SUMMIT MEETINGS – AUSTRALIA

Goyder pleads for action on new trade deal

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 7-Nov-14

Richard Goyder, CEO of Wesfarmers, also chairs the Business 20 (B20) body advising the Australian Government on the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in November 2014. He urges G20 nations to adopt the recommendations of B20 on issues such as global free trade and investment in infrastructure projects to boost the economy. Goyder also backs comments by International Monetary Fund MD Christine Lagarde that industrial relations reforms are needed. Robert Milliner, the B20 sherpa, says G20 members must roll out free trade initiatives agreed to at a meeting in Indonesia in late 2013

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, MALLESONS STEPHEN JAQUES, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Crackdown on tax could backfire

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Original article by Ben Potter, Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Dec : 7-Nov-14

The Group of 20 (G20) will soon discuss the global anti-tax avoidance proposals of the OECD. Australia and the US have become cautious about the plans. There are concerns among business figures and some governments that the OECD’s efforts against base erosion and profit shifting by multinationals could have unforeseen effects. For instance Richard Goyder, head of Wesfarmers, warns that measures to curb tax avoidance by multinationals could unintentionally weigh heavily on Australian tax revenue from mining exports to Asia

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON WEB SERVICES LLC, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, APPLE INCORPORATED, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, BUSINESS 20 (B20), AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, LEND LEASE GROUP LIMITED – ASX LLC, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG

Race against time to wrap up China FTA

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Original article by Rowan Callick
The Australian – Page: 17 : 20-Oct-14

Chinese President Xi Jinping will in November 2014 travel to Brisbane to attend the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit. The Australian Government aims to finalise a free-trade agreement with China by that date, and insiders say that only six of the 20 issues in the document still require more talks. The Minister-Counsellor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Chinese embassy, Huang Rengang, says Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce is correct in scaling back expectations for the nation to become "Asia’s food bowl". Huang also notes that trade between the two countries grew 19% year-on-year during the first three quarters of calendar 2014

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS, WORLD BANK, PORT OF MELBOURNE CORPORATION PTY LTD, SHENHUA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX SHU

G20 ‘has a duty to get tough on tax dodgers’

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 18 : 19-Aug-14

Stephen Martin, CEO of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia, will issue a paper on 18 August 2014 that calls for the Federal Government to ensure tangible outcomes are achieved when the nation hosts the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit later in the year. A major issue will be action by G20 members to crack down on tax evasion via profit shifting by multinational corporations. Martin warns that diplomatic disputes such as that with Russia over its actions in Ukraine must not detract from the G20 agenda

CORPORATES
GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSMIN, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF STATE

Hockey sees progress on G20 growth target

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Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 18-Jul-14

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on 17 July 2014 addressed a meeting of the Business 20 (B20) forum that is helping the Government prepare for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in November. Australia is pushing the G20 member nations to adopt an economic growth target of 2% by 2019, and Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey has reportedly been given assurances by EU finance ministers that they will commit to the goal. A major focus of the advice by B20 will be investment in infrastructure. Hockey will speak to the delegates on 18 July

CORPORATES
BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, SEB ASSET MANAGEMENT AG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

‘Murky’ barriers must be cleared

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 19 : 16-Jul-14

Andrew Mackenzie, CEO of BHP Billiton, is also the co-ordinating chair of the trade taskforce at the Business 20 (B20) forum that flanks the Group of 20 (G20) summit later in 2014. He has called on the Australian Government to put trade barriers on the agenda for the G20, during its presidency of the body. A B20 gathering is being held in Sydney in mid-July 2014, ahead of a G20 trade ministers’ meeting. Mackenzie has commented that in the last seven years, 1,500-plus new trade impediments that are not tariffs have been created

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF AGRICULTURE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Business says free up rules

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Original article by Ben Potter, Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Jul-14

The Business 20 (B20) summit will be staged in Sydney in the week starting 14 July 2014. B20 is a forum designed to help business leaders lobby the Australian Government as it prepares for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Brisbane later in the year. The B20 delegates headed by Richard Goyder and Robert Milliner want the Government to use the G20 agenda as a tool for boosting economic growth. The focus will be on free trade, infrastructure investment and reduced regulation. The latter applies in particular to the banking sector

CORPORATES
BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, FINANCIAL STABILITY BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY

Make or break for summit

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Original article by Ben Potter, Mathew Dunckley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 14-Jul-14

The Business 20 (B20) forum will accompany the Group of 20 (G20) leaders’ summit in Australia in late 2014. A preparatory meeting of the B20 is being staged in mid-July, and the participants have set a new focus on financing growth, human capital, infrastructure and trade. Experts such as International Monetary Fund ex-deputy MD John Lipsky argue that the November summit will be crucial in setting the path for the G20 for years to come, and failure to achieve meaningful outcomes will be a major missed opportunity. They urge Prime Minister Tony Abbott to be forceful in setting the agenda

CORPORATES
BUSINESS 20 (B20), GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL STABILITY BOARD