BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Lobby urges tighter curbs on LNG exports

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-Jun-17

Manufacturing Australia has warned that the Federal Government’s proposed LNG export controls are unlikely to have much impact on gas prices on the east coast. Its submission to the Government has backed the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, but it argues that the resources minister should be given greater power to intervene in the gas market. Meanwhile, Fereidun Fesharaki of FGE has forecast a sharp fall in the price of crude oil, which will in turn impact on LNG producers given than the LNG price is linked to the oil price.

CORPORATES
MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FACTS GLOBAL ENERGY GROUP OF COMPANIES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD

Prices to ignite gas export controls

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 32 : 9-Jun-17

Federal Resources Minister Matthew Canavan will brief the gas industry on the draft rules for the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism on 9 June 2017. The draft rules show that the ADGSM will give Canavan and any future resources minister the power to restrict LNG exports if there is a domestic supply shortfall. Macquarie Group has criticised the limited detail in the draft rules, particularly with regard to how the gas price will be determined for the purposes of imposing export controls.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TOTAL SA, PETRONAS GAS BHD, KOREA GAS CORPORATION

Adani’s end of year wait for loan decision

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 8-Jun-17

Adani aims to finalising funding for the first stage of the $A16.5bn Carmichael coal project in December 2017. Adani still hopes to partially fill a $A3.3bn funding deficit via a concessional loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. Resources Minister Matthew Canavan says the NAIF’s board is not expected to make a decision on the loan until the end of the year. Wood Mackenzie estimates that the thermal coal price will need to average $U82 per tonne – compared with $US74 at present – for the first stage of the Carmichael project to achieve a 15 per cent rate of return.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, WOOD MACKENZIE

Clause gives ‘unfettered power’ to alter levy: ABA

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 7-Jun-17

Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Anna Bligh has expressed concern that a clause in the bank levy bill would empower the relevant government minister to change the methodology used to calculate the tax. She has also called for the bill to include a "sunset clause" for the levy. Bob Deutsch of the Tax Institute adds that the bill would enable the Government to adjust the levy via a legislative instrument to ensure that revenue meets its forecasts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, THE TAX INSTITUTE, BUSINESS COALITION FOR TAX REFORM

Corporate executives set to escape 457 visa changes

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 5-Jun-17

The Australian Government is expected to release a revised list of occupations that are excluded from the 457 visa scheme by the end of June 2017. The CEOs of several listed companies are among those to be affected by the visa reforms, but business groups are confident that the Government will relax the new rules with regard to senior executives. Sectors such as retailing, hospitality, tourism and higher education are also seeking exemptions from the new visa rules.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, GRAINCORP LIMITED – ASX GNC, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, NBN CO LIMITED, KORN/FERRY AUSTRALASIA, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN AUSTRALIA, FRENCH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, MERCER CONSULTING GROUP INCORPORATED, WELLS FARGO AND COMPANY, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, 3M CORPORATION, EUROPCAR, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY

Offshore bank investors fret over housing: Elliott

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 2-Jun-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott says UK investors with stakes in Australian banks are worried that recent regulatory changes to housing policy in Australia may lead to a market correction. Elliott, who was speaking at a G100 conference in Sydney, also said that comments by Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison that Australia’s large banks are "an oligopoly" were unhelpful, noting that there are other sectors in Australia that are just as concentrated as banking.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Media united on job fears

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jun-17

Executives from rival Australian media companies joined forces on 30 May to lobby federal politicians to support cross-media ownership reforms. The Australian Labor Party and the Greens were widely criticised for opposing reforms such as abolition of the "two out of three rule". Industry executives used the summit at Parliament House to stress that local content and jobs will be at risk if the existing regime is not changed to enable local media players to compete with digital giants such as Google and Facebook.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SUBSCRIPTION TELEVISION AND RADIO ASSOCIATION (ASTRA) INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN

Bank levy slammed as ‘hate tax’

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Jun-17

Australia’s banks have conceded that the Federal Goverment’s proposed levy is likely to proceed, but they have expressed concern about the "aggressive" stance of Treasurer Scott Morrison regarding the sector. Financial System Inquiry chair David Murray has described the levy as a "hate tax" which raises the question of whether the Government will target other sectors. Australian Foundation Investment Company MD Ross Barker has also expressed concern about the Government’s stance on the banks, given their importance to the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Late bid by media bosses to sway ALP

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Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 6 : 31-May-17

Media executives will lobby federal politicians to support cross-media ownership reforms at meetings on 31 May. The support of Senate cross-benchers is likely to be crucial, as the Australian Labor Party still opposes abolition of the "two-out-of-three" rule. Communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland argues that media ownership is already too concentrated under the existing regime. However, she says Labor would vote to scrap the "reach rule" if it is put to parliament in a separate bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Bitter war on banks escalates

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-May-17

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison says Australia’s five largest banks should avoid passing the cost of a proposed $A6.2bn Budget repair levy on to customers, warning that it would make them even less popular. Morrison has also advised that the levy will not be abolished once the Budget returns to surplus, although Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Anna Bligh has called for it to be scrapped once the deficit is eliminated. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says a royal commission into the bank is still needed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA