ASX puts gender top of the agenda

Just weeks after the ASX-chaired Corporate Governance Council proposed guidelines for listed companies to better explain the gender equality (or inequality) on their boards, Elstone said he was keen to get more women enlisted on his bourse.

He noted how the ASX had already had a lone female director, Jill Broadbent, on its nine-member board. The ASX boss said he wanted to build his ratio of female "direct reports" to at least 50 per cent as "quickly as possible".

He said: "It is not because I am pro-women but I do think they bring a very different skill set and acumen." Elstone said he did not like the way women were put in the "same bracket as other minority groups" given they made up half the population.

"The gender equality issue does need to be addressed, and I emphasise addressed not fixed," said Elstone.

MAYNE CHANCE

The chief ASX surveillance officer, Eric Mayne, has confirmed he had no plans to take up a job at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission when the bourse hands its market supervision powers to the regulator.

He said about 10 to 20 per cent of ASX staff, who work in sub-management roles, would be "available" to ASIC when the transfer took place in the second half of the year.

Mayne was coy when asked whether the low percentage of "available" staff might be due to public servants getting lower pay.

"I am not familiar with the ASIC pay scales," he explained.

The top of the scale SES (Senior Executive Service) wage at ASIC last financial year was $260,000.

Mayne in that period was paid $1.17 million.

RENT APART

The soon-to-be Charter Hall managed Macquarie Office Trust has noted it has jacked up the rent of No.1 Martin Place by 24 per cent. The headquarters of its soon to be ex-manager, Macquarie.

EDGE FUNDS

The ANZ boss Mike "007" Smith has provided more clues to how he plans to build his presence in the fast growing Asia-Pacific banking market. Rather than tackle large financial centres such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore head-on, Smith appears to be working around the edges.

After already spearheading ANZ's push into the Tongan capital, Nuku'alofa, and the niche rural banking centre of Liangping in China, Smith now seems to be making waves in Tumon, the financial centre of Guam.

In an interview with Guam's Pacific Daily News, Smith remarked the territory was in need of some "sophisticated" financing to get some projects off the ground. "It all starts with the money," Smith explained to the paper earlier this month.

The bank hired the Las Vegas illusionist Anthony Reed to help its relaunch of the former Citizens Security Bank into ANZ Guam last October.

PAUL'S PEOPLE

Integrity Investment Management has announced it has hired the AMP portfolio manager Michael Murray. That takes to eight out of 12 the number of Integrity staff who used to work with its founder Paul Fiani at UBS Global Asset Management. Before his nine years at AMP, Murray had worked with Fiani at the then named UBS Brinson.

UP THE GREEK

The recent bout of Greek bashing sweeping sovereign debt and bond markets appears to have spread. The NAB chief economist Rob Henderson has questioned figures which show Greece's economy was one of the few in the developed world whose growth came close to Australia's last financial year.

"There are a few question marks over the ability of the Greek statistician to count at the moment," he said at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia briefing.

When the topic turned to the Australian dollar, Henderson said NAB's Greek-blooded head currency strategist was probably better qualified to discuss the matter.

"It's not my job to forecast the currency, it's my colleague John Kyriakopoulos, who actually can count even though he's of Greek origin," joked Henderson.

DEAD RECKONING

The funeral operator InvoCare bought some cheer to its shareholders yesterday after reporting a healthy surge in profits despite last year's dip in the deathrate.

"Better economic conditions during the year helped increase sales of cemeteries and crematoria memorials. The average price per funeral also improved (due to mix and pricing)," explained the undertakers. Deutsche Bank in a note to clients said: "Company gave no guidance (as per usual)."

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