Despite the tyranny of distance from the rest of the world, or perhaps because of it, Australia has produced its fair share of innovations.
There are, in fact, companies listed on the ASX right now that are working on sophisticated, market-leading technologies that could one day improve the lives of many around the world.
This week Wilson Asset Management analysts identify two such ASX shares that they recommend as a buy:
Helping people heal from terrible injuries
ASX biotechnology shares have taken an absolute pummeling over the past 12 months.
But equities dealer Will Thompson is high on Aroa Biosurgery Ltd (ASX: ARX).
"Aroa develops, manufactures and distributes medical products," he said in a WAM video.
"Their product is, with the fear of oversimplifying it, just a really high-quality Band-Aid, which you'd use if you were in a bad motorcycle crash and you lost quite a bit of skin."
The concept itself is mature, but Aroa's product is different from incumbents as it is made organically.
"Next year there's a few regulation changes, which could really benefit it."
In a horrible year for its peers, the Aroa share price is actually 7% higher than where it started 2022. The ASX share has rocketed up an eye-popping 44% since the start of October.
According to Thompson, Aroa has already put some runs on the board.
"It recently posted some storing sales numbers and actually showed that there's some cash generation as well," he said.
"Next year's going to be a big year for them, so it's a buy."
Helping resist global warming
Because of the bearish nature of markets this year, new ASX listings were few and far between.
LGI Ltd (ASX: LGI), which floated in October, is a rare example of a 2022 debutant that isn't in the resources sector.
Thompson explained that LGI is a gas abatement provider.
"Where all your rubbish and landfill goes, they take the methane out of that area," he said.
"Methane's 26 times worse for the environment than carbon dioxide. They turn that into energy, which they supply back into the market."
Therefore the business takes in revenue from both power generation and carbon credits.
"They're doing some really interesting investments where they think they can probably increase profitability by putting a battery in the system. So that's where the capital's going."
The initial public offer saw IGL shares sold at $1.50 per share. The stock closed Thursday at $1.97.
