The global poker game for energy and raw materials is increasingly benefiting Australia: The natural resources company Woodside from Perth in Western Australia now wants to deliver twelve shiploads of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the ailing gas company Uniper.

The LNG is part of Woodside's trading quota.

It most likely originated in America and is exported via the Southeast Asian port of Singapore.

Christopher Hein

Business correspondent for South Asia/Pacific based in Singapore.

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The sale of additional quantities of gas by Woodside to Germany is just another highlight in the current success story of the Australian commodities groups.

In the last fiscal year (June 30), Australia exported coal with a total value of more than 100 billion Australian dollars for the first time.

Since the beginning of the year, their price has more than doubled to $460 a ton.

The Woodside competitors, but also the Australian state, benefit from the sometimes desperate demand for delivery quotas.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese felt compelled to pledge that Australia remains a reliable partner and supplier of natural resources.

In doing so, he drew a line well beyond oil, coal and gas: “Japan and South Korea are already turning to us to meet their clean energy needs.

They are actively building partnerships with Australian companies, for example in the provision of green hydrogen.” Tokyo first sought assurances that Australia would not cut supplies under any circumstances, for example to meet growing domestic demand.

At the same time, South Korea, the third largest gas importer in the world, is negotiating to expand Australia's supply volumes.

Companies pay record dividends

Australian resource groups are already earning more than ever.

That helps the shareholders, who receive record dividends.

Management should also benefit in the medium term: Mike Henry, CEO of industry leader BHP, has just been paid 14.7 million dollars for the past financial year (June 30) - roughly the same amount as in the previous year, despite all the global crises .

Australia's commodity sector as a whole posted a record quarterly profit of AUD 81 billion (EUR 55.5 billion) in the second quarter thanks to extremely high prices for coal, gas, oil and ore.

The ratio of export to import prices rose to its highest level in history in the second quarter.

Australia's trade surplus rose to another record high of A$43.1 billion in the second quarter, up $16 billion year-on-year, Australia's Bureau of Statistics reported.

The total operating profit was now almost double that of the previous year before the outbreak of Corona.

The agricultural sector is also benefiting from the crises that are driving up prices: in the past fiscal year it recorded an export value of 67.5 billion Australian dollars.

That is 35 percent more than in the same year.

Thanks to free trade agreements, exports to Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea are now bringing farmers about as much as exports to China.

Government plans no excess profits tax

After the own manufacturing industry was neglected during the years of the conservative government, the tide is now turning.

“Our government will invest to extract more value from the minerals mined.

The more products we can manufacture here in the country and sell abroad, the more jobs we create in Australia,” said Labor Party leader Albanese.

However, the high surpluses thanks to growing company productivity and extreme prices are again leading to the debate in Canberra about an “excess profit tax” for the corporations.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jim Chalmers categorically ruled them out.

After all, with 18.5 billion Australian dollars, BHP paid almost 50 percent more taxes and license fees to the state than in the previous budget year.

But the respected economist and former government adviser Ross Garnaut had earlier revived the idea of ​​an increased profit tax.

Twelve years ago, the mining companies acting together had been able to prevent a planned tax of 40 percent.

Chalmers has now explained that the new government is only planning higher taxes on multinational corporations in Australia - behind this lies more pressure on internet corporations.