Baosteel Group Corp, China's largest steel producer, said on its Web site Friday it has no plans to bid for Rio Tinto PLC. The Web site posting confirms comments reported on Thursday that Mr Xu had denied the Herald story and said that "Baosteel lacks the financial wherewithal to take over Rio Tinto."

Baosteel said in its statement on Friday that “It believes the BHP Billiton bid will have a significant impact on the global steel industry and the nonferrous metals sector and that it is closely watching, following and evaluating the development.”

The denial came after 21st Century Business Herald on last Monday cited Mr Xu Lejiang chairman of Baosteel as saying it is considering a bid for Rio Tinto.