ASX-listed contractor Macmahon Holdings has taken another big step to further diversify and strengthen its mining value chain.

Michael Finnegan-led Macmahon, which has a market cap of $2.13 billion, told the market on Friday it had filed documents to acquire St George’s Terrace-based Aspect Engineering Solutions – in a deal, due to be finalised by the end of the calendar year, which could range between $75-90 million.

The market responded positively early in trade on Friday, with Macmahon shares up 6 per cent to $1.05 as of 10.29am AWST. 

Aside from an initial cash consideration package of $30 million upon the deal being completed, Macmahon will also provide a $6 million annual retention payment over five years.

Additionally, earn-out patments between $15 and 30 million are also on the table, in respect to base case or outperformance-based metrics being met over a three to five year period.

Macmahon said it would fund its acquisition through its existing cash reserves, which as of June 30, was $309.6 million, although it has an option of utilising scrip instead of cash in terms of payment for future retention and earn-out payments.

Aspect, which has 295 direct employees and 50 clients across the infrastructure, energy and resources sectors – generated $75 million in revenue during FY26 and has an unweighted work pipeline of approximately $225.8 million.

“Macmahon intends to operate Aspect as a standalone business, retaining its brand, leadership and client-focused operating model while progressively introducing Macmahon governance, systems, project controls and workforce support,” the company said. 

Mr Finnegan said the acquisition was critical, as the contractor eyes adding additional mineral-based processing services into its operation.

“The acquisition is expected to be accretive for Macmahon shareholders from inception and has been structured to align consideration with retention and future earnings performance,” he said.

“Importantly, the investment case is attractive on a standalone basis. 

“Aspect also provides a platform to accelerate the development of our minerals processing service offering, which is a strategic priority for Macmahon. 

“We look forward to working with the Aspect team to realise the opportunities created by bringing our complementary capabilities together.”

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TAT’s Nihao Month 2026 campaign, from 15 September, targets Chinese travellers via promotions, cultural events, and KOL trips to boost bookings, spending, and sustain demand through festive periods.

Promoting Chinese Tourism Through Nihao Month 2026

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched an extensive campaign, Nihao Month 2026, to attract Chinese travelers. Scheduled to commence on 15 September, the initiative includes various promotional activities and incentives. Through strategic partnerships with platforms like Meituan, the campaign aims to entice Chinese tourists with special promotions and exclusive passport privileges. This multifaceted approach is designed to enhance travel bookings, increase visitor spending, and strengthen cultural connections between China and Thailand.

Celebrating Culture and Collaboration

As part of this initiative, TAT will host a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, a culturally significant event for Chinese visitors. This celebration not only offers tourists a taste of Thai hospitality but also fosters a deeper cultural exchange. Additionally, TAT plans to conduct KOL (Key Opinion Leader) familiarization trips, inviting influential figures to explore Thailand and share their experiences with their vast audiences. Such efforts aim to sustain interest and travel demand well beyond the immediate holiday period.

Sustaining Interest Beyond Golden Week

The Nihao Month campaign is strategically timed to coincide with Golden Week, a peak travel period in China, and extends its reach towards the Chinese New Year in early 2027. By leveraging these key travel windows, TAT hopes to establish lasting engagement with Chinese tourists. This targeted approach is designed not only to stimulate immediate revenue but also to nurture long-term tourism relationships, ensuring sustained growth in visitor numbers from China to Thailand.

Source : TAT expands Nihao Month 2026 to drive China travel and engagement

CANBERRA, Australia — Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke Warns Migration Overhaul Economic Risks facing the national economy will be impossible to isolate completely, cautioning that government policy mandates to curb net overseas migration will inevitably trigger cost trade-offs across essential labor-dependent industries, including agriculture and food production.

Speaking amid ongoing parliamentary debate surrounding federal immigration reforms, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declared that the federal government cannot quarantine specific economic sectors from the realities of lower net migration figures. The warning comes as regional agricultural bodies and fresh produce industry representatives raise alarms over proposed caps on Working Holiday Maker visa holders, warning that reduced seasonal labor availability will drive up harvesting expenditures and ultimately elevate retail grocery prices for Australian households. While emphasizing that the Labor administration remains fully committed to normalizing net overseas migration down from post-pandemic peaks to sustainable historic averages, Minister Burke stressed that achieving significant population reductions requires accepting broad-based labor adjustments across regional and metropolitan commercial networks.

Economic commentators note that balancing federal migration reduction targets against sector-specific labor demands represents a central policy friction point for the federal government.

Agricultural Sector Alarms Over Backpacker Caps and Food Inflation

The primary friction point surrounding federal migration targets involves potential restrictions imposed on seasonal harvest labor.

Peak agricultural industry associations, including National Farmers’ Federation representatives and regional horticulture groups, caution that tightening Working Holiday Maker visa allocations will sever a vital labor pipeline relied upon during peak harvesting months. Working holidaymakers historically provide essential seasonal labor across orchards, vineyards, and vegetable farms throughout regional Australia, performing physically demanding harvesting and packing roles that local labor markets routinely fail to fulfill. Industry groups warn that uncompensated labor shortages will force farmers to leave unharvested crops to rot in fields, creating immediate supply contractions across domestic fruit and vegetable supply chains while pushing retail food prices higher at major supermarket chains.

Addressing these warnings, federal ministers acknowledged industry concerns but reiterated that broad population policy goals cannot offer absolute exemptions to individual commercial sectors.

• Broad Sector Exposure: Federal ministers emphasize that achieving overall migration reductions requires labor adjustments across all domestic industries.
• Regional Agriculture Reliance: Working holidaymakers provide crucial seasonal labor for fruit picking, vegetable harvesting, and farm packing operations.
• Harvest Supply Risks: Unfilled farm labor vacancies threaten to cause crop spoilage and contract fresh produce market availability nationwide.
• Retail Price Transmission: Reduced harvest yields and elevated farm procurement costs risk spilling over into higher retail grocery inflation.

The policy standoff underscores how structural changes in temporary visa issuance directly impact foundational consumer supply chains.

Broader Migration Reform Context and Net Overseas Target Constraints

The debate over seasonal farm labor occurs within a broader overhaul of Australia’s national migration architecture.

Following record post-pandemic population inflows driven by returning international students, temporary workers, and working holidaymakers, the federal government launched a comprehensive Migration Strategy designed to halve net overseas migration. Key policy pillars include raising minimum English language requirements for international student visas, tightening genuine student test criteria, increasing temporary skilled worker income thresholds, and cracking down on visa hopping mechanisms. While federal policy measures have already slowed student visa grants and reduced overall visa processing volumes, ministers maintain that long-term population stabilization requires sustained policy discipline across all temporary visa sub-categories.

Federal officials maintain that reducing overall migration levels remains critical to relieving pressure on metropolitan housing markets and public infrastructure.

The structural reforms mark a decisive transition from emergency post-pandemic workforce recruitment toward managed population controls.

Regional Workforce Dynamics and Structural Labor Challenges

The policy debate highlights persistent structural challenges surrounding domestic labor mobility and regional employment preferences.

Regional business leaders argue that reducing temporary visa worker numbers without establishing viable domestic workforce substitutes threatens the economic vitality of rural communities. Despite federal incentives designed to encourage domestic job seekers to relocate for seasonal harvest work, local participation rates remain low due to geographic isolation, seasonal employment instability, and demanding physical working conditions. Consequently, regional agricultural operators remain heavily dependent on international visa holders to maintain output levels, making regional economies disproportionately vulnerable to shifting federal immigration settings.

Policy analysts emphasize that solving regional workforce shortages requires long-term structural investments alongside clear immigration settings.

The gap between urban population management goals and regional labor realities continues to complicate national policy formulation.

Political Implications and the Balancing Act for Economic Growth

Managing the economic trade-offs of lower migration presents significant policy challenges for federal lawmakers heading into national elections.

Opposition lawmakers argue that government policies have failed to provide adequate planning or clear labor protections for primary producers, while housing advocates urge authorities to enforce stricter caps to ease rental market stress in capital cities. The federal government faces the complex task of demonstrating decisive control over national border settings without triggering economic slowdowns or escalating cost-of-living pressures for consumers. As legislative reviews continue, ministers face ongoing pressure from regional MPs, industry lobbyists, and economic analysts to recalibrate temporary visa settings to prevent severe labor shortfalls.

The ongoing debate reinforces that migration policy remains deeply intertwined with national economic productivity and household living standards.

How parliament balances population targets against essential labor requirements will shape Australia’s economic trajectory over the coming decade.

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The chancellor is to warn the European Union (EU) not to lock the UK out of its scheme to protect industries from unfair Chinese competition.

John Healey will push for closer UK-EU partnerships on tech, defence, and manufacturing at a meeting of EU finance ministers in Dublin on Friday.

But he will call on the EU to design its “Made in Europe” programme in a way that deepens ties with the UK “rather than erecting new barriers”, Treasury sources told the BBC.

Officials said Healey will tell European finance ministers it is important to “learn lessons” after talks collapsed last year for Britain to join an EU defence loans scheme.

That dispute centred on how much money the UK would pay to join.

The “Made in Europe” policy, officially called the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), is currently being considered by the bloc and aims to protect EU manufacturing with restrictions on goods from outside countries.

There is concern in government the scheme could lock British firms out of European supply chains.

Treasury officials said Healey wanted to reduce the economic impact of Brexit and build closer ties with the EU, but not at any cost to the UK.

Healey said: “The next chapter of Britain’s growth story will be written in more places.

“To me, closer ties with the EU means British businesses – wherever they are based across the UK – get better access to both the supply chains and the customers they need to grow.”

Healey will use the meeting in Dublin to focus on tech firms, defence companies, and manufacturing.

“The chancellor wants to make sure nothing holds them back,” a Treasury source said.

It comes after a reset summit with the EU was delayed after Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister.

Treasury sources now expect that to take place in November.

Healey’s meeting in Dublin comes after it emerged earlier this week that he is in discussions about joining a global investment bank aimed at raising more money for defence spending.

He is considering a bid to join the Defence, Security and Resilience Bank (DSRB), not long after his predecessor Rachel Reeves rejected the idea.

Canada has been leading efforts to establish the bank, which supporters say would enable governments to borrow at lower costs to increase military spending.

Paying for the UK’s growing defence commitments is one of Healey’s biggest headaches as he prepares for the Budget in October and next year’s spending review.