I think the ACCC is so incompetent that they are doing more damage than good at this point.
Let's see. * The energy industry. Electricity companies running amock in terms of prices, strangling the economy. The ACCC has done bugger all. * The financial sector. The big 4 banks have absolutely dominated the country for years. The ACCC did bugger all as they acted with incredible corruption. * Telecommunications. The privatised Telstra price-gouged for years. Now, ACCC's decisions regarding NBNCO pricing have crushed the smaller players, leaving us with a less competitive environment. Their decision re: TPG/Voda makes a duopoly in the mobile sector extremely likely. Their decisions re: NBNCO mean TPG cannot do well in fixed line. It's a disgrace. * Media. They've done nothing to stop the mergers which have led to the media being owned by a small number of oligarchs.
The ACCC has been a joke in this country for the last decade at least. Toothless tiger that keeps making very bad decisions. Blocking the TPG/Voda merger a ridiculous decision.
Voda is a loss-making company that has a parent company footing its losses. If it doesn't merge, how much longer will it keep making losses before they abandon the country? TPG has no mobile network and doesn't have a spare $2-3 billion to build one (Telstra spent something like $4.5 billion for theirs). In what fantasy land does TPG build a network AND Voda start making a profit for a change. If the 3rd mobile network can't make a profit, how will we have 4 profitable networks?
TPM Price at posting:
$7.00 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held