DIVERSIFICATION IN INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Lithium rollercoaster decade: IGO

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 13-Sep-24

Data from S&P Global Platts shows that spodume was fetching $US730 per tonne on Wednesday, compared with a peak of more than $US8,000 in early 2023. IGO CEO Ivan Vella says investors should expect further volatility in the price of lithium over the long-term. Vella adds that battery minerals will continue to be the focus for IGO, which produces both lithium and nickel. However, IGO aims to diversify its operations by expanding into copper production; this will help offset the "extreme" volatility of the lithium sector and the structural changes in the nickel market caused by Indonesia’s move to ramp up production with Chinese backing.

CORPORATES
IGO LIMITED – ASX IGO, S&P GLOBAL PLATTS

Forrest’s Fortescue joins rare earth race

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 23-Nov-22

Fortescue Metals Group’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest has told its AGM that the company aims to expand into critical minerals. He said Fortescue has "kicked off a global stream of work" in South America aimed at securing access to critical minerals such as rare earths. He added that rare earths will be critical to Fortescue Future Industries’ projects in manufacturing, renewables and hydrogen. Forrest also said that Fortescue is close to gaining a preliminary mining licence for the Belinga iron ore project in Gabon, and that it plans to commence drilling early in 2023.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORTESCUE FUTURE INDUSTRIES PTY LTD

Forrest unveils ambitious Fortescue renewables plan

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 12-Nov-20

Fortescue Metals Group has outlined plans to become a major player in the energy sector via a massive investment in renewables. Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest had told the pure-play iron ore miner’s AGM that it will initially aim to produce 235 gigawatts of energy via renewables, as it transition to an "renewables and resources" company. Meanwhile, CEO Elizabeth Gaines has stressed the importance of Australia’s trading relationship with China.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Kogan launches Visa card and $300 credit offer

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Oct-19

Online retailer Kogan.com has partnered with Citigroup to launch a Visa-branded credit card. The Kogan Money card has no annual fee and a 55-day interest-free period, while cardholders will receive free membership of the Kogan First customer loyalty scheme. Kogan announced the alliance with Citigroup in November 2018, and flagged plans to launch a credit card during 2019. Kogan has previously diversified into products such as superannuation, home loans and mobile phones.

CORPORATES
KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, VISA INTERNATIONAL, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Grange raises property stake amid concerns

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 26-Apr-19

The decision by iron ore miner Grange Resources to diversify into property development continues to attract scrutiny. Grange is focusing on apartment developments in Melbourne suburbs such as Toorak and Prahran, where dwelling prices fell sharply in 2018. Some shareholders have expressed concern about the adequacy of Grange’s disclosures regarding its investment in the venture. CGI Glass Lewis has also urged investors to vote against Grange’s remuneration report at its upcoming AGM.

CORPORATES
GRANGE RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GRR, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Iron ore may dominate Rio profits for decade: Jacques

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 7-Aug-18

Rio Tinto has reduced its reliance on earnings from its iron ore division in recent years, although the steel input still accounted for 65 per of underlying earnings during the first half of 2018. CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has told investors that iron ore may account for the bulk of group earnings for some years, although he said Rio Tinto is considering a number of projects in the battery sector, including lithium and cobalt. However, he stressed that Rio Tinto will only pursue diversification if it is appropriate, and capital will continue to be allocated to the best projects.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC

ASX, PEXA square up in settlement market

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 26 : 1-Jun-18

The ASX and Infotrack have announced a joint venture aimed at targeting the electronic property settlement market, which is valued at $A200 million. Sympli Australia is expected to be up and running by the end of 2018, and will compete with existing market participant Property Exchange Australia, whose shareholders include the big four banks and Link Group. The ASX expects to invest $A30 million in Sympli in the first three years of its operation.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, INFOTRACK PTY LTD, PROPERTY EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Fortescue mulls move into gold, copper, energy

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Original article by Manolo Serapio
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Sep-17

Fortescue Metals Group CEO Nev Power has revealed that the pure-play iron ore miner is exploring for other minerals in Australia and South America, including gold, copper and lithium. He says Fortescue may further diversify its operations by investing in energy infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, Power expects Chinese demand for iron ore to remain strong, despite pending production cutbacks by some Chinese steel mills. He says demand may rise in regions of China that will not be affected by the production cuts during the winter months.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

Expansion takes REA into mortgage broking

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Jun-17

Australian-listed REA Group will pay $A67m for an 80 per cent stake in mortgage broker Smartline. REA, which owns the realestate.com.au property listings business, has also established a partnership with National Australia Bank to provide mortgage broking services and realestate.com.au-branded home loans. REA forecasts that the acquisition of Smartline and the alliance with NAB will boost group revenue by $A26m to $A30m in fiscal 2018.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, SMARTLINE HOME LOANS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, CHOICE HOME LOANS

Officeworks ready to take on Amazon

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Jun-17

Officeworks is diversifying away from its traditional office products market as it prepares for Amazon’s arrival in Australia. MD Mark Ward says the areas that it is looking to expand into include parcel delivery, art supplies and business processing, and that the value of the current and potential markets that it is looking to operate in is around $A55 billion. Ward says he was "not disappointed" by parent company Wesfarmers’ decision not to proceed with an initial public offering for Officeworks.

CORPORATES
OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIA POST, STARTRACK COMMUNICATIONS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, COLES GROUP LIMITED, MOULA PTY LTD, STAPLES INCORPORATED, OFFICE DEPOT INCORPORATED