Australia approves Chinalco bid for Rio Tinto

Australian regulators have granted approval to Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) to purchase up to 11% of Australian miner Rio Tinto, the Wall Street Journal reported. However, the government set two conditions for the purchase: that Chinalco must seek approval if it wishes to raise its stake beyond 11%, and that the company may not appoint a director to London-listed Rio Tinto PLC or Australian-listed Rio Tinto Ltd while its stake is less than 15%. In February, Chinalco paid US$14.1 billion for a 9% stake in Rio Tinto. Meanwhile, Rival BHP Billiton’s proposed takeover of Rio Tinto has sparked concerns, with Australia’s competition regulator saying on Friday that it was concerned about the pricing power in the iron-ore market of a combined company.