PRESS DIGEST-Australian General News - Nov 19

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)

-- BHP Billiton (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) will continue to lobby shareholders in Australian rival, Rio Tinto (RIO.AX), to accept a US$370 billion (A$414 billion) merger proposal. 'Shareholders own companies, not management, and they'll eventually tell management what to do,' BHP chief executive, Marius Kloppers, said on Saturday. He was speaking ahead of a visit to Japan, where he will meet with customers before joining price negotiations with Chinese steel makers. Analysts expect a 50 percent increase in iron ore prices for 2008-09. Page 15.

-- Fortescue Metals (FMG.AX) said yesterday it was unsure whether Russian steel mill, Magnitogorsk (MAGN.MM), had increased its 5 percent stake in the West Australian (WA) miner, following reports that United States hedge fund, Harbinger Capital, was looking to offload its 3 percent holding. Magnitogorsk recently applied to Australian regulators to lift its stake in Fortescue to 15 percent. Fortescue shares closed at a record A$61.20 on Friday after the company upgraded the production forecast for its WA iron ore development, to come online next year. Page 15.

-- Investors in oil and gas explorer, Arc Energy ARQ.AX, will meet in Perth next month to vote on a proposal to replace the board. Six percent shareholder, Mineralogy, is opposed to Arc's A$708 million takeover of Anzon Australia, as that would mean sharing Arc's Canning Basin discovery in Western Australia's far north. The merger is also under pressure from Anzon's second largest shareholder, Nexus Energy (NXS.AX), which has amassed a 17 percent blocking stake in the target. Page 16.

-- Bootmaker and bushwear retailer, RM Williams, has booked a 10 percent fall in profit as its rural customers battle a drought on the eastern seaboard. The company earned A$1.19 million in the July year, down from A$1.33 million in 2005-06. RM Williams has resisted pressure to move its manufacturing operations offshore, after rival bootmaker, Blundstone, shifted the bulk of its facilities to Thailand and India this year. Blundstone was motivated by a sharp reduction in the cost of labour compared with Tasmania. Page 17.

THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)

-- The head of Macquarie Group's (MQG.AX) Korean operations, John Walker, will continue to seek local acquisitions after being trumped by SK Telecom (017670.KS) in a bid for a 39 percent stake in broadband provider, Hanarotelecom. Macquarie's Korean arm would raise A$3.4 billion in new unlisted equity over the next two years, Mr Walker said at the weekend. The funds would be invested 'in the media, communications, entertainment and telecommunications sector,' he said. A Macquarie syndicate paid A$324 million for Korean cinema chain, Megabox, earlier this year. Page 29.

-- South Korean steel maker, Posco (005490.KS), is keen to buy more Australian assets 'whenever the opportunities come up,' the head of its Australian operations, Young-Tae Kwon, said at the weekend. Posco owns interests in two coal operations in New South Wales and three in Queensland, as well as stakes in two iron ore projects in Western Australia. 'At this moment the raw material market is booming, but we cannot see any appropriate investments,' Mr Kwon said. Posco sources 60 percent of its raw materials from Australia. Page 29.