RALPH Norris has re-opened the debate over a resource sector super profits tax by calling for a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund to ensure Australia does not squander the windfall from the mining boom.
The comments by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss add to calls by a sprinkling of business figures, including the Reserve Bank member and Fairfax Media chairman, Roger Corbett, for the government to start locking up some of the revenue from resource exports for future generations.
''Mining companies are recovering resources that are the natural endowment of Australians, and therefore Australia … should look to get some return,'' Mr Norris said.
''We need to look what Norway has done with regard to its oil resources and setting up a future fund which is well insulated for the future when it no longer has any oil to draw upon to make sure their economy continues to provide the support for its population that it does today.
''Australia has got a fantastic resources endowment which is owned by Australia and therefore there needs to be some way to make sure when those resources are gone to make sure there is a legacy left behind.''
The call is a risky move by Mr Norris. As well as putting the mining industry off side, it could draw political attention to the bank's own profits, including the $3.34 billion December half profit which it handed down yesterday. This has set CBA on course for a record $6.6 billion full-year result.
Amid intense political focus on the dominance of the nation's major banks, Mr Norris defended CBA's latest bumper earnings figures: "Yes we are a profitable organisation, but not excessively so.''
He pointed to the bank's return on assets - a measure of profitability - which at 1 per cent sits well below companies such as miners, where a return on assets is closer to 7 per cent.
Mr Norris said the economic impact of flooding across Queensland and Victoria and of cyclone Yasi could be felt for years.
CBA set aside $100 million in anticipation of an increase in bad debts following the Queensland floods.
The bank has also topped up payouts from its insurance business to ensure policyholders are covered by all kinds of flood damage.
CBA also detailed plans for a further expansion of its China footprint by injecting funds into a new bank in Jiyuan, an industrial city south-east of Beijing.
The new bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia County Bank, will focus on lending to small to mid-sized business.
CBA's part-owned Bank of Hangzhou will also take a 20 per cent stake in the new bank.
Source: http://www.smh.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment