mexico, Canada and the US. But there was less than one per cent seperating Australia from second place.

Australia ranked highly for competitiveness in transport, web and multimedia. It ranked number one in terms of energy self sufficiency at a time when access to energy has become critical to business operations. And in terms of R&D, Australia had one of the highest proportions of researchers to percentage of total employment among the countries studied.

Other findings:

• Melbourne was the most competitive large city in Australia
• In terms of labor costs Australia ranked fourth behind Mexico, the US and Canada.
• Australia has the third most competitive transportation costs and the second most comptetitive manufacturing costs of the countries surveyed.
• London represents the most expensive city examined by a wide margin
• San Jose, California and new york are the most expensive North Americam cities
• France has the lowest cost structure of the European countries. Costs in Paris are comparable with some large US cities.
• Australia was ranked third in the Corruption Perception Index (the lower the number the more ethical the country is perceived to be.)