CIC back in talks for stake in Fortescue

China Investment Corp (CIC), the country’s US$200 billion sovereign wealth fund, has resumed talks with Australian iron ore producer Fortescue Metals about taking a minority stake in the miner, according to sources cited by the South China Morning Post. CIC may also bring in a stategic partner for the agreement, with iron and steel maker Baosteel and China Shenhua Energy, China’s largest coal miner, among the likely candidates. Earlier this year, Baosteel, Shenhua and China Minmetals had been in talks with Fortescue regarding an equity stake, but they failed to reach a deal, supposedly due to differences on price. The SCMP‘s unnamed sources suggest that because shares of Fortescue have hit a 53-week low of A$1.825 (US$1.18) on plummeting commodity prices, the price may now be right for Chinese investors.