Macquarie, Fortescue and BlueScope chiefs headline delegation to China
While details are yet to be finalised, two people briefed on the matter said Wikramanayake and Forrest would be joined by BlueScope Steel chief executive Mark Vassella, HSBC Australia chief executive Antony Shaw and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer chairwoman Rebecca Maslen-Stannage.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
11 hours ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese jetting off to China this week for important meeting with president Xi Jinping
Anthony Albanese is expected to receive a red carpet reception when he travels to China this weekend to meet President Xi Jinping. His trip will mark the pair's fourth meeting and Mr Albanese's second visit to China since he was elected Prime Minister in May 2022. After thawing the diplomatic freeze formed under predecessor Scott Morrison post his COVID-inquiry call, trade and investment are expected to be a heavy focus of Mr Albanese's discussions. Following their first face-to-face on the sidelines the G20 summit in Bali in 2022, Mr Albanese had travelled to Beijing in November 2023. The trip marked the first Australian PM to visit China since 2016. Their most recent meeting in November 2024 was at the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. While the PM's last whirlwind three-day visit in 2023 divided time between Shanghai and Beijing — Mr Albanese has added Chengdu to the itinerary this time. The city of 21 million in the south-western province of Sichuan is China's famous panda hotspot. This trip will also span five days and will be joined by a media contingent and delegation of high-profile business executives. It's expected to include senior figures from BHP, Rio Tinto, BlueScope Steel, HSBC and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. China is WA's number one trading partner with merchandise exports to the country last year valued at $135.6 billion dollars. One in four jobs in the State rely on Beijing to export goods.
AU Financial Review
16 hours ago
- AU Financial Review
Macquarie, Fortescue and BlueScope chiefs headline delegation to China
Macquarie chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake and billionaire Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest are among a delegation of high-profile business executives who will accompany Anthony Albanese on a trip to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang next week. While details are yet to be finalised, two people briefed on the matter said Wikramanayake and Forrest would be joined by BlueScope Steel chief executive Mark Vassella, HSBC Australia chief executive Antony Shaw and Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer chairwoman Rebecca Maslen-Stannage.
Sydney Morning Herald
16 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Completely untethered: Tesla's board has dropped Musk's leash, and he is running amok
In doing so, Musk is further escalating his already damaging brawl with former bestie Donald Trump whose Big Beautiful Bill has been the subject of invective from Musk, who believes its profligate spending will bankrupt the US economy. Trump's response was to declare Musk a 'train wreck' that had gone off the rails over the past five weeks. But not a peep yet from the Tesla board, which in theory is supposed to keep Musk on the rails. Shareholders must surely be waiting for updates from the company. For perspective, imagine how the board of BHP would react if its boss Mike Henry or Commonwealth Bank's chief executive, Matt Comyn, decided to start a political party as a part-time gig. They would be sent packing. For the Tesla board, placing restraints on a rogue chief executive is way more difficult. In part, this is because Musk IS Tesla – its founder, its major shareholder and its strategy engine. Loading To the extent that parallels can be found in Australia in the hazards of dealing with entrepreneurial founders, Wisetech's Richard White and Fortescue's creator and major shareholder, Andrew Forrest, would be the closest. White's complicated personal life, including multiple relationships with women, including WiseTech employees, has resulted in board upheaval following a number of complaints about inappropriate conduct, a number of which have been settled. A pushback from the Wisetech board was ultimately unsuccessful, leading to a mass resignation of a number of directors. Ultimately, White prevailed. Forrest's strategic deviation into saving the planet using Fortescue's financial resources to finance green projects has been tolerated rather than encouraged by many shareholders. He has been branded a zealot and has been an outspoken critic – particularly of those in the oil and gas industry. But his family's 36 per cent stake in Fortescue has rendered him an untouchable king of the company. Meanwhile, shareholders and regulators have attempted to intervene in the governance of Tesla for years – including a 2018 shareholder lawsuit to limit a stratospheric $US50 billion ($77 billion) pay package awarded to Musk based on hitting market capitalisation milestones. In her ruling in favour of the shareholder, Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick noted: 'There were undoubtedly a range of healthy amounts that the board could have decided to pay Musk,' McCormick wrote, but she said the board instead 'capitulated to Musk's terms and then failed to prove that those terms were entirely fair'. But Musk's latest action, which will create for him a major distraction from running Tesla, is arguably much more serious for the company and its other shareholders. Loading It threatens to undermine the performance of the company that is already challenged by falling sales volumes and a massive influx of competition from China electric vehicle companies. Two weeks ago, Elon Musk reportedly fired Omead Afshar, the automaker's vice president of manufacturing and operations, CNBC has confirmed, following declines in car sales in key markets this year. His termination followed the resignation of Milan Kovac, previously head of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robotics program, last month. At this point, Musk's presence at the helm of Tesla is sorely needed.
