CHINA GIVES RIO UNLIMITED LINE OF CREDIT. China has offered Rio...

CHINA GIVES RIO UNLIMITED LINE OF CREDIT.

China has offered Rio Tinto an unlimited line of
credit, potentially worth more than $30 Billion,
to develop major mining projects in Australia,
China and around the world.

The weekend Australian says the offer from the state-
owned Export- Import Bank of China, or Exim Bank, will
help Rio Tinto expand at a time when frozen debt and
Capital Markets have starved the mining Industry of
funds.

But the paper says the proposed loans would add another
layer of complexityto the Federal Goverment`s
deliberations over state- owned Chinalco`s $US 19.5
billion ($A29.79 billion) investment in Rio Tinto,
Australia`s second- biggest miner behind BHP Billiton,
the Exim offer is tied to the success of the Chinalco
Deal.

The undertaking from Exim was delivered to Rio Tinto
on Feb the 12, the same day the miner linked its deal
to sell Chinalco $US12.3 Billion ( $A18.79 billion)
worth of stakes in key assets and $US7.2 billion
($A 11 billion ) of convertible bonds.

Rio Tinto, which last year rejected a $US 135 billion
($A 206.26 billion) takeover bid from BHP Billiton,
turned to Chinalco after rejecting other options to
reduce the $US 38 billion ($A 58.06 billion) debt pile
left over from its much criticised aquisition of Alcan.

The company is lobbying shareholders and the federal
goverment on its merits of the deal the biggest foreign
Investment by a Chinese company and the biggest by any
foreign company in Australia.

The chinese will still invest in Rio and Rossing Sth
IMHO.

I also purchased some more this morning.

Simmo.