Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco), parent of publicly traded Chalco, has acquired China Non-ferrous New Metals Co, the latest in a string of takeovers of its domestic rivals.

 

Chinalco, China's largest aluminum and alumina producer, has purchased a 100 percent stake of the non-ferrous metals unit from Liuzhou China Tin Group, a senior official from Chinalco, who did not want to be named, told China Daily. He declined to disclose how much Chinalco paid for the stake.

 

The State-owned Chinalco and China Tin Group, which is based in Liuzhou, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, inked the asset transfer deal in Beijing last Thursday, Chinalco said on its website.

 

Chinalco will restructure China Non-ferrous New Metals Co, but has no plans yet to inject the newly acquired firm's assets into Chalco, which is listed in Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York, said the official.

 

Founded in 1985, China Non-ferrous New Metals Co was previously wholly controlled by Liuzhou China Tin Group, which produces indium, lead, antimony, zinc, silver, cadmium and bismuth.

 

China Non-ferrous New Metals Co is involved in the business of non-ferrous metals, minerals, chemicals and additives for aluminum products. Chinalco is eyeing the company's alumina and other metal processing business, it said.

 

"The acquired company's geographical advantage - its base is quite close to our headquarters - also helped in its marriage with Chinalco," the official added.

 

Chinalco and China Non-ferrous New Metals Co are both located in Beijing.

 

The alumina major also scotched speculation that it was planning to merge or take a stake in Minmetals Development Co Ltd, a listed unit of State-owned China Minmetals Corporation, which also trades and invests in non-ferrous metals and steel.

 

The alumina company, the world's third largest alumina producer, is expanding into other metals to build itself into a multinational with a diversified metals business.

 

Chinalco struck a deal last month to take a 75 percent stake in Northeast Light Alloy Co Ltd, a Harbin-based manufacturer of aluminum and magnesium alloy. It has also completed a $860 million takeover of Peru Copper and agreed to buy a 49 percent stake in Yunnan Copper.

 

The company also controls Shaanxi Non-ferrous Metals, which owns Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group, the country's second largest miner of the rare metal.

 

Chinalco posted a first-half sales increase of 36.2 percent over last year and 10.8 percent net profit growth, buoyed by a series of takeovers that boosted capacity.

 

(China Daily October 16, 2007)