AER Rianta International has joined an Australian joint venture which is bidding to take part in the Australian federal government's airport privatisation programme.

Aer Rianta's international division is taking an undisclosed shareholding in Australian Airport Services, established recently as a joint venture between the transport company, Brambles, and the property and financial services group, Lend Lease.

Aer Rianta will be responsible for operating any airports which the consortium acquires and is expected to invest a small amount of money for its stake in the group. "It (the fee) hasn't been decided yet but it will be very small," an Aer Rianta spokesman said yesterday. "We have been invited to participate because of our airport expertise," he added.

The move into the Australian market comes as Aer Rianta and its partner, NatWest Ventures, are finalising the acquisition of a 40 per cent stake in Birmingham International Airport. Due diligence has just been completed, and the Birmingham deal should be concluded within a month or so, according to the Aer Rianta spokesman.

The Australian federal government has already begun the process of selling off its airport holdings in major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and the first tranche of airports to be sold under the scheme is expected to be offered to the market in the near future.

The chief executive of Australian Airport Services, Mr Emmet Hobbs, said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange that the group's existing property and industrial service skills would be enhanced by Aer Rianta's experience in operating airports and duty free outlets. Several senior staff from Aer Rianta International are to join the bid team on a full time basis.

Mr Hobbs said the consortium was interested in all airports in the first tranche of the scheme, and hoped to use the success in those ventures for development of airport ventures outside Australia.

Aer Rianta, which won the contract to operate the first ever duty free shop in Beijing earlier this year, also sees Australia as a good base for south east Asia, the spokesman said.

Australian Airport Services is one of a number of groups which intends to lodge bids for the privatised airports. Most of the consortiums comprise both Australian and international interests and other airport groups involved include BAA, which runs most of the major British airports.

Lend Lease, which had a turnover of just over two billion Australian dollars (£1 billion) last year has already been involved in airport development in Australia most recently through the construction of the international terminal at Brisbane, and the Qantas domestic terminal in Sydney. Brambles, which is the largest industrial services company in Australia had a turnover of almost 3.2 billion Australian dollars.

Aer Rianta International, which operates duty free outlets at both ends of the Channel Tunnel, and in airports such a Moscow, St Petersburg, Beirut, and Karachi, had a turnover of £157 million last year. BANK of Ireland has followed AIB and Smurfit and applied for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange.

The move will allow US funds to buy Bank of Ireland stock in New York, without having to go through Dublin or London. The bank hopes to begin trading in American Depository Receipts (ADRs) on September 17th.

Mr Pat Molloy, group chief executive, said the listing "enhances" the reputation of the stick. He added that it would facilitate more active international trading.

Less than 10 per cent of Bank of Ireland's current shareholders are American. The bank will be hoping to increase this significantly.

"It will make it more accessible. Some US pension funds are not allowed to invest in stock not on their own exchanges," a spokesman said.

Around 12 per cent of AIB's shareholders are from the US. It has been listed on the New York exchange since 1990, although Mr Ray FitzPatrick, investor relations director, said only about 2 per cent of investors held ADRs.

"The bigger funds will still tend to deal through Dublin or London where there is more liquidity."

Industry sources noted that ADRs were an "acquisition currency". Complex tax rules in the US can mean it makes more sense to fund an acquisition using shares rather than cash. National Westminster Bank used ADRs to make two acquisitions in 1994, they noted.

The move will also mean that the bank will be obliged to provide far more financial information than currently.

The "very detailed" annual statement required by the NYSE will be available to all investors, the spokesman added.