1. Strategic deadline extended - Strategic Finance’s receivers have pushed out the deadline for indicative offers for the firm’s loan book to next month. Receivers John Fisk and Colin McCloy of PricewaterhouseCoopers has previously set a deadline of mid-June. Strategic Finance was tipped into receivership in March by its trustee Perpetual Trust in March owing about NZ$417 million to 13,000 investors. A PwC spokeswoman now says the timetable for loan book offers has been extended, with assessment of possible offers likely in July.
2. ANZ eyes Chinese SOEs - ANZ is aiming to double the revenue it generates from northeast Asia from US$667 million over the next few years, The Australian reports, with its institutional operations targeting multinational companies and China’s state owned enterprises. ANZ's northeast Asia, Europe and America chief executive Gilles Plante told a Shanghai audience the bank's multinational business was going "gangbusters", with revenue growing off a low base at 50% every six months.
And ANZ had some kind of banking relationship with 30 SOEs from a priority list of 70. "But this is a long-term game," Mr Plante said."China is not the holy grail, so this is not a six-month play; we're talking 10, 20 or 30 years."
Greater China, along with India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the greater Mekong (mainly Vietnam) and the Pacific, are key franchise markets for ANZ, which has set down an ambitious strategy to expand the region's contribution to group profit from 13 per cent to 20 per cent by 2012.
3. Finsec questions sales targets - Bank workers’ are concerned about customers’ ability to meet the financial obligations of the products they sell them, according to a survey by their union Finsec and its Australian counterpart the Finance Sector Union. The survey questioned both bank workers and customers.
“These results call into question the target systems banks operate given that a quarter of respondents are not comfortable their customers can meet their obligations in relation to the products they are made to sell them,” said Finsec Campaigns Director Andrew Campbell.
“It is clearly time for the banks to reconsider their target systems when both customers and workers say they don’t want secret sales targets,” said Campbell.
4.Wang in court - May Wang, the businesswoman behind a proposed buy up of the Crafer dairy farm group, is making two court appeareances this week related to failed business dealings. The first one, the NZ Herald reports, was on charges brought by the Ministry of Economic Development in relation to records of her property and hotel company Dynasty Group, which is now in liquidation.
The charges include that between August 31, 2005 and May 29, 2008, she failed to keep adequate accounting records as the director of the Dynasty Group, and on or about October 10, 2008 she failed to supply the liquidator with information about the business accounts of the company and assist with the liquidation to the best of her ability.
Judge Gittos remanded Wang on bail to reappear for a sentence indication hearing on July 15.
Wang returns to court on Tuesday to face Dynasty Group creditors who she owes NZ$22 million. Westpac has applied to the High Court to bankrupt Wang over debts of NZ$620,000.
5. Dorchester sets date - Dorchester Pacific says it will hold investor and shareholder meetings seeking approval for its capital reconstruction plan and related NZ$10 million capital raising at Auckland’s Ellerslie Event Centre on June 30.
Investor and Shareholder roadshows will be held around the country prior to the meetings. see details here.
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