December 03, 2008

Minmetals calls for setting up Mining fund

It is reported Mr Zhou Zhongshu president of China Minmetals Corp said Chinese government should set up a metal mining development fund to help Chinese companies explore local and overseas resources.

Mr Zhou Zhongshu said capital could be raised from China Investment Corp, local banks, miners and foreign strategic investors. He said the fund should invest in domestic and overseas mining groups to establish the country's key resource reserves.

Mr Zhou said "China has made some progress in overseas resource cooperation, but it is still far from enough and is difficult for Chinese firms, which are usually small scale and lacking in capital to compete with their international rivals. He said many Chinese companies are operating independently and fail to get overseas projects because they're competing with each other.

Mr Zhou called for the government to set up an industrial fund using national and social capital to subsidize miners.