For sale - Two Major Government Entities

LATEST AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS NEWS

Telecommunications. The Australian Government is to move to the next stage of preparing for a sale of its majority holding in Telstra – Australia’s leading (formerly monopoly holding) - telecommunications company. The Government’s holding is worth around $30billion and should be of interest to major international telecommunications companies and related entities. The advice from the Telstra Scoping Study was that an appropriate return could be achieved, but that it would be dependent on a number of future variables, including:-

• overall market conditions,
• expected demand for Telstra shares,
• Telstra’s performance,
• the outcomes of the new CEO’s operational review, and
• the implementation of regulatory changes.

Medical Insurance. The Australian Government has decided to review its ownership of Medibank Private Limited – a major private health insurance company - and will update a scoping study into the possible sale of the company. As with the previous scoping study completed in 2003, the update will examine the operation and structure of Medibank Private, analyse the industry and policy environment in which it operates, and consider options for the Commonwealth's future ownership of the company. The updated scoping study will also examine issues such as the nature of its corporate structure and the effect of a potential sale on consumers, members and employees of Medibank and other stakeholders. It is expected that the scoping study update will be completed by the end of this year.

For information on this article, or on any other aspect of the Australian economy or business opportunities available, please email me.

David

david.taylor@agarcarlyon.com