[COM] 104-106 Currie Street | 117m | 33lvl | Sofitel Hotel

[Norman]

Great news! Can't wait to see this add some height to the video West End!

[timtam20292]

Finally some news on this! This will do so much for Currie Street and surrounding areas.

[how good is he]

Its interesting that the Govt lent the developer $5m on a low interest loan so the project could commence construction [in May]...its a good initiative and could help other developments start if offered to other developers.

[Norman]

Its interesting that the Govt lent the developer $5m on a low interest loan so the project could commence construction [in May]...its a good initiative and could help other developments start if offered to other developers.

I think it's a terrible initiative, now every developer is going to want a slice of a low interest loan as well. Private developments should be funded by private money.

It also makes us look desperate.

[Algernon]

Its interesting that the Govt lent the developer $5m on a low interest loan so the project could commence construction [in May]...its a good initiative and could help other developments start if offered to other developers.

I think it's a terrible initiative, now every developer is going to want a slice of a low interest loan as well. Private developments should be funded by private money.

It also makes us look desperate.

It's a terrible initiative on any level.

If 5 million is holding up a project this large then something is wrong. If no banks want to lend 5 million for a project this large to start then something is wrong.

[[Shuz]]

Could be that the developer could have been approved for $X amount from the bank but not $Y, and the state government plugged that gap?

[Algernon]

Could be that the developer could have been approved for $X amount from the bank but not $Y, and the state government plugged that gap?

No.

A Luxury global hotel operator with 120 hotels around the world played the state government like a cheap violin.

[gmf]

Could be that the developer could have been approved for $X amount from the bank but not $Y, and the state government plugged that gap?

No.

A Luxury global hotel operator with 120 hotels around the world played the state government like a cheap violin.

I'm pretty sure Sofitel really has no input or sway with the government as they just have an agreement to lease the building once built - it is not their money financing this. I wonder if this loan was due to Palumbo being an SA company that is both marketing and building this development?

[phenom]

Um, a $5m low interest loan is nothing. I'm guessing some here aren't aware of the deals every single state govt across Australia constantly offers different businesses - local and foreign - to invest in their state. In many cases it is an outright grant or zero interest loans so this, if indeed it is a low interest loan, is a pretty cheap way of getting some serious investment underway.

Yep you can argue they'll all want it but they do *now*. From experience I know that almost every business that sets up here tries their luck at getting govt funding. They openly play off each state or city against the other. It's usually evaluated for the weight of benefits against the cost and then a decision is made.

Unless we know the guaranteed confidential details everything is conjecture. My conjecture is that since state govt can borrow cheaper than any small developer it may even be at zero cost to the state. The $5m could be the gap between a bank limit on LVR thus allowing it to proceed. Documents supporting this may have been provided to the state govt. We just don't know.

[[Shuz]]

Anyways, whose excited for not one, not two, not three, but four buildings under construction over 100m this year! Kodo, Realm, Adelaidean and now this one!

This time next year, people are really going to start turning their heads to the sky.

[Nort]

Anyways, whose excited for not one, not two, not three, but four buildings under construction over 100m this year! Kodo, Realm, Adelaidean and now this one!

This time next year, people are really going to start turning their heads to the sky.

It is going to make a big skyline difference when in a couple of years what are currently our first and second tallest buildings will be the third and sixth tallest.

[Patrick_27]

It might not seem like a big deal now, but let's not forget the events leading up to the State Bank collapse.

[floplo]

Its interesting that the Govt lent the developer $5m on a low interest loan so the project could commence construction [in May]...its a good initiative and could help other developments start if offered to other developers.

it was offered as it came through one of the public fund schemes set up by the government. Whether that's good or bad public policy and what it says about the project probably depends on circumstances not exactly included in the article, so it's basically all just speculation.

[floplo]

It might not seem like a big deal now, but let's not forget the events leading up to the State Bank collapse.

which were ? (sorry, wasn't around then)

[Goodsy]

It might not seem like a big deal now, but let's not forget the events leading up to the State Bank collapse.

which were ? (sorry, wasn't around then)

In March 1991, the Auditor General of South Australia was appointed to conduct an inquiry to determine the causes of the State Bank's need for Government support. The report, delivered in 1993, found the key cause of financial distress was the non-performing assets of the bank, its loan portfolio. The non-performing assets were corporate and property-related loans made by the bank. At the time of the bailout, non-performing assets exceeded 30% of the loan book. The report found that 'to a lesser extent', its investments in major subsidiaries acquired between 1985 and 1990 also performed poorly and were a contributory cause.[2]

The Auditor General, however, made it clear that while external factors were causes of the bank's poor financial position, 'a contributing cause of the institution's financial failure' was the failure by the bank to adequately manage the debt, capital, interest rate risk and liquidity risk of the bank. The report indicated that this was because 'policy and procedural inadequacies, and the lack of effective supervision and control of certain of the bank's activities, contribute to the mismanagement of the business of the Bank as a whole'.[2]

In March 1991, Samuel Jacobs QC was appointed to head a South Australian Royal Commission to investigate the relationship between the bank and the South Australian government and the arrangements under the Bank of South Australia Act for the governance of the bank.[2] The first witness to be called was John Barnes, the state's former Under-Treasurer (1976-1984).[5] Three reports of the Commission's findings were published in 1992 and 1993. The first and second reports were presented by the Honourable Samuel J. Jacobs[6] and the final report was presented by John Mansfield.[7]

Bannon remained as Premier during three inquiries, the last two of which cleared him of any deliberate wrongdoing.[4]

Chris Kenny, a former journalist, who has worked as advisor to Liberal politicians John Olsen, Rob Kerin and Alexander Downer, and as chief of staff to Malcolm Turnbull, wrote State of Denial, a book that analysed the State Bank collapse.