http://www.bloomberg.com/…VMA&refer=home#
What’s China to do with their $2 trillion in reserves (world’s largest)? Spend it, of course. And what better place to spend that money than on real assets?
An interesting, if not predictable (to some), development.
Wuhan Iron & Steel Group and Jiangsu Shagang Group Co., China’s third- and fifth-largest steelmakers, are shopping for iron ore mining stakes in Australia and Brazil, executives said in interviews.
“We are evaluating and selecting” candidates in Australia and Brazil, said Shen Wenrong, Jiangsu-based Shagang’s chairman. “Going overseas is the government policy, so I believe we will get financing from Chinese banks.” Wuhan spokesman Bai Fang said his company is “looking for opportunities” amid lower acquisition costs for iron ore assets in Australia and “won’t rule out other countries.”
The world’s top metal user, China has agreed to acquire $22 billion worth of commodity assets this year after a 70 percent drop in metals and oil since July ended a six-year boom in raw materials. With U.S. and Australian banks still hesitant to lend, Rio Tinto Group and OZ Minerals Ltd., laboring under combined debt of $40 billion, agreed this month to sell stakes to Aluminum Corp. of China and China Minmetals Corp., respectively.
“China has turned out to be the bank of last resort,” said Glyn Lawcock, head of resources research at UBS AG in Sydney. “China is a net importer of copper, bauxite, alumina, nickel, zircon, uranium. China is looking for ways to secure supply of these raw materials.”