Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
ANZ Bank has continued its exit from retail banking in Asia, announcing it will close its small presence in the Philippines next February. It follows ANZ’s sale over the past year of its retail and wealth businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and, most recently, Vietnam. The Philippines operation has 10 staff, $100 million in deposits and 800 customers. An internal email, obtained by The Australian, says Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co, the second largest lender in the Philippines, could take on the staff, who also have the option of pursuing opportunities at ANZ.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
BHP is increasingly confident the recently increased tempo of Andrew Mackenzie’s inevitably expensive quest to identify a new tier one offshore field might well have already come up trumps. BHP is understood to be ever more optimistic that it has identified a ‘‘subbasin’’ to the north of its maturing Shenzi field in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on the back of the potential that three disparate recent oil discoveries could be connected. The discoveries in question are Shenzi North, Caicos and Wildling. Each has revealed pretty much the same qualities of oil over multiple but similar horizons and there is a growing confidence the finds are in communication with one another. If that theory translates into fully appraised reality, then there is firming possibility that BHP has made a significant commercial discovery, given that the discovery wells are stretched out over a comparatively large area of a historically highly productive province of the US Gulf.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG)：
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has appointed two of its directors as deputies to chairman Andrew Forrest. Mark Barnaba, who also sits on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, will be a deputy chairman, along with Sharon Warburton, who is also the chair of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.The world’s fourth biggest iron ore exporter (FMG) is currently searching for a replacement for chief executive and managing director Nev Power, who will step down in February.
Myer Holdings Limited (MYR):
Billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew is under growing pressure to outline his vision for Myer as the retailer’s board gains traction in an increasingly acrimonious campaign to secure the support of investors. Mr Lew’s Premier Investments is asking Myer shareholders to hand over their proxies ahead of the annual meeting on November 24, where Premier intends to vote against all resolutions including the election of chairman designate Garry Hounsell. Premier is also seeking three seats on the Myer board and has threatened to call an extraordinary general meeting to allow shareholders to vote on its nominees. ‘‘Myer is an iconic and important Australian business which, for the sake of its shareholders, employees and customers, must not be allowed to suffer any further decline,’’ Mr Lew told Myer shareholders late last month.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO)：
Rio Tinto has been tight-lipped today over reports it is weighing an investment in a major producer of fertiliser and lithium products. Chilean publication El Mostrador has linked Rio to a 32 per cent stake in Santiago-based company Sociedad Quimica Y Minera, which is better known as SQM.Canadian potash giant Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has confirmed it is trying to sell its 32 per cent stake in SQM as part of its plan to merge with fellow fertiliser giant Agrium. Sale of the SQM stake, and several other investments, was ordered by Indian regulators in exchange for approval of the merger. Potash Corp has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell the 32 per cent stake, and El Mostrador suggested that Rio had already made a bid. The reports make Rio just the latest in a long line of companies linked to the stake in SQM, with Chinese companies Sinochem and Tianqi also reported to be interested.Rio Tinto declined to comment. The miner's chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques has not ruled out acquisitions in recent comments to the market, suggesting the company would consider opportunities to make a "smart buy".
SeaLink Travel Group (SLK):
The $440 million ASX-listed SeaLink Travel Group is bumping up against private equity firm Quadrant in a fierce battle among ferry operators to Rottnest Island in Western Australia, with SeaLink slashing prices by 30 per cent to stoke demand on a new service that began on November 5. SeaLink Western Australia general manager Andrew Lane said the company was ‘‘in it for the long haul’’ and the price drop had already had a major influence, with two other competitors having dropped prices to match the SeaLink services. ‘‘They’ve come down to match us,’’ he said. Quadrant is the backer of a $300 million tourism company called Experience Australia Group, which a year ago acquired the Rottnest Express ferries business and an associated bus tours and cycling experience operation. Experience Australia also owns The Ghan and Indian Pacific train operator Great Southern Rail, and a Queensland tourism company, Cruise Whitsundays.
Telstra Corporation Ltd. (TLS)：
Telstra will offer refunds to up to 42,000 customers on its National Broadband Network plans, who paid for a so-called "speed boost" services, which could not be achieved on their internet connections. In a written undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, signed by chief executive Andy Penn the country's largest NBN retail service provider conceded that, between September 2015 and November 2017, it had been misleading in advertising its "super fast speed boost," with maximum download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and maximum upload speeds of up to 40 Mbps (100/40 Mbps).The telco said it had proactively contacted the ACCC about the problem, rather than being caught out doing something wrong, and was taking the lead in the local sector in addressing problems with broadband speed advertising.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH)：
Virgin Australia says it has held talks about privatising the airline as it flagged higher earnings and revenue over the next two quarters, improving on losses a year ago. Virgin chair Elizabeth Bryan confirmed for the first time the airline was exploring privatisation options given its small free-float. The airline's major shareholders including Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Group, HNA Group and Nanshan make up the bulk of its shareholding. “The board has held discussions about privatisation, however there is no outcome to report to the market at this stage," Ms Bryan told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. Nonetheless, Virgin stock has popped 10 per cent today to 22¢.Virgin reported an $18 million improvement in first quarter underlying pre-tax profit compared to the same period a year ago and said revenue increased 5.7 per cent. Chief executive John Borghetti said he expected underlying performance for the second and third quarter of the financial year to continue to improve compared to the prior corresponding period.
