This will be in 'The Oz' tomorrow:

Yancoal leads race for BHP’s coal mining operations

Yancoal is said to be shaping up so far as the group gunning the hardest for BHP’s coal mining operations that are up for sale. Picture: William West/AFP

• By Bridget Carter

  DataRoom Editor

  
  
• 5:04PM April 17, 2023
• 
  

"The $7.8bn Australian listed coal miner Yancoal is said to be shaping up so far as the group gunning the hardest for BHP’s coal mining operations that are up for sale through investment bank Macquarie Capital.

Yancoal has coal mining operations in Queensland, NSW and Western Australia and is dual listed on disalloweds in Australia and Hong Kong.

The low cost coal producer of premium thermal, semisoft coking and high quality pulverised coal injection coal, and it sells to the export market.

And like most coal miners right now, it is cashed up, staging a 353 per cent lift in its net profit for 2022 to $3.6bn.

The company is 62 per cent owned by China’s state owned enterprise, the Yankuang Energy Group, while the China state owned China Cinda Asset Management owns about 13.7 per cent of the group.

Yancoal in 2017 purchased the Coal and Allied coal mining business from Rio Tinto for $US2.69bn.

Sources say that so far, Yancoal appears the most keen out of all the suitors to buy the assets.

Yet the big question is whether Yancoal would gain Foreign Investment Review Board permission to buy the coal mines.

Last year, former Trade Minister Andrew Robb under told The Australian that the country was missing out on significant inflows from Chinese investors because they fear the Foreign Investment Review Board will reject it for political reasons.

The ex-Abbott and Turnbull government minister – who was instrumental in negotiating Australia’s free trade agreement with China – said Chinese companies now considering local investment were being advised not to bother approaching the FIRB..."