Local banks to fund Chinalco's rights bid

Chinese banks will fund Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) in the $15.2-billion rights issue of Australian mining firm Rio Tinto, media reports said.

China Development Bank (CDB), a policy bank, and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the four biggest commercial banks in the country, will extend a credit line to Chinalco, which according to both the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph, was set to subscribe to the issue for around $1.46 billion.

"Negotiations over the financing between CDB and Chinalco have been completed and, I guess, the detailed arrangement will be released soon," reported 21st Century Business Herald yesterday, citing an anonymous person within the banking industry.

But the person did not reveal the exact amount the policy bank would lend to Chinalco or the rate of interest on the loan.

ABC will also fund Chinalco in the rights issue, according to a report by Shanghai Securities News. An unnamed source from the bank said the loan amount this time round would be large.

ABC reached an agreement with Chinalco in April to grant the latter a comprehensive credit line of 100 billion yuan; the current loan is likely to be a part of this credit facility.

In March, a group of banks, including CDB, ABC, the Export-Import Bank of China and Bank of China, signed a contract with Chinalco, agreeing to jointly fund $21 billion for Chinalco's investment in Rio Tinto.

However, the proposed $19.5-billion investment plan was rejected by Rio Tinto on June 5. The company agreed to cooperate with another Australian mining firm BHP Billiton Ltd and went for a $15.2-billion rights issue.

According to a separate statement Chinalco filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday, the company will issue no more than 1 billion A shares to at most 10 institutional investors through private placement, aiming to raise up to 10 billion yuan to fuel cash flow and expand processing plants in Chongqing, Shanxi and Henan.

The shares will be issued within six months of the project being approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, it said.

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