Rinehart buys Aussie cattle ranch

CANBERRA • Billionaire Gina Rinehart has bought a cattle station in Australia's Northern Territory, expanding her footprint in the agricultural sector.

The Aroona cattle ranch covers an area of 147,510ha and holds about 15,000 head of cattle, Ms Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting said in a statement yesterday. The deal price was not disclosed.

The purchase comes three months after Ms Rinehart was cleared by the Australian government to buy the iconic cattle company S. Kidman & Co.

Australia had blocked the sale of the 118-year-old firm in 2015 to China's Shanghai Pengxin Group on national security grounds.

Ms Rinehart is the richest woman in the Asia-Pacific region and has a net worth of US$12.8 billion (S$18 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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Ambani seeks shield against govt tax bid

MUMBAI • Mr Mukesh Ambani, India's richest man, is looking at ways of insulating his family's holdings in Reliance Industries from the government's efforts to tax some long-term capital gains, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mr Ambani's plan to revamp his stake in the nation's second-most valuable company, by trans- ferring shares between entities affiliated with his family, is aimed at reducing their potential bill following changes in Indian levies, the people said.

The move may help contain liabilities from the sales at about US$45 million (S$63.4 million), compared with nearly US$4.5 billion if they were to do a similar deal after April 1 once the tax changes take effect, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Mr Ambani owns 46.5 per cent of Reliance via at least 55 entities related to him or members of his family.

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