Tourism Australia to improve ties

Australia’s leading tourism body Tourism Australia will boost cooperation with China’s UnionPay International to “stimulate Chinese visitor spending” in Australia, Trade Minister Steve Ciobo announced on Tuesday. UnionPay is a major payment service provider for travelers from China and other Asian nations. Cards are accepted in 162 countries and regions around the world, including Australia. Ciobo said the further cooperation, agreed upon in a Memorandum of Understanding, would ensure a more enjoyable and smoother experience for Chinese tourists using the service in Australia. “This MoU will enable Tourism Australia and UnionPay International to collaborate on business development and joint promotional activity,” Ciobo said. improved sentiment toward their future and current financial situations — resulting in a 5.6 percent increase for the current situation, and a 2.2 percent increase in confidence for the future. Despite this, the head of Australian economics at the ANZ Bank, David Plank, said on Tuesday that while the results were “encouraging”, he was concerned over lack of momentum within the overall levels. head of the Iran Pistachio Association. Around 150,000 metric tons of pistachios worth $1.5 billion are estimated to be exported from Iran during the current Iranian year, Mohsen Jalalpour was quoted as saying. If the goal is materialized, the pistachio exports will register an 11 percent of rise in weight and a 25 percent growth in value compared with the previous year, Jalalpour said. Industries said, according to Financial Tribune daily. “So far, $31.5 million have been allocated to marine industries,” Mehrdad Mozaffari was quoted as saying. Interest on the loans is estimated at 10-12 percent, but knowledge-based firms could anticipate a single-digit interest rate, according to the report. Iran is also in talks with two international firms for financing the Iranian marine projects, Mozaffari said. marked the ninth consecutive month of increase, but it was sharply down from 2.4 percent growth in June. The growth pace continued to fall from 9.9 percent in February to 4.5 percent in April and 2.4 percent in June. Export volumes for electrical and electronic devices gained 1.9 percent, but those for coal and oil products tumbled 12.7 percent.