CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS – AUSTRALIA

Market power laws ‘ludicrous’

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Nassim Khadem
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Aug-14

The National Press Club has heard from Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder, also chair of the Business 20 forum advising the Australian Government. His company owns major retailers Coles and Bunnings, and he rejected plans to extend section 46 of the Australian Consumer Law to small business operators in order to protect them against market dominance by large corporations. Goyder threatened that his group’s tax payments of $A1.5bn per annum and employment of 200,000 local jobs could be reduced, if it adopted the profit shifting strategies of overseas-based rivals such as Aldi or CostCo

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA), BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION

Odds against joint ventures

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 5-Aug-14

A survey of CEOs by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows that 43 per cent of the Australian respondents intend to establish a strategic alliance or joint venture in 2014, compared with 28 per cent in 2013. Mike Sum of PwC notes that strategic alliances are becoming more popular in the business sector. However, he notes that such alliances often fail during the implementation stage

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SNP SECURITY SERVICES PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, VISA INTERNATIONAL, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GE CAPITAL AUSTRALIA, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, AQUILA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX AQA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WOOLWORTHS EZY BANKING, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BBY LIMITED, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

CBA on track for planners: Norris

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Original article by Steve Creedy
The Australian – Page: 21 : 14-Jul-14

New Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) CEO Ian Narev has issued an apology to customers affected by malpractice in its financial planning division between 2006 and 2010. The CEO at that time, Sir Ralph Norris, has now commented that he approves of Narev’s efforts in dealing with the scandal. It may cost the bank more than twice the $A52m already paid in compensation to the victims. CBA has also asked ex-High Court judge Ian Callinan to head a review of any further complaints. Sir Ralph says he was advised in 2010 that the matter was with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED

Hywood defends strategy amid online disruption

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Original article by Stefanie Balogh
The Australian – Page: 23 : 2-Jul-14

The audience at an event staged at the Australian National University by Fairfax Media’s "The Australian Financial Review" on 1 July 2014 heard from Greg Hywood. The Fairfax CEO argued that the recent closing of newspaper printing plants in Melbourne and Sydney was an example of positive digital disruption, as more readers can now be reached via smartphone apps and web pages with the same content at a fraction of the capital cost. Hywood says the move had effectively saved Fairfax $A599.2m. The outlook for its long-term debt rating of "BB+" has also been lifted by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s, from "negative" to "stable"

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Fairfax defence: Leighton consultancy deal ‘corrupt’

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Original article by Leo Shanahan, Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 25 : 23-Jun-14

Fairfax Media is resorting to the defence of truth in the defamation law suit brought against it by ex-Leighton Holdings CEO Wal King. He objects to a series of articles published in 2013 that claimed he had knowledge of bribes paid to gain oil sector contracts in Iraq. The defence now mounted by Fairfax also alleges that corrupt and unethical conduct occurred when King sought to obtain a consultancy role worth $A5m from Leighton after he stepped down. The company maintains that no such agreement was in fact struck

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, LEIGHTON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LEI, UNAOIL GROUP, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Reforms vital to woo foreign investors

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 18-Jun-14

The 17-18 June 2014 International CEO Forum in Canberra will feature talks between business leaders and Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Treasurer Joe Hockey, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and shadow treasurer Chris Bowen. The politicians will hear of the results of a new survey, in which 106 CEOs argue that industrial relations reform and deregulation are needed to prevent more multinational corporations withdrawing from Australia. The issue of these businesses shifting profits overseas to escape taxation is secondary, the CEO Forum members say

CORPORATES
CEO FORUM PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CITIBANK PTY LTD, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, GM HOLDEN LIMITED, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE PTY LTD, CAMPBELL AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD, ARNOTT’S BISCUITS LIMITED, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, FACEBOOK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JOHNSON AND JOHNSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GLAXOSMITHKLINE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ADOBE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MICROSOFT AUSTRALIA, LINKEDIN LIMITED, APPLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ELECTROLUX PTY LTD, SIMPLOT AUSTRALIA (HOLDINGS) PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR INCORPORATED, ALCAN INCORPORATED