Wednesday November 4, 08:02 PM
PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Nov 5
Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Mining company Xstrata Coal yesterday
filed a claim for A$120 million against steel maker BlueScope Steel (Berlin: BH5.BE - news) in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Xstrata (LSE: XTA.L - news) has accused BlueScope of refusing to take delivery of coal shipments last year during the financial crisis, forcing the company to sell the coal to other buyers at a significant discount. BlueScope has denied that it had supply contracts with Xstrata. Page 16.
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Soft drink company Coca-Cola Amatil yesterday announced plans to spend between A$100 million and A$150 million installing bottle-making production units at its Australian plants. Two of the units, which produce PET resin bottles, will be installed next year at the company's Sydney plant at the cost of A$45 million. The company sold its bottle manufacturing operations to Visy Industries for A$157 million in 2002. Page 16.
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Perth-based company Quickstep Holdings yesterday said it has signed a preliminary agreement to make doors and panels for the Joint Strike Fighter military jet. Quickstep said the deal could be worth up to A$700 million over 20 years, causing the company's shares to rise 28 percent to A48.5 cents. Managing director Philippe Odouard said he expects a binding agreement with defence manufacturers Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT - news) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC - news) to be signed within three months. Page 16.
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Oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum (Berlin: WOPA.BE - news) yesterday issued US$700 million of bonds on United States bond markets. A company spokesperson said the funds will be used to repay short-term debt and for general corporate purposes, including capital expenditure. Analysts say the capital expenditure may refer to the addition of a second liquefied natural gas processing plant at its Pluto project off the West Australian coast. Page 17.
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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
The chief financial officer of Westpac Banking Corp, Phil Coffey, yesterday warned that overzealous regulation of the banking sector could lead to a global credit crunch. Australia's four major banks have been arguing against proposals to increase minimum bank liquidity levels contained in a discussion paper released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in September. Page 19.
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Mining investment company Aston Resources yesterday agreed to purchase the Maules Creek coal project from mining company Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO.L - news) for A$480 million. Aston is the private company of 33 year old Nathan Tinkler, a former electrician who sold his 10 percent stake in Macarthur Coal at the height of the boom last year for A$440 million. Mr Tinkler said Aston is seeking further coal assets before a possible float next year. Page 19.
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Treasury deputy secretary Jim Murphy is visiting Beijing this week to speak to Chinese officials on investing in Australia. Mr Murphy will seek to address concerns that the Foreign Investment Review Board has been inconsistent in its treatment of Chinese investment proposals. Mr Murphy said the Government's overriding principal was, and remains, the maintenance of a market-based system for investment. Page 20.
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Bank of Queensland yesterday released its annual report to shareholders, recording a normalised cash net profit of A$187.4 million for the year to August 31, a 21 percent increase compared to the previous year. Managing director David Liddy said 'not only did we achieve our earnings forecasts, but we also again outpaced the vast majority of our competitors in loan growth.' Page 21.
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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
Westpac yesterday held its annual general meeting, with chief executive Gail Kelly telling investors that the banking sector faces a sustained period of low growth. Westpac recorded an annual profit of A$3.45 billion, a 10.7 percent fall from the previous year after the bank suffered a A$2 billion increase in losses against troubled loans. Ms Kelly said the coming year would be tough from a revenue growth point of view. Page 1.
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The liquidators of failed investment group Babcock & Brown (B&B) have raised more than A$550,000 from B&B creditors to fund a court examination of former B&B directors and senior executives. Liquidator David Lombe from Deloitte wrote to creditors this week to inform them that the funds, including a A$100,000 donation from one investor, would ensure that the legal examination goes ahead. Page 5.
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Electricity company Origin Energy and listed property company Dexus Property Group have recently sought updated credit ratings, which analysts say may be a sign they are preparing corporate bond issues. The move is seen as part of a wider trend for companies to diversify their funding sources, with oil and gas company Woodside Petroleum yesterday issuing US$700 million of bonds. Page 9.
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THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
Treasurer Wayne Swan will today tell an Australian Industry Group breakfast that private business investment between 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be around A$42 billion less than if the global recession had not occurred. The figures, from federal Treasury, will be cited by the Treasurer to defend the Government's continuing stimulus spending, which Mr Swan describes as temporary spending, with lasting gains. Page B1.
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Thousands of workers at telecommunications company Telstra (Munich: 909947 - news) are set to start strikes and industrial action from tomorrow. The action comes after the failure of talks with the Communications Electrical Plumbing Union to resolve a long-running pay dispute. The argument centres on the union's claim for a 12.5 percent pay rise over three years, with Telstra offering a 9 percent increase and a one-off 2.5 percent sign-on bonus. Page B3.
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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission yesterday exempted class actions already initiated from having to register as managed investment schemes. The move comes after a Federal Court decision last month, which found that a shareholder class action was a managed investment scheme. The regulator and the Federal Government are still to determine how future class actions will be treated. Page B4.
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The sales process for the New South Wales (NSW) Government-owned NSW Lotteries, which is being run by Goldman Sachs JBWere, is believed to have reached the shortlist stage. Analysts say gaming company Tatts Group is the front runner for the sale, while another consortium, thought to be backed by newsagents and private equity, is headed by Duncan Fischer, who narrowly missed becoming chief executive of Tatts in 2006. Page B7. -- Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA BUSINESS Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA BUSINESS Keywords: DIGEST AUSTRALIA BUSINESS
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