（Source: AIMS）
ANZ Bank has continued its exit from retail banking in Asia, announcing it will close its small presence in the Philippines next February. It follows ANZ’s sale over the past year of its retail and wealth businesses in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and, most recently, Vietnam. The Philippines operation has 10 staff, $100 million in deposits and 800 customers. An internal email, obtained by The Australian, says Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co, the second largest lender in the Philippines, could take on the staff, who also have the option of pursuing opportunities at ANZ.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
BHP is increasingly confident the recently increased tempo of Andrew Mackenzie’s inevitably expensive quest to identify a new tier one offshore field might well have already come up trumps. BHP is understood to be ever more optimistic that it has identified a ‘‘subbasin’’ to the north of its maturing Shenzi field in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) on the back of the potential that three disparate recent oil discoveries could be connected. The discoveries in question are Shenzi North, Caicos and Wildling. Each has revealed pretty much the same qualities of oil over multiple but similar horizons and there is a growing confidence the finds are in communication with one another. If that theory translates into fully appraised reality, then there is firming possibility that BHP has made a significant commercial discovery, given that the discovery wells are stretched out over a comparatively large area of a historically highly productive province of the US Gulf.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG)：
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has appointed two of its directors as deputies to chairman Andrew Forrest. Mark Barnaba, who also sits on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia, will be a deputy chairman, along with Sharon Warburton, who is also the chair of the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.The world’s fourth biggest iron ore exporter (FMG) is currently searching for a replacement for chief executive and managing director Nev Power, who will step down in February.
Myer Holdings Limited (MYR):
Billionaire rag trader Solomon Lew is under growing pressure to outline his vision for Myer as the retailer’s board gains traction in an increasingly acrimonious campaign to secure the support of investors. Mr Lew’s Premier Investments is asking Myer shareholders to hand over their proxies ahead of the annual meeting on November 24, where Premier intends to vote against all resolutions including the election of chairman designate Garry Hounsell. Premier is also seeking three seats on the Myer board and has threatened to call an extraordinary general meeting to allow shareholders to vote on its nominees. ‘‘Myer is an iconic and important Australian business which, for the sake of its shareholders, employees and customers, must not be allowed to suffer any further decline,’’ Mr Lew told Myer shareholders late last month.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO)：
Rio Tinto has been tight-lipped today over reports it is weighing an investment in a major producer of fertiliser and lithium products. Chilean publication El Mostrador has linked Rio to a 32 per cent stake in Santiago-based company Sociedad Quimica Y Minera, which is better known as SQM.Canadian potash giant Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan has confirmed it is trying to sell its 32 per cent stake in SQM as part of its plan to merge with fellow fertiliser giant Agrium. Sale of the SQM stake, and several other investments, was ordered by Indian regulators in exchange for approval of the merger. Potash Corp has reportedly hired Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to sell the 32 per cent stake, and El Mostrador suggested that Rio had already made a bid. The reports make Rio just the latest in a long line of companies linked to the stake in SQM, with Chinese companies Sinochem and Tianqi also reported to be interested.Rio Tinto declined to comment. The miner's chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques has not ruled out acquisitions in recent comments to the market, suggesting the company would consider opportunities to make a "smart buy".
SeaLink Travel Group (SLK):
The $440 million ASX-listed SeaLink Travel Group is bumping up against private equity firm Quadrant in a fierce battle among ferry operators to Rottnest Island in Western Australia, with SeaLink slashing prices by 30 per cent to stoke demand on a new service that began on November 5. SeaLink Western Australia general manager Andrew Lane said the company was ‘‘in it for the long haul’’ and the price drop had already had a major influence, with two other competitors having dropped prices to match the SeaLink services. ‘‘They’ve come down to match us,’’ he said. Quadrant is the backer of a $300 million tourism company called Experience Australia Group, which a year ago acquired the Rottnest Express ferries business and an associated bus tours and cycling experience operation. Experience Australia also owns The Ghan and Indian Pacific train operator Great Southern Rail, and a Queensland tourism company, Cruise Whitsundays.
Telstra Corporation Ltd. (TLS)：
Telstra will offer refunds to up to 42,000 customers on its National Broadband Network plans, who paid for a so-called "speed boost" services, which could not be achieved on their internet connections. In a written undertaking to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, signed by chief executive Andy Penn the country's largest NBN retail service provider conceded that, between September 2015 and November 2017, it had been misleading in advertising its "super fast speed boost," with maximum download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) and maximum upload speeds of up to 40 Mbps (100/40 Mbps).The telco said it had proactively contacted the ACCC about the problem, rather than being caught out doing something wrong, and was taking the lead in the local sector in addressing problems with broadband speed advertising.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH)：
Virgin Australia says it has held talks about privatising the airline as it flagged higher earnings and revenue over the next two quarters, improving on losses a year ago. Virgin chair Elizabeth Bryan confirmed for the first time the airline was exploring privatisation options given its small free-float. The airline's major shareholders including Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Group, HNA Group and Nanshan make up the bulk of its shareholding. “The board has held discussions about privatisation, however there is no outcome to report to the market at this stage," Ms Bryan told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting. Nonetheless, Virgin stock has popped 10 per cent today to 22¢.Virgin reported an $18 million improvement in first quarter underlying pre-tax profit compared to the same period a year ago and said revenue increased 5.7 per cent. Chief executive John Borghetti said he expected underlying performance for the second and third quarter of the financial year to continue to improve compared to the prior corresponding period.
（Source: AIMS）
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