New law casts shadow on Chalco-SouthGobi deal

摘要

A MEMBER of the Mongolian government said a new law could prevent foreign state-owned companies from gaining control of the country's strategic assets, as Mongolian coal producer SouthGobi Resources Ltd said its customers were reducing their purchases due to ongoing uncertainty in the central Asian state.Deputy Finance Minister Ganhuyag Chuluun Hutagt told Bloomberg that the passage of the proposed law had been accelerated owing to concerns about a recent majority-stake offer for SouthGobi from state-owned Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco). The deal would have resulted in Chalco owning 60% of the company, presently controlled by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd, in exchange for around US$930 million.