The Global Times (December 22) reported that according to a stock filing published by the China Minmetals
Rare Earth Co on December 19, the company received notice from its parent company China Minmetals
Corp that the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) has approved to
set up a new company based on the strategic merger of assets from companies including China Minmetals
Corp, the Aluminium Corporation of China as well as the government of Ganzhou. The new company will
be controlled by the SASAC, the country's state assets watchdog. Industry insiders estimate the new company
will control around 70 percent of China's heavy rare-earth minerals, which is an indispensable material in
manufacturing items from high-tech consumer electronics to military equipment. A manager of a state-owned
rare-earth enterprise based in resource-rich Ganzhou in Jiangxi Province told the Global Times on December
19 on condition of anonymity, that following widespread discussions on the merger, the plan began to take
shape in early December. The Global Times said another Ganzhou-based industry insider also confirmed that the merger is "not a secret within the industry and personnel are already in place." Chen Zhanheng,
Deputy Head of the China Rare Earth Industry Association, told Global Times that "After forming the new
company, China's rare-earth industry will shift from a scattered, small-scale status toward a systematic,
comprehensive model." The Global Times quoted Wu Chenhui, an independent industrial analyst, as saying
that the new entity will not change its primary target of China ensuring the global rare-earth supplies and the
country will not weaponize it as a diplomatic counterattack unless it is forced to.
He added "But these critical resources do give China greater clout and bargaining power at the negotiation
table, serving as a stern warning to any Western bullying attempts."
(Comment: China provides more than 85 percent of the world's rare earths and is home to about two-thirds
of the global supply of scarce metals and minerals, according to the US think tank the Center for Strategic
and International Studies.)
|
