According to The Australian Financial Review, economists have warned that the Reserve Bank of Australia may not achieve its inflation target for at least two more years without higher interest rates, unless Treasurer Jim Chalmers uses the upcoming budget to cool the economy.
Analysts say the RBA will almost certainly be forced to revise higher its near-term inflation forecasts at its board meeting next week, after March quarter inflation figures were stronger-than-expected. The headline consumer price index increased 3.6 per cent in the 12 months to March, above the RBA’s indicative forecast of 3.5 per cent. The bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation, the trimmed mean, was 4 per cent, above the central bank’s expectation of 3.8 per cent. https://www.afr.com/policy/economy/high-inflation-may-last-another-two-years-unless-rates-rise-again-20240429-p5fnaa?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=1&cx_experienceId=EXIRQ0BX6VHL&cx_experienceActionId=showRecommendationsYDEQYCFG6XO314#cxrecs_s
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Labor’s revamp of foreign investment rules designed to boost support for much-needed rental housing has been welcomed by the property industry, as it also warns that current tax settings remain a barrier to offshore capital.
Under the new rules announced by Treasurer Jim Chalmers, a long-standing prohibition on foreign ownership of established housing would no longer apply to foreign investors wishing to acquire existing build-to-rent housing. The largest hurdle remains the imposition of a 30 per cent withholding tax on the managed investment trusts through which offshore players typically hold BTR assets they have developed in Australia. The government has promised to halve that tax, bringing it in line with the tax rate applied to other forms of foreign-owned commercial property. However, draft legislation released last month setting out the eligibility for the tax reduction includes a requirement that 10 per cent of the dwellings in a build-to-rent project be offered as affordable tenancies. Cedar Pacific chief executive Bernie Armstrong said lengthy FIRB approval processing times was just one of the challenges in bringing in foreign capital. The others were the very high taxes and surcharges imposed on foreign investors and uncertainty around taxation investment rules. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/firb-changes-are-fine-but-please-fix-tax-investors-20240501-p5fo33
According to The Asahi Shimbun, the nation’s most powerful business lobby said Japan must aim to become “an AI and robotics powerhouse” but cautioned that can only happen if the government develops new long-term strategies.
It presented a lengthy wish list April 16 to help achieve that goal. In its proposal to strengthen the nation’s industrial base, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) took issue with the way Tokyo is trying to achieve its vaunted goal of going carbon free by 2050 and measures now in place to make Japan a global player in the semiconductor industry and related fields. It said short- to medium-term tactics are not the answer. “A comprehensive long-term strategy to cover the entire range of industry has yet to be established,” Keidanren said. It urged the government to work closely with industry and academia to develop a long-term strategy through to 2040, with the aim of shoring up industrial competitiveness. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15233450
According to The Asahi Shimbun, as Japan’s population ages, a record-breaking number of houses across the country now sit vacant, with many showing unlit windows, walls covered with vines and rooftops crumbling.
The number of these “akiya” (vacant) houses has reached 9 million nationwide, or 13.8 percent of the total number of homes in Japan, a government survey released on April 30 showed. This means that roughly one in every seven homes is vacant. Of these 9 million vacant homes, 4.76 million, including new homes, are for rent or sale, according to the preliminary figures released by the internal affairs ministry. Around 380,000 are vacation homes and other buildings intended for seasonal or occasional use. However, the biggest challenge is the increase in abandoned vacant homes with no intended use. The number of such homes increased by 370,000 from the previous survey to 3.85 million, the highest on record. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15252431
According to The Australian Financial Review, Japan Inc will back the development of one of the world’s biggest nickel deposits in Western Australia in a move that casts further doubt on whether the Albanese government will bail out BHP and its struggling operations.
