Although the Nasdaq may be home to some of the most well-known and highly-regarded tech companies in world, the Australian stock exchange is certainly no slouch.
I believe it is home to some innovative and exciting tech companies with incredible potential. Some have such strong long-term earnings growth prospects that you might want to buy and hold them for decades.
Here are three in particular which I believe could be excellent buy and hold investments:
Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN)
As the owner and operator of the world's largest outsourcing marketplace I believe Freelancer is in a strong position for long-term growth. At present the company has over 20 million registered users and reported 1.4 million job listings in the first half of FY 2016 to help gross payment volume increase by 453% during the six months. One thing in particular that I like about Freelancer is the value it brings for users. It has been estimated that a typical $2,000 contract job for a small business could cost as little as $200 through Freelancer's network
Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)
As more and more consumers make their travel bookings online, I believe Webjet and its numerous online travel agency brands look set to profit greatly. Although there has been a spot of weakness in the industry of late, in the medium term I expect things will return to normal. At just 24x estimated FY 2017's earnings and with analysts expecting profit growth in excess of 34% per annum through to FY 2019 according to CommSec, I believe now would be a great time to make a buy and hold investment
XERO FPO NZX (ASX: XRO)
For the first half of FY 2017 Xero reported a 48% increase in operating revenue over the prior corresponding period thanks in part to a stunning 45% increase in subscriber numbers to 862,000. At present over two-thirds of its subscribers come from the Australian and New Zealand market, but I see huge potential for its accounting software in the North American market. Currently just 13% of its subscribers are from North America, but considering its population size I believe it will one day become its biggest segment.
