STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Woodside pushes ahead with Scarborough project

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 17-Jan-19

Woodside Petroleum has awarded contracts for front-end engineering design work on the Scarborough gas project to McDermott Australia, Subsea Integration Alliance, Saipem and Intecsea. Woodside and its partners are slated to make a final investment decision on the project in 2020. Woodside has a majority stake in Scarborough, while BHP holds a 25 per cent stake and has an option to increase this by 10 per cent.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, McDERMOTT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SUBSEA INTEGRATION ALLIANCE, SAIPEM AUSTRALIA, INTECSEA PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

Banks plan exit from uninvestible Britain

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Original article by Sarah Turner, Hans van Leeuwen, Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 16-Jan-19

The Commonwealth Bank has confirmed that it will establish a subsidiary in Amsterdam in response to continuing uncertainty surrounding Britain’s departure from the European Union. Other Australian banks with a presence in the UK are also looking to set up subsidiaries in other European countries to ensure that they can keep operating in the region. Mark Tinkler of AXA Investment Managers says the UK is largely "uninvestible" until the Brexit uncertainty is resolved. The British parliament will shortly vote on the Brexit deal of Prime Minister Theresa May.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AXA INVESTMENT MANAGERS PTY LTD, GREAT BRITAIN. OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GRANT SAMUEL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GERMANY. FEDERAL FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY (BAFIN), BANK OF ENGLAND. PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Resolute weighs up Ravenswood spin-off

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 8-Jan-19

Resolute Mining has advised that its gold production rose by 33 per cent to 73,691 ounces in the December 2018 quarter. Meanwhile, CEO John Welborn says a decision on the Ravenswood gold mine in Queensland will be made in the first half of 2019. Resolute is considering options such as a sale or spin-off for the Queensland mine as the company shifts its geographical focus to Africa. Resolute may also be open to acquiring assets that could be divested following the merger between Barrick Gold and Randgold Resources.

CORPORATES
RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION, RANDGOLD RESOURCES LIMITED

Pacific making all the write moves

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 7-Jan-19

Seven West Media’s Pacific Magazines division posted EBIT of $9.6m in 2017-18, and it reduced costs by $32.2m. Pacific Magazines CEO Gereurd Roberts is upbeat about the outlook for its portfolio of titles, noting that it is the market leader in every category in which it has a presence. He adds that content is the priority for Pacific Magazines, while it aims to expand its digital business. Gereurd has also flagged the launch of a new monthly magazine in late January.

CORPORATES
PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

REA boss Wilson pins growth hopes on Asia

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Original article by John Durie
The Australian – Page: 15 : 19-Dec-18

REA Group’s incoming CEO Owen Wilson says that continuing to provide value to customers and consumers will be his priority. Wilson also wants to expand the property listings group’s Asian operations, which currently account for about eight per cent of group revenue. Wilson will succeed Tracey Fellows, who will remain on REA’s board after becoming president of News Corporation’s Global Digital Real Estate business. News Corp has a controlling stake in REA.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, REALESTATE.COM.AU, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

BHP retreats from contract mining

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Original article by Matthew Stevens
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 30 : 6-Dec-18

The BHP Mitsubishi Alliance abandoned the direct employment model for workers at its Queensland coal mines in 2015. Contract labour now accounts for about 60 per cent of the work undertaken at BMA’s coal mines. However, the BHP Group-led joint venture has advised that it will directly employ 350 workers at the Daunia and Cavel Ridge mines in the Bowen Basin. BMA’s move may indicate that union influence at its Queensland coal mines is declining, and the new model is likely to be rolled out at BMA’s other mines in the state.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, BM ALLIANCE COAL OPERATIONS PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WORKPAC PTY LTD, CHANDLER MACLEOD GROUP LIMITED, HAYS PERSONNEL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CORE STAFF, LINKED GROUP, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, ONE KEY RESOURCES PTY LTD

BHP weighs options in pursuit of growth

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 22-Nov-18

BHP’s CFO Peter Beaven has told investors that the resources group has made changes to its capital allocation policy over the last five years, after several ill-fated investments. He added that BHP is ready to start investing again and stressed the need to ensure a balance between over-investing and under-investing, as both can destroy shareholder value. Beaven also indicated that BHP is looking at a number of growth options for its existing portfolio.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE

Catalano reveals plans for $800m Fairfax asset sales

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 22-Nov-18

Former Domain CEO Antony Catalano has outlined his strategy for Fairfax Media if his legal challenge to its merger with Nine Entertainment Company succeeds. Catalano has proposed to divest the bulk of Fairfax’s assets, allowing it to focus on core assets such as its metropolitan mastheads and its controlling stake in Domain. Amongst other things, Catalano estimates that streaming video service Stan could fetch around $300m and Fairfax’s stake in Macquarie Media could be sold for at least $180m.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DOMAIN HOLDINGS AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX DHA, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, THORNEY OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED – ASX TOP, THORNEY TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED – ASX TEK, UPDATER INCORPORATED

Forrest says Fortescue will embrace new energy, AI

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 16-Nov-18

Fortescue Metals Group chairman Andrew Forrest says the pure-play iron ore miner views thermal coal as a 20th century energy source and it will only invest in "new energy". Forrest adds that Fortescue is also committed to investing in automation and artificial intelligence, and says such technology should be embraced rather than feared. Fortescue is deploying automated haulage trucks at its iron ore mines in the Pilbara. A decision on a proposed expansion of its Iron Bridge magnetite concentrate joint venture is expected by the end of 2018.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CHINA BAOWU STEEL GROUP CORPORATION LIMITED, FORMOSA PLASTICS CORPORATION

CBA to turn fully green by 2030

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Nov-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia aims to source 65 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2019, with a target date of 2030 for becoming solely reliant on renewables. As part of this strategy, CBA has secured a 12-year deal to source 96,000 megawatts annually from the Sapphire wind farm. CBA estimates that its direct emissions have been cut by 54 per cent since 2009. The bank will also become the first Australian company to join the global RE100 initiative, whose members have agreed to fully transition to renewables by 2050.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RE100, CWP RENEWABLES, PARTNERS GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE CLIMATE GROUP, CDP, SONY CORPORATION, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, LYFT INCORPORATED, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY