INVESTMENTS

Trump to slap China with $US50b in trade sanctions

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Original article by John Kehoe, Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 23-Mar-18

Fears of a global trade war have been heightened after the US announced plans to pursue punitive measures against China in retaliation for its theft of intellectual property. The US will impose $US50bn ($A64bn) worth of tariffs on China are expected to target a wide range of Chinese-made goods, while the US is also expected to introduce new foreign investment restrictions on China. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has noted that the World Trade Organization has been "wholly inadequate" in addressing concerns about China.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF COMMERCE, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, CHINA. MINISTRY OF COMMERCE, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, BOEING COMPANY, QUALCOMM INCORPORATED, MONEYGRAM INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, UNITED STATES. NATIONAL FOREIGN TRADE COUNCIL, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED

Rio Tinto sells Hail Creek to Glencore

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Mar-18

Glencore will acquire Rio Tinto’s 82 per cent stake in the Hail Creek coking coal mine and its stake in the Valeria coal project in Queensland. The $US1.7bn ($A2.2bn) deal follows Rio Tinto’s sale of its Hunter Valley coal assets in New South Wales to Yancoal Australia for $US2.69bn in 2017. The sale of the Queensland assets has prompted speculation that Rio Tinto could use the proceeds to return capital to shareholders, as it did after the Yancoal deal.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, EMR CAPITAL PTY LTD, ADARO ENERGY

Renewables must be low-cost, says Adani local executive

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 15-Mar-18

India-based Adani will start generating renewable energy in Australia later in 2018, when the first stage of its Rugby Run solar farm in Queensland begins operating. It is part of a push by the coal miner to have 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity in Australia by 2022. Adani has indicated that it could invest in other renewables in Australia, such as pumped hydro and wind power, while it may also invest in renewable energy production in Western Australia. Rugby Run has a long-term supply contract with Alinta Energy.

CORPORATES
ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ

Exiting Bunnings UK is the least bad outcome for Scott

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 13-Mar-18

The recent Arctic-like weather that afflicted the UK and Ireland was a mixed blessing for Wesfarmers’ struggling Bunnings business there. The inclement weather did not help its nursery operations, but it did lead to increased demand for products like sand, salt and snow shovels. The impact of the bad weather may extend the time needed for the strategic review that Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott announced into Bunnings UK and Ireland in February to be completed. JP Morgan has concluded that it will cost Wesfarmers less to pull out of the UK and Ireland than it will for it to stay there.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Another billion-dollar blow adds to woes for Sino Iron project

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Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 13-Mar-18

China-based CITIC has advised of another massive write-down in the value of its Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia. The latest write-down is expected to around $US1bn ($A1.27bn), similar to other write-downs in recent years. Sino Iron has been plagued by a legal dispute, which prompted CITIC to warn in 2017 that it could put production on hold. The closure of Sino Iron could affect Fortescue Metal Group’s decision on whether to proceed with its Iron Bridge magnetite project.

CORPORATES
CITIC LIMITED, MINERALOGY PTY LTD, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, FORMOSA PLASTICS GROUP, SHANGHAI BAOSTEEL GROUP CORPORATION, GINDALBIE METALS LIMITED – ASX GBG, ANSHAN IRON AND STEEL COMPANY, SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Critics won’t stop Carmichael coal mine: Adani Australia boss Jeyakumar Janakaraj

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 12-Mar-18

Adani Australia CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj has attacked the amount of misinformation being spread by opponents of its proposed $A16.5 billion Carmichael coal mine. He notes that the mine has already secured over 100 approvals, and that Australia’s investment reputation would be at risk if a future government scrapped a project that had already secured appropriate government approvals. Janakaraj noted that forecast strong global energy demand over the next two decades made the Carmichael mine an economically viable project.

CORPORATES
ADANI MINING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY

Murray Goulburn steams ahead to tie up sale deal

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Original article by Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Mar-18

An extraordinary general meeting of Murray Goulburn’s suppliers will be held on 5 April, where they will vote on a deal to sell the dairy co-operative’s assets to Canada-based Saputo. However, the meeting is conditional on the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission approving the deal by 4 April. Saputo hopes to gain approval from the ACCC in return for agreeing to divest Murray Goulburn’s milk processing plant in Koroit. The sale to Saputo must supported by at least 50 per cent of Murray Goulburn’s suppliers.

CORPORATES
MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, SAPUTO INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD

Buyers firming up for next round of bids for Vocus NZ operation

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 5-Mar-18

Vocus Group appears on target to complete the sale of its New Zealand business by the end of the 2017-18 financial year. Trust Power and 2degrees are known to have made the next stage of the bidding process, but it is understood that other parties have also done so. Vocus has indicated that it is seeking between $A500 million and $A600 million for its New Zealand unit, which generated revenue of $NZ342 million ($A315 million) for the year to 30 June 2017.

CORPORATES
VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, TRUST POWER LIMITED, 2 DEGREES MOBILE LIMITED, TRILOGY INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS, STUFF.CO.NZ, SPARK NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX SPK, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Latest Sky complication upsets Murdoch plans

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Original article by Jennifer Duke
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 26 : 1-Mar-18

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had aimed to finalise the acquisition of British pay-TV group Sky by mid-2018. Murdoch would then complete the $US52.4bn ($A65.9bn) deal to sell most of Fox’s assets to Walt Disney Company, including Sky. However, these deals are in doubt in the wake of Comcast’s Stg22.1bn ($A39.4bn) bid for Sky. Comcast’s offer is compelling at Stg12.50 per share, compared with Fox’s offer of just Stg10.75. The Comcast deal is also likely to meet with less resistance from Britain’s competition regulators than Fox’s bid for Sky.

CORPORATES
21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SKY PLC, COMCAST CORPORATION, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, UNIVERSAL PICTURES, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Comcast takes on Fox, Disney with £22.1 billion bid for Sky

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Original article by Joe Mayes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 28-Feb-18

US media giant Comcast is offering Stg12.50 per share for British pay-TV company Sky. Sky’s shares peaked at Stg13.55 in response to the Stg22.1bn ($A39.5bn) bid. Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had previously offered Stg10.75 per share to assume full ownership of Sky. The Comcast bid also has implications for Walt Disney Company’s deal to acquire the bulk of Fox’s assets, including its stake in Sky. Fox had rejected Comcast’s offer in late 2017 to buy most of its assets for $US60bn in favour of the deal with Disney.

CORPORATES
COMCAST CORPORATION, SKY PLC, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, ODEY ASSET MANAGEMENT LLP, NBC UNIVERSAL INCORPORATED, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, ENDERS ANALYSIS LIMITED