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Australia's mining boom a challenge?

New China Life IPO to raise up to $4 bn
Hong Kong (AFP) April 20, 2011 - One of China's biggest life insurers is set to raise as much as $4 billion in a dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai, marking one of the region's biggest initial public offerings so far this year. New China Life Insurance filed a request for the listing with the mainland's insurance regulator last week and plans to submit a request to Hong Kong's bourse by the end of May at the earliest, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing a person familiar with the planned offering. Hong Kong's exchange would then hold hearings to approve the insurer's listing.

The $5.4 billion listing last month by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's Singapore Hutchison Port Holdings Trust, which owns deep-water ports in Hong Kong and China, is Asia's biggest IPO so far in 2011. Last week, Swiss commodities giant Glencore announced the world's biggest initial public offering so far this year, with a dual listing in London and Hong Kong to raise up to $11 billion. The southern Chinese city claimed title as the world's biggest IPO hub in 2010, raising more than $51 billion, propelled by Pan-Asian insurer AIA's monster $20.5 billion share sale.
by Staff Writers
Canberra, Australia (UPI) Apr 20, 2011
Australia is witnessing an unprecedented mining boom, the country's Treasurer Wayne Swan said Wednesday, Mining Weekly reports.

The mining boom, which Swan referred to as Mark 2 following the resources boom of the early 2000s, "is gathering pace and it will mean extraordinary new levels of income flowing into Australia, building our national wealth and incomes," he said.

Swan said Australia's terms of trade in iron ore and coal exports had risen to their highest sustained level in 140 years.

But as mining companies reinvest their profits, the resources boom would generate less revenue than it did before the global financial crisis, the treasurer said.

The boom "will also test the capacity of our economy and our workforce. And it will bring with it structural adjustments for our economy equal in magnitude to any we have seen before."

Swan said that expected mining investment for the next year would more than double from the year before, for the first time surpassing private business investment plans for the rest of the economy.

In separate news, the Australian Coal Association warned that closing mines was the only way the sector would be able to cut emissions from coal mines between now and 2020 under the government's proposed carbon pricing scheme.

The government's proposals call for Australia to introduce a price on carbon emissions from July 2012, effectively operating like a tax. Then an emissions trading scheme could begin as early as 2015.

In an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corp., the association's chief executive, Ralph Hillman, said a carbon tax would cost the country's coal industry $18 billion over the next 10 years. He suggested the government "go back to the drawing board" in addressing emissions.

The proposed carbon pricing scheme would lead to a decrease in the sector's growth and job losses in Australia but not a decrease in emissions, Hillman said.

Instead, he said, coal would be mined in other countries such as South Africa, Indonesia, Colombia and Mongolia and "emissions will go up just the same." Australia is the world's biggest coal exporter.

Hillman said fugitive emissions, released during the mining process, should be excluded from the carbon price scheme for about 10 years while new clean technologies are developed.

"There is no technology that miners can suddenly pull out of their pocket and apply that's going to get those emissions down. Closing mines is the only option," he said.

earlier related report
Thai exports hit new high
Bangkok (AFP) April 20, 2011 - Thailand's exports jumped 30.9 percent in March from a year earlier, hitting a new all-time high in a boost to the country's economic recovery, government figures showed Wednesday.

The value of exports surged to $21.3 billion, up from $16.2 billion in the same month of 2010, helped by strong overseas demand for Thai products such as jewellery, plastic, rice and rubber, the Commerce Ministry said.

The strong performance eased worries that Thai exports would suffer from the impact of the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Exports to mature markets including Europe, Japan and the United States increased 25.4 percent, while shipments to dynamic markets such as South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Asia soared 33.9 percent.

Imports also struck a record high of $19.5 billion, marking a rise of 28.4 percent from a year earlier, partly due to increased energy import costs.

Thailand posted a March trade surplus of $1.8 billion, slightly higher than the figure for the previous month.

The Thai economy returned to growth in the fourth quarter of 2010, snapping out of a brief technical recession on the back of solid exports and private consumption.

The central bank raised its benchmark interest rate in March for the fifth time in eight months, in an attempt to curb inflation in the face of higher commodity prices.

The Bank of Thailand was due to hold a policy meeting later Wednesday with many analysts predicting another rate hike to keep a lid on rising consumer prices.



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London (AFP) April 20, 2011
The price of gold topped $1,500 an ounce for the first time on Wednesday as a weakened dollar plus fears over high inflation and countries' debt attracted investors to the safehaven precious metal. Gold reached $1,502.32 an ounce at 0705 GMT. In later trading on the London Bullion Market, gold dipped back under the landmark barrier to stand at $1,499.32. Sister metal silver meanwhile rea ... read more







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