Thanks DB for the post. I have condensed what I see as being...

Thanks DB for the post.

I have condensed what I see as being particularly relevant and would add that as more countries ban or at least appropriately modify the practice of shorting then Australia is leaving itself more exposed to such practices.

“There are undoubtedly geopolitical drivers in the rare earths industry, and parties who would prefer we didn’t get to market. At a minimum, we would seek greater regulation and transparency around the loaning of stock and identification of short sellers,” he said. “It is incumbent upon ASIC to ensure short selling policy and regulatory requirements align with and support the federal government’s updated critical minerals strategy. ”More opportunities Pre-revenue minerals developers have long been a favoured target of short-sellers, given mines typically take years to build, cost billions of dollars and are prone to cost and schedule blowouts. They are also subject to the same variability in commodity prices that revenue-earning producers are. It is common for resource juniors to raise funds by selling new shares, which creates more opportunities for hedge funds to feast on.

South Korean market regulators banned short selling in November, bowing to political pressure to protect returns for retail investors. South Korea’s Financial Services Commission on Monday imposed record fines on two banks; Bloomberg subsequently reported that BNP Paribas and HSBC were together penalised 26.5 billion won ($30 million) for illegal naked short-selling. Mr McFadyen said he believed other advanced economies such as Singapore, Japan and Germany had tighter short-selling rules than Australia, and foreign hedge funds were flocking in as a result. “Short-selling should be banned or much better regulated in certain situations, such as for pre-revenue companies,” he said. “It’s also often foreign hedge funds targeting very good companies simply because the regulations are weaker in Australia versus other developed markets. “It’s nonsensical to continue to allow it and at the same time expect Australian companies to invest in new mines to decarbonise the global economy.”

Cheers, esp.