Chinalco may consider raising stake in Rio-report

MELBOURNE, June 17 (Reuters) - China's state-owned aluminum giant Chinalco is keen to buy a range of global resource assets, and may consider raising its stake in global miner Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (RIO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research), the Australian newspaper said on Tuesday. "If conditions are favourable, we probably will consider the possibility of doing something," Chinalco President and Chairman Xiao Yaqing told the Australian in an interview.

Chinalco earlier this year teamed up with Alcoa (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to buy a $14 billion stake in Rio. The stake was widely seen as a move to stymie a hostile, $180 billion takeover offer from BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) for Rio. Xiao said the company would look at conditions in the mining industry and the economy in general before deciding whether to raise its current 9 percent stake in Rio.

Xiao said he backed Rio's potential growth and independent management.

On Monday, Rio Tinto Chief Executive Tom Albanese reiterated that BHP's $180 billion offer significantly undervalued Rio's assets.

For more on BHP and Rio, see [nSYD39050]. (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger; editing by Jonathan Standing)

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