Latest Australia Headlines
All the headlines from our Australia Topic Page, ordered by recency.
S&P Releases Report on Australian Insurers
Aug 19 2003 // Standard & Poor’s has released a report on the life and nonlife insurance sectors in Australia that concludes the two are facing “very different operating environment dynamics in 2003.” It is the...
HIH Investigation Produces First Criminal Charges
Jul 3 2003 // The ongoing investigation into the collapse of Australia’s HIH Insurance Ltd. in March of 2001 with debts in excess of A$5.3 billion (U.S. $3.57 billion) has produced its first criminal charges against the bankrupt...
Cybersettle Secures Patents in Australia & Singapore
Jul 2 2003 // Cybersettle, Inc., a leading online settlement company, announced that it has been granted patents in Australia and Singapore for its systems and methods used in resolving disputes. It received a similar patent in the U.K....
S&P Maintains CreditWatch on Australia/NZ Tower Ltd. Group
May 21 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it is maintaining its CreditWatch with negative implications on various Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries of Tower Ltd. “following the profit warning...
R&SA’s Australia/NZ IPO Will Raise $1.22 Billion
May 12 2003 // Royal & SunAlliance announced that the initial public offering of shares in the Promina Group, its Australian and New Zealand subsidiaries, will raise around £662 million ($1.062 billion) for R&SA and A$150...
Liquidator Sees 10 to 20 Percent Payout to HIH Creditors
Apr 29 2003 // KPMG’s Tony McGrath, the liquidator in charge of marshalling the assets of Australia’s failed HIH Insurance Ltd., indicated that the company’s creditors may eventually get between 10 and 20 Australian...
HIH Report Cites Mismanagement as Cause of Collapse
Apr 21 2003 // The long-awaited report from the royal commission investigating the collapse of Australia’s HIH in March of 2001, has been issued. It concluded, that, although there may have been breaches of civil and criminal law...
S&P Expects to Assign an ‘A’ Rating to Promina General Insurance Subsidiaries
Mar 31 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that it expects to raise the insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on the principal Australian and New Zealand-based general insurance...
A.M. Best Expands Capabilities of its Hong Kong Regional Headquarters
Feb 28 2003 // A.M. Best Co. announced that it has recently integrated its Asia/Pacific insurance rating and information operations to serve Japan, Australia and New Zealand under A.M. Best Asia-Pacific Ltd. in Hong...
S&P Removes AMP from CreditWatch; Lowers Ratings of U.K. Units
Feb 12 2003 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services announced that Australia’s AMP Life Ltd. has been removed from CreditWatch and that its ‘AA-‘ ratings have been affirmed with a negative outlook. S&P...
R&SA May Restructure Australia, New Zealand Operations
Jan 27 2003 // The U.K.’s Royal & Sun Alliance is reported to be considering restructuring its operations in Australia and New Zealand prior to making a flotation of the units later this year as part of the company’s...
S&P Expects Australian Insurers to Handle Bushfires’ Effects
Jan 24 2003 // Standard & Poor’s issued a bulletin indicating that it is “monitoring the effect of the Australian bushfire crisis on the local insurance industry, given that estimates of the insurance claims bill are...
Bushfires Ring Australian Capital: 4 Dead, 400 Homes Lost
Jan 20 2003 // Two months after the worst bushfires in 80 years caused extensive damage around Sydney, Australia’s largest city, the worst fires in 50 years have been ravaging the country’s capital, Canberra and its suburbs....
Liquidator Seeks Recovery from Australian Gov’t. for HIH Losses
Nov 14 2002 // Tony McGrath, the KPMG accountant who’s in charge of liquidating failed Australian insurer HIH, has filed a claim against the Australian government alleging that negligent supervision on the part of its insurance...
XL Capital Integrates Le Mans Re into XL Re Ltd. Asia Pacific Operations
Oct 24 2002 // Bermuda’s XL Capital Ltd. announced that it has completed the integration of the Singapore branches of its subsidiaries XL Re Ltd. and Le Mans Re into a single branch to be headed by Scott Ryrie, General Manager...
S&P Affirms NRMA, IAGNZ ‘AA’ Ratings
Oct 18 2002 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has affirmed its double-‘A’ long-term insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on NRMA Insurance Ltd. and IAG New Zealand Ltd., with a...
Aviva To Sell Australia, New Zealand Operations to IAG
Oct 17 2002 // Aviva, PLC, once known as the insurance company CGNU, has agreed to sell its general insurance operations in Australia and New Zealand to the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) for A$1.86 billion (approximately U.S. $1...
190 Die, Many Injured in Bali Bomb Blast
Oct 14 2002 // Local authorities in the town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali have confirmed that at least 190 people died, and more than 300 were injured, when an enormous explosion completely destroyed the Sari Club, a local...
S&P Lowers NRMA Ratings to ‘AA’
Oct 3 2002 // Standard & Poor’s announced that it has lowered its double-‘A’-plus long-term insurer financial strength and counterparty credit ratings on NRMA Insurance Ltd. and IAG New Zealand Ltd. to...
Principal Financial to Sell Australian Operations to Westpac
Aug 26 2002 // Iowa-based Principal Financial Group announced that it has reached a definitive agreement for the sale of its BT Financial Group businesses to Australia’s Westpac Banking Corporation for an initial payment of A$900...
