Chinalco regains control of Rio stake

State-backed Aluminium Corporation of China (Chinalco) says its stake in Rio Tinto, which was held by failed investment bank Lehman Brothers, has been transferred to another custodian.

Chinalco said its entire shareholding, which was held under a custodian agreement with Lehman Brothers International Europe, has been "transferred to a new custodian acting on behalf of Chinalco''.

Doubts were cast over ownership of the stake last month amid reports that it had been frozen by Lehman Brothers' liquidators after the collapse of the bank.

Chinalco and US aluminium producer Alcoa teamed up in February to secure a 12% stake in Rio Tinto's British shares - or 9% of the dual-listed group - for $US14 billion ($20 billion).

The share raid by the Chinalco-led consortium has been interpreted as an attempt to block BHP Billiton Ltd's proposed $US80 billion ($114 billion) all-scrip takeover of Rio Tinto.

BHP Billiton yesterday confirmed that the company had received a statement of objections from the European Commission in relation to its pre-conditional offer for Rio Tinto.

"BHP Billiton is continuing to work cooperatively with the European Commission and, in accordance with the established merger review process, will be responding in due course to address the issues raised,'' the company said in a statement.

Shares in Rio Tinto gained $2.87, or 3.6% to $82.58 in morning trade, while BHP Billiton put on $1.48, or 5.1% to $30.60.

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