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A pedestrian looks at his phone as he walks past a logo for Australia's Westpac Banking Corp located outside a branch in central Sydney, Australia, November 5, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), Australia's third largest bank by market capitalisation, said on Monday it would raise A$750 million ($488.1 million) in an Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital transaction. The AT1 bonds are used by banks to stabilise cashflow in periods of stress, according to APRA. Under that deal, holders of Credit Suisse AT1 bonds received nothing, while shareholders, who usually rank below bondholders in terms of who gets paid when a bank or company collapses, received $3.23 billion. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Gray, Stephen Jones, Scott Murdoch, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Stephen Coates Organizations: Australia's Westpac Banking Corp, REUTERS, Rights, Westpac Banking Corp, Westpac, prudential, Credit Suisse, APRA, Credit Suisse AT1s, Commonwealth Bank, Credit, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

Barclays Bank logo is seen in this illustration taken March 12, 2023. Tesco Plc and Tesco Bank declined to comment. It could not be established how much the proposed deal would value the Tesco Bank assets. Tesco Bank was launched in 1997 as a joint venture between the British supermarket group and Royal Bank of Scotland, with Tesco later taking full control of the company. Despite seeing it as a growth area in the past, Tesco has been scaling back its banking services, including no longer offering current accounts and offloading its mortgage portfolio to Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L).

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Amy, Jo Crowley, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Lawrence White, Iain Withers, Anousha Sakoui, Jane Merriman Organizations: Barclays Bank, REUTERS, Barclays, Reuters, Tesco Bank, Tesco, Tesco Plc, British, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Thomson Locations: British, Kensington

SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Chinese self-driving firm iMotion Automotive Technology is aiming to raise $100 million in its Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) due to launch in the last week of November, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. iMotion, which was established in 2016, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The Suzhou-based firm is planning to open the books for its IPO the week after next ahead of starting trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) in the first week of December, according to the sources. iMotion had planned to raise $300 million, Bloomberg News reported in March, but has cut the size of its new fund raising target. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: iMotion, Hong Kong's, Scott Murdoch, Yantoultra, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, iMotion Automotive Technology, Reuters, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, iMotion, Suzhou, China, Hong, Sydney, Singapore

Livent CEO Paul Graves will take the top job at the newly minted Arcadium Lithium, if Allkem shareholders vote for the deal on Dec. 19. Merging the two companies would create the world's third-largest lithium producer by volume with assets spanning Australia, Canada and Argentina. Graves has said that one of his first priorities would be expanding Arcadium's footprint in Western Australia's world-class lithium districts. Under the deal, Allkem shareholders will get one share in the combined entity for each of their shares and the company will ultimately own 56% of the new firm. Livent shareholders will get 2.406 shares in the new firm, which will be called Arcadium Lithium, for each existing share.

Persons: Arcadium, Paul Graves, Kroll, Chile's, Graves, Albemarle, Livent Corp, Livent, Allkem, Scott Murdoch, Melanie Burton, Robert Birsel Organizations: JV, SYDNEY, Albemarle Corp, Liontown Resources, Hancock, Livent, FMC Corp, Galaxy Resources, Thomson Locations: Australia, U.S, Canada, Argentina, Western Australia, Sydney, Melbourne

☆ Plug Power shares dive on raising going concern doubts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Shares of Plug Power (PLUG.O) plunged nearly 30% in premarket trading on Friday after the hydrogen fuelcell maker raised going concern doubts. Plug has been facing liquidity issues and has lost more than half of its market capitalization since the start of the year. Its annual financial performance has also been impacted by "unprecedented" supply challenges in the hydrogen network in North America. The Latham, New York-based Plug said cash and equivalents at the end on Sept. 30 stood at $110.8 million. Plug on Thursday also reported a bigger loss for the three months ended Sept. 30 and its revenue of $198.7 million widely missed estimate of $228.2 million, according to LSEG data.

Persons: The Latham, J.P, Morgan, Bill Peterson, Tanay, Maju Samuel Organizations: U.S . Department Of Energy, Thomson Locations: North America, New York, Bengaluru

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Proxy advisor CGI Glass Lewis on Thursday recommended Origin Energy (ORG.AX) shareholders vote in favour of a $10.5 billion bid from a consortium led by Canada's Brookfield (BN.TO), despite opposition from the target's largest shareholder. Brookfield and EIG Partners last week offered a "best and final" A$9.53 per share for Origin after raising a previous bid. Australia's largest pension fund AustralianSuper opposes the offer and intends to use its 15% stake to vote against the deal at a Nov. 23 shareholder meeting. Origin Energy shares traded 1.9% higher at A$8.905 at 2 p.m. AEDT (0300 GMT) and are up 5.1% since the close of trade on Nov. 2, when AustralianSuper rejected the improved offer. Reporting by Scott Murdoch and Lewis Jackson; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Glass, Canada's Brookfield, AustralianSuper, Glass Lewis, Scott Murdoch, Lewis Jackson, Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed Organizations: Brookfield, REUTERS, Rights, Energy, EIG Partners, Services, Origin Energy, Australia Pacific LNG, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, Australia

☆ Asian shares rise as S&P 500 records longest win streak in two years
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was flat, although up 4.6% so far this month. The dollar index , which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was down slightly at 105.52. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 (.SPX) rose 0.10% and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 0.08%. The S&P 500 rose for the eighth consecutive day, extending its longest win streak in two years. In Asia on Thursday, U.S. crude and Brent crude both rose 0.8% following the weak performance in the U.S. session.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Ping, Brent, Gold, Scott Murdoch, Tom Hogue Organizations: Nikkei, REUTERS, Rights, CPI, ANZ, Reuters, Ping An Insurance Group, Garden Holdings, HK, Ping An, U.S, U.S . Federal, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, Pacific, U.S, U.S ., China

☆ Proxy firm ISS recommends vote in favour of Brookfield-led consortium's Origin Energy bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended investors vote in favour of a Brookfield-led consortium's $10.5 billion bid for Australia's Origin Energy (ORG.AX). Brookfield and EIG Partners has offered A$9.53 per share for Origin Energy. AustralianSuper, which holds a 15.03% stake, has said it believes the consortium's bid substantially "undervalues" Origin and will vote against the offer. Brookfield will take ownership of Origin's energy markets business if the vote is in favour of the bid, while EIG's MidOcean Energy will gain a 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG). In that scenario, EIG will own Origin and sell the energy markets business to Brookfield, meaning remaining shareholders, including AustralianSuper, will own only APLNG.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Scott Murdoch, Paul Simao Organizations: Brookfield, REUTERS, Rights, Services, Origin Energy, EIG Partners, Shareholders, Energy, Australia Pacific LNG, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, Australia, Sydney

Nov 6 (Reuters) - EIG Partners Chief Executive Blair Thomas said on Monday he is confident a Brookfield-EIG consortium can win support for its $10.5 billion bid for Origin Energy (ORG.AX) despite opposition from the Australian electricity and gas firm's top shareholder. Pension fund AustralianSuper said on Monday it had increased its stake in Origin to 15.03% from 13.67% and the A$9.53 per share bid remained "substantially" below its estimate of long-term value. Origin will hold a shareholder meeting on Nov. 23, where it will urge investors to vote in favour of the deal. If the deal is successful, Brookfield will take ownership of Origin's energy markets business, while EIG's MidOcean Energy will gain a 27.5% stake in Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG). Thomas confirmed both Brookfield and EIG had discussed with AustralianSuper the possibility of it participating in the deal earlier this year.

Persons: Blair Thomas, AustralianSuper, Thomas, EIG, Scott Murdoch, Lewis Jackson, Archishma Iyer, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: EIG Partners, EIG, Origin Energy, Brookfield, Energy, Australia Pacific LNG, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, Australia, Bengaluru

"AustralianSuper believes Origin has a highly strategic portfolio of assets to participate in, and benefit from, the energy transition," a spokesperson said. Origin shares plunged as much as 5.6% to A$8.565 in high-volume trading following the news, as AustralianSuper's 13.68% holding could scupper a deal that requires approval from 75% of the register if not all investors vote. Should the deal fail at the shareholder vote scheduled for Nov. 23, a revised agreement allows the consortium to make a subsequent off-market bid if it buys 5% or more of Origin shares. "If it gets voted down, Brookfield aren't obligated to come back with an off-market takeover offer, but they may be inclined to," he said. Should the deal close, Brookfield and its partners GIC and Temasek will own Origin's Energy Markets business, which includes power generation and retailing.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, AustralianSuper, Canada's Brookfield, Brookfield, Jamie Hannah, Simon Mawhinney, Allan Gray, Stewart Upson, Scott Murdoch, Lewis Jackson, Sameer Manekar, Jamie Freed Organizations: Brookfield, REUTERS, SYDNEY, bourse, Brookfield Asia, Energy Markets, Saudi Arabia's Aramco, Australia Pacific LNG, Thomson Locations: VanEck, Brookfield, Temasek, Saudi, Australia, Sydney, Bengaluru

Evergrande's lawyer said the company was working on a revised plan to "monetise the value" of its two Hong Kong-listed units - Evergrande Property Services Group (6666.HK) and Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group (NEV) (0708.HK). Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that plan included allowing Evergrande creditors to swap their debt into equity and bonds tied to these units. Evergrande, Evergrande Property Services and Evergrande NEV declined to comment. "Why would those shareholders want to see new debt issued to replace the existing debt issued by Evergrande, what is the benefit for them?" Evergrande's initial $23 billion offshore debt restructuring plan was thrown off course last month when its billionaire founder Hui Ka Yan was confirmed to be under investigation for suspected criminal activities.

Persons: Aly, Evergrande NEV, Mat Ng, Grant Thornton, Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, Clare Jim, Xie Yu, Scott Murdoch, Miral Organizations: China Evergrande Group, REUTERS, Hong, Evergrande, Services, HK, New Energy Vehicle Group, Reuters, Evergrande Property, Thomson Locations: China, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, HONG KONG, HK, Hong Kong, Grant Thornton Hong Kong, SYDNEY

The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) unveiled plans earlier this year to combine with London Innovation Underwriters and raise additional funds to deploy in the Lloyd's of London insurance market. The deal by Financials Acquisition Corp differs from a typical SPAC merger because the company has set up London Innovation Underwriters itself. It is not the first time that public market investors in London have backed a new insurance venture. In 2020, Conduit Holdings (CRE.L) listed on the London Stock Exchange, subsequently starting reinsurance activities. UBS and HSBC are joint global coordinators to the Financials Acquisition deal.

Persons: Britain's King Charles, Sarah Meyssonnier, William Allen, Lloyd's, Beazley, Carolyn Cohn, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Anousha Organizations: City of, REUTERS, Financials, London Innovation Underwriters, Lloyds, Innovation Underwriters, Conduit Holdings, London Stock Exchange, UBS, HSBC, Thomson Locations: City, City of London, Britain, London, Lancashire, Lloyd's

AustralianSuper owns a 13.68% stake in Origin Energy and said the offer was "substantially below" its estimate of long-term value for Australia's biggest energy retailer. Origin shares were down 0.9% in early trade on Tuesday at A$9.10 each, which was above the $A8.81 offer price. Origin shares have been trading above the offer price since the deal got an approval from the country's competition regulator on Oct. 10. Origin shares closed at A$9.17 on Monday, 4.1% above the offer price. "The current offer from the Brookfield and EIG-backed consortium remains substantially below our estimate of Origin's long-term value," the firm said.

Persons: AustralianSuper, Max Vickerson, AusSuper, it’s, Scott Murdoch, Lewis Jackson, Sameer Manekar, Josie Kao, Lincoln, Chris Reese Organizations: Origin Energy, Brookfield, stockbroker Morgans, Frontier Economics, Energy, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, EIG, Sydey, Bengaluru

Reuters could not establish whether Canaccord's interest in the business, known as Close Brothers Asset Management, is still live. Shares in Close Brothers closed 2.2% up on Thursday after initially jumping as much as 5% on the news. Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) acquired London-listed Brewin Dolphin last year in an effort to bulk up its international wealth management footprint. Bloomberg first reported Close Brothers' plans to offload its wealth management division in July. Canaccord has sought to grow its UK wealth management arm via acquisitions.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, David Esfandi, OTPP, 7IM, Canaccord, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Jane Merriman, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Reuters, Asset Management, Royal Bank of Canada, Bloomberg, HPS Investment Partners, Thomson Locations: Toronto, London

Investors stand in front of a screen showing the logo of Nomura Holdings in Tokyo, Japan, December 1, 2015. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Japanese investment bank Nomura Holdings (8604.T) has laid off about 10 of its Hong Kong-based investment bankers, including some who were focused on China-related deals, said two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The Japanese investment bank has seen its China-linked fortunes slipping lately. Its fortunes in regional equity capital markets were boosted by its leading advisory role in March on the $9.24-billion stake sale by Japan Post Holdings (6178.T) in Japan Post Bank Co(7182.T). Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Selena Li in Hong Kong Editing by Helen PopperOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Toru Hanai, Nomura, LSEG, Goldman Sachs, Scott Murdoch, Selena Li, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Nomura Holdings, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank Co, Bank of America, Citigroup, UBS, Hong, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Asia, Sydney

[1/5] A view of the residential apartments in Country Garden's Forest City development in Johor Bahru, Malaysia August 16, 2023. The group hired PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial adviser to lead discussions with Country Garden, two people with knowledge of the matter said. Ratings agency Moody's said on Thursday it could downgrade Country Garden's (2007.HK) 'corporate family rating' if the recovery prospects for its creditors weaken further. Moody's said Country Garden's senior unsecured rating of C was already at the lowest of its rating scale. Country Garden and Frasers did not immediately respond for a request for comment on that sale.

Persons: Edgar Su, PJT, Moody's, Frasers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Yeung Kwok Keung, Yang Huiyan, Yeung, Yang, Cao Jianglin, Garden's, China Evergrande, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Clare Jim, Anousha Sakoui, Liz Lee, Lewis Jackson, Kim Coghill, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed, Lincoln, Miral Fahmy, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, HK, PJT Partners, Garden's, Australian Financial, Reuters, China International Capital Corporation, Finance, HSBC, China National Agricultural Development, SOE, Thomson Locations: Garden's, City, Johor Bahru, Malaysia, China HONG KONG, Garden's Australian, Melbourne, China, Shunde, Guangdong province, Sydney, Hong Kong, London, Beijing, Sydndey

A construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured in Tianjin, China August 18, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY/LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A major group of Country Garden (2007.HK) offshore bondholders has appointed PJT Partners (PJT.N) as financial advisors to lead discussions with the troubled Chinese property developer, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. Bondholders have been seeking urgent talks with the company since it missed a $15 million coupon repayment on Wednesday, putting it at risk of default. Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request to comment made outside of business hours. Reporting Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Anousha Sakoui in London, editing by Karin StroheckerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, PJT, Scott Murdoch, Anousha, Karin Strohecker Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, PJT Partners, Thomson Locations: Tianjin, China, LONDON, HK, Sydney, London

CVC targets an IPO that would value the company at more than 10 billion euros, the people said, with the company placing around 10% of its share capital, one of the people said. The private equity firm's partners are not expected to sell stock through the IPO, the people said. Blue Owl, CVC, GIC and HKMA declined to comment. On-road payments provider DKV Mobility, in which CVC has a minority holding, decided to defer its IPO plans because of volatile markets, Reuters reported earlier this month. London-headquartered CVC, which oversees more than 160 billion euros in assets, is striving to transform itself into a diversified asset manager.

Persons: de, Singapore's GIC, Renk, DIF, Glendower, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Elisa Martinuzzi, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Partners, Reuters, CVC, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Kuwait Investment Authority, DKV Mobility, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, Netherlands, Kuwait, London

[1/2] A worker looks on at a construction site of residential buildings by Chinese developer Country Garden, in Beijing, China August 11, 2023. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The grace period for Chinese property developer Country Garden Holding's (2007.HK) $15 million coupon payment has expired with no word that the money has been paid. Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Country Garden has also missed other offshore payments in the past few weeks, though those payments still have not seen their 30-day grace periods lapse. A default would open the way for Country Garden's offshore creditors to begin negotiations with the firm's financial advisors.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, Clare Jim, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Sonali Paul, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, HK, Data, JPMorgan, Mainland Properties, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, China's, Hang, Hong Kong, Sydney

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. The company last week warned of its inability to meet offshore debt obligations. Country Garden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on Wednesday. With nearly $11 billion of offshore bonds and $6 billion of onshore loans, a default by Country Garden would set the stage for one of China's biggest corporate debt restructurings. Country Garden has also missed other offshore payments in the past few weeks, though those payments still have not seen their 30-day grace periods lapse.

Persons: Aly, Scott Murdoch, Sonali Paul Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, Rights, Garden Holdings, HK, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, New York, China's, Sydney

☆ Markets are misreading Fed officials' comments, and the central bank could still raise rates, analyst warns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Aruni Soni | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The markets have been misinterpreting recent Fedspeak, a Barclays analyst said. Markets "have read far too much into recent Fedspeak that implied that these higher rates might have done some of the heavy lifting." If a strong US economy is driving interest rates higher, the Fed may have to hike rates again. But I think we've read far too much into recent Fedspeak that implied that these higher rates might have done some of the heavy lifting," she said. The so-called Fedspeak infused markets with optimism that the central bank will be pausing rate hikes.

Persons: —, Meghan Graper, isn't, Powell, Jerome Powell, Graper Organizations: Barclays, Service, Bloomberg, Economic, of New Locations: of New York

☆ Here's the 21-page pitch deck that Slope, a fintech looking to upend B2B payments, used to score $30 million from investors like OpenAI's Sam Altman
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lin Murata worked at the business growing up, doing everything from sales to filing paperwork to working the cash register. "My parents, they're very old school, and all the existing solutions were excruciating to use, and we realized there was a real need for a frictionless B2B payments solution," said Lin Murata. It's a tall order to digitize B2B payments — companies ranging from middle-market companies and mom-and-pop shops have been notoriously hard to penetrate and spur technological change. Of the $125 trillion market for global B2B payments, only a fraction of transactions — less than $6 trillion according to Slope's pitch deck — occur online. The latest investment brings Slope's total funding to $187 million, with $62 million in equity and $125 million in debt capital.

Persons: Lawrence Lin Murata, Lin Murata, Alice Deng, Deng, Sam Altman, OpenAI's Sam Altman Organizations: Union Square Ventures, OpenAI's Locations: China, Brazil, Slope's

LONDON/FRANKFURT, Oct 12(Reuters) - Brooks Macdonald (BRK.L) is working with a defence adviser on its strategy amid takeover interest, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Raymond James has had a longer-term mandate for financial advice which recently developed into defence strategy, one of the people said. Brooks Macdonald and Raymond James declined to comment. Shares in Brooks Macdonald have dipped since peaking in late 2021 as market conditions soured. Britain's fragmented wealth management industry has seen increased consolidation in recent years driven by both private equity and strategic players.

Persons: Brooks Macdonald, Raymond James, Charles Stanley, Brewin, Andrew Shepherd, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro, Victoria Farr, Amy, Jo Crowley, Anousha Sakoui, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: FRANKFURT, British, London, Emma

☆ Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart accumulates 19.9% stake in Albemarle target Liontown
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Gina Rinehart poses in Western Australia in this undated handout photo obtained January 23, 2018. Hancock Prospecting/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Australian billionaire Gina Rinehart has taken a 19.9% stake in lithium miner Liontown Resources (LTR.AX), her company Hancock Prospecting said on Wednesday, potentially hindering a takeover bid launched by U.S. mining giant Albemarle Corp (ALB.N). Hancock has steadily built its stake since September, when Albemarle Corp lodged its bid for Liontown. The U.S. miner needs 75% support from Liontown investors who vote on the deal to succeed with its bid. Under Australian takeover rules, a single shareholder must declare its intention if its stake moves above 19.9%.

Persons: Gina Rinehart, Hancock, Albemarle's, Scott Murdoch, Jacqueline Wong, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Corp, Albemarle Corp, Liontown, Australian, Thomson Locations: Western Australia, U.S, Albemarle

The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. Country Garden, China's largest private property developer, has not defaulted so far, but has missed coupon payments on some dollar bonds since last month and faces the end of 30-day grace periods for making payments from next week. In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday, Country Garden said that its sales and financing were facing "significant challenges", and its available funds have continued to decrease. Country Garden was due on Monday to pay $66.8 million in coupons on 2024 and 2026 dollar bonds, although the payments have a 30-day grace period. ($1 = 7.8284 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Xie Yu in Hong Kong; additional reporting Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru and Clare Jim in Hong Kong; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Lincoln Feast, Jamie Freed and Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, homebuyers, Houlihan Lokey, Sidley Austin, Jeff Zhang, Sandra Chow, CreditSight's, Scott Murdoch, Xie Yu, Rishav Chatterjee, Clare Jim, Rashmi Aich, Lincoln, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, HK, Hong, China International Capital Corporation, Asia, China Evergrande, Investment, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Beijing, Sydney, Bengaluru, Clare

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