Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
The banking royal commission will today focus on CBA’s treatment of former Bankwest customers, in the wake of revelations about the property lending binge embarked on by Bankwest’s previous owner HBOS. Property lending had soared to 50.3 per cent of Bankwest’s commercial loan book by 2009 and CBA pushed to cut its exposure to 45 per cent. Pub baron Michael Doherty will return to the stand to finish evidence about his borrowings from Bankwest this morning. CBA chief risk officer David Cohen is scheduled to give evidence this afternoon but with a busy day ahead he may not appear until tomorrow. Other witnesses set to appear include Peter Clark, CBA chief credit officer; Brendan Stanford, expected to be a customer; and Sinead Taylor, Bankwest EGM business banking.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG):
Fortescue Metals chief Elizabeth Gaines says the miner plans to stay the world’s lowest-cost iron ore producer after it develops the $1.7 billion Eliwana mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region that is designed to lift Fortescue’s overall iron ore grades. The Andrew Forrest-chaired Fortescue yesterday approved development of Eliwana, which will be designed to produce 30 million tonnes of iron ore a year, with first production in 2020. It will replace the declining Firetail deposit, which produces the same amount of ore. But higher-grade ore from Eliwana will also help Fortescue produce a “Fortescue Premium” ore with a grade of 60 per cent iron as Chinese mills prioritise higher-grade products and pay a premium for them. The grade sits between the 58 per cent that Fortescue produces now and the benchmark 62 per cent ore produced by BHP and Rio Tinto.
Galaxy Resources Limited (GXY):
Lithium miner Galaxy Resources will offload tenements at its Argentinian mine to South Korean-headquartered conglomerate POSCO for $US280 million ($371m). Galaxy (GXY) said it has entered into an agreement to sell tenements in the northern area of its Sal de Vida project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped lithium brine deposits. Lithium is enjoying a boom because of growing demand for lithium-ion battery products. Galaxy had controlled 100 per cent of the brine mineral rights over more than 385 square kilometres on the eastern half of the Salar del Hombre Muerto region of Argentina. The company will retain ownership of all tenements in the southern area of Salar del Hombre, the ASX statement said. Galaxy said the proceeds from the sale will place the company in a strong financial position to continue further planned development of the project.
New Hope Corporation Limited:
Mining company New Hope Corporation said coal sales tumbled 12 per cent in its fiscal third quarter because of significant rail disruptions in Queensland during April. New Hope (NHC) reported coal sales of 1.9 million tonnes for the three months through April, down from roughly 2.2 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Coal output was up 4.1 per cent at 2.1 million tonness, it said. The rail network that hauls coal from its New Acland and Jeebropilly mines was disrupted by freight rail embargoes during the Commonwealth Games and scheduled maintenance outages, said New Hope. “Despite these rail issues, full year coal production and sales from the Queensland coal operations are expected to be similar to last year,” it said.
Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR):
Star Entertainment is ramping up the size of its Queens Wharf project in Brisbane to gear up for future demand, as inbound tourism from Asia shows no signs of ¬slowing. Floor space for the project’s integrated resort will increase by a quarter, to allow for more retail, food and beverage, gaming and hotel space. Capex on the project, which is expected to open in 2022, will increase by $600 million, with additional facilities now taking the overall project from $3 billion to $3.6bn.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
Suncorp was last night defying a call from the Financial Ombudsman Service’s top banking watchdog to back down from its demand that a jobless widow should pay back $220,000 within six months to clear a loan the bank should never have made. Lead ombudsman for banking and finance, Philip Field, yesterday told the financial services royal commission that after reflecting on the case of Jennifer Low, who was left with a series of commercial loan debts following the death of her husband, it “wouldn’t be reasonable” for Suncorp to ask her to repay the money within six months. However, last night Suncorp showed no signs of backing down from the position expressed to the commission by its chief executive of banking, David Carter, that such a demand would not breach a FOS determination.
WiseTech Global Ltd (WTC):
The founder and chief executive of ASX-listed tech firm WiseTech Global has revealed an ongoing aggressive acquisition spree and research and development spending were behind a $100 million raising, which took the market by surprise last week. Last week analysts reacted with surprise when the highly-rated logistics software company announced it had sold $100 million worth of shares at a price of $13.30 to Los Angeles-based Capital Group's SmallCap World Fund, with an announcement scant on detail saying it would be "utilised in the continued disciplined execution of stated strategy".
