L67 Property Operators and Real Estate Services

Packer doesn’t want to share his Crown

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 9-Feb-15

The Federal Court will be asked to rule on the right to use the Crown brand and logo in a trademark dispute between James Packer and property developer Iwan Sunito. Packer’s Crown Resorts is seeking to have Crown Group Holdings barred from using trademarks such as Crown Apartments, Crown Towers and Crown Resort in marketing its apartment projects. The listed group is undertaking its own apartment project as part of the Crown Sydney hotel and casino development

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, CROWN GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CROWN MELBOURNE LIMITED, ECHO ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX EGP, THE STAR, CITY OF SYDNEY, SYDNEY CHRISTIAN WORSHIP CENTRE

Banks douse hot property fears

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 19 : 5-Feb-15

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking on 4 February 2015 joined Bank of Queensland, ME Bank and ING Direct in passing on in full the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate cut of 25 basis points to mortgage borrowers. Meanwhile sector experts have rejected claims that the new all-time low rate of 2.25% will exacerbate a price "bubble" in the residential real estate market, noting that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is tightening the rules on home lending

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, MEMBERS EQUITY BANK PTY LTD, ING DIRECT, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, CITIBANK PTY LTD, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Novion, Federation seal $22bn mall merger

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 19 : 4-Feb-15

Australian-listed real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) Novion and Federation Centres, active in the retail malls segment, will be merged in a deal worth $A22bn. The combined entity will be ranked third in the A-REITs category behind rival shopping centre owners Westfield Corporation and Scentre Group. Novion is the former CFS Retail, and along with Federation has 100-plus mall assets. Speculation is growing that a merger agreement may also soon be struck that could involve Dexus, GPT and Stockland

CORPORATES
NOVION PROPERTY GROUP – ASX NVN, FEDERATION CENTRES – ASX FDC, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, STOCKLAND – ASX SGP, CHADSTONE SHOPPING CENTRE, CHATSWOOD CHASE, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, COMMONWEALTH PROPERTY OFFICE FUND, FRASERS CENTREPOINT LIMITED, AUSTRALAND PROPERTY GROUP, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Property powerhouses set the pace on price rises

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Original article by Turi Condon
The Australian – Page: 5 : 3-Feb-15

Figures from CoreLogic RP Data show that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne increased by 1.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively in January 2015. The Perth, Adelaide and Darwin property markets recorded house price declines during the month. CommSec’s Craig James says the Reserve Bank will consider the state of the residential property market when deciding whether to reduce the cash rate on 3 February

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Tax breaks on family home hit $46b

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 2-Feb-15

The Department of Treasury forecasts that continuing to exclude family homes from the capital gains tax regime will cost the Australian Government some $A46bn in revenue in 2014-15. In contrast, superannuation tax breaks cost nearly $A30bn in lost revenue each year. Robert Jeremenko of the Tax Institute says all aspects of the tax regime should be included in the Government’s upcoming tax white paper

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, THE TAX INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

New pool rules to stop owners selling units

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Original article by Jimmy Thomson
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 11 : 27-Jan-15

The New South Wales (NSW) Government has introduced new regulations on swimming pools, which are due to come into effect on 29 April 2015. Under the changed rules, owners of apartments in blocks with swimming pools and spas will not be able to sell or let their properties if these facilities do not meet safety standards. They must register their swimming pools and spas with the NSW Swimming Pool Register

CORPORATES
MAKINSON D’APICE, STRATA COMMUNITY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, OWNERS CORPORATION NETWORK OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED

Harry’s wild about a $15bn deal

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Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 15 : 27-Jan-15

Real estate development group Meriton Apartments aims to release some 3,000 new units in 2015 and 5,000 in 2016. The projects in the Sydney suburbs of Mascot and Pagewood respectively will be worth $A1bn and $A1.5bn. Founder Harry Triguboff says that if Meriton is divested by him, he could gain up to $A15bn and switch his focus to infrastructure developments such as water reservoirs. He also argues that there is scope for further official cash interest rate reductions by the Reserve Bank of Australia

CORPORATES
MERITON APARTMENTS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GRANT SAMUEL AND ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, COUNTRY GARDEN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW

Chinese buyers eyeing food, dairy, says UBS

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Original article by Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 18 : 14-Jan-15

David Chin of UBS expects Chinese companies to become more active in acquiring assets in Australia’s agribusiness sector. Chin notes that the issue of food security is becoming increasingly important in China, which is likely to prompt greater interest in Australia’s food and dairy products sectors, as well as rural properties. Chin also expects Chinese groups to be interested in the privatisation of Queensland and New South Wales electricity assets

CORPORATES
UBS AG, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Crown land a ‘big fire risk’

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Original article by Katherine Fleming
The West Australian – Page: 3 : 12-Jan-15

Western Australia’s Association of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades wants Crown land to be subject to the same laws regarding the mitigation of fire risks as privately-owned land. Association vice-president Dave Gossage notes that at present the penalties for private landowners do not apply to land that is managed by federal, state and local governments. Some 92 per cent of land in the state is Crown land

CORPORATES
ASSOCIATION OF VOLUNTEER BUSH FIRE BRIGADES OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF LANDS

Commercial deals a record $26.8b

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 9-Jan-15

Data from CBRE shows that there was six per cent growth in sales of Australian commercial properties worth at least $A5m in 2014, to a new high of $A26.8bn. Sales of industrial properties rose by 55 per cent to $A5bn, while sales of office buildings grew by two per cent to $A14.5bn. Separate figures from Jones Lang LaSalle suggest that commercial property sales rose by 16 per cent to $A28.2bn in 2014

CORPORATES
CBRE PTY LTD, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GPT GROUP – ASX GPT, CBUS PROPERTY PTY LTD, DEXUS PROPERTY GROUP – ASX DXS