PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Apr 11

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)

Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) is among the airlines informed by Boeing that delivery of the aircraft maker's 787 planes will be delayed. Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the carrier, which has ordered 15 787s for its budget offshoot, Jetstar, was 'very disappointed' at Boeing's third postponement of the 787, but would be able to make up the deficit by leasing Airbus 330s. Mr Dixon said the airline would receive 'substantial damages' from Boeing, helping its meet the cost of leasing the Airbus planes. Page 55.

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Telecommunications provider AAPT APPXF.PK has flagged a turnaround after successive losses, and forecast it would post earnings of up to A$200 million in five years. 'We've already said AAPT earnings will be A$70 million to A$80 million this year, and a large part of that is driven by a laser-like focus on costs and creating value,' chief executive Paul Broad told shareholders in Sydney yesterday. AAPT, the Australian subsidiary of Telecom New Zealand, was set to achieve A$100 million in savings following cost cuts this year, Mr Broad said. Page 55.

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Construction materials group Adelaide Brighton (ABC.AX) has forecast 2007-08 earnings that fall short of analysts' estimates. Chief executive Mark Chellew yesterday predicted net profit of between A$118 million and A$125 million for the year, just below market expectations of A$125 million. He said sales in New South Wales remained weak, although South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria were contributing well to revenue. Adelaide Brighton shares finished the day A19c down at A$3.39. Page 55.

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Telstra (TLS.AX) announced yesterday that it had completed an expansion of its ADSL2+ broadband network months earlier expected. 'We promised to do it in 200 days, we've done it in 64,' said Phil Burgess, the telecommunications group's managing director of public policy and communications. He said ADSL2+ had been rolled out at an additional 900 telephone exchanges, largely in regional areas, increasing the network's reach by 2.4 million premises. 'This is an important step forward for telecommunications in rural and regional areas,' he said.

Page 57.

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THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)

Chinese steel group Sinosteel Corporation CN0781186 yesterday released its first supplementary bidder's statement on its takeover offer for West Australian iron ore miner Midwest Corporation. Sinosteel, which has a 19.89 percent stake in Midwest and has Foreign Investment Review Board approval for its bid, said it is awaiting approval from China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange and seeking a go-ahead from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Sinosteel has offered Midwest A$5.60 a share, but the target company is demanding at least A$7 a share. Page 20.

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Federal Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham has called for a delay to Telstra's switchover of its regional network from CDMA to Next G until the company addresses claims customers have been receiving handsets incompatible with Next G. The CDMA network was originally due to be shut down on January 28 but the date was moved back to April 28 on the orders of Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy. Senator Conroy said yesterday he was yet to make a final decision on whether Telstra could proceed with closing the CDMA network. Page 21.

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Federal Trade Minister Simon Crean yesterday unveiled a new Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) report on business opportunities in India. 'Australian business has the expertise and capacity to pursue the tremendous opportunities that India presents in the infrastructure and resources sectors,' Mr Crean said. The report, prepared for Austrade by KPMG India, said Australian companies needed to move quickly as they faced significant competition from companies based in the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain. Page 22.

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THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)

Information research firm Commercial Economic Advisory Service of Australia (CEASA) has released figures showing the advertising market grew 11.5 percent to just over A$13 billion in the 12 months to December 31. CEASA said a surge in political advertising in the lead up to the last federal election contributed to the growth. Internet and pay television were the best performers, but other media such as newspapers, free-to-air television, radio, cinema and posters also exceeded expectations. Page 18.

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The New South Wales Supreme Court heard yesterday that a major Conquest Mining project could be hit if the shares of the company's managing director, John Terpu, were sold by ANZ Bank (ANZ.AX) following the failure of his stockbroker, Opes Prime. Mr Terpu's shares are among the nearly A$1 billion worth of shares held by ANZ in return for credit advanced to Opes clients. ANZ is moving to offload the shares to cover hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the outstanding loans. Mr Terpu's lawyers said if his shares were sold, Conquest's A$50 million Mount Carlton project could be in trouble. Page 18.

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Bank of Queensland (BOQ.AX) (BoQ) will increase the commissions of branch owner-managers as part of a strategy to maintain its current growth rate at a time of tighter credit conditions. Chief executive David Liddy said the bank was concentrating heavily on increasing its deposits, a base that he says has allowed BoQ's larger domestic rivals to partly cover their rising costs. The bank's retail deposits grew 55 percent to A$12.9 billion in the six months to the end of February, while net profit hit a record A$65 million for the same period. Page 19.

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Insurance Australia Group (IAG.AX) (IAG) said yesterday that it would streamline its operations into two divisions and establish a new online business development unit as part of a broader review of its operational and management structure. IAG's domestic businesses, including NRMA Insurance, CGU, SGIO, SGIC and RACV, will be placed in the new divisions, making a third arm, Business Partnerships, obsolete. The insurer will also begin looking for a new chief for its Direct Insurance business following the resignation of David Issa. Page 19.

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THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)

The latest national employment figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that 14,800 new jobs were created last month, but the jobless rate rose to 4.1 percent from 4 percent in February. New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia all recorded gains, while Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania shed jobs. Shadow treasurer Malcolm Turnbull warned that the data was a 'lagging indicator,' meaning it could take months for the impact of higher interest rates to flow through to the jobs market. Page 1.

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Melbourne-based biotechnology company Solagran (SLA.AX) may be referred to financial regulators after it was revealed it had not disclosed the full extent of directors' exposure to failed broker Opes Prime. Last night, Solagran released a statement saying it had 'fully complied' with the Australian Securities Exchange's (ASX) disclosure regulations, arguing that its Opes Prime shareholding was not 'material.' The ASX said it would review Solagran's response. Solagran bought about 4 million shares through Opes Prime in the last nine months of 2007. Page 2. - - - -

Woolworths (WOW.AX) chief executive Michael Luscombe told the World Retail Congress in Barcelona yesterday that the retailer's 'very strong balance sheet' and a weak United States dollar had increased its interest in further overseas expansion. The grocery and general merchandise retailer already owns businesses in India and New Zealand, but Commonwealth Securities analyst Grant Saligari said it would be logical for Woolworths to move into one of the 'major Asian markets such as Thailand or Malaysia to establish a broader geographic footprint.' Page 3.

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News Ltd (APN.AX) -controlled online real estate listings provider REA Group has extended its property website operation in Britain, paying 2.8 billion pounds (A$5.6 million) for a half-share in Sherlock Publications. REA's propertyfinder.com venture partner News International bought the other half. REA chief executive Simon Baker said the addition of Sherlock's hotproperty.co.uk website would lift its total British market share to No. 2 and findaproperty.co.uk to third position. 'Now it's making sure they stay there,' he said. Page 3.

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