Chinalco Is ¡®Sticking¡¯ to Rio Tinto Investment Plan

Aluminum Corp. of China said it is ¡°sticking¡± to a proposed $19.5 billion investment plan in Rio Tinto Group, the world¡¯s third-largest mining company, after a newspaper reported there could be changes.

The companies are in ¡°normal¡± contact, Vice President Lu Youqing said today by phone in Beijing, without elaborating. The state-owned company, known as Chinalco, plans to buy $7.2 billion of convertible bonds, and $12.3 billion worth of assets from London-based Rio.

Rio is talking to investors about replacing the bond sale with a capital-raising program underwritten by Chinalco, The Australian reported on its Web site today. Rio announced the Chinalco accord in February to help slash $38.9 billion of debt.

¡°We remain committed to the Chinalco deal as the best way forward,¡± Nick Cobban, Rio spokesman in London, said by phone yesterday.

Rio rose 0.1 percent to A$63.85 in Sydney trading at 11:34 a.m. local time.

The mining company had told Chinalco that changes must be made, the Australian newspaper said, without saying where it got the information.

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