K: Financial and Insurance Services

US, Britain at fore as foreign investment rises 11.3pc

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Original article by Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 18 : 2-Oct-14

New data from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade show that during 2013 the value of overseas investments grew 11.3% to $A2.5trn. Of this figure, $A630bn was accounted for by direct investments, and the largest sources were the US with $A35bn, Singapore with $A14bn, the UK with $A12bn and Japan with $A10bn. However, China expanded its share by 43% to reach $A5bn. Meanwhile Australian investment overseas was worth $A1.6trn. It fell 4.1% in the year, while foreign direct investment in Australia was also down 5.3%

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Trilogy takes action against KPMG, partner

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 18 : 2-Oct-14

A lawsuit is being launched by Trilogy Funds Management against KPMG partner Jillian Richards, as well as the accounting firm. They are accused of unconscionable, misleading and deceptive conduct, in relation to the City Pacific First Mortgage Fund. Trilogy assumed management duties for the entity when parent City Pacific collapsed in 2008-09, and claims that KPMG performed a flawed audit. However, no action over the affair has been taken by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission

CORPORATES
TRILOGY FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, PACIFIC FIRST MORTGAGE FUND, CITY PACIFIC LIMITED, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

REITs in major sell-off

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Original article by Mercedes Ruehl
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 1-Oct-14

Australia’s listed real estate investment trusts index shed more than five per cent in September 2014. However, Freehold Investment Management’s Andrew Smith notes that a pullback was likely given the sector’s strong gains in the year to date. Stocks that were hard hit include Charter Hall Group, BWP Trust, Mirvac and Scentre Group. Lend Lease and GDI Property Group are among the stocks that posted gains

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 A-REIT INDEX, CHARTER HALL GROUP – ASX CHC, BWP TRUST – ASX BWP, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GDI PROPERTY GROUP – ASX GDI, GROWTHPOINT PROPERTIES AUSTRALIA – ASX GOZ, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, INVESTA OFFICE FUND – ASX IOF, FREEHOLD INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, INGENIA COMMUNITIES GROUP – ASX INA

Reality of retirement will be ‘worrying’

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 1-Oct-14

AMP CEO Craig Meller has warned of the looming problems in funding retirement for Australia’s ageing population. He said that the retirement outlook for millions of Australians was uncertain. He said that the superannuation guarantee should be increased to 12 per cent as saving 9.5 per cent of earnings is not enough. Meller said that the growing costs of retirement could threaten the country’s prosperity over the next 20 to 30 years

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Deals get harder for PE raiders

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Original article by Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 18 : 30-Sep-14

Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association CEO Yasser El-Ansary says access to funding for major acquisition deals has become more difficult to arrange in the private equity sector. He believes that instead of large-scale takeovers, the new trend will be purchases of non-core operations being divested by listed groups. The comments come as Treasury Wine Estates has rebuffed competing offers by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Rhone Capital and by TPG Capital

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, RHONE CAPITAL LLC, TPG CAPITAL LP, KKR AND COMPANY LP, AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, SAI GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX SAI, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, UGL LIMITED – ASX UGL, DTZ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAIN CAPITAL LLC, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, ARMYTAGE PRIVATE LIMITED

Lynas plunges on $83m raising

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

The stock of Australian-listed rare earths mining group Lynas Corporation on 29 September 2014 closed 25.22% lower at $A0.086. Investors reacted negatively to news that the company was staging a share issue designed to source $A83m in fresh capital, after posting a 2013-14 loss of $A13.1m. The issue price for the shares will be $A0.08. New institutional stockholders are set to account for $A12m, which Lynas will allocate to servicing of its current liabilities

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, SOJITZ CORPORATION, JAPAN OIL GAS AND METALS NATIONAL CORPORATION

Leave RET alone, urge fund managers

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Original article by Andrew Main
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Sep-14

One option recommended by business leader Dick Warburton in his review of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) for the Australian Government is to reduce it from 41,000 gigawatt hours by 2020 to between 17,000 and 25,000. However the original RET is being strongly favoured by the Investor Group on Climate Change that represents some $A1trn worth of superannuation fund accounts. The lobbying body, which is chaired by Catholic Super CEO Frank Pegan, has started a public awareness campaign on the issue

CORPORATES
INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, CATHOLIC SUPERANNUATION AND RETIREMENT FUND, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Medibank may deliver $5.7b at sale

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 30-Sep-14

Analysts have previously valued Medibank Private at between $A4bn and $A4.5bn. Goldman Sachs has suggested that the health insurer could potentially be worth between $A4.1bn and $A5.7bn, while Deutsche Bank values it at $A4.2bn to $A5.3bn. Watermark Funds Management’s Omkar Joshi says the Australian Government is likely to place a lower valuation on the stock in the hope that it will rise on the first day of trading on the sharemarket

CORPORATES
MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, NIB HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NHF, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

RBA asked to explain backflip on lending risks

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Original article by Christopher Joye
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 29-Sep-14

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in mid-2013 reduced the official cash interest rate to a record low, and said the residential real estate market was not experiencing a "bubble". However a year on the central bank has revised its stance, and now warns of a dangerous prices surge. It may even resort to using macroeconomic tools, which has sparked concern among federal Senate economics committee members Matthew Canavan and Sam Dastyari of the National Party and Australian Labor Party respectively. RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe has been asked to address the committee on the issue

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

KKR tipped to win Treasury Wine

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Original article by Simon Evans, Sarah Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 29-Sep-14

Competing, revised takeover offers were lodged on 26 September 2014 for Australian-listed Treasury Wine Estates (TWE). It is believed that the directors will now recommend acceptance of the offer received from the consortium of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Rhone Capital, rather than that of rival US-based private equity firm TPG Capital. The KKR bid is worth around $A5.20 a share. TWE’s earnings are being boosted by the recent decline in the Australian dollar

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, KKR AND COMPANY LP, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, RHONE CAPITAL LLC, TPG CAPITAL LP, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, WOLF BLASS WINES PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD