Posts in category: Client News

China Capital Investment Group (CCIG) has announced the acquisition of the perpetual lease of South Molle Island in the Whitsundays on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

South Molle Island is CCIG’s second Australian acquisition following the purchase in early 2015 of nearby Daydream Island Resort and Spa.

The perpetual leasehold interest in South Molle Island features over 12 hectares of developable absolute beachfront land, including a frontage of over 600m to one of the only sheltered north facing white sand beaches in the region, and a secluded 15-hectare tranquil parcel in the middle of the island, surrounded by national park.

Shanghai-based CCIG says the purchase of South Molle Island was a great opportunity to expand its presence in the Whitsunday region.

Daydream Island Resort and Spa chief executive officer Scott Wilkinson said, “The acquisition reflects the confidence we have in Australian tourism assets, Queensland and the tourism industry.

“South Molle has a long history as a tourism destination. As such this was a great opportunity to acquire one of the last large-scale development opportunities in the Great Barrier Reef.

“The investment and tourism potential from both domestic and international visitors is strong and coupled with infrastructure development in the region is an exciting prospect.

“Owning two island resorts like these in the Whitsundays will also provide economies in regards to resources and staffing and ultimately the diversity of guest experiences.

“We look forward to providing local employment opportunities in the region with future development and the creation of more tourism jobs through an ongoing workforce.” 

South Molle Island features excellent connectivity to both Airlie Beach and the airports at both Hamilton Island and Proserpine, and is near to famous attractions such as Whitehaven Beach and Heart Reef.

Founded in 1995, China Capital Investment Group specialises principally in investment in China’s real estate, mining and infrastructure sectors.

PROPERTY services group Oliver Hume has cemented its position as Victoria’s leading property marketing group with the appointment to four different projects in the last eight weeks with a combined yield of nearly 1,000 lots. The new lots, which have an estimated value of about $300 million, adds to Oliver Hume’s existing portfolio of more than 40 communities in Victoria. The appointments include a high profile role with Places Victoria, the State Government’s property development agency, as part of the development of a site on the edge of the Point Cook Town Centre overlooking the Boardwalk Boulevard Wetlands. The new appointments secured in the last two months include:

• Point Cook – Oliver Hume will work alongside Places Victoria on the sales and marketing of a new townhouse development.
• Tarneit – A boutique development comprising approximately 400 lots, set to come to market in October this year.
• Willandra, Melton – A 700-lot development that launched in 2012, Oliver Hume will take responsibility of the sales and project marketing for the remainder of the project.
• Mornington – Consisting of 38 half-acre to acre lots, the Mornington development will set a new benchmark in the Peninsula corridor.

Oliver Hume’s existing clients include some of country’s most established developers including Villawood Properties, Amex Corp, ID LAND, Pask Group and ISPT Super Fund. Oliver Hume Director Paul Ciprian said the appointments reflected the company’s ability to provide developers with a competitive edge in the development, marketing and sale of new residential communities. “While some segments of the property market are displaying signs of stress, the outer suburban land and communities market is still experiencing strong demand from a diversified base of first and second home buyers and investors,” he said. “Our research shows the average time on market for project land in the three months to the end of April was just 2.5 months, down from 6.6 months in the last quarter of 2012,” he said. “This is indicative of the fact we are at the high point of the cycle with sales and production volumes at capacity while prices remain affordable, particularly when compared to Sydney.” Mr Ciprian said developers competing for market share would ensure prices remained affordable for buyers but not to the extent it would impact developers’ profit margins. “It is a good market where there is something for everyone,” he said. Oliver Hume Victorian Research Manager George Bougias said the success of the new communities would be underpinned by Melbourne’s continued population growth and interstate migration, including robust overseas and interstate migration. “Interest in new land estates remains very robust with value and affordability being key drivers – especially given price growth in Melbourne’s inner and middle suburbs which has been especially strong in the current cycle,” he said.

