Reuters reported that Australia has asked Chinese firm Yanzhou Coal to resubmit its request for approval for an AUD 2.9 billion takeover of Felix Resources.

Felix said that the Foreign Investment Review Board had asked Yanzhou Coal to resubmit its application for approval for a second time, without giving details.

Mr Ian Smith Yanzhou Coal's spokesman in Australia said that “We continue to work with the government and respect its processes. We are happy to resubmit.’

As per report, by opting to resubmit its application rather than extend the review by 90 days, Yanzhou is likely to get a decision sooner.

The FIRB, an advisory body to Australia's Treasurer who makes the final decision, normally acts on applications within 30 days. If not, the deadline is automatically extended by 90 days. But if it is close to making a decision after the 30 day deadline, applicants can prefer to resubmit and start afresh on a 30 day clock for approval rather than let the process continue and transition to a 90 day clock.

(Sourced from Thomson Reuters)