PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - May 8

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) -- Rail and port infrastructure company Asciano Group's (AIO.AX) attempt to sell assets by the end of June has been dealt another blow, according to analysts. United States investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) yesterday pulled out of a consortium that is considering a bid for the whole of Asciano. The consortium, led by private equity group TPG, is believed to have disagreed with GIP over pricing for the bid. Asciano needs to raise at least A$1.5 billion to solve its immediate debt problems. Page 48. --Gaming company Tabcorp (TAH.AX) has put in place a pay freeze during the 2010 financial year for all staff earning more than A$70,000. Chief executive Elmer Funke Kupper said the decision, which will affect around 1200 salaried staff, was due to increasing concerns about the state of the Australian economy. Mr Funke Kupper said 'we are still worried about next year'despite positive revenue growth across the company's three main businesses for the four months to the end of April. Page 48. --Doug Ritchie, mining company Rio Tinto's (RIO.AX) global head of strategy, yesterday warned that the recent rally in global equity markets does not mean that 'it's back to business as usual.' Mr Ritchie said continuing volatility meant the company's proposed US$19.5 billion deal with China's Chinalco remains Rio's preferred option, and rejected speculation that the two companies have been negotiating a restructure of the deal. The proposed deal is still to be approved by both the Federal Government and Rio shareholders. Page 48. THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) -- Queensland banking and insurance company Suncorp (SUN.AX) yesterday announced that A$3 billion of its commercial property investment lending and developer lending would now be deemed non-core. The move increases the value of the banking division's non-core portfolio to A$16.8 billion, which will be run down over the next five years. The shift is part of the bank's new strategy to focus on retail banking, small business lending and agribusiness. Page 17. -- Listed property trust GPT Group (GPT.AX) yesterday announced plans to raise a further A$1.7 billion as it seeks to reduce debt and exit its troubled joint venture with collapsed investment bank Babcock & Brown. In February, GPT announced that the value of the A$6.2 billion joint venture had been written down to A$1.2 billion, and yesterday signalled further writedowns. GPT raised A$1.6 billion from the market in October, and more capital raisings in the sector are expected following the recent rally in property stocks. Page 17. --Media group News Corporation (NWSA.O) yesterday announced earnings results for the three months to the end of March, with a 47 percent fall in operating profit to US$755 million, while the net profit result of US$2.7 billion for the quarter was flat compared to last year. Analysts described the results as solid, and News chairman Rupert Murdoch said there were 'emerging signs' that the sector's falling revenues were stabilising. However, Mr Murdoch warned that publishers will need to develop new business models to return to long-term profitability. Page 17. --Steel maker BlueScope Steel (BSL.AX) will raise at least A$1.4 billion from a recently announced equity raising, after investment bank Credit Suisse yesterday agreed to underwrite the entire raising, including the A$600 million retail offering. The announcement means the original A$825 million that had been underwritten will be used for debt repayment, with the additional A$588 million used to increase liqiudity. BlueScope chief Paul O'Malley said he was delighted with the strong support his company had received from shareholders. Page 18. THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au) -- Property developer Austcorp Property Group yesterday placed itself into administration, but said it was still optimistic that its A$1 billion Vision tower project in Brisbane would be completed. Austcorp said it was continuing to talk to parties about the project, while administrator BRI Ferrier said one option for funding the project may be the Federal Government's Australian Business Investment Partnership (ABIP). In March, Treasurer Wayne Swan said the Vision tower was 'just the sort of project' which could be helped by the ABIP. Page 19. --Air carrier Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) is losing market share to lower-cost carriers such as Jetstar and Virgin Blue (VBA.AX) despite last month stating that it would maintain its 65 percent share of the domestic air travel market. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) analysts yesterday said 'we believe Virgin is picking up more of the corporate travel market as businesses watch their expense lines more closely.' The analysis from RBS estimates that Qantas's share of the domestic market is now around 62 percent. Page 20. --Speculation that the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX.AX) may move to delist toll road operator BrisConnections have grown after the company's securities saw only four trades yesterday. The trades involved only 50,000 of the company's 102 million tradeable units. The ASX is able to delist companies if there is not 'an orderly and liquid market in its securities.' BrisConnections has already asked underwriters Macquarie Group and Deutsche Bank to delist the company. Page 21. --The Federal Government has announced it will regulate the A$30 billion margin lending sector for the first time, including licensing of margin lenders and the enforcement of 'responsible lending' rules. The Minister for Corporate Law, Nick Sherry, yesterday said the new laws are 'a crackdown on irresponsible lending, wherever it may occur in Australia.' The new regime will be enforced by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which will receive an extra A$71 million of funding for the task. Page 21. THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) -- The Federal Government's proposed A$30 billion Australian Business Investment Partnership, which is intended to provide funding to the commercial property sector if foreign banks pull out of Australia, has yet to secure approval from the Senate. A 61-day inquiry into the scheme has failed to resolve concerns raised by non-Labor senators. The inquiry's deputy chairman, Liberal senator Alan Eggleston, called for the proposal to be scrapped, saying there is no evidence that foreign banks are withdrawing from Australia. Page 1. --Agribusiness group Great Southern (GTP.AX) went into a trading halt yesterday, with the company issuing a statement saying it expected to make an announcement on its managed investment scheme sales program and its working capital requirements before Monday. The company is due to report half-year results by the end of this month, and has forecast a loss of between A$120 million and A$130 million. Last week the company listed three cattle properties for sale as it seeks to address high debt levels. Page 2. --Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX) chief executive Mike Smith has urged mortgage holders not to take up fixed rates yet, as interest rates may continue to fall below the current 49-year low of 3 percent. Mr Smith, speaking at the Australian Institute of Company Directors in Brisbane yesterday, also called on the Federal Government to abandon the first home owners' grant bonus on June 30, saying that encouraging large loans in the current environment 'is akin to putting someone into a poverty trap.' Page 3. --Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest must wait to find out if he will be disqualified as a director of his company, Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX) , after Justice John Gilmour yesterday reserved judgement at the end of the civil case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The case revolves around allegedly misleading statements made by Fortescue regarding contracts with three Chinese companies. 'The actions of my client and (Fortescue) in all this story were honest and reasonable,' said Mr Forrest's lawyer Allan Myers, QC. Page 3.