Source:
New York TimesHONG KONG — Citing national security, Australia on Friday blocked one of several acquisitions China is seeking in the country’s natural resources sector, a move that may stoke concerns about rising protectionist tendencies around the globe.
The decision to block the purchase of OZ Minerals, a mining company, by state-owned China Minmetals Corporation, coincides with a heated debate concerning a much larger investment that the Chinese metals company Chinalco is planning to make in the British-Australian mining group Rio Tinto.
It also comes two weeks after Chinese anti-trust authorities blocked a move by Coca-Cola to take over Huiyuan Juice Group, a Chinese juice manufacturer, for $2.4 billion — a decision that caused widespread concern about China’s attitude to foreign takeovers of local companies.
Australia’s treasurer, Wayne Swan, said on Friday that he decided to block the OZ Minerals transaction was because the company’s Prominent Hill gold and copper mine, its core asset, is near a sensitive defense facility.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/business/worldbusiness/28mine.html?ref=worldbusiness