Quigley ready to present NBN business case, Queensland Govt talks up QR National float: Economy Roundup

NBN Co. chief executive Mike Quigley has said the company is ready to present a business case to the Government regarding the financial viability of the network.

Quigley also said he is surprised about how political his role has become in the NBN construction, as the debate over whether or not the network is viable at all continues to rage.

“We will present that to the board, in fact, over the next couple of days to the board of NBN Co, who will then either endorse it or ask us to make some changes, and subsequently we will then submit that to the board and then NBN Co will send that to the shareholder, which is the government,” Quigley said of the business case.

But he also pointed out that while he believes the network is viable from a nation-building perspective, he said that “Is it a project that a private-equity company would invest in at this point in time? Obviously, I don’t think so”.

“It’s not something that a purely commercial private enterprise would do and, in fact, if it were the case that they would have, then it wouldn’t be something the government would need to be initiating.”

Quigley also said he did not anticipate just how political his role would become within the NBN Debate.

“But I knew it was a project in which there was a lot of public interest and there were a lot of very difficult and also very important policy questions. But no, I guess I didn’t anticipate it would be quite as political as it has become.”

Overseas, Saskatchewan has officially declared its intention to oppose the BHP Billiton offer to buy Potash Corp, with the Federal Government set to make the final decision.

“In the interests of jobs for Saskatchewan families, in the interest of the quality of life that we prize that is funded by revenues to the government … we must say no to this hostile takeover,” Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said in a speech.

“It’s our government’s belief that the people of Saskatchewan deserve nothing less than a potash industry unequivocally managed, operated and marketed for the benefit of Canada and Saskatchewan,” said Wall.

ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel has said the Government should consider implementing some action that would restrict the banks from signalling they will continue raising rates above increases made by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, Samuel said he would support the ACCC being given the right to stop banks from indicating potential future rate rise movements. “We’re starting to get concerned about price signalling,” he said.

Shares flat after mixed leads

The Australian sharemarket has opened flat today, following a number of mixed leads from overseas markets including Europe and North America.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 12 points or 0.3% to 4636.6 at 12.10 AEST, while the Australian dollar also fell to US97c following declines in commodities markets overnight.

ANZ shares gained 0.5% to $23.38, while Commonwealth Bank shares rose 0.8% to $50.36. Westpac rose 0.4% to $22.40 as AMP lost 0.6% to $5.39.

Brewery giant Foster’s has said the company is set to increase its US premium wines business as it prepares to move the $US3 billion division away from its beer operations.

Speaking at an investor briefing, the company has said it will improve margins in the wine business by having consumers trade up to more expensive wines, particularly in the US where the Beringer, Penfolds and Wolf Blass brands are being sold.

The Queensland Government has said there is still a high level of interest in the QR National float, saying reports demand is low are unsubstantial.

The Government has said brokers have been allocated $1.05 billion in stock, while total retail demand was more than $1.4 billion – making up 30% of the offer base.

“This confirms a strong level of investor and broker firm interest ahead of the international institutional road show that starts next week,” treasurer Andrew Fraser said in a statement.

Overseas, US telco AT&T has reported a revenue increase to $US31.58 billion from $US30.73 billion, beating analysts’ estimates. The company’s wireless data revenue also grew by 30.5% to $US4.8 billion, in what the company called a “terrific mobile broadband quarter”.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average grew by 38.6 points or 0.35% to 11,146.57