Global Lithium delays AGM on foreign interference concerns
The meeting has been pushed to February to allow time for the Australian government to review a potential breach by a shareholder of foreign acquisition laws.
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Mining top executives are much gloomier about the current economic outlook than their counterparts in other industries, as the ongoing slump in key commodities, from iron ore to copper, continues to impact their business decisions.
CEOs however remain just as confident on their own company’s growth, according to PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO Survey.
The study also found that industry executives believe threats have increased, being particularly concerned about higher taxes, geopolitical turmoil and how indebted governments will handle their deficits. Bribery and corruption is a major worry too.
The most disruptive force on the horizon according to the executives interviewed are regulation changes, with 84% of mining CEOs worrying about this versus only 66% in other industries. They were particularly cautious of Argentina (98%), Venezuela (96%), and the U.S. (90%).
Source: PwC 18th Annual Global CEO Survey.
At the same time, they revealed to be counting on China, U.S. and India as catalysts for much of their growth.
All sectors considered, over half of CEOs (54%) think it is likely that organizations will increasingly compete in new sectors other than their own; with nearly a third (31%) saying their company entered a new industry during the past three years.
Deals rush?
Based on the responses obtained, PwC study also predicts an increase in mining mergers and acquisitions this year as almost half of all mining CEOs (44%) said they plan to form a new alliance in the next 12 months. More than a quarter (28%) said sharing risks is one of the top reasons why they are open to deals.
In the gold sector, however, such transactions may take time to materialize, as some believe shareholders are waiting to be certain that bullion prices have hit bottom, before approving expansions or mergers.
5 Comments
Onyx
Oh how my heart bleeds for the poor mining execs, with their stock options suffering, their warrants and shares in jeoprady, their VP chums wondering what to do next from their corporate thrones and why developing countries should dare raise taxes on their projects as locals hardly get a whiff of the benefits but are often left with an eye-sore hole in the ground as a legacy.
Guss
If you think open pits are eye sores then a website named mining.com might not be the place for you. Try cry-me-a-river-greeny.com. Should fit like a glove.
rayban
U R / . Really why do U B Here troll .
RUSS
Hi!, Patrons Of Mining. com Et .Al.:
Reading the comments below, is this the Snidley Whiplash adjunct to moral hazard? Maybe if compliments were a million $’s apiece, someone could afford one? Granted, we have various problems throughout OUR total economy but ripping each other apart solves nothing in my opinion!
RUSS SMITH, CA. (One Of Our Broke, Fiat Money Corrupt States)
[email protected]
Zulugroove
Mining provides good jobs …livable jobs, family rearing jobs, jobs we all need. Although kookameyer..onyx,has definitely a warped view of the industrie, there is always room for improvement . There will be tough times ahead as we see what years of cheap money has done to economies around the globe.