(Source: AIMS)
The banking royal commission will today focus on CBA’s treatment of former Bankwest customers, in the wake of revelations about the property lending binge embarked on by Bankwest’s previous owner HBOS. Property lending had soared to 50.3 per cent of Bankwest’s commercial loan book by 2009 and CBA pushed to cut its exposure to 45 per cent. Pub baron Michael Doherty will return to the stand to finish evidence about his borrowings from Bankwest this morning. CBA chief risk officer David Cohen is scheduled to give evidence this afternoon but with a busy day ahead he may not appear until tomorrow. Other witnesses set to appear include Peter Clark, CBA chief credit officer; Brendan Stanford, expected to be a customer; and Sinead Taylor, Bankwest EGM business banking.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG):
Fortescue Metals chief Elizabeth Gaines says the miner plans to stay the world’s lowest-cost iron ore producer after it develops the $1.7 billion Eliwana mine in Western Australia’s Pilbara region that is designed to lift Fortescue’s overall iron ore grades. The Andrew Forrest-chaired Fortescue yesterday approved development of Eliwana, which will be designed to produce 30 million tonnes of iron ore a year, with first production in 2020. It will replace the declining Firetail deposit, which produces the same amount of ore. But higher-grade ore from Eliwana will also help Fortescue produce a “Fortescue Premium” ore with a grade of 60 per cent iron as Chinese mills prioritise higher-grade products and pay a premium for them. The grade sits between the 58 per cent that Fortescue produces now and the benchmark 62 per cent ore produced by BHP and Rio Tinto.
Galaxy Resources Limited (GXY):
Lithium miner Galaxy Resources will offload tenements at its Argentinian mine to South Korean-headquartered conglomerate POSCO for $US280 million ($371m). Galaxy (GXY) said it has entered into an agreement to sell tenements in the northern area of its Sal de Vida project, one of the world’s largest undeveloped lithium brine deposits. Lithium is enjoying a boom because of growing demand for lithium-ion battery products. Galaxy had controlled 100 per cent of the brine mineral rights over more than 385 square kilometres on the eastern half of the Salar del Hombre Muerto region of Argentina. The company will retain ownership of all tenements in the southern area of Salar del Hombre, the ASX statement said. Galaxy said the proceeds from the sale will place the company in a strong financial position to continue further planned development of the project.
New Hope Corporation Limited:
Mining company New Hope Corporation said coal sales tumbled 12 per cent in its fiscal third quarter because of significant rail disruptions in Queensland during April. New Hope (NHC) reported coal sales of 1.9 million tonnes for the three months through April, down from roughly 2.2 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier. Coal output was up 4.1 per cent at 2.1 million tonness, it said. The rail network that hauls coal from its New Acland and Jeebropilly mines was disrupted by freight rail embargoes during the Commonwealth Games and scheduled maintenance outages, said New Hope. “Despite these rail issues, full year coal production and sales from the Queensland coal operations are expected to be similar to last year,” it said.
Star Entertainment Group Ltd (SGR):
Star Entertainment is ramping up the size of its Queens Wharf project in Brisbane to gear up for future demand, as inbound tourism from Asia shows no signs of ¬slowing. Floor space for the project’s integrated resort will increase by a quarter, to allow for more retail, food and beverage, gaming and hotel space. Capex on the project, which is expected to open in 2022, will increase by $600 million, with additional facilities now taking the overall project from $3 billion to $3.6bn.
Suncorp Group Ltd (SUN):
Suncorp was last night defying a call from the Financial Ombudsman Service’s top banking watchdog to back down from its demand that a jobless widow should pay back $220,000 within six months to clear a loan the bank should never have made. Lead ombudsman for banking and finance, Philip Field, yesterday told the financial services royal commission that after reflecting on the case of Jennifer Low, who was left with a series of commercial loan debts following the death of her husband, it “wouldn’t be reasonable” for Suncorp to ask her to repay the money within six months. However, last night Suncorp showed no signs of backing down from the position expressed to the commission by its chief executive of banking, David Carter, that such a demand would not breach a FOS determination.
WiseTech Global Ltd (WTC):
The founder and chief executive of ASX-listed tech firm WiseTech Global has revealed an ongoing aggressive acquisition spree and research and development spending were behind a $100 million raising, which took the market by surprise last week. Last week analysts reacted with surprise when the highly-rated logistics software company announced it had sold $100 million worth of shares at a price of $13.30 to Los Angeles-based Capital Group's SmallCap World Fund, with an announcement scant on detail saying it would be "utilised in the continued disciplined execution of stated strategy".
(Source: AIMS)
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