Summary: Interview with Andrew Bassat, CEO and co-founder of seek.com.au Interview with RMIT Economics professor Sinclair Davidson Leon and Garry discuss issues including: · China's manufacturing growth in November maintaining strong pace from the previous month to stay at a 19-month high. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) was at 51.4, unchanged from October, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. · New measures that will allow Chinese companies and people with an account in the new zone to directly invest overseas without the need for pre-approvals or a cap on the total amount of money, according to the guidelines published by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). It is not just residents in the 29-square-kilometre zone who will benefit from the dramatic relaxation of restrictions: non-residents can also set up so-called free-trade accounts. · New share offerings to resume in China as early as next month, ending a ban in place for more than a year, after leaders vowed to give private firms a bigger role in the economy. There are 760 firms lined up for initial public offerings (IPO) in the world's second-largest economy, and about 50 are expected to go to market by the end of January. · The fallout from the Abbott Government’s decision to veto the sale of Graincorp to US giant ADM with Joe Hockey accused of caving in to the concerns of the Nationals, who had threatened to split the Coalition if the $3.4bn takeover was approved. He said on Friday he had taken the decision because there was still insufficient competition in the Australian grain handling industry and in order to maintain public confidence in foreign investment in general. But Tony Abbott said there were also issues concerning ADM itself that had contributed to the decision. · The US State Department expressing disappointment over Hockey’s rejection of Archer Daniels Midland’s $3.4 billion bid for GrainCorp. As part of the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the US, a “side letter” commitment gave the two governments the right to be involved in negotiations over any sizeable agricultural investment in either country. · One of the most senior figures of the Howard government and a leading figure of the Liberal Party’s conservative wing, Peter Reith, accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of orchestrating the veto of a $3.4 billion US bid for GrainCorp, which he described as the latest of several botched decisions. He is joined by former Treasurer Peter Costello and former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett · The decision comes at a time when the economic importance of Australia’s north, which now accounts for 76 per cent of live cattle exports, is set to grow, with its gross value of production from industries like agriculture, mining and tourism forecast to double from 2000 levels to A$35 billion ($32 billion) by 2030. Meeting that goal requires further investment in railways, ports, dams and irrigation in areas where it may not rain for half of the year, and flood at other times. There isn’t sufficient capital in Australia to undertake the sort of investment required
