Chalco shares suspended on ‘important discussion’

Finance

Aluminum Corporation of China Ltd, the nation’s biggest producer of the metal, suspended its shares from trading pending an announcement on an “important discussion.”

Shares of the company known as Chalco are expected to resume trading in Hong Kong and Shanghai on July 30, the Beijing-based company said in a statement.

Parent group Aluminum Corp of China, also known as Chinalco, said it will hold a signing ceremony tomorrow in Beijing, without giving details.

Chinalco in March signed a non-binding accord to pay US$1.35 billion for a stake in Rio Tinto’s Simandou iron-ore project in Guinea. Xiong Weiping, chairman of both Chinalco and Chalco, said March 29 Chinalco is “watching closely” for opportunities to invest in other overseas projects, including Ivanhoe Mines Ltd's Oyu Tolgoi copper project in Mongolia, being developed in partnership with Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto spokesman David Luff didn’t return calls to his office or mobile phone. Yuan Li, head of communications with Chinalco, declined to comment on the signing ceremony.

Companies in China, the biggest metals consumer, spent more than US$30 billion buying up mines and oil deposits globally last year.

Rio Tinto is working to repair relations with Chinalco, its largest shareholder, which were soured last year when it scrapped a US$19.5 billion investment by the Chinese company and four Rio Tinto employees were arrested in Shanghai.

Simandou was described by Rio Tinto as the world’s “top” undeveloped iron-ore deposit. It has 2.25 billion metric tons of resources, Rio Tinto said March 15.

Chinalco is also in talks with Rio to buy a stake in the US$4.6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia or Ivanhoe Mines, London-based Rio Tinto said July 7.

July 28 (Bloomberg)