Word: rios
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...arrests come weeks after the collapse of a bid by Chinalco, a state-owned Chinese aluminum manufacturer, to invest $19.5 billion in Rio Tinto. That timing prompted some observers to suggest that the arrests were retaliation for the spurned investment. (Read "Another Deal Blown, Where Will China Invest...
...Speaking to reporters yesterday, Rudd issued his toughest comments yet in the case of Stern Hu, a Chinese-born Australian executive with mining giant Rio Tinto. Last week the Shanghai State Security Bureau arrested Hu and three Chinese colleagues on suspicion of industrial spying and stealing state secrets related to iron-ore prices. The arrests came amid acrimonious ore-price negotiations between Chinese steelmakers and global mining companies. (See pictures of Chinese investment in Africa...
...Rudd, a Mandarin speaker who once served as a diplomat in Beijing, has pushed for closer relations with China, Australia's biggest trading partner. Until now his government has avoided "megaphone diplomacy" in the Rio Tinto case, but pressure from the opposition has led Rudd to take a much tougher stand as Hu nears two weeks in detention. "A range of foreign governments and corporations will be watching this case with interest and be watching it very closely," Rudd said. "And they'll be drawing their own conclusions about how it is conducted." (Read "China Buys Australia On the Cheap...
...Secrecy in China's criminal-justice system has made it difficult to find out the specifics of the charges against Rio Tinto employees. But China Daily, a state-run newspaper, reported yesterday that the multinational company's representatives allegedly bribed officials from 16 Chinese steel mills who were participating in negotiations over iron-ore prices. The story quoted an unnamed manager at a large steel company who said that Rio Tinto paid for industry data, which was "an unwritten industry practice." Rio Tinto officials denied its employees stole state secrets and said the company's ethics policies forbid bribery...
...developments this week suggest the Rio Tinto case may be just a part of a crackdown on corruption launched by Chinese authorities in one of the country's most important industries. Domestic media reported this week that at least five Chinese steelmakers and the China Iron and Steel Association are under investigation, and the scope of the inquiry is expected to widen. A senior investment banker with close ties to the Australian mining industry says that eight to 10 Chinese steel executives have been detained, adding that the relationship between Australian ore producers and the Chinese steel industry...