Challenges of overseas investment in mining

摘要

Resources sector has been dominant in the mergers and acquisitions market even while the broader markets are emerging out of the recent financial crisis. The rush for mineral assets ranging from coal to iron ore and from copper to potash are largely being ascribed to economic growth expected in the emerging markets, more noticeably in China and India. Naturally, the Chinese and Indian companies have been in the race to grab global mineral resources, and the large Chinese acquisitions have alerted the mining companies and governments alike. Indian mining sector participants have been more cautious in their deal making and a significant proportion of the reported overseas acquisitions in mining sector have been done by the private sector, which is in contrast to Chinese largely state-owned enterprises led acquisitions. In a Deloitte-Merger market Group survey of Chinese mining sector conducted in August 2010, a combined 73% of the respondents expected the deal making in mining sector to increase. That sure indicates the nature of developments in the times to come.