PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Sept 19

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)

-- Steelmaker BlueScope Steel (BSL.AX) yesterday accepted BHP Billiton's move to scrap annual benchmark price settlements for iron ore. BHP Billiton has argued that the benchmark system, which settles prices once a year, is inadequate in the present volatile conditions in the iron ore market, but Asian steel mills continue to resist the push toward spot prices. BlueScope has secured its iron ore supply with BHP Billiton until 2019 after accepting quarterly and pure spot prices for 5 million tonnes of iron ore. Page 57. --Fertiliser and explosives group Incitec Pivot (IPL.AX) has secured a new A$1.7 billion syndicated bank facility despite the prevailing uncertainty in global financial markets. The company said yesterday the facility will replace a substantial part of a A$2.4 bridging loan, due in May 2009, arranged to fund its acquisition of Dyno Nobel. The lead arrangers and bookrunners for the new facility were Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) , National Australia Bank(NAB.AX) , Westpac (WBC.AX) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L). Page 57. --The former chief executive of wine and beer company Foster's Group (FGL.AX) , Trevor O'Hoy, is being paid A$1.03 million for the remainder of the year after stepping down in July. Foster's disclosed yesterday that Mr O'Hoy, who decided to leave Foster's after announcing A$770 million of writedowns earlier this year, will receive the payment for the period from July 21 to December 31. Ian Johnston has been appointed as acting chief executive on a monthly remuneration of A$150,000 while Foster's searches for a permanent replacement. Page 58. --Biopharmaceutical group CSL (CSL.AX) has filed a merger approval application with the United States (US) Federal Trade Commission for its US$3.1 billion (A$3.91 billion) takeover of US-based rival Talecris Biotherapeutics. CSL argues in its request to the anti-trust regulator that the merger will improve patients' access to blood plasma products through greater supply. The Federal Trade Commission is expected to provide an initial response by next month. CSL faces a US$75 million break fee if it fails to gain approval within 12 months. Page 59. THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) -- Suncorp (SUN.AX) yesterday moved to counter market fears about the bank's property exposure and funding position as its stock ended the day 5.76 percent lower. Chief executive John Mulcahy said the bank was on track to meet funding requirements and reconfirmed its 2009 full-year earnings forecast. Despite the comments, speculation Suncorp may be a target for acquisition by QBE Insurance and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is growing. Page 21. -- Financial services firm KPMG yesterday said the projected worth of superannuation funds may be reduced by A$500 billion in the next 10 years due to recent sharemarket falls. Super funds fell 6.4 percent on average for the year to June, and some analysts said a second year of falling values is likely given the state of the markets. KPMG said the falls highlight the need to consider further superannuation measures. Page 21. --James Packer's private company Consolidated Press Holdings has purchased a 5 percent stake in Brasil Online Holdings, the owner of two of Brazil's top online employment sites. The stake was handed to Mr Packer by jobs website Seek, which yesterday announced it was purchasing a 30 percent stake in the Brazilian company, after it decided it could not afford the entire 35 percent stake on offer. Mr Packer is chairman of Seek, and Consolidated Media Holdings, which is backed by Mr Packer, owns 27 percent of Seek. Page 23. THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au) -- The Australian business of HBOS HBOS.L is unlikely to be put up for sale for at least six months after the announcement of the troubled British-based bank's A$27 billion acquisition by rival Lloyds TSB, analysts said yesterday. The entire local operation of HBOS, including retail bank BankWest, is expected to be sold for more than A$7.6 billion. Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are considered possible suitors. Meanwhile, HBOS Australia says its parent's problems are unlikely to have any impact on its operations. Page 20. -- Corporate governance advisory firm RiskMetrics has called on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to require the listed satellites of leading financial services firms to fully disclose their management agreements with their parents. The ASX at present requires funds to provide to the market a 'clear and concise summary' of the agreements. RiskMetrics justifies its proposal by citing 'impediments to third party proposals for listed asset vehicles [that] only became apparent after corporate activity began.' Page 21. --Zinc miner Oz Minerals (OZL.AX) will cut production by 50,000 tonnes next year in response to the declining price of the metal. The price fall has led to production to be scaled back at Perilya and CBH Resources' projects in New South Wales and forced the shutdown of Teck Cominco and Xstrata's Lennard Shelf mine in Western Australia. OZ, the world's second-largest zinc miner, posted a loss at its Century mine in Queensland in the six months to June 30. The zinc price has fallen to US$1720 a tonne, nearly half its level a year ago. Page 21. --James Packer's gambling company, Melco Crown, has been hit by speculation that it has split with Amax Holdings, which arranges visits by gamblers to Melco Crown's Macau Casino. Shares in Melco Crown, which is listed on the Nasdaq in the United States, dropped 23 percent in the past three days. Packer's Consolidated Media Holdings also slipped 5 percent yesterday to close at A$2.79, pulled down by uncertainty over the identity of the party behind a significant 1.4 percent share trade for A$28 million on Wednesday. Page 22. THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) -- Research firm SuperRatings says Australian superannuation funds have lost 6 percent on average this month and 12 percent in the past year. 'People approaching retirement [have] lost more and more money, and may have to consider staying in the workforce for another year or two,' SuperRatings managing director Jeff Bresnahan said yesterday. Despite the recent declines, Mr Bresnahan said the average fund was still up 6 percent in the past three years and about 9 percent over five. Page B2. --Automotive group GM Holden will retrain all marketing staff for its Saab brand after the competition regulator found its 'Every Saab is green' advertisements deceptive and misleading. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) initiated action against Saab after the advertisements, first published on July 27, claimed Saab would plant 17 trees to offset emissions for the life of the car. The ACCC investigation found that the trees would only offset emissions for a year. Page B3. --Neil Chatfield yesterday resigned as executive director and chief financial officer of transport and logistics group Toll Holdings (TOL.AX). Toll said that Mr Chatfield, who joined the company in 1957, would leave to pursue private interests. Mr Chatfield is understood to have been a contender for the position of Toll's managing director, but incumbent Paul Little last year signed on for another three years. Senior executive Mal Grimmond has been appointed acting chief financial officer. Toll shares finished the day down 6.9 percent at A$7. Page B3. --Melbourne software firm ExitReality has launched a 3D search engine and free Internet-plug in that allows users to bring the 3D virtualisation experience to two-dimensional websites. Chief executive Danny Stefanic said yesterday that unlike the existing websites that featured 3D, ExitReality had the potential to allow almost any of the estimated 40 billion web pages to be viewed in 3D. He said ExitReality had already signed deals with some companies overseas, including a fast-food chain in the United States. Page B3.