Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) played down concerns its US$19.5 billion stake acquisition in Rio Tinto Group and its prime mining assets may be rejected by the Australian government because of political pressure.
New president Xiong Weiping (above), who took the helm after Xiao Yaqing assumed the position of deputy general secretary of the State Council, said the Australian government's 90-day extension of the deadline to vet the deal was 'normal'.
'Since the deal is unprecedented in Australia in terms of scale, complexity, sensitivity and impact, it was not surprising,' Mr Xiong said. 'But this does not mean the government has already taken a stance.'
He said the deal would not harm Australia's national interests and he saw no indications it would be rejected by Canberra. Chinalco was only buying a minority stake in the mining giant that would not hurt the selling prices of Australia's resources.
Chinalco's proposed acquisition has triggered intense political debate in Australia, with some politicians suggesting the deal and other transactions involving mainland buyers would give a foreign government control over Australian resources.
Other deals include China Minmetals Corp's A$2.6 billion (HK$13.91 billion) offer for OZ Minerals and Hunan Valin Iron & Steel's 17.4 per cent stake purchase in Fortescue Metals Group for A$644.8 million.