Australian government will establish a A$3.8 billion fund for the country’s arms manufacturers to become one of the world’s top 10 defence exporters.
The Turnbull government will offer the loans to local arms manufacturers in a push to rapidly grow Australia's defence export industry.
Australia Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Monday, “Australia is around the 20th largest exporter. Given the size of our defence budget we should be higher up the scale than that.”
“The goal is to get into the top 10,” he said.
Australia said in 2016 it would boost defence spending by A$30 billion by 2021.
The defence industry has struggled to obtain finance from traditional lenders that have been unwilling to fund the arms industry, so Australia has created the loan scheme to export military equipment.
Christopher Pyne, the minister for the defence industry, said Australia would target sales to the United States, Canada, Britain and New Zealand, reports Reuters.
Australia’s annual defence budget was worth A$34.6 billion this year.
