Wal King faces 20 per cent opposition

Illustration: Rod Clement.

Most chairmen would be horrified if more than 20 per cent of their shareholders voted against their re-election.

But not Wal King. At least, not Wal King in 2016.

Sundance Resources chair and ex-Leighton boss Wal King.

Yesterday, 22.41 per cent of the registry of the struggling iron ore business Sundance Resources voted against its chair, King, who is best known as the long-serving boss of construction giant Leighton Holdings.

That sort of number would normally terrify a chair. But for King — who also sits on David Gonski’s blue-chip Coca-Cola Amatil board — it’s a great ­number.

In fact, since his appointment to the miner in September 2014, he’s never been so popular.

Two years ago, 43.2 per cent of shareholders opposed his election as chair of Sundance, an ASX-listed tiddler with an ambitious iron ore project (Mbalam-Nabeba) that spans Cameroon and the Republic of Congo in central Africa.

But while his personal approval numbers are (for him) soaring, the share price is less happy.

Despite the broader iron ore rally, Sundance is down more than 96 per cent since the King’s appointment.

Strange priorities

So why the high vote against King as Sundance chair?

Late Chinese billionaire Liu Han.

As is often the case in the ­72-year-old businessman’s exciting career, there’s enough intrigue for a Harry Flashman novel.

Most of the unhappiness was concentrated in its biggest shareholder, China’s controversial Hanlong Group, which cast its votes — almost 14 per cent of the registry — against the chair.

Between 2011 and 2013 (in the pre-King era), Hanlong attempted a $1.3 billion takeover of Sundance. Hard to believe with the company currently valued at $18.7 million.

Still, there are worse things than lost shareholder value.

For example, last year Hanlong’s billionaire founder Liu Han was executed after he was caught up in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s corruption drive.

The billionaire was found to be the head of a Chinese underworld crime network and guilty of murder, running illegal casinos and selling firearms.

Meanwhile, two of Hanlong’s Australian representatives were jailed here after being found guilty of insider trading while buying up shares in the ASX-listed companies they were planning to buy.

For trading during the Sundance takeover, Hanlong’s former managing director Steven Xiao was given a sentence of eight years and three months — the largest ever for insider trading in Australia.

So bad is Hanlong’s reputation Down Under that Dominic Stevens’ ASX yesterday informed Nelson Chen’s Moly Mines that it would not be readmitted to the exchange if Hanlong (which controls a 54 per cent stake in Moly) remained on its register.

And the Chinese conglomerate has a problem with King?

Free kick

In a first, the new president of football’s governing body FIFA, Gianni Infantino, will be in Sydney on Monday for a roundtable to discuss “Football Diplomacy”.

New FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. Picture: AFP Photo/Roman Kruchinin.

Given the position former boss Sepp Blatter (currently the subject of an internal FIFA corruption investigation) left the organisation in, it should make for an interesting chat.

Back in the Blatter era, Westfield billionaire Frank Lowy convinced Kevin Rudd’s government to kick in $46m to fund an Australian bid for the 2022 World Cup. That was won — after some “Blatter diplomacy” and despite Lowy — by the cashed-up desert state of Qatar.

Frank’s son Steven Lowy — who replaced his father aschairman of Football Federation Australia — is hosting Infantino next week. Surely his soccer-mad father won’t be far away.

Also along will be Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

“I look forward to discussing with FIFA president Infantino the important and innovative role sport can play in international relations,” Ms Bishop told us.

At the top of that list will be Australia’s rarely spruiked Sports Diplomacy Strategy (we hadn’t heard of it either) which sees how government uses sport to showcase Australia’s identity, values and culture, build links with our neighbours in the region and as a “powerful force” for promoting health, education, leadership and social inclusion.

“Through this strategy, the government is partnering with 23 Australian sport partners to promote development in 27 countries in the Asia-Pacific, including with Football Federation Australia in India, Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu,” she said.

Christmas wishes

Still no word from the NSW Supreme Court on the success or otherwise of Bret Walker SC’s well remunerated argument for the appeal of convicted insider trader Oliver Curtis.

Oliver Curtis arriving at court.

That was six weeks ago and still no update.

Christmas outside of Cooma Correctional Centre with his high-profile wife Roxy Jacenko was always unlikely.

If there’s no word by December 19 — when the court closes until the end of January — it will become impossible.

Council uncancelled

Also waiting on an appeal decision before the NSW Court of Appeal’s Christmas shutdown is Woollahra councillor Deborah Thomas, better known as the boss of Ardent Leisure, the owner of Dreamworld. Woollahra Mayor Toni Zeltzer’s council recently launched a legal challenge to NSW Premier Mike Baird’s proposal to merge the wealthy Sydney eastern suburbs enclave with neighbouring councils Randwick and Waverley.

Ardent Leisure CEO Deborah Thomas. Picture: AAP Image/Dean Lewins.

That has meant Thomas’s four-year term (which was supposed to have ended in September) just keeps on running.

After she became Ardent’s chief executive in April 2015, Thomas flagged she would step down at the end of her term, but Baird’s proposal and the council’s response have dragged that out.

Given the horrific tragedy of October 25 — when four patrons died on Dreamworld’s now decommissioned Thunder River Rapids ride — Thomas would be excused for ending her stint debating Double Bay and Point Piper property developments.

But after a leave of absence, she is back at the council.

Last night councillor Thomas was there, once again, to discuss the $45m White City development — all before putting her Ardent hat back on and flying off in the early morning to the Gold Coast.