Change for the better

At last, some good luck for China’s commodity hunters in Australia. Yesterday, we heard how China Minmetals had submitted a new bid for OZ Minerals after its initial attempt had been defeated by Australian national security concerns. Today, however, comes the cheery news that Hunan Valin Iron & Steel Group’s US$893 million purchase of a stake in Fortescue Metals is a go. There are a few conditions attached, and Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board is watching closely, but Hunan Valin executives should feel safe enough to break out the celebratory cigars. Some celebration is also in order at China Unicom, long-rumored future home of the iPhone. While there’s still no more information about Apple’s much lusted-after gadget, Unicom managed to post US$4.96 billion in profits in 2008, up 58% from the year before. That’s a refreshing break from the recent news coming out of other major Chinese firms, nicely represented today by China Resources Enterprises. After some one-off gains in 2007, the company saw profits fall 53% year-on-year in 2008. But even the worst-performing SOEs are in better shape than American automakers and auto parts companies: US parts supplier Delphi will be selling its brakes-and-suspension business to BeijingWest Industries, a joint venture part-owned by the Beijing municipal government.