Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly?

[GumbyLearner]

I know this guy has never won an America's Cup or thrown bags of diamonds around to politicians, hasn't been able to build a railway line in the Pilbara but he sure has employed a heck of a lot of people and has tried his best. It must be tough for ASIC to look at the whole market.

Quite sad news really, I thought us Aussies were above this.

ASIC wins FMG appeal, Forrest faces ban
The corporate regulator has successfully overturned an earlier court dismissal of its long-running case against Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and its billionaire founder Andrew Forrest.

The dismissal of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's 2009 case against Mr Forrest and Fortescue, which at the time alleged he and the company made misleading claims about infrastructure deals that never came to fruition, was overturned by the Full Bench of the Federal Court in Perth.

Chief Justice Patrick Keane, Justice Arthur Emmett and Justice Ray Finkelstein determined on Friday that Fortescue had indeed engaged in such conduct by making inaccurate public statements in 2004 about "binding" deals with Chinese firms.

The miner had also failed to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations while Mr Forrest was found to have breached the care and diligence obligations incumbent on directors under the Corporations Act.

Mr Forrest now faces a ban from acting as a company director.

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8213226/asic-wins-fortescue-appeal

 

[Whiskers]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

I know this guy has never won an America's Cup or thrown bags of diamonds around to politicians, hasn't been able to build a railway line in the Pilbara but he sure has employed a heck of a lot of people and has tried his best. It must be tough for ASIC to look at the whole market.

Quite sad news really, I thought us Aussies were above this.

I read the article and am not surprised at the verdect.

I was going to note this in the Mining Tax thread. I was one of a few who noted Twiggys overzealous 'stretching the truth a bit', tendancies and political connections (like Clive Palmer) in opposition to any new tax.

I don't see it as tall poppy syndrome at all. He's a bit of a 'Media Tart' to further his own personal wealth and got a bit greedy and sloppy with his job. The fines are chicken feed really in proportion to what he gained, but the directership ban will hurt him more I think.

I don't see how "trying your best" nor "employing a lot of people" has anything to do with the ASIC decision and Court judgement. Alan Bond, Christopher Skase and Eddie Groves to name a few, 'tried their best' (as they saw it) and 'employed a lot of people'. Neither characteristic necessairly equates to legal, good or even desirable behaviour.

The bottom line is, he has undermined the credability of the mining industry a little as well as the mining tax opposition case and shot a little hole in his own foot in the process. Ouch! But he's a big boy and can take it on the chin... although if he's hit with a directership ban, he might cry a little.

 

[burglar]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

hasn't been able to build a railway line in the Pilbara

Hasn't he?

 

[IFocus]

The only surprise for me is it didn't happen before now.

I like Twiggy but know his history well he will and dose stretch the boundaries legal or other wise.

 

[DB008]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

hasn't been able to build a railway line in the Pilbara

Hasn't he?

My thoughts too....

I'm pretty sure that the Cloudbreak railway line does go to port and that FMG was building a Christmas Creek to Cloudbreak line (When l was at those 2 sites they were, a little over 1 year ago).

 

[GumbyLearner]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

My thoughts too....

I'm pretty sure that the Cloudbreak railway line does go to port and that FMG was building a Christmas Creek to Cloudbreak line (When l was at those 2 sites they were, a little over 1 year ago).

Thanks for pointing that out DB008. He did build Cloudbreak after repeatedly attempting to get rail access for years via other players lines.

But let's hope the average sandgroper taxpayer doesn't have to pick up the tab with something like the WAINK tax (<- The ''i'' isn't silent in WAINK) that was imposed on everyones rego fees after the collapse of Bond corp. Or the Queensland boat builders
who were never paid by Quintex because of dodgy loans from the banks.

Forrest is a business hero compared to the criminals mentioned earlier in thread by Whiskers. JMO

Anyway, good to know ASIC are doing "some" work to protect investors.

 

[Whiskers]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

Forrest is a business hero compared to the criminals mentioned earlier in thread by Whiskers. JMO

I can recall the days when "the criminals mentioned earlier in thread by Whiskers" were all considered 'business heros' too... not to mention befriended by many politicans.

There are a lot of signs/symptoms before their collapses in common with Twiggy. That's not to say he will go the same way, but Fortescues debt is of concern albeit they have reported and forcast good revenues. But given his stretching the truth conviction I would be a bit careful about those projections.

But having said all that, I quite like his get-up-and-go attitude and support of local employment, especially the local endigenious communities. I just worry that some people's ego overules their brain a bit too often.

Anyway, good to know ASIC are doing "some" work to protect investors.

Yeah, I agree there but agree they could do more with the mid and junior companies that tend to fly under the radar. I've seen cases where they have run out of resources and money to do everything they would like to do. No doubt this is a symptom of the business lobby. The irony is they tend to use their limited resources to pick the cases that make the most impact and Twiggy was the short straw, or 'tall poppy' that copped it this time.

If I was Twiggy, I'd be pulling my neck in a bit and checking the loyalty of my (political) mates.

 

[DB008]

Re: Andrew Forrest - Tall Poppy or Fall Guy for the duopoly? You decide.

I can recall the days when "the criminals mentioned earlier in thread by Whiskers" were all considered 'business heros' too... not to mention befriended by many politicans.

Good point.

After having worked on numerous mine sites (15+), the best way that l explain the differentiation between the big 3 to friends would be like this
RIO = Ferrari (good quality, equipment)
BHP = Holden/Ford (average)
FMG = Trabant (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant ) (oh oh...)

FMG - some of the things l have seen and heard are just beyond me. Honestly, a little planning goes a long way.