Seek's top executive says Australia should show more respect to China in doing business

SYDNEY - Seek's chief executive Andrew Bassat said on Monday that Australia should show more respect to China when doing business.

Bassat said it was important for Australia to provide a "more give and less take in the relationship" for companies like Seek, which has a significant footprint in China.

China's number one job portal Zhaopin, in which Seek has a 67 percent stake, has been identified is one of the company's key growth engines for the future.

"I do think to some extent Australia needs to be more respectful towards China. Australia wants to benefit from the good things China brings but sometimes doesn't want to do anything in return," Bassat said.

"So it can be all take and no give ... They can see it as a one-sided relationship," he said.

Bassat was commenting on the recent refusal by the Australian federal government to block bids from Chinese and Hong Kong firms for Ausgrid, a New South Wales electricity distribution business.

The comments were made to NewsCorp after the company's full-year results to June 30 lifted 27 percent to A$357.1 million ($270.94 million) as domestic revenue grew at its strongest pace in five years.

Revenue from Seek Australia and New Zealand reportedly rose 14.6 percent to A$313.1 million ($237.55 million) due to a strong take-up by job advertisers on its talent search products.