INVESTMENTS

Chinese in race for 20pc of Virgin

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 19 & 28 : 1-Jun-16

Chinese airline operator HNA Group will pay $A159m for a 13 per cent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings. The placement was priced at $A0.30 per share, and Virgin CEO John Borghetti says the Chinese group is likely to lift its stake to 19.9 per cent. The stakes of Virgin’s major shareholders – Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Etihad and Virgin Group – will be diluted as a result of the placement. HNA’s businesses include Hainan Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, HNA GROUP, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED, ETIHAD AIRWAYS, HAINAN AIRLINES COMPANY LIMITED, HONG KONG AIRLINES LIMITED, WEST ASIA AIRLINES LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Harvey Norman brushes off rival threat

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 25-May-16

Steinhoff International currently has two POCO stores in Australia, which sell a range of household appliances, furniture and home renovation products. Steinhoff is believed to be planning to expand its POCO chain to at least 45 stores in the next several years, and may seek to acquire some Masters sites. Harvey Norman chairman Gerry Harvey has downplayed the impact that the POCO expansion will have on his company, arguing that they offer a different product mix.

CORPORATES
STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, POCO AUSTRALIA, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, THE GOOD GUYS, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, FREEDOM FURNITURE, SNOOZE SLEEP WELL PTY LTD, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, HARRIS SCARFE HOLDINGS LIMITED, CONFORAMA, HARVEYS, PEP CORPORATION, POSTIE PLUS GROUP LIMITED, RETRAVISION (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CLIVE ANTHONYS PTY LTD, BRASHS PTY LTD, RICK HART DISCOUNTS, CLIVE PEETERS, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG, ROBINHOOD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, EVERDURE, BLANCO PTY LTD

Oil Search bid set for success

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 22 : 24-May-16

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says people in his nation will directly benefit from the takeover bid for InterOil by Australian-listed Oil Search. The $US2.2bn bid comprises 8.05 of Oil Search’s shares for each InterOil share, which values the bid at $US40.25 per share. InterOil shares have risen by 38 per cent to $US43.63 in response to the bid. Oil Search intends to on-sell part of InterOil’s stake in the Papua LNG project to Total if the bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, RAYMOND JAMES AND ASSOCIATES

Finding the best return in a low-return world

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 17-May-16

Research by Societe Generale’s global asset allocation strategy team has concluded that investors can expect an annualised total return of 5-7 per cent from the majority of developed equity markets in the medium- to long-term. The research also suggests that emerging market equities and bonds are likely to deliver the best returns, with Societe Generale preferring bonds issued by India. However, the group says Australian investors should favour shares rather than bonds.

CORPORATES
SOCIETE GENERALE SA

Global real estate group grabs historic Myer stake

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Original article by Ben Wilmot
The Australian – Page: 26 : 12-May-16

Myer Family Investments has secured a deal to sell its 33 per cent stake in Myer Holdings’ flagship department store in the Melbourne CBD. TIAA subsidiary TH Real Estate has previously acquired stakes in a number of retail properties in Australia as part of its plans to expand its presence in the country. The deal values the 39,923sq m Myer store at around $A450m. Its other owners are Vicinity Centres and Singapore-based GIC Real Estate.

CORPORATES
MYER FAMILY INVESTMENTS, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, TIAA HENDERSON GLOBAL REAL ESTATE, TH REAL ESTATE, VICINITY CENTRES – ASX VCX, GIC REAL ESTATE PTE LTD, JONES LANG LASALLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ISPT PTY LTD, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, LASALLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED

Rio plans another big Mongolia expansion

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 23 : 10-May-16

The Oyu Tolgoi mine will produce about 500,000 tonnes of copper a year when an underground expansion of the project is completed. Rio Tinto approved the expansion project on 6 May 2016, but Turquoise Hill Resources CEO Jeff Tygesen has flagged further expansion of Oyu Tolgoi by increasing the capacity of the mine’s concentrator. Turquoise Hill has a 66 per cent stake in Oyu Tolgoi, and Rio Tinto in turn is the Canada-based group’s major shareholder.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TURQUOISE HILL RESOURCES LIMITED

Turnbull backs Kidman move as foreign cash drops

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Original article by David Uren, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 2-May-16

A report from the OECD indicates that foreign investment in Australia fell by 44 per cent in 2015, to US22.6bn ($A29.7bn). This compares with $US39.6bn in 2014 and $US55.9bn in 2013. Australia’s share of global foreign investment in developed economies has fallen to just 1.1 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent between 2011 and 2013. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says a preliminary decision by Treasurer Scott Morrison to block the sale of S. Kidman & Company to Chinese interests is justified given the sheer size of the landholding.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SKY NEWS

Kidman ‘deal’ off election agenda

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Original article by Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Apr-16

Shanghai Pengxin, Shanghai CRED Real Estate and Australian Rural Capital are poised to acquire the S. Kidman & Company rural property empire, comprising nine cattle stations and 180,000 head of cattle. However, federal Treasurer Scott Morrison will defer a decision on whether to approve the sale until late July 2016, to ensure that it does not become an election issue. The two Chinese groups will have an 80 per cent stake in the Kidman business.

CORPORATES
S KIDMAN AND COMPANY PTY LTD, SHANGHAI PENGXIN GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SHANGHAI CRED REAL ESTATE STOCK COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RURAL CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX ARC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DAKANG AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Housing risks rise as foreign approvals soar

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 23 : 12-Apr-16

Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board processed 36,841 applications for offshore investments in the residential property sector during the last year. The FIRB approved a record $A61bn worth of foreign investments in the sector. A banking analyst has downplayed concerns that settlement risk will be heightened by any move by Chinese authorities to crack down on cash outflows, arguing that such measures have not been very effective to date.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC

Carmichael key to easing Indian poverty: Adani

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 6 : 8-Apr-16

The Australian Greens has urged the federal and Queensland governments to reverse their approvals for Adani’s Carmichael thermal coal project. However, Adani Australia CEO Jeyakumar Janakaraj says the $A16bn project will increase India’s consumption of cleaner coal and help reduce poverty in the nation. Matt Canavan, the Minister for Northern Australia, adds that if the project does not go ahead India will simply source lower-quality coal from elsewhere.

CORPORATES
ADANI ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ADANI AUSTRALIA COMPANY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, QUEENSLAND RESOURCES COUNCIL LIMITED, BOWEN BASIN MINING CLUB