Owners of Alinta set sights on new float
Alinta could be back in public ownership within six months, with its private equity owners now favouring a $3 billion-plus re-float of the former State-owned gas utility. The West
Win for dudded subbies
Subcontractors on mid-sized State projects will have the peace of mind of being paid from a government-controlled bank account under reforms to the volatile construction industry. The West
Ausgrid HK bidder asks, ‘why us?’
Rejected Hong Kong bidder Cheung Kong Infrastructure has questioned the federal government’s motives after Treasurer Scott Morrison blocked both it and the Chinese government-owned State Grid from leasing NSW power asset Ausgrid on the basis of national security concerns. The Fin
CBA ad campaign cranks up deposit war
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has escalated the deposit wars with a new advertising campaign as the sector moved to head off an emerging push for a new profit tax by releasing figures showing banks were already by far the country’s biggest taxpayers. The Fin
ABC boss plans new push into China
ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has outlined plans to renew an international expansion into overseas markets such as China as part of a “soft power’’ push to influence Australia’s standing on the world stage. The Aus
Telstra goes for upgrades in $3billion spend
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn is confident an extra $3 billion the company will spend largely on its core networks over the next three years will ensure the telecommunications giant can stay ahead of its competitors, despite some recent missteps. The Fin
JB Hi-Fi gets nod for Good Guys, but caution urged
Analysts have urged JB Hi-Fi not to pay too much for appliances retailer The Good Guys after gaining clearance from the competition watchdog to pursue a bid. The Fin
Tourism deal to showcase WA in China
WA has secured a lucrative marketing agreement that will result in the State and its attractions being promoted to millions of Chinese travellers each year. The West
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Rejected Hong Kong bidder Cheung Kong Infrastructure has questioned the federal government’s motives after Treasurer Scott Morrison blocked both it and the Chinese government-owned State Grid from leasing NSW power asset Ausgrid on the basis of national security concerns.
Australia’s second-largest wine company, Accolade Wines, which owns brands including Hardys, Leasingham, Grant Burge and Banrock Station, is set to return to the stock exchange in a $1 billion-plus listing in the first half of 2017 as private equity firm CHAMP exits after six years of ownership.
Page 6: The National Electricity Market could ‘‘drown’’ under the weight of competing state and federal carbon and renewable policies, according to a peak energy body.
Page 7: Commonwealth Bank of Australia has escalated the deposit wars with a new advertising campaign as the sector moved to head off an emerging push for a new profit tax by releasing figures showing banks were already by far the country’s biggest taxpayers.
Page 9: Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has backed calls by departing Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens for the nation and Senate to get real about budget repair, saying there is nothing more unfair than saddling coming generations with mountains of debt.
Page 10: The national building watchdog is considering landmark action that could result in a large building firm being banned for up to 12 months from tendering for Commonwealth-funded construction.
Page 15: Telstra chief executive Andy Penn is confident an extra $3 billion the company will spend largely on its core networks over the next three years will ensure the telecommunications giant can stay ahead of its competitors, despite some recent missteps.
Page 17: Analysts have urged JB Hi-Fi not to pay too much for appliances retailer The Good Guys after gaining clearance from the competition watchdog to pursue a bid.
Nick Scali managing director Anthony Scali says shareholders who are thrilled with the retailer’s 53 per cent profit growth in 2016 will have to wait until 2018 for a repeat performance.
Page 18: Struggling coal miner Peabody Energy will more than halve its production of Australian coking coal over the next five years and hope that prices for the commodity rise by 30 per cent, under a new plan designed to rescue the company from bankruptcy.
Falling oil prices are proving a big plus for tourism and ferry company SeaLink Group, along with the rising numbers of Chinese visitors to its major tourism destinations of Sydney Harbour and Kangaroo Island.
BHP Billiton has hit gas instead of the hoped-for oil in the highly anticipated first well of its aggressive exploration drilling campaign in Trinidad but is putting a positive spin on the disappointment by focusing on the discovery more generally.
Page 19: Commonwealth Bank of Australia has successfully used ‘‘smart contracts’’ to execute invoice financing documents and letters of credit with 14 other global banks financing international trade, in another indication that block-chain technology is set to be deployed in the coming years by global banks to reduce costs.
Page 20: Optus chief executive Allen Lew is ‘‘quietly confident’’ the English Premier League, which starts Saturday night, will help the telecommunications provider win customers in the quarter.
Page 21: Insurance giant IAG has taken part in a $17 million raising for UpGuard, a home-grown cyber security business now based in San Francisco.
Page 22: Iron ore will probably extend 2016’s rally as China takes further steps to stoke growth and the US dollar weakens, according to Prestige Economics’ Jason Schenker, whose rare bullish call in the final quarter of last year is turning out to be right.
The Australian
Page 4: Scott Morrison will come under pressure to explain an apparent about-face on Chinese bidders for NSW electricity distribution network Ausgrid, both of which were cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board for similar assets around the country.
Page 5: ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has outlined plans to renew an international expansion into overseas markets such as China as part of a “soft power’’ push to influence Australia’s standing on the world stage.
Page 18: The aviation regulator has conceded it needs to do more to reduce the red tape and onerous costs strangling Australia’s general aviation sector.
Page 21: Magellan Financial Group chief executive Hamish Douglass believes the fund manager has only scratched the surface of retail interest in global investing after new listed funds drew 12,000 first-time investors to the firm and lifted funds under management to $40 billion.
An update from Westpac revealing soft income and rising loan stress has intensified fears the big banks’ earnings have peaked, leading to a fresh sell-off in shares.
Page 25: The Australian Taxation Office has intensified its crackdown on foreign oil and gas companies by warning them against rorting rules that prohibit loading local subsidiaries with debt.
The West Australian
Page 1: Subcontractors on mid-sized State projects will have the peace of mind of being paid from a government-controlled bank account under reforms to the volatile construction industry.
Page 3: The presence of scantily clad barmaids at Kalgoorlie’s Diggers & Dealers annual mining conference has been branded “completely unacceptable” by business leader John Lydon.
Page 6: Treasurer Mike Nahan has denied the State Government is secretive after the Auditor-General found Cabinet ministers unnecessarily withheld information from Parliament.
Page 7: Passage along the Swan River will be stopped for 10 days, including almost a week straight, in summer to complete a $54 million pedestrian bridge to the new Perth Stadium.
Page 18: Brearley Avenue will close in December to make way for the new Forrestfield-Airport train link and to accommodate the proposed Belmont station.
Page 21: WA has secured a lucrative marketing agreement that will result in the State and its attractions being promoted to millions of Chinese travellers each year.
Page 64: Alinta could be back in public ownership within six months, with its private equity owners now favouring a $3 billion-plus re-float of the former State-owned gas utility.
Page 65: The embattled head of Wellard is trying to sell his privately owned farms and associated assets in WA in the hope of raising at least $100 million.