AUSTRALIA – COMMERCE – CHINA

How the soggy cereal conquered a kingdom

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Mar-16

Sanitarium is the latest Australian company to enjoy success in the Chinese market. The company’s Weet-Bix breakfast cereal has been exported to China for eight years, but sales momentum has gathered pace in the last 2.5 years and China has become the biggest export market for Weet-Bix. Meanwhile, Adelaide-based Coopers Brewery is benefiting from the growing demand for craft beers in China, which is now the company’s biggest market in Asia.

CORPORATES
SANITARIUM HEALTH FOOD COMPANY, COOPERS BREWERY LIMITED, 31JIU, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH, DAXUE CONSULTING, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Blackmores, Bega target China’s ageing population

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 17-Mar-16

Bega Cheese and Blackmores have reported strong demand for their infant formula in China. The partnership formed by the Australian-listed companies has been so successful that Bega and Blackmores want to expand into products for China’s ageing population. Bega chairman Barry Irvin said the partnership is working on "three to four" new products for the Chinese market.

CORPORATES
BEGA CHEESE LIMITED – ASX BGA, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, TATURA MILK INDUSTRIES LIMITED

PM urges business to seize China opportunity

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Mar-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Australian companies should seek to capitalise on the opportunities created by China’s transition to a consumer-focused economy. Turnbull has identified industries such as tourism and service as ones that can benefit from Australia’s growing trade relations with China, particularly as China’s demand for industrial commodities declines.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Origin Energy strikes China LNG deal

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 2-Mar-16

Australian-listed Origin Energy has secured a preliminary agreement to supply 500,000 tonnes of LNG each year to the trading arm of China-based ENN Energy Holdings. The proposed five-year deal is the first that Origin has negotiated in its own right, rather than as part of the Australia Pacific LNG venture. Michael Dargue of Citigroup has questioned whether it is an appropriate time for Origin to become an LNG trader due to the potential risks.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENN ENERGY HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, SINOPEC CORPORATION, KANSAI ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY INCORPORATED

BHP says China coal tests hurt free trade

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 2-Nov-15

China’s introduction of quality-testing for imported coal has had no direct impact on BHP Billiton, whose shipments have been cleared. However, BHP executive Shaun Verner believes that some coal exporters have had to sell coal at significantly lower prices in other markets after failing to pass China’s new quality control requirements. He notes that the slump in the price of metallurgical coal means it is costly for a coal producer to have a shipment rejected.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Union threat to China free trade deal

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 17-Jul-15

The free-trade agreement with China will be a key issue at the Australian Labor Party’s National Conference in July 2015. A group of unions will lobby the Opposition to pursue changes to the trade deal when the bill is debated in parliament, while shadow trade minister Penny Wong has expressed concern that the trade deal does not protect Australian jobs. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon also has reservations about some aspects of the deal with regard to imported labour.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Palmer urges firmer action against China over coal tests

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 13-Jul-15

China recently increased stricter standards for coal imports, and is now testing shipments for the presence of trace elements such as fluorine, arsenic and mercury. China has already rejected at least one coal shipment from Australia, and federal MP Clive Palmer says Australia should impose a tariff on iron ore exports to China in response to the new testing regime. Meanwhile, there is speculation that Canada will take the matter to the World Trade Organization.

CORPORATES
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, CANADA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT, ANGLO AMERICAN COAL, WARATAH COAL INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED

Treasury forecasts ‘big’ growth in wine sales to China

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Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 23-Jun-15

Treasury Wine Estates is upbeat about its prospects in the Chinese market. Robert Foye, the group’s MD for Asia, expects China to be Treasury’s third-biggest source of profits and revenue within five years. He believes that Treasury’s annual sales in Asia could potentially grow by 15-20 per cent over this period. Treasury is also likely to benefit from the Australia-China free trade agreement.

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, WOLF BLASS WINES PTY LTD, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD

China steel output may fall 25pc

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Jennifer Hewett, Phillip Coorey, Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Apr-15

The price of iron ore fell to $US47 per tonne in early April 2015, and it has now shed 63 per cent since the beginning of 2014. Australian economist Ross Garnaut has forecast that steel production in China will decline by 27 per cent in the next 15 years, which would in turn affect demand for Australian iron ore. Meanwhile, Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics notes that the continued fall in the iron ore price will slash Australia’s national income and tax revenue

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, VALE SA, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI

China iron ore demand to fall

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Original article by Angus Grigg, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 11-Mar-15

Former Bureau of Resource & Energy Economics CEO Quentin Grafton notes that major iron ore producers have forecast that Australia’s exports to China will peak in the 2020s. However, he believes that Chinese shipments could be reaching their peak now. J Capital Research MD Tim Murray also suggests that Australian iron ore exports may be approaching their peak, and forecasts that a fall in volumes of up to 10 per cent in 2015

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE. BUREAU OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY ECONOMICS, J CAPITAL RESEARCH COMPANY LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CRAWFORD SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND GOVERNMENT, CHINA. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OF CUSTOMS, CHINA METALLURGICAL INDUSTRY PLANNING AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE, MYSTEEL.COM LIMITED