Comments on: China’s Minmetals buys OZ Minerals http://mqvu.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/chinas-minmetals-buys-oz-minerals/ Just another WordPress.com weblog Fri, 31 May 2013 19:45:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Third Tone Devil http://mqvu.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/chinas-minmetals-buys-oz-minerals/#comment-73 Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:19:55 +0000 http://mqvu.wordpress.com/?p=187#comment-73 Ultimately, the Australian government rejected the takeover on national security grounds: one of the mines, in Woomera, was deemed to be too close to a NATO intelligence facility. The two companies then agreed to a revised deal, under which Minmetals will buy most of Oz Minerals’ mines, including the Sepon mine, but not the company itself (“Minmetals to buy OZ assets for $1.2 billion,” Domain-B.com, 2 April 2009, as reported on LaoFAB).

The newly appointed senior manager of the Sepon mine, Richard Taylor, affirmed that despite the takeover, the mine’s social responsibility projectsw will continue. These projects are not very clear: Vientiane Times described them as “financial assitance worth US$ 500,000 to a trust fund” plus scholarships for Lao students to go to Australia. It is unclear what trust fund and over what period this contribution takes place. Taylor also said, contradicting himself, that the scholarships have been suspended because of the economic crisis (Vientiane Times, “Sepon’s commitment to remain unchanged,” 3 April 2009, as reported by LaoFAB).

]]> By: Third Tone Devil http://mqvu.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/chinas-minmetals-buys-oz-minerals/#comment-62 Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:24:24 +0000 http://mqvu.wordpress.com/?p=187#comment-62 Melbourne’s The Age reported today (24 March) that Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board decided to subject the OZ Minerals proposal
to another 90 days of scrutiny (“China delay corners OZ; debt looms”). The FIRB has also extended scrutiny of the Rio Tinto/Chinalco deal by 90 days. The article reports that National Party senator “Barnaby Joyce recently took to the airwaves in television commercials in Canberra and Queensland to warn againststate-owned foreigners buying ‘the source of our wealth’.”

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