Shenhua still in bid for coking coal resource in Mongolia
By Sui-Lee Wee and Alison Lui |
March 17, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA Shenhua Energy Co yesterday said it is still in the running for a stake in Mongolia's massive Tavan Tolgoi project, adding a new twist in the long-running tussle for what has been billed the world's largest untapped coking coal resource.
Shenhua's President Ling Wen's comments came after Mongolia said it had canceled the sale of the estimated US$2 billion stake in the Tavan Tolgoi project.
"This year, the companies were asked by the government to submit their bids for a second time," Ling said, adding there are 10 companies in the race for the project.
"I believe we have the greatest competitive advantage over the others," he said on the sidelines of a media briefing.
Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatariin Batbold said in an interview with Reuters in early February that the government's decision not to auction a 49 percent stake in the Tavan Tolgoi project would allow the nation a greater return on the deposit, which holds estimated reserves of 6.5 billion tons of coking coal.
"I've never heard of it," Ling told Reuters, when told about the report, adding that he had just met Batbold.
Other shortlisted bidders for the stake in Tavan Tolgoi included heavyweights BHP Billiton, India's Jindal, Brazil's Vale and United States coal miner Peabody.
Ling said Shenhua has been interested in the project since 2003, but declined to comment on a timetable for the stake sale.
Sources told Reuters in early February that Mongolia had decided to keep 100 percent of the huge coal deposit, a sign of the government's determination to fully control one of the landlocked country's most valuable natural resources.
For investors, the move was a flashback to earlier in the decade when Mongolia slapped a windfall tax on mine profits and sought large stakes in a number of big projects to defuse public disquiet over earlier generous concessions to foreign firms.
The country has long frustrated the global resources industry by dragging its feet on investment decisions. The government, hobbled by indecision and bureaucratic infighting, took years to conclude a pact to develop its largest copper-gold property at Oyu Tolgoi, with Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto.
Shenhua's President Ling Wen's comments came after Mongolia said it had canceled the sale of the estimated US$2 billion stake in the Tavan Tolgoi project.
"This year, the companies were asked by the government to submit their bids for a second time," Ling said, adding there are 10 companies in the race for the project.
"I believe we have the greatest competitive advantage over the others," he said on the sidelines of a media briefing.
Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatariin Batbold said in an interview with Reuters in early February that the government's decision not to auction a 49 percent stake in the Tavan Tolgoi project would allow the nation a greater return on the deposit, which holds estimated reserves of 6.5 billion tons of coking coal.
"I've never heard of it," Ling told Reuters, when told about the report, adding that he had just met Batbold.
Other shortlisted bidders for the stake in Tavan Tolgoi included heavyweights BHP Billiton, India's Jindal, Brazil's Vale and United States coal miner Peabody.
Ling said Shenhua has been interested in the project since 2003, but declined to comment on a timetable for the stake sale.
Sources told Reuters in early February that Mongolia had decided to keep 100 percent of the huge coal deposit, a sign of the government's determination to fully control one of the landlocked country's most valuable natural resources.
For investors, the move was a flashback to earlier in the decade when Mongolia slapped a windfall tax on mine profits and sought large stakes in a number of big projects to defuse public disquiet over earlier generous concessions to foreign firms.
The country has long frustrated the global resources industry by dragging its feet on investment decisions. The government, hobbled by indecision and bureaucratic infighting, took years to conclude a pact to develop its largest copper-gold property at Oyu Tolgoi, with Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