Sumitomo and Mitsubishi have agreed to back Ardea Resources and its $3.1 billion nickel laterite and cobalt project, about 80 kilometres from Kalgoorlie and BHP’s ageing nickel smelter. Ardea, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi will form a partnership to develop Goongarrie, sharing the cost of feasibility study up to $98.5 million. The Japanese partners will help secure debt funding on favourable terms and emerge with a 50 per cent stake alongside Ardea if the project goes ahead. Sumitomo, which would own 40 per cent of the combined entity alongside Mitsubishi’s 10 per cent, has experience in developing nickel laterite mines and HPAL processing plants through two big operations in the Philippines – Coral Bay and Taganito – and owns nickel refineries in Japan. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/japan-inc-backing-for-nickel-mine-puts-bhp-bailout-in-doubt-20240429-p5fndw
According to The Australian Financial Review, BHP Group proposal for a $US39 billion ($60 billion) takeover of rival Anglo American is all about securing plenty of copper supplies — so now, the potential deal is throwing uncertainty over the future for Anglo’s massive fertiliser mine in England.
That’s largely because BHP is already building its own giant fertiliser project in Canada, called Jansen, to which it’s already committed more than $US10 billion. With an accelerated expansion planned for Jansen, BHP is unlikely to be interested in also going big on Anglo’s Woodsmith site. If BHP is successful with its takeover deal, it would spark the industry’s biggest shakeup in more than a decade. BHP, already the largest miner, would gain control of roughly 10 per cent of global copper mine supply ahead of a forecast shortage that’s expected to drive up prices. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/bhp-s-bid-for-anglo-casts-cloud-over-9b-mine-20240427-p5fmz9
According to The Australian Financial Review, median house prices in Brisbane and Adelaide are on track to hit $1 million by the end of the year, fuelled by a persistent supply shortage and strong demand, despite a sharp slowdown in the quarterly pace of growth, Domain says.
Brisbane’s median house value has risen to a record $924,498 over the past three months to March, and Adelaide surpassed the $900,000 mark for the first time during the same period. But their quarterly growth momentum slowed substantially as stretched affordability weighed on sentiment, said Nicola Powell, Domain’s chief of research and economics. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/median-house-prices-in-brisbane-and-adelaide-to-hit-1m-by-december-20240423-p5flwa
According to The Asahi Shimbun, while most Japanese would choke at the high prices of "kaisen-don" seafood rice bowls, the weak yen is whetting the appetites of foreign tourists such as Orr Israeli Dayan and Omer Dayan.
“In Israel, they cost 1.5 times as much,” Omer said. “I don’t think they are expensive.” In February, Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai, a commercial facility with more than 50 eateries, opened on Tokyo’s waterfront, adjacent to the Toyosu Market. When the line-ups of expensive menu items were revealed, many Japanese quickly made fun of them on social media, naming them “inbaun-don” (inbound-donburi). But the prices failed to dampen the appetites of Orr Israeli Dayan, 28, and Omer Dayan, 30, who came to Japan from Israel on their honeymoon. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15245613
According to The Asahi Shimbun, at least 90 taxi operators have already registered in the two weeks after a new ride-sharing service was launched here and in Tokyo.
While the majority of current customers are foreign tourists, taxi companies are hiring more drivers in anticipation of the service’s wider adoption. On the evening of 19 April, local taxi company MK Co. received a ride-share reservation through the Uber app from Vietnamese tourists who wanted to travel from Kiyomizudera temple to Kyoto Gosho. Ninety percent of the company’s ride-sharing customers are foreign visitors, likely familiar with the service in their home countries. Domestic customers, on the other hand, are still unfamiliar with the concept. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15245852
According to The Australian Financial Review, Shizen Energy Group, a Japanese renewables player that has developed 1.3 gigawatts of assets since its founding in 2011, is seeking backers for its first Australian bet.
Street Talk understands Shizen has acquired exclusivity over a 200-megawatt pipeline of solar assets in NSW and Victoria alongside development partner Bison Energy – another Japanese player that already has 14 projects in Australia. Now, Shizen wants an equity investor that could help it turn the early-stage project into saleable electricity. https://www.afr.com/street-talk/japan-s-shizen-energy-seeks-equity-backer-for-aussie-solar-play-20240421-p5flh5 |
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