Chinese miner keen to see Australia open for investment
MMG chairman Wang Lixin has called for Australia to remain open to foreign investment to fund and drive its economic growth prospects. The Aus
Padbury dreams big of Oakajee turning reality
Padbury Mining, the $67 million iron ore junior run by one-time Department of Industry and Resources deputy director-general Gary Stokes, looks set to announce today it expects to achieve what others have failed to do for more than two decades – develop a port at Oakajee, north of Geraldton. The West
Ill-timed pun for services
Few events provide a barometer of their sector like the colourful annual mining conference, Diggers & Dealers. But an attempt by the company behind the conference to broaden the event to include mining services companies for the first time has fallen flat. The Fin
Floating a solution for Australian LNG
Warnings about the waning competitiveness of Australia’s liquefied natural gas sector reached new heights at the APPEA oil industry talkfest in Perth this week. The Fin
Boss off ahead of iron ore call
Esperance Port chief executive Shayne Flanagan has quit his post as the State Government dithers over naming the consortium which has won right to develop and operate a new multi-user iron ore facility. The West
Nickel stocks surge as export ban lifts prices
Nickel's transition from laggard to market darling is continuing pace, with a perfect storm of factors driving positive sentiment for the metal. The Fin
Miners, builders cite need for credit
Improving access to finance for companies is looming as one the biggest issues for the inquiry into the financial system, after the nation’s builders and miners warned that problems accessing credit are stifling economic growth. The Aus
The Australian Financial Review
Page 1: Sydney’s status as the next official yuan trading hub could help Australia tap the vast pool of Chinese savings to fund infrastructure.
Page 3: Chinese government-owned companies would be given preferential treatment on foreign investment scrutiny if they invested in new agricultural and infrastructure projects that would develop Australia’s north, under exemptions being canvassed inside the Abbott government.
Page 7: The fallout from Labor’s disastrous results in the West Australian Senate election last weekend has deepened after the left wing union that elevated Joe Bullock to the top of its ticket called for his resignation.
Page 12: David Jones’s major shareholders say Woolworths’s $2.15 billion takeover offer looks attractive but are waiting to see if higher bids emerge now that the board has revealed its asking price.
Page 14: Embattled mining services firm Boart Longyear and adviser Goldman Sachs have wasted no time running through the company’s options ahead of a September deadline, this week taking informal expressions of interest for an equity stake in the business.
Page 14: One of Australia’s biggest farmers and GrainCorp’s former chairman, Ron Greentree, is offloading two-thirds of his portfolio in northern New South Wales.
Page 15: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says GrainCorp still has monopoly assets and the regulator’s draft decision to ease access undertakings at the grains handler’s Newcastle port terminal is not a precursor to unwinding regulation across its network.
Page 15: Leighton Holdings’ board warned that no progress has been made on the recovery of $5.1 billion of owed payments as it released its target statement recommending investors accept Hochtief’s$1.2billion takeover offer.
Page 17: Equity Trustees has agreed to acquire the bulk of ANZ Banking Group’s trustee unit for $150 million, in a deal that, along with a soaring share price, likely gives the company more protection from being a takeover target.
Page 19: The rift between China’s two most important financial regulators is not especially rare but it matters more now because of fears the country could face its “Lehman mmoment”.
Page 21: Analysts are split over whether BHP Billiton’s second-tier portfolio spin-off is a better fit for the Johannesburg Stock Exchange than an Australian counterpart, and the merits of a dual listing.
Page 23: Global steel demand is forecast to decline this year as the Chinese economy slows from its breakneck speed, raising concerns about the impact it will have on Australia as one of the world’s top iron ore producers.
Page 31: It has been nearly four years since Rio Tinto executive and Australian citizen Stern Hu was jailed for 10 years in China for taking bribes from steel mills in exchange for providing them with cheaper iron ore and stealing trade secrets.
But despite the significant cost to the mining giant and the unrelenting media attention, many Australian companies have done little to implement policies curbing the likelihood of bribery and corruption, according to lawyers who practice in the field.
Page 32: “Gas is hot,” Corrs Chambers Westgarth partner Michael MacGinley says. It has been a turbulent year in the mining, energy and resources sector.
The mining boom was officially deemed to be over and other projects struggled amid falling commodity prices, high labour costs and lousy business sentiment.
The Australian
Page 1: Strong jobs growth has raised hopes that unemployment has passed its peak and puts pressure on Treasury to revise up pessimistic growth assumptions behind next month’s budget.
Page 17: The marathon talks on a free trade agreement with Japan were almost derailed last Sunday when a misunderstanding put the entire deal on hold.
Trade Minister Andrew Robb waited hours to restart the negotiations as he tried to get in touch with Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, who had left Tokyo to return to his home three hours away.
Page 17: The Ten Network has signalled it will push hard to renegotiate expensive programming deals to reduce costs while the broadcaster remains a “work in progress” in its pursuit of improved ratings and revenue.
The cost-cutting agenda comes as the third-placed free to-air network delivered a half year result broadly in line with market expectations: a loss of $8 million in the six months to February 28.
Page 18: Australia’s largest beef exporter to Japan, JBS, has applauded the new trade deal for giving the industry an advantage over its major competitors from the US.
Page 23: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals are among a host of miners and steelmakers who are reportedly interested in bidding for highgrade Simandou iron ore tenements in Guinea, expected to be stripped from Israel’s BSG Resources and Brazil’s Vale.
Page 27: Law firms have shrugged off difficult trading conditions and turned in a strong improvement in business confidence.
The West Australian
Page 20: Unemployment may have already peaked, figures suggest, pointing to a stronger Budget and higher interest rates by the end of the year.
Page 80: It just wouldn’t be a a takeover bid without talk of a rival bid, but few are getting carried away about the prospect of a counter offer for David Jones.
Page 81: American Metal & Coal International, one of the three partners in the Aquila Resources-led West Pilbara iron ore project, last night dismissed talk it was seeking to exit the $7.4 billion development.
Page: Resonance Health is hoping to raise up to $5.1 million to advance development of its patented imaging technology.
Page 82: Bankwest is making a major push into Victoria and Queensland as it rolls out a national marketing campaign in partnership with Qantas.
Page 83: Investors were bombarded by market-moving information yesterday but when the dust settled the Australian sharemarket was at a fresh multi-year high.
Page 83: Miners got off to a good start again yesterday but were dumped on heavy volume after the release of weak Chinese import data and broker reports the iron ore supply “deluge” was coming.
Page 83: Shares in mineral sands developer MZI Resources jumped yesterday after the company said it had finally closed out negotiations over a debt package to complete funding for its Keysbrook project.