Chinese getting impatient with Australian miners
A rush of Australian mining resources takeovers by their Chinese shareholders is being driven by a change in political leadership and a desire to take control of strategic assets including operating mines and ports, experts have told the Sydney Morning Herald.
In the past two weeks, Chinese steel giant Baosteel has joined forces with local rail haulage provider Aurizon to offer $1.42 billion for Perth coal and iron ore play Aquila Resources, while Guangdong Rising Asset Management has put $1.46 billion on the table for copper miner PanAust.
In both cases the bidders were existing major shareholders in the targets.
Iron ore slides below $US100
Iron ore slipped below $US100 a ton for the first time in almost two years on speculation that a property growth slowdown in China, the biggest user, will dampen demand and worsen the global seaborne glut, according to the Australian Financial Review.
Ore with 62% content delivered to the Chinese port of Tianjin fell 2.2% to $US98.50 a dry ton today, the lowest since September 13, 2012, according to data from The Steel Index. The commodity dropped 27% this year, after falling 7.4% last year.
Iron ore entered a bear market in March as the world’s biggest miners, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto boosted output as economic expansion in China was forecast by analysts to slow to the weakest since 1990.
First strike as Boart Longyear shareholders reject remuneration report
Deeply troubled contract drilling group Boart Longyear was hit with its first ‘strike’ yesterday as shareholders rejected the group's remuneration report in the wake of ongoing concerns over its prospects for survival, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Shareholders were told investment bank Goldman Sachs had provided the board with strategic advice, with various alternatives being assessed - although any decision on the way forward likely to be several months off.
This came amid the lack of any sign of a recovery in demand for the group's services, with the prospect of a further decline in the coming months, shareholders were told.
