SYDNEY: Potash is being discussed as a possible future pillar for the world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton, Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said yesterday.
The Anglo-Australian giant last week announced it would invest $2.6bn in a Canadian potash project, saying the longer-term outlook for the industrial fertiliser component was “compelling”.
The investment in the Jansen Potash site in Canada came as BHP announced a 29.5 percent plunge in annual net profit in the year to June, due in part to a slump in prices of its traditional commodities including iron ore.
“We’re building this company’s future on four, possibly five pillars: iron ore, coal, petroleum and copper and we’ve started to talk about potash,” Mackenzie told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Inside Business programme.
Mackenzie said more of the company’s growth capital was likely to go towards petroleum, copper and potash.
“And we’ll see how we go with iron ore, but we’re probably finished for a time investing in coal,” he said.
QE to hold investor education course in September
Doha: Qatar Exchange (QE) will hold a five-day bilingual course next month on the topic ‘how to invest in stock market using technical analysis’ as part of its investor education initiative.
The course will be held separately, first in Arabic language from September 15 to 19 and in English from September 22 to 26, a QE notification said.
Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, Associate Professor for Finance and Investment Dr El Sayed El Siefy will conduct the courses in Arabic as well as English from 6pm to 9pm at the Lecture Hall ‘C’, LAS Building, Qatar Foundation.
There are 120 seats for the course. Eighty-five seats are vacant for the course in Arabic language while 107 seats remain for the course in English, as of yesterday. Those interested should register for the course online on QE’s home page at www.ge.com.qa.
AFP/QNA