A new, environmentally-safe jetting technology will be rolled out across the Australian oil and gas industry over coming months after the completion of a merger between technology group Coal Bed Methane Innovations (a spin-off company of CRCMining) and Texas-based Zero Radius Laterals (ZRL). The new Australian-based company, V2H International, will be the world’s leading water jet technology company and plans to expand internationally through partnerships and licensing agreements with major oil and gas producers. The patented technology owned by V2H International has been under development for a number of years and has application on both surface and underground operations, as well as in the Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry. More than $40 million to date has been spent developing the technology and in Australia, successful field trials have been completed by BHP and Peabody Energy. The technology replaces traditional drill heads with a high-pressure water system that can rapidly install extensive patterns of lateral radial boreholes into multiple coal seams from a vertical production well. The speed and steering capabilities means more gas can be drained from each well and all laterals are steered ‘in-seam’ to maximise drainage efficiency. For producers the technology has the capacity to dramatically lower capital and operational expenditure, increase well recoverability and lower environmental impacts. After successful trials and operational crew training in the United States in recent weeks the first V2H system arrived in Sydney in June and will be deployed by the company’s local subsidiary V2H Australia (v2h.com.au) in the coming weeks. V2H International CEO Darren Rice said the completion of the merger and the success of the testing program in the United States would allow the company to begin rolling out the technology on a commercial basis. “The technology has applications across a variety oil and gas drilling operations, but we see a particular opportunity to compete against and possibly replace hydraulic fracturing (fraccing) in the CSG industry because of its low environmental impacts,” he said. V2H Australia is also currently negotiating with a number of Australian oil and gas producers in Australia to deploy V2H as a workover technology on existing wells that have already been drilled to recover considerably more of the oil/gas that is in place. As a ‘green’ technology, no fluid or chemical additives need to be added for drilling using the V2H system, and the system can drill with recycled CSG water. V2H reduces the total number of wells required, with enhanced production due to multiple coal seams being accessible from a single vertical well. Surface spacing of wells can be increased, with reduced surface infrastructure. V2H is also an enabler in some geological locations where there is currently no economic means of recovery. Kevin Greenwood, COO of CRCMining said CRCMining had a long history of successfully commercialising cutting edge research into the mining industry. “The establishment of the world’s leading water jet technology company has only been made possible through the support of BHP Billiton and CRCMining’s member companies,” he said. “We’d like to formally recognise those past funding contributions in driving the technology to where it is today.” Mr Rice said the technology had the potential to revolutionise oil and gas markets around the world. “It’s been a two year journey since I originally identified the value opportunity in merging the complementary technologies of the two companies. We are all very pleased with the outcome and look forward to developing the business going forward,” he said. He said V2H aimed to use it superior environmental and technical benefits to re-energise the Australian oil and gas sector. “Due to a range of factors there have been no wells drilled in the Australian oil and gas industry this year; this puts the future cost of energy under intense pressure,” he said. “Where environmental or commercial issues are the concern, we think we have found the solution.”

Following last year’s highly successful event, The Funding Network is coming together once again to present its collaborative ‘social investment experience’ at PwC on 15^th June. Three leading social entrepreneurs will take to the floor and pitch their programs to a live audience. Each charity has been selected for their innovative approach and potential to have a significant positive impact on QLD communities in need. Josh Chalmers, PwC Partner said: “We’re very excited to be hosting this event having heard so much about TFN from colleagues in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. Supporting social entrepreneurs aligns perfectly with PwC’s focus on innovation and value creation. I’m sure it will be an inspiring experience.” The three pitching organisations are (more detail in appendix): Cores Australia provides community suicide prevention through training, education and early intervention. www.cores.org.au Heartfelt Homes provides subsidized accommodation for regional, rural and remote families of patients in hospitals far from home. www.heartfelthomes.org.au Orange Sky Laundry is Australia’s first mobile laundry for the homeless, custom-fitted vans to offer a free service for those in need. www.orangeskylaundry.com.au Each presenter aims to raise at least $15,000 from the audience on the night. Pledges are from as little as $100 so anyone can get involved sponsoring these ground-breaking grassroots charities. Everyone is welcome and tickets are available to the public for $30 via this invitation link. The event is being held on June 15 to coincide with the Queensland Community Foundation’s Philanthropy Week and is being presented in collaboration with Silver Chef, the Morgans Foundation and PwC. Silver Chef founder and Philanthropy Australia board director Allan English said: “TFN is a genuine enabler and opportunity maker – bringing together the right people, resources and projects for social change. We have identified three great enterprises that can continue doing their extraordinary work with a little financial help so it would be good to see as many people as possible at the event.” https://youtu.be/xjkd9Llw-qA TFN offers grassroots charities the rare opportunity to showcase their work, secure funding and mentoring, and to expand their donor base and networks. The format also gives people the chance to learn about social issues and to engage directly with innovators and programs that are really making a difference. This year’s first TFN Sydney event at Macquarie Group facilitated over $270k – the most funding pledged at a TFN event to date. Followed by another match-funded event in Melbourne that finished up at $100k. Brisbane awaits… For more information and to buy your tickets visit: TFN Brisbane 15 June