FOREIGN – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

ACCC ticks Virgin-Qatar flights plan

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 19 : 19-Feb-25

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has backed Vigin Australia’s proposed alliance with Qatar Airways. The ACCC’s draft determination has concluded amongs other things that the wet-lease agreement will be advantageous to travellers by offering a greater choice of international flights, more convenience and enhanced loyalty program benefits. Qatar Airways will also acquire a 25 per cent stake in Virgin if the deal receives final approval from the ACCC, and ultimately the Foreign Investment Review Board and Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, QATAR AIRWAYS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Labor’s plan to woo right investments

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 1-May-24

The federal government is set to overhaul the nation’s foreign investment rules, which will include fast-tracking applications from investors with a proven record of investing in Australia. The reforms will also result in closer scrutiny of proposed foreign investment deals that have national security implications, such as critical infrastructure and mineral resources. Treasurer Jim Chalmers will outline the proposed reforms in a Lowy Institute speech on Wednesday; he will also reveal more details of Labor’s flagship Future Made in Australia policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Federal government blocks Yuxiao Fund’s bid to increase its stake in Northern Minerals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Dziedzic, Daniel Mercer
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 1-Mar-23

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has blocked an application from the Singapore-registered Yuxiao Fund to increase its stake in rare earths producer Northern Minerals from nearly 10 per cent to 19.9 per cent. Chalmers is said to have signed an order to block the transaction on 15 February, following a recommendation from the Foreign Investment Review Board. Northern Minerals’ executive chairman Nick Curtis says the fund is an investment vehicle for Chinese national Yuxiao Wu. Northern Minerals operates the Browns Range mine in Western Australia’s east Kimberley region, and it aims to become the first substantial producer of dysprosium outside of China.

CORPORATES
NORTHERN MINERALS LIMITED – ASX NTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Beijing a buyer in Shell gas facilities

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Dec-20

The deal for Global Infrastructure Partners to buy a stake in the Queensland Curtis LNG project’s infrastructure could potentially be vetoed on national interest grounds. It has been revealed that China Investment Corporation is a minority investor in the GIP fund that struck the $US2.5bn ($3.3bn) deal to buy part of Shell’s stake in the LNG infrastructure. The deal must be cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board, although Treasurer Josh Frydenberg can override the FIRB under changes to foreign investment rules that were made earlier in 2020.

CORPORATES
GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS,QUEENSLAND CURTIS LNG PTY LTD,CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION,ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC,AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD,AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

FIRB investment fees set to jump on property and business

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 18-Sep-20

The federal government has previously reduced to zero the ‘dollar value threshhold’ for foreign bids to be assessed by the Foreign Investment Review Board. It has now adjusted the fees that are applied to foreign investment applications, so as to reflect the costs of reviewing them under the new threshold process. The change will see some fees increased and some reduced; in the case of residential property, all fees will rise, except for properties valued at $38 million or more.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Tighter test for foreign investors

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 5-Jun-20

The federal government will announce a revamp of Australia’s foreign investment regime on 5 June; the government wants to close what it contends are ‘national security’ gaps in the current rules. One of the changes will see the Foreign Investment Review Board apply a National Security Test to assets defined as a ‘sensitive national security business’; such assets include water, telecommunications and energy. The government intends to legislate the changes in July, with the intention of having them come into effect in January.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Farmer revolt over China Mengniu’s Lion Dairy bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 26-Nov-19

Some federal politicians have expressed concern about China Mengniu Dairy Company’s proposed acquisition of milk processor Lion Dairy & Drinks. Labor senator Kim Carr says the $600m deal should be subject to a number of conditions to ensure that jobs and processing facilities in regional areas are protected. Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce is concerned about China’s "creeping acquisition" of dairy-related assets in Australia, while independent MP Andrew Wilkie says ownership of Australia’s leading brands is becoming increasingly concentrated. Farmers say the deal should be conditional on a floor price for the farm gate price of milk.

CORPORATES
LION-DAIRY AND DRINKS PTY LTD, CHINA MENGNIU DAIRY COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, DAIRY CONNECT LIMITED, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, SAPUTO INCORPORATED

Your data at risk in takeovers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 21-Aug-19

Foreign Investment Review Board chairman David Irvine has stressed the need to closely scrutinise foreign bids for companies that own data centres or hold Australians’ personal data. Irvine has used an Australia China Business Council speech to argue that data must be afforded the same level of protection as critical infrastructure such as ports, water supply and the power sector. He added that the FIRB’s tougher stance on the issue of data security has not attracted much concern among foreign investors.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN SECRET INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR, SIRTEX MEDICAL LIMITED, NATURE’S CARE, LIFE-SPACE GROUP, HEALIUS LIMITED – ASX HLS, JANGHO GROUP, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED

Asians still biggest investors: Knight Frank

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lisa Allen
The Australian – Page: 25 : 9-May-19

The federal government’s restrictions on foreign investment in residential property have not been a deterrent for Asian buyers. Liam Bailey of Knight Frank says people from China and Southeast Asia are still the biggest investors in the local residential market. The global head of research notes that a number of other countries have imposed similar restrictions on foreign investors. Bailey forecasts growth in demand for geographically diverse property investments as global wealth increases.

CORPORATES
KNIGHT FRANK, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

FIRB gets tougher on China firms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angus Grigg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Jan-19

The Foreign Investment Review Board is now said to be subjecting most takeover bids by Chinese companies to scrutiny to ensure that they are in the national interest. Regulation of such takeovers was relaxed under the Australia-China free-trade agreement, with deals that are below a certain threshold being exempt from FIRB approval. However, sources have indicated that the policy shift has been prompted by the introduction of China’s National Intelligence Law, which has increased the central government’s influence over private companies.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF DEFENSE, HEALIUS LIMITED – ASX HLS, JANGHO GROUP, AUSGRID PTY LTD, STATE GRID CORPORATION OF CHINA, APA GROUP – ASX APA, CHEUNG KONG INFRASTRUCTURE HOLDINGS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE LIMITED, FEDERATION OF GERMAN INDUSTRIES