Part of building extra impetus involves holding a global blockchain industry conference in Adelaide on March 18 and 19 next year which is being run by the ADC Forum, which will attract leaders in the industry from around the world.

Mr Marshall is a believer in the "swarm of bees" theory whereby blockchain technology companies are still at a relatively early stage. A critical mass is yet to land in a particular geographic location to create an epicentre of like-minded companies in the way Silicon Valley built itself into a global technology powerhouse.

"I think we've got a unique site which will be an enabler," he said.

The space industry, drone technology and artificial intelligence are also sub-sets of the economy that Mr Marshall is concentrating on to try to deliver extra momentum for economic activity and population growth. "I want to firmly fix our ambition as a state on future industries," he said. Moves to ensure the skills base was sufficient were being pursued in tandem.

Luke Lombe, the founder of Echelon One, a corporate advisory firm to blockchain start-ups around the world, has returned to Adelaide after working in China and New York. He said South Australia had the right attributes for an "ecosystem" of blockchain technology and fintech firms to build real critical mass.

Part of building extra impetus involves holding a global blockchain industry conference in Adelaide on March 18 and 19 next year. Shutterstock.com

Mr Marshall, who ended 16 years of Labor governments in South Australia in March when he won the state election, said he would be sticking to his mantra of not picking winners, but instead creating the right environment and infrastructure for businesses to grow naturally.

He said an announcement on September 28 by ratings agency Standard & Poors that it had upgraded South Australia's long-term credit rating to AA+ based on a stable economic outlook and expectations of sustained operating surpluses was a positive endorsement of his government's approach.

Over time, he wanted that credit rating to keep climbing higher to the top rating. "It's certainly an aspiration," he said.

The state budget brought down by Treasurer Rob Lucas on September 4 involved pursuing $864 million in cost-cutting over the next four years, privatising small parts of the prison and health sectors, and cutting 2300 jobs in a public service which is a bigger part of the economy than any other state in Australia.