COMPETITION – AUSTRALIA

Savings rates are drying up as banks race to the bottom on mortgages

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Original article by Matt Johnson
The New Daily – Page: Online : 3-Jun-20

Data from Canstar shows that Australian banks reduced the interest rates on a range of savings accounts and term deposits by up to 75 basis points in May. However, the interest rates on mortgage loans were reduced much less aggressively, averaging just 0.08 per cent for variable home loans and 0.36 per cent for fixed-rate loans. Steve Mickenbecker of Canstar attributes this to factors such as growing competition from non-bank mortgage lenders. However, he does not expect rates to fall much further.

CORPORATES
CANSTAR PTY LTD

Free-to-air TV takes a $2bn tumble

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Original article by Max Maddison
The Australian – Page: 25 : 24-Feb-20

Australia’s three commercial free-to-air networks have written down the value of their broadcasting licences by $2.276bn since 2015. Amongst other things, the networks are facing growing competition from subscription video-on-demand services, which are not subject to the same regulation as traditional broadcasters and do not pay tax in Australia. Research by Roy Morgan in 2019 showed that nearly 14 million Australians had a paid subscription to a streaming service.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Foxtel customers get the loyal treatment

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Oct-19

Subscribers who sign up to Foxtel’s new customer loyalty program will receive a range of exclusive offers. The Foxtel First loyalty scheme will reward customers based on the length of time they have been a subscriber. The launch of the customer loyalty program comes ahead of the impending entry of Disney+ and Apple TV+ into Australia’s streaming video market, where they will compete with established players such as Foxtel, Netflix and Stan.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DISNEY+, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, APPLE INCORPORATED, FOXTEL NOW, KAYO SPORTS, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Coalition win as ALP backs big stick laws on energy

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Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Oct-19

Labor has agreed to support the federal government’s bill to force energy companies to divest assets if they fail to reduce electricity prices. However, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese says the policy shift is not a backdown, as the proposed legislation has been changed significantly since it was rejected by the previous parliament. The government has agreed to some concessions sought by Labor in return for supporting the bill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Digital titans’ success comes at our expense

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Original article by Michael Miller
The Australian – Page: 23 & 25 : 30-Sep-19

The federal government’s response to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s digital platforms inquiry must include legislative action to address the market power of technology platforms. The massive profits generated by these platforms are based on their unfair commercial exploitation of content from companies such as news publishers, and failure to address this issue will result in the loss of more jobs and valuable sources of information for many communities.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

News in call for curbs on big tech

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 1 : 30-Sep-19

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller has called for legislative action to reign in the market power of digital platforms such as Google and Facebook. Amongst other things, he says such platforms should sign a mandatory code of conduct and be prohibited from using any publisher’s content unless they do so. Miller contends that technology platforms have been the biggest cause of damage to Australia’s media industry and Australians’ access to trusted and reliable content.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Sims pushes for competition in e-conveyancing

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 19-Aug-19

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has indicated that it may seek to become more involved in the electronic property settlement market. Revenue from e-conveyancing is estimated to be around $270 million a year, with PEXA seen to be effectively operating as a regulated monopoly. A review commissioned by the National Electronic Conveyancing Council found that enabling a competitive market within the sector may not necessarily be a good thing, although David Wills, the CEO of Sympli contends that consumers will benefit from competition and interoperability.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, PROPERTY EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL ELECTRONIC CONVEYANCING COUNCIL, SYMPLI, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Exorbitant registry fees in ASIC’s sights

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 21 : 15-Aug-19

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is believed to be launching an investigation into the exit fees charged by share registry providers Computershare and Boardroom. This follows a complaint by fellow provider Automic, which stated to the ACCC in December that competition in the share registry sector was being stifled by the ‘exit fees’ that Computershare and Boardroom were charging clients who wanted to shift their business. A Computershare spokesperson has stated that it does not engage in anti-competitive practice.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, BOARDROOM LIMITED, AUTOMIC

Data laws a win for bank customers

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Original article by Supratim Adhikari, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 20 : 2-Aug-19

Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh says open banking will boost competition and will be good for bank customers. Open banking becomes possible following the passage of the federal government’s Consumer Data Right legislation, which will make it easier for customers to change financial institutions. MoneyPlace CEO Stuart Stoyan says open banking will lead to the elimination of poor products and services, and that the big banks will actually be one of its biggest beneficiaries, despite their misgivings about the open banking reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, MONEYPLACE PTY LTD

Divestments on cards in Asahi CUB buyout

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Original article by Simon Evans, Tim Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 23-Jul-19

Asahi Beverages Australia’s executive chairman Peter Margin has downplayed suggestions that the acquisition of Carlton & United Breweries may force the Japanese group to sell some beer brands due to competition concerns. CUB is estimated to have a 48.8 per cent share of the Australian beer market, while the market share of Asahi’s brands is about 1.2 per cent. CUB may have increased its market share in June after it engaged in heavy price discounting and trade loading in the lead-up to the end of the financial year.

CORPORATES
ASAHI BREWERIES LIMITED, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, ASAHI BEVERAGES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, LION PTY LTD, COOPERS BREWERY LIMITED, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, STONE AND WOOD BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD