BEIJING (Dow Jones)--Chinese private conglomerate Sichuan Hanlong Group, which has offered to buy Central Africa-focused iron ore developer Sundance Resources Ltd. (SDL.AU) for A$1.44 billion, said Friday that Cameroon's government supports its bid and welcomes its participation in mining local iron ore.
Cameroon's president, Paul Biya, said his government "strongly welcomes" Hanlong to join in exploring the Mbalam iron ore deposit. Cameroon will "provide help and support as far as possible," Hanlong said in a statement.
Biya was on a state visit to China from Tuesday to Thursday.
Hanlong Monday offered A$0.50 for each Sundance share, a 25% premium to the stock's closing price Friday. It already owns an 18.6% stake in the company.
Sundance owns 90% of Mbalam, the third-largest untapped iron ore project in the world, located on the Cameroon-Congo border. Construction is due to start before the end of this year.
-Yajun Zhang contributed to this article, Dow Jones Newswires; (86 10) 8400-7712; [email protected]
